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Father takes baby's life, then his own
By DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN, Times Staff Writer
TAMPA -- Just before dawn Wednesday, a rifle in his gloved hands, Carl Erik Ishikawa walked up to the house on Nightingale Drive. He demanded that his 7-month-old son, who had been staying at the home for several weeks, be brought to him.
Moments later, after disappearing down the street, Ishikawa shot and killed himself. The child, Carl James Ishikawa, died in an ambulance as paramedics waited for a helicopter to take him to a hospital. "You never plan to bury a baby at 7 months old," said the boy's grandmother, Carol Barnette. "It doesn't make any sense at all." Authorities would not say what might have prompted Ishikawa, who had worked for a bail bondsman, to kill his son. However, the child's mother, 22-year-old Bobbie Jo Caraballo, and Ishikawa were involved in a custody dispute after Ishikawa took the child to Connecticut in November without permission. Ishikawa, 33, was arrested and his son returned to Caraballo. About three weeks ago, Caraballo, her 5-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, and her infant son moved into the home on Nightingale Drive, owned by Stephen Jones. Barnette described Jones and her daughter as friends. She said Ishikawa and Jones were also friends. When Ishikawa lost his job after his arrest in Connecticut, Jones paid him the hours he spent helping to build a small airplane in Jones' garage, Barnette said. At 6:20 a.m. Wednesday, Ishikawa parked his silver Ford Taurus in front of a fire hydrant down the street from Jones' home in the Boyette Springs subdivision in southeastern Hillsborough, authorities said. He walked up to the house and ordered the family and Jones into the garage, filled with children's toys and the partly built plane. He took a handgun from Jones, pointed his rifle at Jones' neck and tied him up in the garage. Ishikawa then demanded his baby, authorities said. Next door, the sound of two gunshots jolted Jimmy Correll from bed. He ran outside to see a man disappear down the street. Ten houses down, the McCrary family's dog, Tippy, barked excitedly from their screened porch. William McCrary, who was getting ready for work, went outside to investigate. He saw an object behind some bushes in an adjoining back yard. McCrary's neighbors are on vacation, so he grabbed a flashlight and went outside. From about 10 feet away, he saw a man in blue jeans, a burgundy jacket and black gloves lying face-down. He hollered repeatedly: "Are you okay?" The man moaned, so McCrary yelled for his wife to call 911. The man was dead when deputies arrived, his rifle by his side, his cell phone ringing repeatedly. McCrary's daughter, 12-year-old Jaclynne, said she often saw Barnette, the grandmother, holding little Carl outside. "He was so cute," Jaclynne said. "He was always smiling." Wayne Roberts, the owner of Aaron's Bail Bonds, where Ishikawa once worked, said Ishikawa was a nice person who adored his son. "He always seemed like a loving father," Roberts said. "He was always kind. This is just a total shock." Ishikawa had one previous arrest on his record. While working for a bail company in 1998, he was charged with shooting a man wanted for robbery in New Port Richey. Ishikawa was acquitted. According to sheriff's officials and court records, Ishikawa was supposed to return Carl to his mother at 6 p.m. Nov. 15 after picking him up for a visit that day. When Ishikawa did not return, Caraballo called the Sheriff's Office and filed a report. Officials tracked him to North Branford, Conn., where his parents live. Ishikawa was arrested Nov. 18 on a charge of interfering with child custody. He posted bail and promised to turn himself in to Hillsborough authorities. He was booked into the Orient Road jail in Hillsborough on Nov. 27 and released the next day. Caraballo, meanwhile, filed court papers seeking custody of her baby, accusing Ishikawa of kidnapping and failing to properly care for him. "He doesn't change baby's diaper, feed him when needed, or bathe him on a daily basis," Caraballo wrote. But according to court records, the couple went to mediation, and on Dec. 17 agreed to share custody. "Have you seen beautiful babies?" Barnette, the grandmother, asked. "Have you seen baby Jesus? That was the beauty of this baby." -- Times staff writer Tamara Lush and researchers Caryn Baird and John Martin contributed to this report.
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