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I'm your host Lane and this is patreon exclusive bonus minisode 4 Emmy Chambers A Virginia family is shattered. A precious 5 month old baby dead, a mother permanently injured and a husband awaiting sentencing after a vicious attack. This is the horrific story of Emmy Chambers. On the afternoon of Tuesday, July 7, 2020Johnny Music called 911 for a welfare check on his sister, 24 year old Karina Chambers, who lived in the same home on Aberdeen Creek Road in Gloucester, Virginia. Karina, Johnny said, wasn't answering when he knocked on the door of the bedroom his sister shared with her husband, 60 year old Dennis Chambers, who had left the residence around 7am when deputies arrived. Johnny told them his sister's bedroom door was locked and he heard no noise from within the room. He was also unable to locate his five month old niece Emmy anywhere in the home. Concerned, the deputies forced open the bedroom door where they located Emmy on her back on the bed, dead. Karina lay on the floor next to the bed with copious items piled on top of her, suffering from severe facial injuries including fractures, severe blood loss and other wounds resulting in her inability to speak or coherently communicate with officers. Quantities of dried and wet fluid and wetness consistent with blood and urine found on various Items around where Mrs. Chambers was positioned on the floor and on the bed area. Karina was airlifted to a hospital in Norfolk about 50 miles away, where she was immediately taken in for emergency surgery to alleviate the swelling of her brain. Dennis Chambers was not present in the home when deputies arrived for the welfare check. Karina's brother and two of her other relatives who also lived in the home said they had seen or spoken with Dennis earlier in the day. The Gloucester County Sheriff's Office put out a press release describing Dennis as 5ft 5 inches tall and weighing 155 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Dennis would remain at large until he was captured on the evening of Wednesday, July 8th. Police located his 2010 Volkswagen Beetle parked at the Waurani Nature Trail in New Kent county, and after hours of searching by both New Kent and Gloucester county deputies, Dennis was taken into custody. After Dennis was arrested, Karina's mother, Emma Lou music, told a 13News now reporter who knocked on the family's door that they were relieved. Gloucester County Sheriff Darrell Warren said of Dennis arrest. He was cooperative when taken in custody, didn't offer any type of resistance. According to a probable cause affidavit. Dennis admitted to an investigator that he used a hammer to hit Karina between two and three times in the head sometime in the early morning hours of July 7, before using a cotton burping cloth to smother baby Emmy to death. He said he held the cloth over the baby's mouth and applied pressure for a few minutes and after Emmy stopped moving, he left the bedroom and locked the door. Sheriff Warren added, when you have an infant child, of course both of my officers that were initially on scene as well as many of the investigators involved in this case are all parents. Dennis was charged with felonious assault, malicious wounding and second degree murder. He was initially taken to the Gloucester County Jail but soon transferred to the Northern Neck Regional jail in Warsaw, Virginia. For his safety, Sheriff Warren said, he could be subject to attack from another inmate, and our regional jail is much better suited to isolate him from other inmates. According to court documents, family members and neighbors told investigators that Karina had been having several extramarital relationships with various men and that Dennis had recently been told that Emmy was not his biological child. Whether or not these things were true, Karina did not deserve to be smashed in the face with a hammer and left for dead. But. And Emmy certainly did not deserve to be suffocated to death. Some online comments about this case were absolutely brutal from people criticizing or pointing fingers at Karina. And I refuse to feed into or tolerate victim blaming, as you all probably know. A neighbor told police that Dennis was upset over the revelation that Emmy was not his biological child and he would be seen weeping outside the residence. Neighbors and family members said the frequency of the couple's arguments had increased recently because of Dennis's health issues, which prevented him from taking a trip he had planned for the 4th of July. Neighbor Wayne Jenkins was quick to volunteer for an interview. When news outlets were sniffing around for crumbs the morning after the attack, the shirtless Mr. Jenkins told reporters, see, I know that you treated them wrong. Jenkins said he had known Dennis for about 12 years, and when you know he's out there, all you got to do is listen. And you hear him coughing. He sneaks behind the two garage in the shed to smoke a cigarette. I know the guy, and I just don't believe he's a violent person. I never seen him say anything to her, but I've heard her argue a lot with him. Okay, you can't go