God, I’m getting sick of these.

I know, I know. I’m the one who chose to write this blog, and I’m going to continue to do so, come hell or high water. These kids deserve to have their stories told. Writing about all these abused and murdered children does take its toll on me, and every time I finish a blog post, I spend the rest of the night watching cute baby videos on YouTube to buoy my spirits. But that’s not what I mean; I’m not sick of telling these childrens’ stories.

I’m sick of hearing these same old lies from abusive, neglectful dipshit parents who tell the police “my kid is missing!” only to be arrested a few days later, because of course they are. Based on numbers provided by the Polly Klaas Foundation, of abductions reported in 2016, 96.5% were perpetrated by family members of the missing child(ren). Furthermore, according to a report published by the Child Welfare Information Gateway:

“In 2016, parents—acting alone or with another parent or individual—were responsible for 78 percent of child abuse or neglect fatalities. More than one-quarter (27 percent) of fatalities were perpetrated by the mother acting alone, 16.8 percent were perpetrated by the father acting alone, and 20.1 percent were perpetrated by the mother and father acting together. Nonparents (including kin and child care providers, among others) were responsible for 16.7 percent of child fatalities, and child fatalities with unknown perpetrator relationship data accounted for 5.3 percent of the total.”

It’s especially irritating when these parents reporting their child as “missing” have previously been accused or, as in this case, convicted of child abuse and/or neglect. We’re supposed to believe some random person slipped into your home in the middle of the night and kidnapped your kid after it’s been documented that you spend your free time smacking the kid around (or worse)? Tell me another one, Mom of the Year.

Anyway, now that I’ve ranted a bit, I’ll get on with telling this particular story.

Around 11:35 on the morning of Monday, June 24, 34-year-old mother of [god knows how many children] Julia Leanna Tomlin contacted the Hampton, Virginia police and reported her two-year-old son, Noah, missing. According to Julia, who resides with her children in the Bayside Mobile Home Village, she put Noah to bed around 1:00 that morning (isn’t that bedtime for most two-year-olds?) wearing a green and white striped pajama shirt and a diaper. About ten hours later, after she went in to check on him at 11:15 am, she reported him missing.

The Hampton Police requested help from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management search team and the Virginia State Police mobile command post; they also requested help from the FBI in the investigation. “We’re turning over every stone,” said Hampton Police Chief Terry Sult at a press conference on Monday. “We’re doing everything we can to bring this child home safely.”

Interestingly, even while the search was being conducted, two forensic units were parked outside the Tomlins’ mobile home, which was surrounded with crime scene tape.

Reportedly, Noah’s parents spent some time overnight at police headquarters.

On Tuesday, search efforts continued on the ground as well as spreading to the air and the water. Hampton Police Sergeant R. C. (Reginald) Williams, who was designated as the Public Information Officer for Noah’s case, said in a briefing, “This is weighing heavy on the officers’ hearts and minds that are searching, and we are hoping for a positive resolution.” Police said at this time that they had not found any evidence Noah left the home of his own volition or was abducted.

Neighbor Jennifer Hunt told WUSA9 that she knew both parents and was concerned because of their history. “The previous drug use, the previous problems, the previous child neglect and abuse with the other kids,” Hunt said, “I do question if whether or not they should have been given custody of Noah.” Very interesting observations, Jennifer. You better believe I’ll touch on those later.

City spokeswoman Robin McCormick announced that trash collection in the area had been suspended, and reports were rampant of police being present at nearby Bethel Landfill.

Chief Sult gave another press conference on Wednesday, saying what they knew “has not changed much since the first announcement.” He also mentioned that they hoped for Noah’s safe return but were “looking at all potential aspects that this case can lead us to.” This, he said, included the landfill, even if they didn’t have reason to believe Noah was there. “We’re looking at everything from the child walking off to an abduction scenario.” He added, “We have looked on land, water. We have checked trash, dumpsters. We have checked neighborhoods, houses, underneath buildings, in sheds.”

Sergeant Williams told the public, “We did four search phases in the immediate area of Buckroe Beach where Noah was last seen. The fifth stage is the landfill, so from our previous experience in previous investigations, this is one of the elements that needs to be explored for a missing person case.” As for the search at the landfill, he said police were “making necessary efforts to preserve and identify potential areas that may be of future evidentiary value.”

(Is it just me, or do Chief Sult and Sergeant Williams seem like stellar examples of the way law enforcement should behave and the way investigations should be run? I really like these two.)

Wednesday night, police were seen removing bags of possible evidence from the mobile home.

Late Wednesday, Julia Tomlin released a statement via text to 13News Now anchor Dan Kennedy. “I’m working real hard with law enforcement to help find my baby,” she said. “I can’t have my location known or whereabouts of my other children for their safety.”

She spoke again with Dan Kennedy on Thursday afternoon, saying, “[Noah] doesn’t walk well. His pediatrician said there are signs of him being autistic… he walks but still [stumbles].” She reported that her other children were safe, and that “Noah belongs home. His family loves and misses him.”

