Coralrose Fullwood 6 Missing 9/17/06 FL/ Body Found

September 17. 2006 3:57PM Girl's body found in the woods NORTH PORT — The body of a 6-year-old girl who had been missing since this morning was found in a wooded area near a home under construction. Police are saying little about the death of Coralrose Sullwood, who was last seen in her home in the 2700 block of Calabash Lane by her parents this morning. The girl's father, Dale Fullwood, 46, checked in on her at about 2 a.m., and she was fine.But when the family checked again at about 7 a.m. the girl was missing, as was Dale Fullwood's wallet. Police searched the area with officers, dogs and a helicopter. They also sent out reverse 911 calls to area residents. A neighbor walking his dog found the body at about noon. The area where Coralrose was found is about two blocks away from her own home, police said. North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis has scheduled a press conference for 4 p.m. today at department headquaters. Dale and Ellen Fullwood, 40, had just moved into their North Port Home two months ago. The couple, who have a total of seven children ranging in age from 4 to 21, moved from Cape Coral. The news has stunned and saddened North Port residents who live in the area. Marcia Collins, whose son attended Toledo Blade Elementary with Coralrose, said he won't be riding the bus to school anymore. Collins, 42, also said she won't be taking her evening walks alone anymore. "It's very unsettling when it happens in your backyard," Collins said. "It's shocking. http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060917/BREAKING02/60917004

Latest: 6 year-old girl found dead in North Port subdivision North Port, Florida - North Port Police say a neighbor walking his dog found the body of six-year-old Coralrose Fullwood on Linda Drive around noon on Sunday. Her family says she was last seen in her home along the 2700 block of Calabash around 2:00am ten hours earlier. North Port Police say they received a call at 7:00am regarding a missing child. Officers then began a wide search of the area using ground units, helicopters and K-9s. A city-wide phone community alert was issued. Police have set up a command post at Chamberlain and Hillsborough Avenues. The neighbor found the body two blocks away from the victim's home in a wooded area next to a house under construction. The FDLE State Crime Lab and Forensics Unit are assisting North Port Police. Fullwood was a first grader at Toledo Blade Elementary. Her principal says there will be added security and grief counselors on campus tomorrow. Parents will be required to have identification and stay in their cars. Employees will bring children to parents. Coralrose, who went by the nickname Rosie, lived at the Calabash address with her parents - Ellen and Dale Fullwood - and her three brothers and three sisters. Police say this is a suspicious death, but they have workable leads. Fullwood's family moved to North Port from Cape Coral three months ago. She attended Pelican Elementary School there. http://www.10newsnow.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=39729

Girl's Body Found After Parents Report Her Missing POSTED: 10:47 pm EDT September 17, 2006 NORTH PORT, Fla. -- The body of a 6-year-old girl was found in a wooded area near her home Sunday five hours after her parents reported her missing, police said. A neighbor walking his dog found the body of Coralrose Fullwood around noon about two blocks away from her home, police said. She had last been seen around 2 a.m. by her parents, who reported her missing at 7 a.m., North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis said. "At this moment her death is suspicious," Lewis said, without elaborating further. Dale and Ellen Fullwood and their seven children had just moved into their North Port home two months ago, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported on its Web site. Family members said the girl was great with her siblings and loved school. "I used to think the worst thing a person could do ever is bury a child, but now I found out a grandchild is absolutely the worst," Saul VanderWoude, Coralrose's grandfather, told WFLA-TV in Tampa. Messages left by The Associated Press at the Fullwoods' home and the Sarasota County Medical Examiner's office were not immediately returned. Police were interviewing family members as part of a standard investigation. They also had some workable leads, but no suspects as of Sunday evening, Lewis said. Earlier, police had searched the North Port neighborhood, which is about 30 miles southeast of Sarasota, with helicopters and on foot with dogs. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was also investigating, though an agency spokesman declined comment. "As a parent myself and as a police officer, I understand the concerns of the parents in our neighborhood. We've received dozens of calls, 'Are my kids safe?' and things like that. We know of no direct, imminent threat that we can talk to people about now," Lewis said. Grief counselors and social workers were scheduled to be at Toledo Blade Elementary Monday, where Coralrose attended the first grade. Principal Chris Renouf said the school would also implement a different dismissal procedure over the next few days, asking parents to remain in their vehicles and present identification when picking up their children. http://www.local6.com/news/9870705/detail.html

