Hard to Believe This Guy Has Been Walking the Streets...

[Ksyrup]

Stepfather accused of drowning girl, 3, for insurance

POSTED: 10:33 a.m. EDT, June 8, 2007

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- The firefighters who tried to save 3-year-old Ashley McLellan, unconscious after being pulled from a pool on a winter night in 2003, noticed something strange about her stepfather: He was calm, mostly dry and never once asked them if she would live.

She didn't, and Joel Zellmer was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of killing her in an attempt to collect on a $200,000 insurance policy -- just one accusation in a string of accidents that investigators say Zellmer concocted to befall the young children of the women he dated.

Investigators say Zellmer has a history of dating single mothers, urging them to take out insurance policies and harming their children, including burning the hands of one and giving another a hot cup that blistered her lips.

Attorney Joe Hampton, who is representing Zellmer in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Ashley's mother and father, said he would not be representing Zellmer on the criminal charges and had no comment. It was unclear whether Zellmer had another lawyer.

The King County Sheriff's Department has said it is not pursuing charges in the other cases because they happened as far back as 1990.

In Ashley's case, Zellmer told the emergency workers an unlikely story, charging papers say: While her mother was at work, the girl opened a sliding glass door, went onto the deck to eat some cake that Zellmer had left, then wandered down a flight of stairs to wash her hands in the unlit, uncovered pool. It was 39 degrees, and Ashley was afraid of the dark.

Three months earlier, just after Zellmer and Ashley's mother Stacey Ferguson married, Zellmer had taken out a life insurance policy on the girl, sheriff's Detective Sue Peters wrote in court documents. He and the mother stood to get $100,000 each if the girl died accidentally, according to documents filed in the wrongful death lawsuit.

In December 2002 -- one year before Ashley drowned -- Zellmer was baby-sitting for the 4-year-old daughter of Michelle Barnett, then his fiancee. When Barnett came home, the girl, Madison, was wearing different clothes; Zellmer claimed she "tripped and fell" into the pool, according to charging papers.

Zellmer took out insurance in late August 1990 that would pay up to $25,000 for anyone injured in his car should it be hit by an uninsured motorist, charging documents say.

Weeks later, he took his 4-month-old stepson, Mitchel Komendant, to a hospital and said the boy was injured after the family's car was rear-ended by a hit-and-run driver. The X-rays came back negative, but three days later, Zellmer asked doctors to order new ones.

The new X-rays showed Mitchell had at least one broken leg. Within a week, Zellmer tried to collect on the insurance policy -- an effort he dropped after his wife signed a declaration saying there had been no car accident, Peters wrote.

Zellmer never collected any insurance money in Ashley's death, either, said Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for the county prosecutor's office. The death was initially ruled an accident.

In a declaration filed in the wrongful death claim, Zellmer said he was lying down inside at the time of the drowning.

"I cared for Ashley as if she was my own daughter financially and emotionally, providing her with her own room, feeding her meals, making regular payments for her daycare services, arranging potential doctors appointments and attending to her eyewear needs," he wrote.

Ashley's mother, Ferguson, disputed that he provided such support.

Zellmer has been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree theft on suspicion of collecting $193,000 after filing a bogus disability claim saying he had brain damage. He is being held on $5 million bail pending his arraignment Wednesday.

"As a single mother with a small child, many of us hope for a partner to go through life with and for a father figure that will help set a good example for our children," Ferguson said in a statement. "Mr. Zellmer understood that only too well and he took advantage of my trust and hope."

Other crimes alleged in charging papers:

In April 2000, Zellmer began dating Kelly Clauson, the mother of an infant son. She found her baby on the bedroom floor near a hot tub, soaking wet and pallid. Zellmer, who had been in the bedroom, claimed the baby must have crawled into the hot tub, but Clauson knew her son could not have moved the thick, insulated cover.

Documents do not indicate whether the boy, Kyle, suffered any long-term injuries.

That summer, in July, Clauson left Kyle with Zellmer briefly. When she returned, the boy's hands were blistered with second-degree burns. Zellmer claimed the boy leaned against hot fireplace glass.

In spring 2003, Zellmer began dating Misty Teran, the mother of a 3-year-old girl, Mia. He suggested taking out insurance policies for her and her daughter. The second time she left Zellmer alone with the girl, she burned her lips on a sippy cup. Teran broke off the relationship after finding in Zellmer's home office pictures of other women with young daughters.

[rkmsuf]

wtf

this story needs to be leaked to potential cellmates and the general population of whatever facility he's in.

[Ksyrup]

And when you think about the discussion we had in the stolen WiFi case about prosecutorial discretion...it's even more egregious.

[spleen1015]

I saw this on CNN.

I can't believe there is someone like this out there. I would like 2 minutes with this guy.