by that. Well, my way. We argue, but I'm not gonna get violent with her about it. How can somebody get beaten with a hammer and you're not hearing nobody scream or nothing? Jenkins did, however, see some strange behavior on Dennis part. On Tuesday morning, I noticed he kept running from the front door to the end of the house. So I said, well, something is wrong. And it operated my mind. I said to myself, oh, God, I hope that baby's not dead. After Dennis had left, Jenkins crossed the road and asked another resident of the home what was going on. And he said he would find out when Dennis was caught, said that Dennis had gone and he was a prime suspect. This guy took the innocent until proven guilty principle to the extreme, adding, I'm sorry, baby, I just can't say Danny's done anything. I mean, it had to be proven to me. I'd have to see it. I guess time will tell what's really happening. I wonder if his opinion changed after Dennis confessed. According to a July 20, 2020 update by Johnny Musek on the GoFundMe campaign set up to assist with funeral costs and Karina's mounting medical bills, Karina still hasn't fully woke up. She is moving the right side of her body a little, which she couldn't move before they'd done a tracheotomy and also put a feeding tube in her. She has been breathing on her own since they've done the tracheotomy. She is following commands when her eyes are open, still taking it day by day. Please continue praying for her and family. We will update when we learn something else. The police reportedly put together a fund and paid for Emmy's funeral, which was held on Sunday, July 19, 2020 at the Haysey Funeral Home. Afterward, Emmy was buried in the K.S. collie Cemetery in the town of Brakes, Virginia. A family member claimed that about two years before the attack, Karina became pregnant with Dennis twins and suffered a miscarriage. The family member said she believes Dennis had been grooming Karina from a young age. Virginia marriage records indicate Karina married another man named alan deal on January 9, 2014, but it seems that marriage was short lived since Dennis and Karina, according to Dennis Facebook page, have been a couple since at least August of 2014. They were reportedly married for about four years at the time of the attack, at which time Dennis was 60 and Karina was 24, an age difference of 36 years. I've mentioned in other podcast episodes and in multiple blog posts why this kind of age difference can signal a vast imbalance of power in a romantic relationship. I'm going to quote from one of my previous blog posts here, because this passage applies perfectly to this we're taught as children to respect our elders, believing they're automatically wiser than we are, which builds into that relationship a sense that the older man must be right simply by virtue of being older. A young woman going into that kind of relationship tends to trust her older lover's judgment for that reason alone. It's a dangerous place to start, especially when she's a teenager. The problem is in the mindset and intentions of a grown man whose brain is fully developed romantically pursuing a teenager or a woman in her early 20s. What he is undoubtedly preying on is her naivety and her vulnerability to his charms and manipulation. She can be easily fooled into believing what the older man wants her to believe, coerced into doing whatever he wants her to do. And essentially being duped into a relationship based on lies and manipulation. A relationship that will, as time passes, very likely become increasingly abusive. Whether emotionally, physically, sexually or any combination of those. It will also be very, very difficult to escape. That appears to be what happened here, and it turned out to be a worst case scenario. How to have fun anytime, anywhere. Step 1 Go to chumbacasino.com chumbacasino.com Got it. Step 2 Collect your welcome bonus. Come to papa. Welcome bonus. Step 3 Play Hun hundreds of casino style games for free. That's a lot of games all for free. Step 4 Unleash your excitement. Chumba Casino has been delivering thrills for over a decade. So claim your free welcome bonus now and live the chumba life. Visit chumbacasino.com no purchase necessary vgw group void where prohibited by law 21 + terms and conditions apply Imagine if today was the day your idea changed someone's life. Imagine if you could help someone pay for college. Help your community build a new playground. Or help a child make it to that dream competition with GoFundMe. It's all possible. GoFundMe is the world's number one fundraising platform, trusted by over 190 million people every week. Ordinary people meet their goals and do extraordinary things. Your ideas matter. GoFundMe isn't just for emergencies. Want to raise money for your kid's soccer team? Or raise funds for a small business? A creative project or event? GoFundMe helps you turn ideas into reality and help adds up. Fundraisers you start for someone else, raise up to five times more. So think right now. Who could use your help? Change rarely comes from waiting. It comes from someone deciding. Today I'll start. Don't wait for someone else to