Whoooooooo likes a good ghost story? (See what I did there? Ha ha ha ha ha I'll be here all week, try the veal.) There's a video circulating from a New Mexico police station that's been sending tingles down people's spines, because the murky image caught on camera is reportedly a spirit from beyond the grave.

That's according to one of the police officers, anyway, who's convinced he saw a phantom-like figure walk across a fortified sally port area on Saturday morning. The spooky sighting is now preserved on video for us all to speculate over, so put on your best ghost-busting proton pack and take a look at the evidence.

The "encounter" reportedly happened on Saturday night at the Espanola station when surveillance cameras captured footage of a blurry whitish figure moving across a sally port, which is a controlled gate or passage entryway typically found at a fort, prison, or police building. Officer Karl Romero was watching the cameras when he saw something odd moving across the lot, right through the cages and gate.

Take a look -- the footage starts at :30:

See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.

Romero's convinced he's seeing a human figure in that footage as opposed to an insect or lighting artifact. I've watched the clip a few times and I do see how it looks like the vaguely defined shape of a person who walks across the lot ... but I'm a natural skeptic, which means I'm convinced there's some other explanation for it. A digital glitch with the footage? A hoax? (Although that would be a pretty lame use of the police officers' time.)

Espanola cops are pretty certain there's a supernatural cause for the footage, although they say as far as they know, the -- ha, I'm sorry, this part of the story is just kind of funny to me -- building is not on a burial ground and no inmates have ever died at the police station. Whew! But they do say they've been hearing strange noises at night and seeing unexplained images in the lobby area too, so either there really is something weird going on at their station or everyone's got a major case of the heebs.

As for Romero, he's a believer:

I do believe in ghosts -- I don’t know [what exactly was on the video], but we’ve had some unsolved murders in the area.

What do you think? Is this a for-reals ghost?

Image via YouTube

Police in Massachusetts are hunting for a 19-year-old man, who, along with his 18-year-old girlfriend and their 17-year-old friend, is believed to have sexually assaulted and attacked a 16-year-old girl before leaving her body for dead and uploading a video of the incident on Snapchat.

The family of suspect Rashad Deihim says they don't know where he is after police connected him to the brutal attack on the young teen girl. Her mom says she would be dead today if someone didn't contact police after viewing a 10-second clip on the app Snapchat of her being sexually attacked behind a school building. When cops arrived, they say they found her with fingerprints of at least two hands that had held her by her throat, along with bruised breasts, broken toes, and a body that was ripped and shredded.

The incident reportedly took place on the night of September 3 after the victim was allegedly drugged. She was brought to the woods behind an elementary school and says she doesn't recall what happened next. When she was found, police say she was naked and had to be rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was reportedly losing consciousness.

The two younger teen suspects have already been apprehended. Police say Deihim could be trying to flee the stateand is considered dangerous. They want to bring him up on charges of assault with intent to rape, kidnapping, indecent assault and battery on a person age 14 or older, and posing or exhibiting a child in a sexual act.

Anyone with information about him is being asked to call Saugus Police at (781) 941-1199 or the Saugus Police Anonymous Tip Line at (781) 231-4037.

It's difficult to understand the teens' motivation behind first violating someone they -- we assume -- know in such a horrific way and then broadcasting their actions as if they're proud of them. Is this a way for these teens to feel powerful? A way for them to exert their power over someone else, someone who didn't stand a fighting chance since she was reportedly drugged? It's despicable and disgusting -- and, fortunately, just a matter of time before cops catch up with the third party allegedly responsible for this sickening act.

What do you think motivated the teens to both reportedly attack this girl and post footage of it to Snapchat?

Image via Saugus Police Department

Some moms wanted the dong taken out of donkey. Mothers in Warsaw, Poland, expressed outrage that a pair of ever-lovin' donkeys, who had been mates and mating for 10 years, would express their amorous affections in front of children at the local zoo. So one of the uptight mommies, Lydia Dudziak, a local official, persuaded the zoo to separate the frisky donkeys and put them in separate pens. Talk about sanctimommious!

Apparently the mommies did not appreciate that the donkeys could express their love for each other in full view of their innocent children, so despite the fact that they were dedicated partners who had raised six donkey children together, the pair were given separate pens.

Wow. I mean, what?! How can mothers who believe in family only believe in it for their own species? And, yeah, sorry the donkeys don't discreetly do their business in a back bedroom ... they are donkeys!