Julia didn’t have much of a chance to propagate more (alleged) bullshit via the media, because on Friday, June 28, the Hampton Police Division held a press conference at 11:00 pm to inform the public that Julia Tomlin had been charged in his disappearance, and, tragically, that police presumed the two-year-old boy to be dead and planned to ramp up their search efforts to locate his body.

Julia Tomlin was booked into the Hampton Jail at 3:30 am on Saturday, June 29, so at least she spent the weekend behind bars.

A “Bring Noah Home” vigil was held on Saturday night near the James T. Wilson Fishing Pier. Attendees, many of whom didn’t know Noah or his family but nonetheless want him found, wore green and white, the color of the pajama shirt Noah was reportedly wearing when he went missing; people left poems, messages, and prayers. The vigil also served as a call for justice after the public found out Noah’s mother had been arrested the night before. Religious leaders led prayers as the collection of white candles below a tree bearing a photo of Noah grew throughout the evening. Heartrendingly, the final speaker of the evening was Noah’s 15-year-old sister, Leanna, who had only met Noah two weeks before his disappearance but said he was “the sweetest baby.” She added tearfully, “I’m sorry, Noah, wherever you are. I wish I could have met you sooner.”

Julia was arraigned in court on Monday, July 1, exactly one week — almost to the hour — after she reported Noah missing; she has been charged with three counts of felony child neglect, although I’m sure further charges will be filed if Noah’s body is found. She reportedly limped into the hearing, during which she requested a court-appointed attorney. Julia told the judge she is disabled and receives a disability payment of about $771 per month. (Speculate in the comments about what you think her disability is. Bonus points for creativity!)

From bail determination documents, the Daily Press also reported that Julia is not employed and has a ninth grade education. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!

On Wednesday, July 3, Julia will attend a bond hearing. We can only hope the judge denies bond altogether, preventing this lying, vaguely human-shaped heap of trash from getting near any of her other children.

According to Sergeant Williams, the police have entered a 24-hour operation phase as they continue looking for Noah. Searches are planned for the next several days, including the upcoming July 4th holiday. The search will remain focused at the city landfill and the Hampton/NASA Steam Plant on Wythe Creek Road, where some refuse from the landfill is burned to produce energy for the nearby NASA Langley Research Center. The steam plant is closed to the public, and a sign at the plant’s entrance informs visitors that the plant “will not be accepting trash until further notice.”

According to the Daily Press, documents available Saturday at the Hampton Magistrate’s Office allege that the neglect for which Julia has been charged occurred two days before Julia reported Noah missing. There was no description of this alleged incident, although WAVY of Portsmouth has reported the three counts of neglect relate to three children, ages three years, two years, and six months. Police have refused to release information on how many people were actually crammed into living in that mobile home when Noah disappeared; for her part, Julia told the judge yesterday that three other people live in her home, but she did not specify their ages. I suppose we can make a leap of logic and guess those three other people are the aforementioned neglected children.

Oh! Remember how I mentioned the bit earlier about Julia’s history of abuse and neglect? It turns out that on April 30, 2010, while Julia (then age 25) and her baby-daddy, Justin Samuel Jones (then age 28), were “tending to another child,” one of them placed their 1-year-old daughter on the kitchen stove, where the baby promptly fell onto one of the scorching hot burners. It wasn’t until four days later, when police, medics, and Child Protective Services convened at the family’s apartment regarding a case of possible child abuse, that the baby was taken to the hospital, where her injuries, including burn welts and blisters on her back, shoulders, and the back of her arms, were treated.

WHAT. THE. FUCK!

According to information posted Nixle by the Newport News Police Department, “The apartment was also in disarray with clothes, toys, and other items strewn about in the bedrooms and hallway.” Both Julia and Justin were arrested and charged with felony child neglect. I was unable to find information on Justin’s sentence, but Julia pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison with all but five months suspended.

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According to court records, Tomlin had five children at the time of the incident. Yeesh. If you’re just going to neglect them or, worse, actively hurt them, quit squirting them out!

Oh, and the rancid icing on the cake? Justin Jones is a registered sex offender, because of course he is. Don’t take my word for it; here he is on Virginia’s sex offender registry. Sexual battery of a minor? Number one dad!

Currently, according to Chief Sult, Julia’s “other children are being taken care of, we have child protective services involved, and we are making sure they are safe — some are with family members and have been for some time.” He added, “At the end of the day, that is one of our number one priorities: to make sure they’re okay.”

I’m dying to find out how many kids this slag has actually birthed. If anyone finds out, please let me know in the comments!

Interesting note: police have not released the name or any identifying information about Noah’s father, evidently because they are not looking at him as a suspect in Noah’s disappearance.

I will provide updates about the search for Noah as I learn about them. Cross your fingers for this sweet baby boy to come home soon, even if just to give closure to those who love him.

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Click here for more of my coverage on Noah’s case.

Sources: Hampton Police Department (@HamptonVAPolice), CNN, WKTR News 3, Williamsburg Yorktown Daily, Daily Press, WAVY, ABC News, Crime Online, The Virginian-Pilot, WUSA9, Ericka’s Box of Chocolates Blog