4-year-old's father taken into
custody : Clayton man suspected of decapitating daughter
January 13, 2007
By ROger Van Der Horst, Mandy Locke, and Marlon A. Walker
 John
Patrick VioletteJohn Patrick Violette, 37, of Clayton was taken into
custody early this morning in Washington, D.C., and faces murder
charges in connection with the death of his 4-year-old daughter
Friday, the U.S. Marshals Service and Clayton police have confirmed.
The U.S. Marshal Service's Capital
Area Regional Task Force apprehended Violette at about 4:35 a.m. in
a Holiday Inn hotel room near the Capitol -- a little less than 12
hours after Clayton police got a 911 call from Violette's wife.
Amber Violette told police her
daughter Katlin had been decapitated at their home at 220 McKinnon
Drive in a quiet subdivision near the edge of town.
John Violette had driven to
Raleigh-Durham International Airport in a 1991 Buick station wagon
and taken a flight to Washington, although Clayton Police Sgt. S.P.
Lapsley said this morning that nothing had led law enforcement
authorities to believe he had any contacts in Washington.
"It was basically a
follow-the-money-type thing ... through his credit cards," Lapsley
said. "We tracked him to the hotel room that he had taken with his
credit cards."
A statewide bulletin with a
description of the vehicle had gone out, and RDU police notified
Clayton officers at about 1 a.m. that the car was found.
Lapsley added that the warrants for
Violette's arrest were handed down between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., and
"we were pretty much already on his trail by then."
D.C. police said Violette was
awaiting an extradition hearing. Lapsley said Clayton police hoped
he would appear in court Monday for an extradition hearing and be
back in North Carolina by the middle of the week.
No further arrests are expected,
according to a statement released this morning by Clayton police. No
motive has yet been established, police said.
Lapsley would only say that "an
edged weapon" had been found, declining to provide further details.
An autopsy was being conducted this
morning.
Neighbor B.J. Woodall said he had
an uneasy feeling around lunchtime Friday when she saw John Violette
speeding into the neighborhood in his stationwagon.
"His face was cringing; he looked
like he was disturbed about something," said Woodall, who stood in
the yard talking to another neighbor as Violette zoomed by. Woodall
said Violette was talking angrily into his cell phone as he raced up
to the home's front stoop.
Neighbors were in disbelief that
such a brutal slaying could happen in such a family.
"There is no way I can believe that
anything that happened was directly the responsibility of John or
Amber," said Terry Ashley, president of Grovewood subdivision
homeowners' association.
The Violettes were quiet, religious
people who kept to themselves, neighbors said. John or Amber would
tip a hand as they passed neighbors while strolling in the
subdivision. Sometimes John Violette would pull Katlin in a wagon,
Ashley said.
Young families started settling in
the Grovewood subdivision in 1999. The Violettes were among the
first; they bought a three-bedroom house for $93,000. Few in the
neighborhood knew them well, though; some had never seen Katlin.
John Violette worked long hours at
Lowe's Home Improvement store several miles away on N.C. 42. Amber
Violette picked up a job as a secretary, said neighbor John Walker.
The two always made a point of meeting at home every day for lunch.
John Violette seemed to dote on his
daughter, who resembled him with her dark hair and features, Walker
said.
Staff writer Mandy Locke can be
reached at
mlocke@newsobserver.com.
________________
Police arrest N.C. man suspected of decapitating his daughter
January 13, 2007
By Mike Baker, Associated Press Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Federal agents in
Washington arrested a North Carolina man early Saturday suspected of
decapitating his 4-year-old daughter, police said. U.S. Marshals
took John Patrick Violette, 37, into custody at a hotel near Capitol
Hill early at 4:35 a.m. without incident, said Sgt. S. P. Lapsley
with the Clayton Police Department.
"We're all very relieved," Lapsley
said. "This is devastating for the whole community as a whole, and
it's the most horrific thing I've seen in 13 years of police work."
Lapsley said police found
Violette's vehicle at Raleigh-Durham International Airport and
learned he had taken a plane to Washington. Authorities then tracked
Violette's credit card activity to the hotel.
Violette's wife, Amber Violette,
called 911 shortly before 5 p.m. on Friday, saying she had returned
home to find her daughter, Katlin, with her head severed from her
body. The mother is not a suspect in the investigation, and Lapsley
said police don't expect to make any more arrests.
Authorities in Clayton, a suburb
about 15 miles southeast of Raleigh, do not know a motive in the
killing.
"When senseless violence occurs,
it's tragic enough. But when it includes a child, it's even more
tragic for the community," said Clayton Police Chief Glen Allen.
Allen said police planned to charge
Violette with murder. Police said Violette will be held in
Washington pending an extradition hearing.
Lori McCreary, who lives across the
street from the Violette home, described the family as "very
private, but normal."
"They went to church every Sunday.
They just seemed like a very happy, normal couple," McCreary said.
"This is just so very, very shocking - and devastating."
________________
Clayton child found decapitated
Police search for 4-year-old's father
January 13, 2007
By Mandy Locke and Marlon A. Walker
Amber Violette arrived at her
Clayton home late Friday afternoon to find that her 4-year-old
daughter had been killed, the child's head severed from her body,
according to emergency dispatchers. Clayton police searched for John
Patrick Violette, 37, on Friday night, anxious to speak to him about
the death of his only child, Caitlyn. As of 9:30 p.m., authorities
had not found Violette or the light-colored Buick station wagon he
was last seen driving.
Police were tight-lipped Friday as
they canvassed the young family's quiet subdivision off a country
road near the edge of town. Police tape looped around trees in
neighbors' yards, and high-powered lights lit up the street like a
stadium.
Emergency dispatchers received a
panicked call from Amber Violette just before 5 p.m., said Fred
Simmons, supervisor at the 911 communications center. She reported
that her daughter had been killed and decapitated, Simmons said.
Neighbor B.J. Woodall had an uneasy
feeling around lunchtime Friday when she saw John Violette speeding
into the neighborhood in his station wagon.
"His face was cringing; he looked
like he was disturbed about something," said Woodall, who stood in
the yard talking to another neighbor as Violette zoomed by. Woodall
said Violette was talking angrily into his cell phone as he raced up
to the home's front stoop.
Neighbors were in disbelief that
such a brutal slaying could happen in such a family.
"There is no way I can believe that
anything that happened was directly the responsibility of John or
Amber," said Terry Ashley, president of Grovewood subdivision
homeowners' association.
The Violettes were quiet, religious
people who kept to themselves, neighbors said. John or Amber would
tip a hand as they passed neighbors while strolling in the
subdivision. Sometimes John Violette would pull Caitlyn in a wagon,
Ashley said.
Young families started settling in
the Grovewood subdivision in 1999. The Violettes were among the
first; they bought a three-bedroom house for $93,000. Few in the
neighborhood knew them well, though; some had never seen Caitlyn.
John Violette worked long hours at
Lowe's Home Improvement store several miles away on N.C. 42. Amber
Violette picked up a job as a secretary, said neighbor John Walker.
The two always made a point of meeting at home every day for lunch.
John Violette seemed to dote on his
daughter, who resembled him with her dark hair and features, Walker
said.
Anyone with information about
Caitlyn's death is asked to call Clayton police at 934-9411.
(News researcher Lamara
Williams-Hackett contributed to this report.)
Staff writer Mandy Locke can be
reached at 829-8927 or mandy.locke@newsobserver.com.
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