If you don't want your children seeing donkey sex acts, then don't bring them to the zoo! In fact, just inflate a big plastic bubble in your house and let them live there. I didn't think mommies in other countries could be as priggish as the ones in the States, but apparently I was wrong.

More from The Stir: Half-Naked 'Sexting' Statue Causes Uproar Among Uptight Parents (VIDEO)

Luckily, Poland isn't ALL prudish moms, and most people were agog that the zoo would actually separate the donkeys, who are named Napoleon and Antosia. Facebook pages dedicated to reuniting them cropped up, and a petition to bring them back together drew over 7,000 signatures.

The outcry worked, and this week the zoo reunited the couple, saying they had made a big mistake. Even Dudziak's own political party wouldn't come to her defense, saying, "It's a level of absurdity ... that has been crossed to such an extent that I don't even want to read or know about this."

Donkeys deserve to have fun too! Dudziak, on the other hand, deserves no fun whatsoever. And that's probably what she's getting.

Do you think these moms were out of control or right? Do you believe in donkey love?

Image via Daniela Duncan/Flickr

A 38-year-old gym teacher from Pennsylvania has been arrested for allegedly having sex with one of his 15-year-old female students. Incidents like these -- and lord, there are too many to count these days -- are always horrendous. But when you hear about the details of this suspect's life, you might be 10 times more horrified to discover what he was reportedly up to during school hours.

Gym and health teacher William Barber is married. He and his wife have three children -- one of whom is a 4-year-old girl who is battling brain cancer.

And, to top things off, Barber's wife is reportedly pregnant with their fourth child.

Students at Garnet Valley Middle School reportedly told school administrators that there was a rumor about Barber hooking up with a young girl at the school. The teen allegedly sent the teacher photos of herself naked, and according to court documents obtained by the Delco Daily Times, he had no problem writing her messages on Twitter that read, "Wow you are a very sexy young lady" and "I shouldn't temp (sic) myself ... But your body makes me crazy."

The teen girl provided cops with copies of Barber's Twitter messages.

The two then reportedly met up at school at around 3:30 p.m., after Barber had finished coaching football. They allegedly had sex in a back room of the teacher's office -- but it didn't last long because she was a virgin and it hurt.

This story doesn't get any better, does it?

Barber was arrested at his home this week and faces some serious charges: statutory sexual assault, institutional sexual assault, indecent assault, unlawful contact with minors, and corruption of minors.

Let's go through a few of the millions of questions that pop into our heads when we read this. Did this man think he'd get away with this? Did he really value a moment of pleasure over this teen's well-being and the lives of his wife and three -- almost four -- children?

Was he searching for a way to break out of the stressful and extremely difficult challenges of seeing his daughter suffer from a horrific disease?

In the end, his reasons don't matter one bit. There's no excuse for his deplorable actions. He left his wife to deal with the heartache of taking care of their sick daughter while preparing to give birth to another child. Alone.

No matter how challenging his life may be right now, this man did not have the right to ruin the lives of a teen girl and his own family -- all of whom are victims -- because he possibly desired an escape. It's beyond selfish.

Why do you think this teacher allegedly had sex with a 15-year-old girl?

Image via Delaware County Sheriff's Office

A grandmother has been arrested for leaving her 5-month-old grandbaby in a car while she did something reaaaaallly important ... she went to the movies. Felicia Green, 49, of Tyler, Texas, reportedly wanted to catch a flick (was it Gone Girl??) and decided that, well, you know how annoying babies can be in movie theaters. So she allegedly decided to leave the little girl in the car.

Police responded to a call about a baby sleeping in a car alone, so they came out and busted the lock, removing the baby, who they say was in there for about an hour. They were eventually able to track down Green, who was watching ... hmm. Not sure. Something really interesting, I hope.

Why not get a babysitter? you might be asking yourselves. Well, there's a simple reason for that. Green was the babysitter. Yes, grandma had the baby while her daughter, the baby's mother, was at work.

Temps were in the mid-70s at the time in Texas, and babies do not regulate temperature the way adults do, so the situation could have turned dangerous. Luckily, it did not, and the baby was returned to her mother.

But what the hey? What kind of babysitting is this? Presumably if it was the kind the mom wanted, she could have left the baby in a car somewhere herself. If I were the mom, I'd be super pissed.