[Synovia]

"Zellmer took out insurance in late August 1990 that would pay up to $25,000 for anyone injured in his car should it be hit by an uninsured motorist, charging documents say.

Weeks later, he took his 4-month-old stepson, Mitchel Komendant, to a hospital and said the boy was injured after the family's car was rear-ended by a hit-and-run driver. The X-rays came back negative, but three days later, Zellmer asked doctors to order new ones."

THis guy is a skeezeball, but this part of the article, and much more of it, are complete tripe.

I've got 250K in insurance incase someone hurts a passenger... thats pretty normal around here. I've also been to the emergency room more than once and had a misdiagnosis. When you break something, it swells, and when it swells, you often can't get clear xrays.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

wtf

this story needs to be leaked to potential cellmates and the general population of whatever facility he's in.

They'll find out and fuck him up royally. You don't live well in prison when you're convicted of anything involving children.

[Brillig]

Who the heck takes out life insurance on their kids? Isn't that a huge red-flag?

[SunDevil]

With the cost of funerals and other expenses, medical bills if something should happen and your child passes away, life insurance could offset those costs. My father passed away a couple of years ago, and I found out that my parents had bought a life insurance policy on me when I was little. Never knew about it until recently though.

So in general I do not think its a red flag, and anyone who has had to deal with funerals of a loved one, they are not inexpensive by any means.

[Telle]

I've also heard from someone who once looked into selling insurance that the Gerber Grow-up Plan is a really smart thing for parents to get. It's a whole life insurance policy, not term.. so the kid can borrow against it in the future if needed.

[Synovia]

Originally Posted by Brillig

Who the heck takes out life insurance on their kids? Isn't that a huge red-flag?

Umm, almost everyone does.

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by Brillig

Who the heck takes out life insurance on their kids? Isn't that a huge red-flag?

My parents have had insurance policies out on me and my siblings since we were VERY young...

*shrug*

[bulletsponge]

life insurance: the only way you can "win" is if you loose big time. your practically wagering against yourself

[Ksyrup]

The idea is to protect your family/loved ones, not "win"...? This is why there is such a thing called "insurable interest."

[bulletsponge]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

The idea is to protect your family/loved ones, not "win"...? This is why there is such a thing called "insurable interest."

your still betting that something bad will happen

[Ksyrup]

Because bad things DO happen, and most people don't have the financial ability to survive them.

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by bulletsponge

your still betting that something bad will happen

Do you know how much a funeral costs?

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by Synovia

Umm, almost everyone does.

Weird - I don't know anyone who does. The odds of a child dying of some tragic event are astronomical.

Now, if you're supporting a family or something, it makes much more economical sense.

To each his own.

[Ksyrup]

I've basically seen it used as Telle mentioned, as more of a savings feature that kids can borrow against when they're older. My parents did that for us, and we both cashed out the $10K max when we were in our early 20s.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I've basically seen it used as Telle mentioned, as more of a savings feature that kids can borrow against when they're older. My parents did that for us, and we both cashed out the $10K max when we were in our early 20s.

I'm not expert in this area, but why wouldn't a parent just invest for their child's future? What's the benefit of life insurance other than that you get a big payoff if your kid dies?

[SunDevil]

Is that money does not disappear. There is an inherit value to life insurance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_insurance

Permanent

Permanent life insurance is life insurance that remains in force until the policy matures (pays out), unless the owner fails to pay the premium when due (the policy expires). The policy cannot be canceled by the insurer for any reason except fraud in the application, and that cancellation must occur within a period of time defined by law (usually two years). Permanent insurance builds a cash value that reduces the amount at risk to the insurance company and thus the insurance expense over time. This means that a policy with a million dollars face value can be relatively inexpensive to a 70 year old because the actual amount of insurance purchased is much less than one million dollars. The owner can access the money in the cash value by withdrawing money, borrowing the cash value, or surrendering the policy and receiving the surrender value.

The three basic types of permanent insurance are whole life, universal life, and endowment.

[Ksyrup]

The other kind of insurance, which is cheaper but has no cash value, is term life. It's the trade-off between term life and whole life - the latter builds cash value but is expensive, the former is dirt cheap but if you don't die by the expiration of the term, you get nothing for the premiums you've put into it.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by molson

I'm not expert in this area, but why wouldn't a parent just invest for their child's future? What's the benefit of life insurance other than that you get a big payoff if your kid dies?

I've read the pros and cons, and overall, I'm not really convinced it's worth it. But when you're 25 and your parents hand it over, it's not like you're going to argue that they wasted their money!

[Lorena]

This guy needs to have a broomstick shoved so far up his ass it eventually comes out of his mouth. People like this are repulsive... the girl was burned from a sippy cup? Who the hell puts something hot in a sippy cup?!