North Port child abducted from home, murdered says family By: Valerie Boey North Port, Florida Six year old Coralrose Fullwood was known as Rosie. Her grandfather Saul Vanderwoude says she was a beautiful young girl with a special spark. They're devastated over her loss, “I think someone came into the home, abducted the child, why or how I don't know.” A neighbor found Rosie's body in a wooded area three blocks from her home on Calabash Lane. North Port Chief of Police Terry Louis is calling the death suspicious, “The father of our victim came home around 2 am from work. That was the last time our victim was seen.” Officers blocked off the crime scene as well as Rosie's home with yellow tape. A lack of information about her death worries neighbors like Jessica Rourke, “Very uneasy, knowing something like that has happened so close to home.” Chief Louis recommends everyone be on alert, “I would ask that all parents use extra diligence as they always shoud with their kids, be cautious.” Meanwhile Rosie's grandfather looks for answers,”I used to think the worst thing a person could ever do is bury a child, and now I find out a grand child is the worst.” Her grandmother Doreen says Rosie stood out, “This little girl became a young lady who is very happy in public school, she was happy in religious school, great with her siblings, she's going to be missed totally.” Rosie was one of seven children. Her grandmother says the family has a dog, but it never barked last night. Neighbors say Rosie’s blanket was found near her body. Meanwhile police say there are 76 sex offenders who live within 5-miles of her home. Anyone with information should call the North Port Police Department at 941-429-7474. Meanwhile, extra security precautions will be in place at Rosie's school today. http://www.10newsnow.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=39729

Leads, but no suspects in girl's death Monday, September 18, 2006 North Port police are looking for the person responsible for the death of a 6-year-old North Port girl. Coralrose Fullwood was last seen by her father at 2 a.m. Sunday. By 7 a.m. she was gone, along with her flower-print comforter. Her body was found Sunday at about noon near a construction site in North Port on Linda Drive, two blocks from her home on Calabash Lane. Police spent most of Monday on foot, knocking on doors, especially those of sexual offenders. There are seven who live within a mile of the victim's home. "I suspect offenders, predators in the area will not only be seen once, they'll be seen twice, perhaps three times," said North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis. Since there's new construction in the area, police are also talking to construction workers. They say they have 20 leads, though no one specifically is being targeted yet. Lewis said the autopsy is being performed in Sarasota, but he's not sure when the results will be back. He can't speculate on the cause of death, and even though it is being classified as suspicious, he says they're treating it like a murder. Coralrose had six brothers and sisters. The family moved to North Port about two months ago. North Port is about 30 miles southeast of Police have been talking to sex offenders and construction workers. Sarasota. Meanwhile, Coralrose's classmates at Toledo Blade Elementary School are meeting with crisis counselors. Since the person responsible for her death has not been found, the school in in a modified lockdown mode, meaning there's limited access to the campus. "This is not a situation that any of us wish to have to deal with," said Toledo Blade Elementary Principal Chris Renouf. Anyone with any information about the case is asked to call the North Port Police Department at (941) 426-3111. http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2006/9/18/183502.html?title=Leads,%20but%20no%20suspects%20in%20girl's%20death

More heartache for family of six-year-old murder victim By: Beau Zimmer North Port, Florida - A day after their little sister was found murdered just blocks from home, there was still more heartbreak for the remaining six brothers and sisters of little Coralrose Fullwood. Monday night the Department of Children and Families with the help of Sheriff's deputies removed the four youngest children from their grandparent's Ft. Myers home. Saul VanderWoude, Coralrose's Grandfather: “I don't believe they belong with DCF. I believe they belong with their family. They've already lost one sibling.” Officials would not comment on why the children were taken, but North Port Police say removing children from the home is often standard procedure in cases involving the suspicious death of a child. Police would not say if there was any new information leading detectives to believe a family member might have been involved in Coralrose's death. Investigators worked well into the evening Monday night searching the families North Port neighborhood, and their home, the last place the first grader was seen alive. Doreen VanderWoude, Coralrose's Grandmother: “Could we wait fifteen minutes for them to be here to say good bye? Is that allowed?” Family members pleaded with state officials to delay taking the children until their parents arrived. After about fifteen minutes, the van started pulling away. That's when Coralrose's mother arrived, just in time to catch a last glimpse and say goodbye, before her four youngest remaining children were whisked away. http://www.10newsnow.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=39803