More from The Stir: 'I Left My Baby in a Hot Car': One Mom Shares Her Tragic Story

If you've got a baby with you and want to watch a movie so bad, why not just bring it with you and leave if the baby starts crying. Oddly, the grandmother told police that the girl was sleeping, so she left her in the car. Which means she likely would have been sleeping in the theater. So why not bring her in?

Or, even better, ever heard of Netflix?

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Image via Smith County Jail

Attorney General Eric Holder finally stepped down from office on Thursday, and according to reports, President Obama didn't put up much of a fight accepting his resignation.

The nation's first black Attorney General was an original member of Obama's cabinet, and while the official reason that the prez didn't mind him stepping down was because he has served so long, we can't help but wonder if it has more to do with major scandals that have swirled around him throughout his tenure.

All the way from allegations that he "mishandled a lawsuit against members of the New Black Panther Party" and therefore participated in white voter suppression during the 2008 election, to his more recent involvement with failing to adequately address the IRS scandal when conservative groups were unfairly targeted for the tax-exempt status.

Oh! Let's not forget about Operation Fast and Furious, which placed U.S. firearms in the hands of Mexican drug cartels, who then used them to kill border patrol agents and countless Mexican civilians. He got held in contempt for failure to produce documents related to the operation, presumably because they implicated his approval. Hmmm.

Side note: Eric Holder is the first U.S. Attorney General in history to be held in contempt of Congress. The more you know.

There have been so many other incidents. Like the time Eric Holder said he wanted to brainwash Americans. Or when he and President Obama traded five Taliban terrorists to bring Bowe Bergdahl home. Yeah, that was sort of illegal. It's cool though! Holder's the head of the Justice Department.

Sheesh. That's barely the tip of the iceberg with Eric Holder. In fact, some people are even wondering what's coming down the pike, scandal-wise, since he is resigning just weeks before the 2014 midterm elections. One more time, all together -- hmmm.

Why do you think Eric Holder finally resigned?

Image via North Charleston/Flickr

A lot of us wonder what we would do if someone broke into our homes. We picture ourselves defending our house and possessions. Maybe hiding -- but where?

When a woman in Venice, California, heard the front door of her house get kicked in early Wednesday morning, she grabbed a cellphone and -- wearing just a flannel shirt and nothing on underneath -- fled to the one place she could get to: her roof.

But the second-story roof was about 20 feet above the sidewalk and she says she couldn't very well jump to safety. She had no other choice but to call police and wait.

And wait.

And wait while the intruder actually followed her onto the roof. For better or worse, thanks to social media and her neighbors and their cellphones, the entire nightmare was caught on camera.

In one chilling photograph, Melora Rivera can be seen hiding underneath the eave of a window while the intruder peers out from over her head.

Police arrived within minutes but had to then figure out how to safely remove Rivera from the roof while a potentially dangerous criminal was pretty much standing a few feet away from her. Cops wound up providing the woman with a ladder she could climb down. They then managed to convince the suspect, who has been identified as a 29-year-old homeless man named Christian Hicks, to come down from the roof.

Now, you might think a woman who has just had to hide on a roof to escape an alleged burglar might harbor some resentment toward him, but Rivera -- who is an actress and appeared in the 2012 movie Sparkle with Whitney Houston -- seems to have nothing but empathy for Hicks. She says she thinks the root of the problem is that transients like Hicks are not getting the help they need and that she sees folks like Hicks all of the time, just wandering around her neighborhood.

This woman was smart to react swiftly and wisely -- and it sounds like she has a good head on her shoulders. So glad to hear of a potentially horrific scenario that turned out okay.

What would you have done if you were in this woman's shoes?

Image via Venice311/Twitter

A mom has been arrested after punching an alleged child porn addict. The man, Gary Spring, 61, had only been at his home in Danvers, Massachusetts, for a few hours after being sprung on bond for allegedly possessing over 300 images of child porn on his computer when his downstairs neighbor, mother of two Nicole Pelletier, who is a Navy veteran, entered his apartment as he was sleeping. As soon as he awoke, he got a knuckle sandwich, courtesy of the outraged mom.

Pelletier, 41, a licensed clinical social worker, was so incensed that her downstairs neighbor, who had no doubt met her 13-year-old girl and 11-year-old boy, was a child porn freak that she couldn't help but break into his apartment and sock him in the face. Spring suffered a bloody nose but otherwise declined treatment at the scene.