bring change today. Start your fundraiser in just minutes@gofundme.com that's gofundme.com to start your fundraiser. Gofundme.com this is a commercial message brought to you by GoFundMe. I've got Dan Morgan here on the pod. Say hi, Dan. Hey, how's it going today? It's going good, man. Tell us who you are and what you do. I'm Dan Morgan. I'm an attorney and a managing partner at Morgan and Morgan, which is America's largest injury law firm. That's pretty awesome. I think I saw a billboard of yours recently. It said 20 billion one. 20 billion is an insane number. Yeah, 20 billion recovered. It's actually, I think somewhere north. Probably closer to 22, 23 after this year and each year we get bigger and badder and our army grows. So the number will hopefully keep getting bigger and bigger as time goes on. Awesome. So how does someone get in contact with Morgan and Morgan? What what would I do if I got into an accident? Probably the easiest way is dialing pound law. That's £529 from your cell phone. We are always open. Our call center is always waiting to take your call. 247365 wow. Dan Morgan from Morgan & Morgan, America's largest injury law firm. Thanks for coming by the show. Thanks for having me. Visit forthepeople.com for an office near you Dennis Chambers has apparently owned the home on Aberdeen Creek Road in Gloucester since December of 2006. But Karina's family member said Karina had grown fed up with Dennis controlling behavior and wanted him to leave. For example, he took her keys away the week before the attack. The family member also said Dennis and Karina were scheduled to go to court the day after the attack to determine custody of Emmy. Earlier this year, a revised indictment upgraded Dennis charges from second degree murder and malicious wounding to first degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding, a second degree felony. On Tuesday, February 23, 2021, Dennis Dwayne Chambers appeared in court to plead guilty to both enhanced charges, tearfully admitting to smothering Emmy and beating Karina nearly to death with a ball peen hammer. During the hearing, tears reportedly ran down Dennis's face as he spoke in a soft voice. According to officials, he has been in poor health since he was arrested last summer. Are you entering your pleas of guilty because you are in fact guilty? That's right. During the investigation, in addition to Dennis confession, investigators also matched DNA evidence on the handle of the hammer to Dennis and blood on the head of the hammer to Karina. Gloucester Commonwealth's Attorney John Doucewitz said the defendant stated the child was alive and kicking her feet prior to him, placing the cloth over her nose and applying pressure for two to three minutes. The defendant, Dennis Chambers, confessed to using a ball pea hammer to strike his wife, Corinna Chambers in the head multiple times. She has not fully recovered from these injuries and has continuously been either hospitalized or in a rehabilitation center, only recently recovering her powers of speech. Reportedly, no family members were present for the hearing. Dennis faces a maximum of life in prison on each of his two guilty pleas. His sentencing was originally scheduled for June 14, but instead on that date a mental examination was ordered for Dennis. The results of that examination are scheduled to be presented to the court on July 27 at 1.30pm, which is just a few days in the future from when this minisode is released. When I hear further news on Dennis's sentencing, I'll post an update on the blog. Karina Chambers has spent months fighting for her life. The family was told Karina may never regain her ability to speak, but that reportedly returned to her, according to the statements made by the prosecutor in court In March, Karina's brother Johnny and their mother Lou Music spoke with Wavy, giving the public an update on Karina's progress. They said Karina had come a long way, but she had a long journey ahead of her. In the nine months since Emmy died, Karina had been through the wringer, according to Johnny. It's been rough. She's had two strokes, one right after brain surgery that's currently left her in about the state that she's in now, paralyzed on her right side. Lou added, she defeated the odds on that. Thank everybody, pray for her. At that time, the news station reported that Karina was about two weeks from being released from rehab. Although she would need round the clock care, the family sought the public's help to obtain a wheelchair accessible vehicle to transport Karina. Johnny and Lou explained they would need the vehicle. Get her back and forth to all of her doctor's appointments. Yeah, taking her place. Taking her places. She wants to go. Because the wheelchair accessible vehicle could cost as much as $40,000, the family created another GoFundMe campaign to help defray the cost. The fundraiser is still open. I'll include the link in the show notes for anyone interested in helping them out. Regardless of what led up to this heinous attack, no one deserves what happened to this mother and daughter. My heart goes out to Karina and her family and I hope Karina