Sex offenders questioned Posted September 19, 2006 NORTH PORT -- Police were interviewing registered sex offenders Monday near where a 6-year-old girl was found dead after her parents reported her missing. Authorities were awaiting an autopsy report on the death of Coralrose Fullwood, police operations Capt. Robert Estrada said. Investigators haven't released any specific information about the girl's condition or under what circumstances she left her home. A neighbor walking his dog found Coralrose in a wooded area Sunday about two blocks from her home, police said. She had last been seen that day about 2 a.m. by her parents, who reported her missing at 7 a.m. Estrada said investigators were interviewing the two to four registered sex offenders in the area, typical in this kind of case, and working up other leads. "It's still classified as a suspicious death unless we have solid information from the Medical Examiner's Office," he said. Dale and Ellen Fullwood and their seven children had recently moved into their North Port home from nearby Cape Coral, Estrada said. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-stbriefs19_306sep19,0,997086.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-state

Girl's death rattles city By Abhi Raghunathan araghunathan@tampabay.com One neighbor wants to install security cameras around her house. Another won't allow his 3-year-old son to sleep alone. Yet another was too frightened to let her kids walk to the bus stop Monday morning. Fear gripped North Port, a small city north of Port Charlotte, as police investigated the suspicious death of yet another young child in Florida. Coralrose Fullwood, a 6-year-old girl with a toothy smile who liked to play outdoors, was found dead in the woods Sunday afternoon two blocks from her house. Dale Fullwood, Coralrose's father, told police he saw her sleeping in her bed around 2 a.m. Sunday, after he came home from his job at a Motorsports Cafe in north Fort Myers. The family called police when they discovered her missing Sunday morning around 7. Police Chief Terry Lewis called the death suspicious at a press conference Monday morning and said police were pursuing 20 leads, though they didn't anticipate any immediate arrests. Authorities were waiting for the results of an autopsy before classifying the investigation as a homicide. "It's absolutely terrifying when something like this happens in your own back yard," said Lynn Hewitt, 49, a hostess with a son in middle school and two daughters in high school. Hewitt usually lets her kids walk to a bus stop by themselves. Not on Monday. She drove her son to school and her daughters to the bus stop, where she waited until the bus came. "We thought it was safe here," she said. "Now something like this." Mike Bayar, a 23-year-old student and assistant manager at a convenience store who lives down the street from the Fullwoods, said he won't let his 3-year-old son, Khuslen, sleep alone anymore. "We've all been sleeping in the same bed," Bayar said. "It just makes you sick." http://www.tbt.com/tampabay/news/article29164.ece

Sep 19, 11:34 PM EDT Family fights custody battle as police investigate girl's death SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) -- As police searched for clues Tuesday in the suspicious death of 6-year-old Coralrose Fullwood, her family battled state child protective investigators in court for custody of her four brothers and sisters. The children, ages 4 to 12, were returned to the custody of their grandparents in Ft. Myers on Tuesday night after a five-hour hearing in a Sarasota courtroom, the News-Press of Ft. Myers reported. "We have got our family back," said Dale Fullwood, the children's father as he walked out of the courtroom. Circuit Judge Rick DeFuria ruled the Fullwoods can only visit the children under the supervision of the grandparents. The Fullwood's North Port home was so filthy it posed a hazard to the children, state child protective workers told the judge. Police found feces in a bathtub, rotten food in the kitchen and cockroaches when they arrived at the home to investigate the disappearance of Coralrose. The Fullwoods said the bathtub was dirty because their 10-year-old autistic son has a medical condition that sometimes prevents him from controlling his bowel movements. The Florida Department of Children & Families took the children into protective custody Monday, a day after a neighbor walking his dog found Coralrose's body in a wooded area about two blocks from her North Port home. She had last been seen that day about 2 a.m. by her parents, who reported her missing at 7 a.m. Police said Tuesday they still don't know the cause of death. They have classified the death as "suspicious" and are waiting on the results of an autopsy, North Port police Capt. Robert Estrada said. "We haven't eliminated anybody as suspects," Estrada said. "Everyone is a suspect until we eliminate them." Estrada said more than 40 leads have been called in so far. Detectives also are interviewing a handful of registered sex offenders in the area. Police also plan to interview Coralrose's siblings. "These children could be witnesses," Al Danna, a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. In a brief interview Monday, the Fullwoods said they recently moved from Cape Coral to North Port two months ago. They have been married for 14 years. They converted a den and dining room in the three-bedroom house so each of their five children could have their own bedrooms. Coralrose wanted her room painted pink. She was a "little ray of sunshine," Dale Fullwood said. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_BODY_FOUND_FLOL-?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=state.shtml