Pelletier was not only angry at her neighbor -- but herself. As soon as she was done punching the guy, she called 911 and reported herself. She also told dispatch to get over there because she wanted to "kill" her neighbor. No doubt.

She is charged with assault and battery and breaking and entering.

Spring, who was fired from his Merrimack College professor job, where he also ran a summer camp program for kids, reportedly admitted to the FBI that he became sexually aroused by child pornography and masturbated to it. Just the kind of guy you want living around your kids, eh?

At least Spring hasn't been accused of acting out his fantasies -- but what child porn addicts don't seem to realize is that someone else is. These are not robot children they are looking at online. Somewhere, a real child is being horribly, horribly abused. Viewing child pornography is what fuels these despicable crimes.

Spring sounds like he wasn't too mad at his neighbor for punching him, considering he didn't fight back. However, now he can go one step further by working to get the charges against this mom dropped.

Yes, he might feel in danger around her. But she feels in danger around him, for her children.

This is a very complex topic and I don't suggest that everyone who suspects a neighbor views child porn should take it upon themselves to exact revenge -- but this mom was obviously horrified and enraged, as any mother would be. She deserves some compassion. Spring knows he did wrong. Now he can do a little right.

See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.

What would you do? Should the mom have done this?

Image via WCVB

I am of the school of thought that pranks are a form of bullying. It's when everyone laughs, even the person being pranked, but oftentimes that laugh is just for show. Inside, the person who was pranked is mad, angry, and doesn't feel good about the situation. When I hear of teachers pranking students, I get upset. And one teacher took his prank way too far.

Teacher Daniel Mark Ogloff wrote, "I'm gay. Lol" on masking tape and stuck it on the back of a student's jacket. 

Ogloff is a metal and machining teacher in Langley, a Vancouver municipality in Canada. A shop teacher. Teaching one of the so-called "macho" things a kid can take in school. This doesn't make it right; in fact, this seems to make his prank all the more wrong. He joined that machismo thought that often comes with the degradation of others. This very same teacher had been warned before due to comments he made to his students. He teaches grades 7 through 12.

When Ogloff put this "I'm gay. Lol" piece of tape on one male student, others took photos of it and of course laughed. Some might feel this is an innocent prank, but it's not. This is how it starts, a hatred, discrimination, more pranks, prejudice. A teacher should teach the subject to our kids, but they are also setting an example on human decency, on respect, on how to treat people. Our kids are in school all day with their undivided (mostly) attention given to their teachers. Our kids deserve teachers who can lead them, who can set good examples. This is why I believe this teacher needs to be removed from his duties. He needs to be educated. He needs help. Or he needs to find another job.

It's clear Ogloff isn't heeding warnings. He was suspended for 10 weeks without pay last year for acting unprofessionally and disrespectfully. He now has been suspended again for two weeks. That's it. The suspension didn't work the last time. I really hope he makes the changes he needs to.

What do you think of his prank? Should he be suspended or removed from his job?

Image via Angie Garrett/Flickr

It's always nice when a mother and daughter share activities. Okay, maybe not always. Like if you're going to do a drug deal, probably best to leave the little one at home. But that's not what Texas mom Silvia Tijerina allegedly did when she went on a drug selling run outside a local nightclub. Video shows her reportedly selling drugs to an undercover cop-- but the law was stymied when they realized that her 7-year-old daughter was in the passenger side, apparently there to learn the tricks of the trade.

Police say they were in the middle of an undercover drug bust when cameras caught not only a woman selling cocaine -- but her little girl sitting right there watching her. Captain Brian Cantrell of the Waller County Sheriff's Deptartment told KHOU:

It's unimaginable that a mother would place a child in this situation. It's almost like the mother is training the small child how to be a drug dealer.

Oh yes. Apparently mom didn't just bring her daughter along because she couldn't find a babysitter. Cops say it looks like the girl was there to help mom out, even being the one to pass the drugs through the window. And this doesn't seem like it was her first time on a drug run with mom. She even took the money and held it up to make sure it wasn't counterfeit.

Police say they normally spend months busting a drug ring and making an arrest, but this time they did it within weeks to get the little girl out of the situation.

Take a look:

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So maybe we want to wonder why the mom needs to do this to make a living -- and have some compassion for her. But taking her kid along and essentially setting her up to do the same thing? Ugh, no excuse for that.

