Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 18

4B I Thursday, May 31, 2007 St. Petersburg Times i Local State tamPabay-com for more local and state news STANTON continued from IB MIA continued from IB I mmmiw mm doHmpbnfed 1 Babysitter says child kept crying dren's Hospital that Alvarez and her husband, Anthony, learned another story. Gonzalez told deputies the baby wouldn't stop crying. He shook her four to five times, according to an arrest report. She kept crying.

After 10 minutes, he hit her with a closed fist four to five times on the top and sides of her head, the report says. Now, Mia's brain was swelling. Her lungs were failing. Even after 24 hours, doctors were having a hard time getting blood to flow to her brain, said father Anthony Alvarez. At 6:40 p.m.

Tuesday the despondent parents allowed doctors to remove life support. "1 Iardest thing I ever been through in my life," a tearful Anthony Alvarez, 23, said Wednesday i- ate a lasting media circus and whether she would advocate for transgender issues while city manager. Two weeks for surgery Stanton said the surgery would require a downtime of up to two weeks, not several months as she had heard She also predicted that the media side-' show would soon dissipate. "Within two to three weeks after I am hired in this position, the media will realize that it won't matter what kind of necklace I'm wearing or the color of my shoes," she said. "The sen-sationality will go away? While she has been interviewed and invited to speak to various groups since being fired in Largo, she said she would be a fully engaged, committed city manager, not someone pursuing publicity for a cause.

After commissioners made their decision, Stanton joined a close friend, former Largo City Commissioner Pat Burke, for grouper and margaritas. Then she went to the Church of the Redeemer in Sarasota to pray. She plans to fly out to Chicago today, where she's the keynote speaker at the Be-All transgender convention on Saturday. After she returns, Stanton likely is looking at moving out of the Largo home she shares with her wife and son. That move had been planned to take place once she began living as Susan full time.

LorriHelfand can be reached at lorrisptimes.com or (727) 445-4155. That hit home TAiesday night at a city manager-candidates social, where she chatted with a constant stream of residents who flocked to meet her. "I didn't want the night to end," she said. 'Wasn't going to happen' But toward the end of Wednesday's interviews, Stanton said she got the impression that "it wasn't going to happen." "It was too soon for a transgender city manager," said Stanton, who was fired in Largo a month after disclosing her plans to become a woman and change her name from Steve to Susan. Sarasota commissioners considered her fairly, Stanton said, but the media frenzy made it difficult to convey her passion for the job.

Asked whether she thought the other candidates were more qualified, she said it was not so much a matter of qualifications as of fit, and the top two finalists were a better fit for the city. City leaders and residents agreed, praising Bartolotta's skills and temperament Commissioner Ken Shelin said he didn't think Stanton's transgenderism was an issue because she made it into the top three. "Tb tell you the truth, it did not play a role with me," Commissioner Richard Clapp said. Stanton was a solid manager but, Clapp said, seemed to concentrate more on staff and the internal management of the city than on the big picture. DOUGLAS R.

CLIFFORD I Times Susan Stanton awaits her interview Wednesday with Sarasota's City Commission after being seated by search consultant Tom Freijo. have all of the cameras in her face." Wednesday morning, Stanton was interviewed by the city staff, a citizen advisory group and commissioners. During a nearly hourlong interview with commissioners, Sarasota officials asked Stanton about growth management, neighborhood relations, budgeting, risk taking and leadership. They did not bring up Stanton's transgender status, but she did. Stanton, 48, said she wanted to put the issue on the table because she had heard questions about how long she might need for gender-reassignment surgery, whether hiring her would cre Susan Chapman, president of the Hudson Bayou neighborhood association in Sarasota, said she was concerned about Stanton's references, which suggested she was harsh on staff members.

She expressed that concern with city commissioners, she said. Largo Mayor Pat Gerard said she was pleased Sarasota commissioners gave Stanton a fair chance. Life will go on Stanton will continue with her life and will be just as successful as she was before, Gerard said, "and she won't HEROES continued from IB 'Old-fashioned citizen involvement as he held his wife's hand. The couple had been estranged, but were planning to reunite even before Mia died. Roommates but not romance While the child was still alive Tuesday, deputies booked Gonzalez into Orient Road Jail on a charge of aggravated child abuse.