Posted on Thu, Sep. 21, 2006 New North Port police chief vows to capture little girl's killer MITCH STACY Associated Press NORTH PORT - In just his 10th day on the job, North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis found himself in front of a bank of TV cameras Wednesday vowing to capture the killer of 6-year-old Coralrose Fullwood. "You're going to jail," he said to the as-yet unknown perpetrator. Lewis' measured confidence belied the flurry of activity by dozens of investigators who've been groping for clues since the little girl's body was found at a wooded construction site two blocks from her family's home Sunday in this swiftly growing Gulf Coast community between Sarasota and Fort Myers. Lewis, who took the job after 27 years with the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office and a couple more with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, acknowledged that the city's 43,000 residents are on edge, and he tried to assure them Wednesday that investigators are making progress. "There is absolutely no doubt about a successful conclusion in this case," said Lewis, who was the public face of the county sheriff's office after 11-year-old Carlie Brucia was abducted and slain in Sarasota in 2004. "The dots are starting to be connected slowly." Coralrose was last seen by her father at 2 a.m. Sunday when he checked her room after he got home from his bartending job. The family found her missing later Sunday morning. A neighbor walking his dog found her body at about noon behind a home under construction. Authorities have released scant details about its condition or the cause of death. An autopsy report was still pending. No one - including the girl's parents, Dale and Ellen-Beth Fullwood - have been ruled out as suspects, Lewis said. The 40 to 50 investigators working on the case had fielded 64 leads, located sex offenders known to live in the area and the FBI was helping develop a psychological profile of a potential killer. Four of Coralrose's siblings who lived at the home also were being questioned Wednesday, the family's attorney said. Meanwhile, residents of the Fullwood's neighborhood, a newer subdivision of ranch houses surrounded by woods and pine scrub, were still getting over the shock of such a crime occurring in an out-of-the-way place where most people feel safe. "I think it's a testament to the times," said Michelle Brown, a 36-year-old mother of two who lives two streets away from the rented house the Fullwoods moved into two months ago. "I think if a child isn't safe at home, they're not safe anymore at all." It was too much for her husband, Patrick, who said the crime caused him to expedite his plans to move his family away. He said he had already bought another house in nearby Port Charlotte. "It makes you think," said Patrick Brown, a 29-year-old construction worker. "It makes you double-lock your doors and windows at night. It makes you take the guns out of the closet that you never thought you would have to use." The Fullwoods have been the subject of six child neglect investigations by state officials in the past, but had never lost custody of the children, state officials said in court. http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/15567717.htm

Coralrose Fullwood funeral today Ft. Myers, Florida - Services for six-year-old Coralrose Fullwood will be held in Ft. Myers today. The little girl was murdered last weekend. Her body was found in a wooded area a few blocks away from her home, just hours after her parents reported her missing. No arrests have been made in the case. http://www.10newsnow.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=40265

Slain 6-year-old North Port girl remembered at funeral NORTH PORT, Florida (AP) — A six-year-old girl found slain in the woods near her home more than a week ago was remembered during a funeral service today as police continued to try to figure out who killed her. Coralrose Fullwood's body was found near a construction site two blocks from her home on September 17th. A man walking his dog found the body, hours after her family awoke to find her missing from her bed. Police have released few details of the investigation but say no one has been ruled out as a suspect. Authorities visiting the home afterward found filthy and deplorable conditions, prompting the state's child welfare agency to remove the four remaining children from the house. Those children, ages four to 12, were placed with their grandparents after a hearing. About 150 people attended a service for her today at a Fort Myers funeral home. http://www.10newsnow.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=40265