Tijerina reportedly had three other children, who are now living with their father. The little girl in the video has been reportedly placed with other family members.

Image via KHOU

A Texas woman has pleaded guilty to defrauding four families that wanted to adopt children. Chrystal Marie Rippey, 34, admitted she concocted a devious scheme in which she pretended to be pregnant in order to fool adoption agencies and families who wanted to adopt. Rippey told these people she was willing to give up her unborn child and went on to bilk them for rent, utilities, gifts, food, and living expenses. In the case of one family, Rippey went so far as to move into their house and allow them to bring her on a two-week vacation.

After all that heartbreak, what Rippey actually ended up pleading guilty for was a single count of wire fraud. If you ask me, this horrible woman is getting off way, way, WAY too easy.

Last week, Rippey reached a deal with prosecutors for what amounts to a 31-month prison sentence followed by three years supervised release. She confessed to scamming four different families in 2011 and 2012 after contacting adoption agencies and prospective parents, and here's what she did to those people:

Couple 1: A Delaware couple moved Rippey into their home for a month, took her on a two-week vacation to the beach, and paid for her living expenses, new clothes, cellphone, and food. Rippey gave them a sonogram image as proof she was pregnant with twins, but it turns out she stole the image from the Internet. She then broke off contact with them completely.

Couple 2: A Kansas couple paid more than $22,000 in an escrow account to pay for Rippey’s living expenses after she told them she'd had trouble with CPS and that a fire had burned down the house of the birth father. Once again, she broke off contact.

Couple 3: Rippey worked with a Kansas adoption agency to find another couple who began supporting her, and once they met her in California, they were shocked to find that she was showing no signs of pregnancy.

Couple 4: Another couple paid expenses to a Texas adoption agency as well as travel fees after Rippey told them she was expecting twins. She also said she had a son in the hospital and couldn't afford food into order to scam them for more cash. The couple began suspecting something was wrong when Rippey didn't complete the agency paperwork.

I know this wasn't a violent crime and jails are overflowing as it is, but I wish this lady could be thrown behind bars for a longer sentence with no possibility of early release. In my opinion, what she did was worse than stealing material goods -- she stole these families' dreams and likely destroyed their trust in pursuing any future adoption partnerships. What a selfish, despicable act that she clearly was willing to do over and over with zero remorse. I hope the families that were affected were able to eventually move on and find a way to the parenthood roles they wanted so badly.

Do you think one count of wire fraud is enough for this person?

Image via Joshnewman/Instagram

A mother was charged with killing her infant after she allegedly snorted a powerful painkiller and then breastfed her newborn, who subsequently died. Reanne Pederson, 32, of West Fargo, North Dakota, allegedly snorted hydrocodone before breastfeeding her 4-day old son, Avery. A half hour later, little Avery Keith was unresponsive -- he died the next day. In this case, breast was not best, but worst.

Pederson had reportedly gone to sleep with the infant, and when she woke up to find her baby unresponsive, she assumed she had accidentally smothered him. Originally, it was reported that the mom passed out and suffocated her baby. But authorities now say it was actually the drugs Pederson allegedly snorted that killed him. Pederson has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Pederson had also reportedly admitted using drugs during her pregnancy. She reportedly also smoked meth before the delivery. The baby's grandmother, Lisa Miller, says the baby was born "shaking," which she didn't think was normal. Unfortunately for Avery, no one in the hospital seemed to notice anything amiss and he was sent home with his allegedly drug-addicted mom.

Miller is devastated by her grandson's death and says that the maximum sentence of five years in prison if her daughter is found guilty for negligent homicide isn't enough. She told Valley News Live:

If he was here with us, he could live to be 80, 85. What's five years? That's not justice. Five years is not near enough time for taking a life and that's exactly what she did. She took a life. She took my grandson's life.

Miller isn't even listed in Avery's online obit, so it's possible she and Reanne don't get along.

While it sounds like the mom didn't do this on purpose and is most likely struggling with drug addiction, once you're a mother, you do have to take responsibility for your actions, even if those actions lead to a death not intended. I'm sure the mom is gutted by what happened, but this was severely negligent.

Does every mom know that taking drugs while breastfeeding is a bad idea? Maybe not. I've heard even educated moms say it's fine to drink while breastfeeding. We really need to make sure moms have more information before they leave the hospital with a child.