No new charges had been added late Wednesday following the toddler's death. Hillsborough sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said authorities would consult with the medical examiner and state attorney before making any changes. Gonzalez has been an aide to an autistic child at Liberty Middle since November. Before that, his school application indicates he worked as a private tutor. Alvarez said she met Gonzalez, whom she called JuJo, a year ago at a coin laundry where she worked at the time.

The two became friends and agreed to move in together when Alvarez and her husband of three years began having difficulties. The two would share rent at Ashton Park apartments on Bearss Avenue. Alvarez's children would have their own room. Alvarez would sleep on a futon in the living room. And Gonzalez could babysit while the mother worked evenings.

"I was having a very hard time looking for affordable day care for my kids," Alvarez said Wednesday, explaining her decision. There was no romantic involvement, she said, but he did tell her he had feelings for her. The Alvarezes said they had already decided to reunite their family before the tragedy struck. That news did not sit well with Gonzalez, Naomi Alvarez said. The parents could not make sense of the accusations against Gonzalez.

Naomi Alvarez said the autistic students he works with at Liberty love him. A school spokeswoman said the same, though the incident now leaves his job in jeopardy. "It just shocked me," Alvarez said. "He never hit me or gave me reason to fear about anything. I just wanted to know what happened.

Why did he have to do that? What could she possibly have done to make you that mad?" All during Alvarez's pregnancy with Mia, doctors told her it would be another boy. It wasn't until delivery she learned otherwise. Mia "was just so beautiful," her mother remembered. Setting up bank fund for funeral In her short life, Mia learned to give full-hearted hugs. She loved nudging her dad's head with hers, waving to people as she rode the bus with her mom, and reading her ABCs book over and over again.

"She was the sweetest little girl," Naomi Alvarez said. "So sweet and so smart. There are people to this day who only met her once and they are just heartbroken." The family on Wednesday was working with bank officials to set up a fund to seek donations to help pay funeral expenses. As they began making burial arrangements, they struggled with what they could possibly say to the man accused of harming their cheerful child. "My daughter didn't ask for this," Anthony Alvarez said.

"I Ie needs to be handled. I Ie really does. "I have no words for that dude." Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Rebecca Catalanello can be reached at rcatalanellosptimes.com or (813) 226-3383. dent was attacked while listening to music on headphones as he walked home from school.

Linton, who works at Reserve at Lake Pointe Apartments, heard the victim's screams. "lie was very hysterical," said Linton, who called for help from co-. workers on his radio. Torres heard the call and hopped in a golf cart. Dietrichsen, who was driving to lunch, heard it too and swung his van around.

"I broke a couple of speeding violations there," Dietrichsen said. Dietrichsen stopped in front of a man running away from the scene whom police identified as Travonti DeBose, 19. Dietrichsen asked why he was running. "Cause some crazy Jamaican guy's chasing me," DeBose responded, according to Dietrichsen. He apparently was referring to Linton.

Dietrichsen grabbed a wallet from DeBose, which belonged to the victim, before DeBose took off again. But the chase ended when the workers trapped the suspect in a dead end. Two of the workers held DeBose, who Linton said was "crying like a little baby," while the other called police from the high school. "When I finally caught up to him, Lance had him in a choke hold, which was a good thing," Dietrichsen said. "He was a big guy." Jail records show DeBose is 6 feet tall and weighs 240 pounds.

lie was booked on sexual battery and strong-arm robbery charges. Authorities have subsequently charged him with armed sexual battery in connection in mi Humiiii.ii.iwiMiin i 1 1 1 iiinnta ITi imim i SiiTi a -1 Tri 3 i 1 LARA CERRI I Times From left, Bob Dietrichsen, Lance Linton and Carlos Torres were honored by the St. Petersburg Police Department Wednesday for helping to catch a man suspected of attacking high school students. with another case in which a high Once the case is closed, the men "the little heroes" or "the three ami-school student was attacked. Police will be eligible to split a $2,000 gos," when they chat around the continue to investigate two other reward offered by the company, said maintenance shop.