Parents take new precautions in Coralrose's neighborhood By HEATHER ALLEN and ERIN BRYCE heather.allen@heraldtribune.com erin.bryce@heraldtribune.com NORTH PORT -- Teresa Rowland wakes up in the middle of the night, panicked. Her eyes dart across the bedroom to a monitor on her dresser. There she sees the image of her infant son sleeping soundly, his movements recorded by an infrared camera. More than two weeks after 6-year-old Coralrose Fullwood was murdered, parents in this bedroom community remain on edge. Here where basketball hoops and bicycles are popular lawn ornaments, parents are scared that the nightmare of the Follwood family could become their own. Throughout the city, parents are checking on their children throughout the night, unable to sleep with ease. In some homes, children are still crawling into bed with their parents, too afraid to sleep alone in their own bedrooms. Other families have taken more dramatic steps to protect their home and children, purchasing additional locks for their windows and doors. And at least one family living near the wooded lot where Coralrose was found dead went so far to install a surveillance camera outside their home. "I think everyone goes into override" in these situations, said Mary Jo Oswald, a family and consumer science agent with the University of Florida's extension office in Sarasota. "They are just traumatized by what has happened. Most people do not know how to even talk to their children about it, let alone process it themselves." The fact that police aren't releasing much information about the progress of the investigation is only adding to the fear. North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis still will not name suspects or hint about whether he is closing in on making an arrest. Regardless, Lewis hopes the safety precautions parents are taking continue. "Once we do make an arrest, I hope people maintain things they're doing forever. That should never, ever stop." Meanwhile, security alarm companies are seeing an increase in calls from North Port residents. Shawn Kiss, owner of Ultimate Security Alarms in Port Charlotte, said he's getting more calls than ever from parents wanting routine maintenance on alarms installed by his company. And Rob Keefe with Sarasota-based EMG Alarm Specialist Corp. said he's received at least one call a day from North Port about installing a new alarm. Before the murder, his company "rarely" heard from potential North Port customers. Coralrose's death added North Port to a growing list of communities changed by violent crimes against children. Just this week, a man terrorized a one-room Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania, killing five girls and then himself. Last week, a man took six girls hostage inside a Colorado high school, fatally shooting one and killing himself. The headlines have made parents aware that crimes don't only happen "somewhere else," but can happen in their own backyards, said Marsha Gilmer-Tullis, director of the family advocacy division at the Center for Missing & Exploited Children. "The reality for parents, for everyone in society today, is that it does not matter. It really does not matter because tragedy can strike any community," Gilmer-Tullis said. That awareness has brought more caution into homes like the Rowlands'. After Carlie Brucia was found dead in Sarasota two years ago, the Rowlands took their two oldest sons to a safety class that teaches children how to escape a stranger's grasp. The family is now bringing that same program to North Port. This Saturday, an instructor will be at the George D. Mullen Activity Center teaching the free seminar to North Port parents. North Port was not always like this -- a place where safety is a constant concern. When Roy Corbin moved to North Port nine years ago, the city was a sleepy retirement community. With just 12,000 residents at the time, there were more retirees than kindergarteners. Six years later, the city's population has more than doubled. The median age of the estimated 50,000 residents is now 38. More than 8,000 students are enrolled in North Port's schools. Coralrose's murder has made Corbin, a retiree, empathize with young parents. "If I was in the position I would be a little nervous until this thing is solved," Corbin said. "I wouldn't want to be a parent with a child growing up in that neighborhood." Life has changed in that neighborhood off Cartwright Lane, where Coralrose once laughed and played in mud puddles with her four siblings. The streets that were once filled with children on their bicycles are now empty. Families like the Wades have armed their children with walkie-talkies and strict instructions to go straight to their friends' homes and back. Residents like Hilda Archilla, who used to walk her shih tzu throughout the 6.5 miles of neighborhood streets, now won't venture beyond her road. "It's a blow to this little area," said Pat Ierfino, who moved to the North Port neighborhood with her husband a year and a half ago from Long Island, N.Y. "There were kids all over the place." It's like that citywide. Susan Flynn, who lives near Cranberry Boulevard, four miles north, said she won't let her daughter go inside the neighboring child's home anymore because she doesn't want her out of sight. She gets up in the middle of the night to check on her daughter and ensure that the doors are locked. "You're a little more careful with your kids," Flynn said. City Commissioner Vanessa Carusone, who is the only elected city official with young children, said she re-examined her parenting and how often she sees her children after they go to sleep. "Your whole lifestyle changes," Carusone said. "I think that the closure for the community will be when someone's apprehended. Until that happens, the city's going to be walking on eggshells." From her desk at the University of Florida extension office, Oswald said typically a community will find some normalcy after an arrest is made or the media stops reporting the story. "Some parents may say, 'You are never going to do this again. I'm not going to let you out of my sight.' In the long run, it's unhealthy," Oswald said. "You'll never get over it. You can never get back what you lost. But you can definitely expand on it and learn from it and grow with it." Last modified: October 04. 2006 10:13AM http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061004/NEWS/610040562

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