Even if she didn't know the effect this could have by breastfeeding, taking a powerful drug that makes you pass out while taking care of a newborn is a terrible idea too.

Does she deserve more time in prison? That's a tough call, given that she is probably devastated and her baby's death is massive punishment already.

But she definitely needs to get clean before even thinking about having more babies.

Image via JoeShlabotnik/Flickr

The first few days of your baby's life are some of the most precious imaginable. You spend as much time as you can holding your precious bundle, marveling at his or her tiny toes, fingers, and cute facial expressions. That's probably exactly what the father of a 5-day-old infant was doing when, out of nowhere, his precious bundle was almost taken from this world. A bullet came tearing through the home's window and lodged in the worst place it could have -- the baby's head. This wasn't a high crime area. The bullet came from a hunter on another property in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania.

The baby's father was sitting on the couch holding the infant when one of a group of hunters on another property shot and the bullet came through the house. It's unclear how far away the men were. Police say the shooting was an "improbable accident" and that "nobody could make that shot if they tried."

There's no indication that the hunter will be charged.

It's amazing how, as parents, we do so much to protect our kids, and yet, at the end of the day, it can be totally out of our hands anyway. A stray bullet, a drunk driver coming in the opposite direction, a sudden virus that turns deadly. So many things can happen and you can't predict or defend yourself from all of them.

More from The Stir: Dad Killed by Stray Bullet at Welcome Home Celebration for His New Baby

That's why it's so important to enjoy every day, and to always let your children know you love them, even when they're driving you nuts. You never know when the end might come.

Fortunately, the baby is still alive but in an intensive care unit. Let's all hope he pulls through.

Do stories like this make you appreciate every moment?

Image via vastateparkstaff/Flickr

A former teacher who raped a 14-year-old student and originally was sentenced to only 30 days in jail finally gets what he deserves. Stacey Dean Rambold raped the teen, who was a student in his class at Billings Senior High School in Montana. That was in 2007. In 2010, she committed suicide. People were outraged that he was given so little time. This time, he got 10 years in prison.

During the original sentencing, a judge said that Cherice Moralez was partially responsible for the rape, saying she looked older than her age. He will end his term as a judge in January. (Good riddance!) At the time, Judge G. Todd Baugh wrote:

I think that people have in mind that this was some violent, forcible, horrible rape ... It was horrible enough as it is just given her age, but it wasn't this forcible beat-up rape.

If it was "horrible enough just as it is" why the non-sentence? (And I guess in Baugh's world if you don't fight back against a rape, say because you're worried the man might kill you, then you weren't raped.)

The ensuing outry led Montana's Supreme Court to overturn the earlier sentence. He now has a much more appropriate sentence.

Rambold reportedly wrote to the court:

No one can really appreciate and understand what it feels like to have so many people actually hate you and be disgusted by you. I do not mention this for the sake of sympathy, but it has been hard.

But in typical fashion, it was 55-year-old Rambold's own determination to do exactly what he pleases that punished him in the end. Initially, he was offered a plea deal that meant he could have avoided prison as long as he did not visit relatives' children without authorization or date an adult woman without running it by his counselor.

Wow, you think he would have jumped at that deal. But it doesn't sound like he's ever made good choices and he wasn't about to start now. He declined the deal.

So now he goes to prison for a decade.

At least the justice system seems to be slowly waking up to the fact that rape is not the victim's fault and how she (or he) looks has nothing to do with it.

Do you think the sentence is fair?

Image via prisonuniform/Flickr

Horrible and sad news: four members of a Texas college softball team were killedafter their team's van crashed into a tractor-trailer that reportedly crossed the center median and collided into it on Friday night.

The incident took place in Oklahoma while the North Central Texas College women's softball team was traveling on Interstate 35 after playing at Southern Nazarene University. And the crash isn't being handled like an ordinary accident. It's being investigated like a homicide, according to authorities.

The girls’ van, which was being driven by the team coach, was suddenly struck by a truck headed north when it somehow jumped over the median and wound up on the southbound lane. The truck reportedly hit the van and kept going, ending up somewhere on the side of the road, where it took police over one hour to locate it.

Three young players reportedly died at the scene and a fourth woman died at the hospital. None of the victims’ names or ages have been released. The team’s coach declined to be treated at the hospital, even though the driver’s side of the van was reportedly the most damaged. The driver of the tractor-trailer was hospitalized and is expected to survive.