They insisted similar attacks. apartment property manager Trevor they didn't need a reward for their Sgt. Katy Connor-Dubina, who Davison. actions that day. runs the crimes against children unit, "I think they're heroes," Davison Said Linton, "If something like that told the workers they made the differ- said.

happened to my kids, I'd hope some- ence in this case. The victim and his father also body was around." "It takes good, old-fashioned cit- thanked the men shortly after the izen involvement sometimes," she attack. Stephanie Garry can be readied at said. Now the workers call themselves (727)892-2374 or sgarrysptimes.com. KINZEL continued from IB Leaving the U.S.

behind ultimately led to grisly death Shaken baby syndrome Experts say 1,200 children werq treated for shaken baby syndrome last year. About 20 percent were fatal. The majority of the survivors are left with handicaps. Amy Wicks, spokeswoman for the National Center for Shaken Baby Syndrome, said in most cases the abuse takes place when an adult becomes frustrated with a crying child. But studies suggest the babies are at a higher risk of being shaken when left in the care of a boyfriend or other unrelated care giver.

Florida does not keep track of infant death by shaking, but in 2006, 94 children died as a result of abuse and neglect Of those, 14 died from blunt force to the head. On the Web For more information about prevention and how to deal with crying babies, go to www.dontshake.com and www.DontShake ABaby.com. Sources: Florida Department of Health National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome and www.DontShakeABaby.com sold her house early last summer for $223,400, according to property records, and moved to Nicaragua in August. His wife eventually was going to join him. Kinzel bought some land for his farm in Miraflor, a mostly area about an hour northeast of Esteli, where he was killed.

The area, in the north part of the country, is known for its waterfalls, coffee plantations and cloud forests. He also bought a used green pickup. That made him a target, said Hall and others. People there saw he had some money. He also didn't speak much Spanish.

The 17-year-old girl, they said, was introduced to him in December as a 21-year-old possible Spanish tutor. Hall knew about Kinzel's relationship with the girl, and so did Johnson, who said Monday they had discussed divorce but had resolved to make it work. Both of them also said Kinzel was trying to end the relationship. It is unclear who fathered the to the people of Nicaragua. He served in that role until 2004.

"Something about the work in Nicaragua spoke to him," said Lillian Hall, ProNica's coordinator in Managua. He and Johnson were married in 2003 in Nicaragua in a ceremony in a small chapel in a working-class neighborhood. Back here, he grew increasingly frustrated with the direction of the country the politics, the president, the war in Iraq, "the whole consumer-ist society in the United States," said Wells, the pastor. "He didn't want to be a part of all that militarism, all that patriotic fervor," Hall said Wednesday from Nicaragua. Kinzel said so in his blog posts on nicaliving.com.

In Nicaragua, though, he saw opportunities for ecotourism and modest, sustainable farming and a simpler life, so he started preparing to move there permanently. His mother had died in 2002, and he wood United Church of Christ, where Kinzel was active in the last few years he lived here. "The Ken Kinzel I knew would not have been involved with a teenager." Kinzel, 52, was shy, gentle, smart, sensitive, good-hearted and well-read, they said. He-was a photographer and a terrific cook and a freelance graphic designer. He spent time with groups of friends at the Garden restaurant on St.

Petersburg's Central Avenue. Last summer, Kinzel moved to Nicaragua to start a farm and build some cabins in a country he loved. He disappeared May 18. "Ken was a good man and wasn't out to hurt anybody," said Martha Pihaylic, a member of the St. Pete Quaker Meeting.

"He went to Nicaragua with good intentions." He first got involved with the Central American country in 1999 as the stateside coordinator of ProNica, a nonprofit Quaker organization with an office in St. Petersburg that promotes peace and provides assistance unborn child. Hall and Johnson insist Kinzel met the girl, who is eight months pregnant, in December, so he could not be the father. The Nicaraguan newspaper El Nuevo Diario reported that Kinzel recently turned off all the phones at his house because the girl and her friends were mnning up bills. Johnson said she got a text message from him just before 4 a.m.

the night he was killed: "I still love you." The girl told authorities she kept his body in the house for four days before using the saw and putting his body parts in nylon bags and burying them with help from her friends. One local landowner saw them, according to El Nuevo Diario, and asked them what they were doing. The girl and her friends told him they were burying a dead dog. Times staff writer David Adams and researcher Lea ladarola contributed to thu report. Michael Kruse can be reached atinkrusespti7nes.com..