Comments about ‘'Divine intervention' helped police solve case of slain 6-year-old Sierra Newbold, chief says’

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Published: Tuesday, July 10 2012 3:00 p.m. MDT

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Taylorsville, UT

I am so happy that there is some action on this horrific case! I HOPE they have some solid news!

Murray, UT

But whoever shall offend one of these little ones who believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea

Salt Lake, UT

I am glad they caught him. I wish they would have caught the man that raped the news paper girl on 2200 west and about 8000 S in December 1997. a lot of similarities in these 2 cases both by the same canal. makes me wonder. I hope the run his DNA through a computer to see if he raped anyone else etc. Good Job WJPD on Sierra's Case.

South Jordan, UT

This is just horrible on so many levels. As a parent, I cannot imagine the grief they must be feeling right now. I do know that she is in a better place.

This monster has no place he can hide anymore. Not from the police, the inmates that don't take well to men that hurt children, the judge, jury and God. I'm glad that I am not the Judge for this guy.

Salt Lake City, UT

Swift trial please!!!

Manti, UT

Poor little girl. She was so young and had to face the terrors of rape and death at her tender age. I hope that angels took her before that monster was done with her. Rest in peace sweet little one. Condolences and prayers go out to the family.

sandy, ut

In a case like this the only thing close to justice is the death penalty. If the case is as strong as it sounds there should be no plea deal. He should have the same fear she felt moments before she died. That is what he will feel leading up to his punishment. Nothing else is justice.

Salt Lake City, UT

This is what court trials are for. If the DA feels confident that they have enough evidence to prosecute, then go for it.

Re the claim of "divine intervention," exactly what message are you sending to the parents who've lost children and whose prayers _weren't_ answered? Were they somehow less worthy of "divine intervention" than this particular family?

Please - enough of the useless mumbo-jumbo about divinity. As the article described, it was a combination of tireless, professional police work and a lucky break that caught this guy. Random occurrences sometimes lead to favorable outcomes - no divinity is required.

HS Fan
Salt Lake City, UT

Peace be to all those affected by this terrible crime.

Syracuse, UT

Such a sad story, what a monster. I'm happy that the officer connected the dots with divine help. I wish the divine intervention had been there before the crime happened.

Salt Lake City, UT

Again, condolences to the family, commendations to the officer, congratulations to the department.

Dayton, NV

No doubt Chief Diamond sincerely believes this arrest was facilitated by divine intervention, but I'm sure that's small comfort to Sierra's loved ones, who would certainly have wished for an earlier intervention. If I were in Chief Diamond's shoes, I would keep such speculation out of my public comments. Good police work stands on its own merits.

Joe Bauman
Salt Lake City, UT

I'm so happy that the arrest was made. But I am kind of disgusted with the loose language of this report. How can you say, without quoting anyone, that the arrest was "nothing short of a miracle"? How can the first paragraph, without attribution, site "possibly even divine intervention" in the arrest? If there were miracles involved, the poor little girl would not have been attacked. Let's lay off all this loose talk of miracles -- as in, someone opining that it was a miracle that certain homes were spared from wildfires. Does that mean other people whose homes were burned were not as deserving of a miracle? The paper is far too quick to declare divine intervention and miracles are involved in too many horrible stories. If there were a bona fide miracle, that in itself would be front-page news throughout the world. And while I'm on my rant, how can this article flatly say "Black entered the Newbold home" without attribution, and later say, "Black allegedly entered Wells Fargo Bank"? Did he definitely enter one place and only allegedly enter the other? Sloppy writing.

Danbury, CT

Kudos to the officer who made the connections and the arrest. I would be more persuaded to believe it was divine intervention if the parents had been awakened at 3:00 AM and prevented the kidnapping vs. catching the perp after the fact.

Salt Lake City, UT

I'm a Christian yet I still cringe a bit when "divine intervention" is referenced in conjunction with a tragedy. For, if the hand of God really is touching this case, why did this happen to begin with?

One Fly

This is what cops do. There's was no intervention from any hidden sky being.

Bountiful, UT

"Black had lived in the neighborhood for about 10 years. His wife and children are active in their LDS ward and attend church services with the Newbold family".


So the killer has a wife and children that attend the same LDS church as the victim and her family. Mr. Black has made his own family almost as much of a victim as the parents of the child he killed.

I am left to wonder, how do people do such things. My only answer is that some people come to this earth morally impaired, just as some people come to this earth physically impaired.

Ogden, UT

Of all crimes, this sort is the most heinous of all. The perpetrator deserves all the law and the courts can possibly impose.

Eden, UT

Bringing religion into this case has hurt the prosecution's ability to professionally present the evidence at trial. There are bad people in this world and it has nothing to do with God. If God was involved at all, this poor child would have been protected from this horrible behavior in the first place. Calling good police work "Divine Intervention" is unprofessional hurts the quality of good investigation. Religion is becoming a shot of whiskey for the weak minded.

Ernest T. Bass
Bountiful, UT

Wouldn't 'Divine Intervention' have prevented this horrible crime in the first place?

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