Both drivers will be tested for alcohol consumption and police say something happened to cause the sudden impact, but it may take several weeks to determine the cause.

On the North Central Texas College Facebook page, a post reads: “We ask for your prayers at this time for our softball team. Their bus has been involved in an accident in Oklahoma.”

Why do you think the tractor-trailer jumped over the median?

Image via North Central Texas College Softball/Facebook

A couple were arrested after their 5-year-old boy reportedly tested positive for cocaine. The pair, Marco and Sandy Cuevas, were allegedly dealing drugs out of their home and back of their car. When cops descended on them, they reportedly found the toddler sitting in the back seat with a bag of cocaine next to him. He allegedly subsequently tested positive for the drug.

Authorities say that the couple ran a drug ring in Ventura County, California that used teens to sell their wares. Police say they found pounds of marijuana, hundreds of prescription pills, 16 guns and nearly 3000 rounds of ammo in their home. Oh yes, this is the home they shared with their three children, including the 5-year-old. And ... Sandy is pregnant. Of course!

All three children were taken into protective custody. Marco Cuevas is being held on one million dollars bond, but Sandy was reportedly released on bail.

Sandy Cuevas's sister says there is no way the toddler was on drugs, and that her sister is "a perfect mom." Wow, some people's definition of "perfect" certainly is a bit twisted.

Even if the child hadn't tested positive for cocaine, growing up amongst two alleged drug dealers armed to the teeth isn't exactly a safe environment.

Cops say the half-pound bag of cocaine was right on the seat next to the boy. And that the couple were on their way to a drug deal. Perfect? Hardly!

It's unclear how the little boy may have gotten cocaine in his system. But considering a bag was reportedly sitting right next to him, well, anything could have happened.

More from The Stir: Mom Arrested for Bringing 7-Year-Old Daughter Along on Drug Deal (VIDEO)

No word on what will happen to the baby that Sandy is reportedly carrying.

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Image via Ventura County Sheriff's Dept.

In 1994, Dorothy Lee Barnett allegedly kidnapped her then-baby daughter from her ex-husband, who had legal custody of her. Her child was less than a year old and the incident took place in South Carolina while she was enjoying a court-approved visit with her. She reportedly told everyone she was taking the girl to a birthday party, but never came back.

And, as it turns out, not only did she disappear from ex Benjamin Harris Todd's hometown -- she basically fell off the map. For 15 years, Barnett was reportedly successful in dodging authorities and raising her daughter by herself. She allegedly remarried, changed her name, and shuffled around from South Africa to New Zealand to Australia.

But few people can get away with their illegal actions for long. In 2012, police in Australia nabbed the 54-year-old woman on charges of international kidnapping and passport fraud. And now she'll be forced to pay the piper here, as well.

Last month, an Australian judge ruled that Barnett should be extradited to the United States, where she faces hefty criminal charges.

Now, of course, this case is going to get very hairy because Barnett's daughter is an adult. And she's apparently totally supportive of the woman who raised her and has been at every single one of her court appearances. I can't imagine how she must feel. On the one hand, she realizes her mother committed a very serious crime. She ripped the girl away from her father and never gave him a chance to get to know his daughter. Todd's pain must be extraordinary as he tries to now form some kind of relationship and bond with the girl.

On the other hand, Barnett is her mother. It will probably be difficult for this young woman to blame her for wanting and loving her so much that she was willing to take an insane risk and break the law so that she could be a constant presence in her life.

This mom deserves to be punished for her actions and for causing her ex-husband an obscene amount of grief over the past 20 years. Whatever her intentions were -- however much she couldn't stand the thought of not raising her daughter -- she didn't follow the court's order. Case closed.

Do you think Barnett deserves to be punished for her actions or have too many years gone by for this to be relevant?

Image via Charleston County Sheriff's Office

At least five teenage girls were among 15 people injured after a shooting took place at a night club in Miami. And when we talk about "teens," we mean really young girls -- some of the victims who sustained gunshot wounds were reportedly between the ages of 11 and 17.

The incident reportedly took place on Sunday at 1 a.m. at a club called The Spot. Police are still investigating the shooting, which they say sent adults and teens rushing from the club. A Miami police department spokesperson says they still don't have a motive, nor do they know how many shooters were responsible for the violence or how many shots were fired.