eventually makes a full recovery. Rest in peace, Emmy. You did not deserve what happened to you. 2025 lane here. Jumping in to add a couple of updates before I release this minisode publicly. Dennis Chambers was sentenced in July 2021 to 40 years in prison for Karena's malicious wounding and life in prison for first degree murder. In Emmy's death at Dennis very brief sentencing hearing, his defense attorney pointed out the absence of any criminal history for Dennis, adding that he had steady employment for 35 years and had cooperated with authorities. Commonwealth's attorney John Doucewitz asked the judge to sentence Dennis to life in prison, saying there was no other word for his actions but evil. The prosecutor pointed out that Dennis had snuffed out baby Emmy's life, then destroyed his wife's face and her future. Before calmly fleeing in his car, Dennis tearfully told the court, I'm sorry for what I've done. If I could change it, I would. Dennis attended the hearing in a wheelchair, looking painfully thin and frail. He told the judge, I already have one death sentence, referring to a recent terminal cancer diagnosis. That's right, the man had four months to live. On November 16, 2021, 61 year old Dennis Dwayne Chambers died after what his obituary described as a long battle with cancer. He was born on May 27, 1960 in Tennessee, where his memorial service was held. His burial details are unknown. Dennis was survived by a daughter, a son, two sisters, a brother and several nieces and nephews. Neither Carina nor Emmy were mentioned. Oddly, in Virginia, anyone convicted of murder is considered a violent sex offender, whether or not the crime had sexual elements. So Dennis was added to the Virginia State Police Sex Offender Registry. His listed address is that of the Virginia Department of Corrections headquarters in Richmond I don't have much of an update on Karina's progress. I haven't communicated with her brother Johnny for a few years, but it looks like she's doing reasonably well. In her most recent Facebook photo, she's visiting Emmy's grave in a wheelchair. I hope nothing but the best for her and her family. Emmy will never be forgotten. Sources for these updates are wavy, the Gloucester Matthews Gazette Journal, Affinity Funeral Service, the Virginia State Police Sex Offender Registry and Virginia Court records. That's it for this Patreon Bonus Minisode. Join me next time for another story. If you like the show, please follow or subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple podcasts, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Spreaker, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast listening app. And please leave me a five star rating and a positive review on your favorite podcast platform. Visit the website at sufferthelittlechildrenpod.com you can support the show by visiting patreon.com stlcpod where you can become a patron for rewards ranging from a shout out by name on the show to exclusive gifts. You can also support the show at ko-fi.com stlcpod Follow the podcast on Facebook and Instagram at Suffer the Little Children Pod and on TikTok TLCpod. View photos Related to today's episode on Facebook. This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited and produced by Lane. Intro Theme music is by Dreamnote Music and all music for the show is licensed from audiojungle.net for more information about preventing or reporting child abuse. Visit childhelp.org or call your area's child abuse hotline. And remember, if you see something, say something. How to have fun anytime, anywhere step one go to chumbacasino.com chumbacasino.com Got it. Step two collect your welcome Bonus. Come to papa. Welcome bonus. Step 3 Play hundreds of casino style games for free. That's a lot of games, all for free. Step 4 Unleash your excitement. Chumba Casino has been delivering thrills for over a decade. So claim your free welcome bonus now and live the chumba life. Visit chumbacasino.com no purchase necessary. VGW Group void where prohibited by law 21/ Terms and conditions apply Imagine if today was the day your idea changed someone's life. Imagine if you could help someone pay for college, help your community build a new playground, or help a child make it to that dream. Competition with GoFundMe it's all possible. GoFundMe is the world's number one fundraising platform, trusted by over 190 million people every week. Ordinary people meet their goals and do extraordinary things. Your ideas matter. GoFundMe isn't just for emergencies. Want to raise money for your kid's soccer team? Or raise funds for a small business? A creative project or event? GoFundMe helps you turn ideas into reality and help adds up. Fundraisers you start for someone else raise up to five times more. So think right now. Who could use your help? Change rarely comes from waiting. It comes from someone deciding, today I'll start. Don't wait for someone else to bring change today. Start your fundraiser in just minutes@gofundme.com that's gofundme.com to start your fundraiser. Gofundme.com this is a commercial message brought to you by GoFundMe. 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