Here's what is clear: a total of 13 people were hospitalized and two others were released after being treated. One male is in critical condition after he was found unresponsive and not breathing, and at least three of the five young girls who were shot were reportedly taken to the pediatric unit of the hospital. The details of their condition were not made public.

Cops say they are baffled by the number of young people who were partying into the wee hours of the morning and are trying to find out what kind of event was taking place. Witnesses are reporting that they heard as many as 100 shots being fired from four different guns.

Terrifying.

Of course, it isn't the fault of these young teens that something like this happened, and we can't blame their parents based on the limited info we have because we don't have a clue if they actually got permission to stay out this late. A lot of us, myself included, fibbed to our parents and told them we were sleeping out at so-and-so's house when we were really sneaking into a club. Anything could have happened.

But it's difficult to understand why any establishment that sells alcohol and is open late would make the mistake of letting an 11-year-old girl through its doors. I don't care how much older they look, no club or bar should allow young teens to party with adults in a setting that caters to adults.

Wishing the victims a speedy recovery and hoping police quickly get to the bottom of this mysterious crime.

Do you think the club should be held accountable for the teens being shot?

Image via Satish Krishnamurthy/Flickr

Family murder/suicide stories have become all too common in the news, but we can't make the assumption that's what happened here. No one -- not even detectives -- have a clue why five family members were found dead inside of their Utah home this weekend.

The nightmare began when an older son arrived at their Springville home at around 8 p.m. Saturday and found the bodies of his parents and three younger siblings in one bedroom. Police identified the victims as Benjamin Strack, 37; Kristi Strack, 36; Benson Strack, 14; Emery Strack, 12; and Zion Strack, 11.

Rather than help clear up this mystery, preliminary autopsy reports only confused matters even more.

Medical experts found absolutely no trace of bodily trauma. No gun shot wounds. No stab wounds. Nothing. 

Of course, the results of bloodwork performed by a medical examiner will help determine whether poison or any other drug was ingested, but as of right now, there is no reason to believe that's what took place.

Firefighters reportedly entered their home prepared for the worst. But there were no traces of deadly gas.

The family had pets, and all were found alive and well. Police say they were walking throughout the house and were not found in the same room as the five family members.

Neighbors are saying the family was quiet and kept to themselves, but their family and friends have only positive things to say about them.

It's odd that all of the family members were in one room together when this took place. And a big question mark in the air is why, if you make the assumption this was some kind of family suicide, the older son wasn't a part of it. So many unanswered questions, and so much heartache here. We hope the surviving family member finds the closure he needs to get through this horrific tragedy.

What do you think happened here?

Image via David Goehring/Flickr

I’m no stranger to revenge fantasies, so I completely understand the impulse that must have propelled a 40-year-old Tennessee woman to allegedly take a stolen baseball bat to her ex-girlfriend’s car in a Walmart parking lot last week. 

Unfortunately for Monica Milam, it wasn’t actually her ex’s car that was the recipient of her scorned woman-style rage, but that of a stranger who was probably none too pleased to find his parked car’s rear and side windows and taillights broken. Oops.

According to WKRN in Nashville, a police officer witnessed the entire incident, resulting in a chase on foot and Milam being charged with both merchandise theft and vandalism. So now she is facing serious jail time, all for nothing.

As I said, I can understand her motivation to some degree. When I was 15, a boy cruelly broke my heart, so to get back at him, I signed him up for subscriptions to several hard-core gay porn magazines in the hopes that his parents would find them in the mail and have a very embarrassing conversation with him about his sexuality. (If you’re reading this, Ian -- sorry about that.) 

In the throes of a terrible breakup, who hasn’t imagined gleefully smashing up an ex’s beloved truck or hiring a bunch of burly hit men to kidnap the cheating bastard and give him a firm talking to? Studies even suggest that having revenge fantasies can be healthy for you, but as Psychology Today points out, there is a big difference between thinking about something and actually acting upon it. 

In Monica Milam’s case, she really should have just have played out the retribution in her head, or else skipped the stolen baseball bat and left some funny car magnets on her ex’s car instead while humming along to Carrie Underwood’s "Before He Cheats." Because pranks, while immature, are at least not punishable by law.

Tell me, have you ever thought about enacting revenge on an ex? 

Written for The Stir by Margeaux Klein

Image via MNPD