"parents wouldn't do this"

Father Kills Three Kids, Hangs Himself at Ala. Home

Saturday, May 31, 2003

GADSDEN, Ala. — A father apparently upset over marital problems killed his three children and hanged himself early Saturday in rural northeastern Alabama, authorities said.
...snip

Investigators found the couple's children -- Brandon, 10, Ashley, 8, and Katherine, 4 -- dead in their beds, he said. The mother told police she had thought they were only sleeping.

"In my 31 years of law enforcement, I've never seen a more gruesome crime scene against children than I saw today," Hayes said. He would not say how the children were killed.

The couple was having marital problems and had been discussing divorce, Hayes said.
...snip

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,88289,00.html

 

When Moms Go Bad

Protecting Children From Abusive or Neglectful Parents: Is the Best Course Jail Time or Parental Boot Camp?

By Bryan Robinson

June 2— Children today are warned against potential kidnappers, school shootings and TV violence, among other things. But what's to protect them from … their parents?

The need is clear following a string of odd child negligence and abuse cases in recent weeks:

A mother in Pomona, Calif., on May 24 allegedly put her 2-year-old daughter inside an active, coin-operated public laundry washer...snip

A mother in Macomb Township, Mich., allegedly left her 12-day-old baby in the back seat of her car last Monday as she slept off a night of drinking in her apartment. She faces child abuse charges.

A woman in Oakland County, Mich., has been accused of starving her 10-year-old son for days as punishment for being disrespectful. Prosecutors have filed a neglect petition against her.

And in Georgia, a 21-month-old boy is fighting for his life after his mother left him alone in a hot car as she claimed to be taking packages into her home...snip

Charges have been filed in all these cases, which are far too common in the United States. According to the most recent statistics by Health & Human Services' Administration for Children and Families', approximately 903,000 children nationwide were victims of abuse or neglect in 2001. The data, collected by the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, estimated that 12.4 of every 1000 children in the United States were victims of abuse or neglect.

But is fear of prosecution and the threat of losing custody to child welfare services the best way to save children from neglect and abuse? Not according to some experts, who argue the best way protect children is to first protect the parents.

"Parents can get so overwhelmed," said Gloria Rodriguez, founder and National President of AVANCE Inc. Family Support and Education Program in San Antonio, Texas. "In a lot of these crimes, where you find parents doing things like leaving children in the car, the parents are experiencing various stresses in their life where they've either lost their husband or their job or their trying to hold a job while raising their child alone and all these things affect the way they would parent.

Added Rodriquez: "It's an overload.They're in need of an outlet; they need a group to talk to."

No Parent — Or Child — Is Immune

While there are some distinctions — most violence abuse cases involve younger parents, while parents in their mid-30s are more likely to neglect their children — child abuse neglect cases involve parents of all races, age, gender, education and economic status.

Experts agree all parents can become overwhelmed, or suffer substance abuse and mental health problems, leaving them prone to neglect or abuse their children.

And in some abuse and negligence cases, parents simply may not have learned responsible guardian skills, either from their own parents, peers, or counselors. Some abusive or neglectful parents may have been abused themselves and learned their behavior.
...snip

Preemptive Abuse Measures

One way to protect children may be to teach parents to protect themselves and deal with their stress more effectively, experts say. Parents must recognize when they are overwhelmed and admit to it early so they can prevent abuse and negligence.

"First they must recognize the stress, admit to it, and get help. They must recognize it early because that's key to really preventing something from happening," said David Burton, assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. "Second, take time out for yourself, as long as you know the child is safe. Third, ask of help from someone, whether it be a neighbor, grandparents, partners, friends — anyone who's available."

Teachers also need to be trained look for signs of imminent abuse, Burton added. While teachers are adept at reporting abuse, they may not know how to detect warning signs.

Couples should also learn to talk about their parenting strategies, he said, and to learn how to communicate with their children, especially if they are troublesome or difficult.
...snip

Ignorance may have been behind the case of Tarajee Maynor, who locked her 3-year-old son and 10-month-old daughter in her car on an 86-degree day in Michigan last June while she shopped and got her hair done. The two children later died from the heat exposure.

The mother awaits trial on felony murder charges, but says she did not mean to kill her children and did not realize they could die under such circumstances.

And Maynor is still fighting for her parental rights — she was pregnant at the time of her arrest last year and gave birth to a third child in January. Prosecutors have found no previous instances of abuse or neglect, although she did plead guilty in 1999 to stealing more than $15,000 in jewelry from her employer.
...snip

Rehabilitating Parents

Isolated instances of abuse and neglect do not necessary mean that the parent is unsalvageable and should have their children taken from them, experts say. A solution that's best for both the parent and the child's safety must be reached, they add.
...snip

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/Living/childabuse_parents030602.html

 

Mom arrested after baby found beheaded

WARNING: Extremely graphic!

June 11 2003 at 02:03PM


A 30-year-old woman was arrested on Wednesday after her mother found the woman's six-month-old baby beheaded and gutted in her room in Modimolle, Limpopo police said.

Captain Malesela Ledwaba said police were summoned after the grandmother found her granddaughter's headless body. The girl's intestines had also been removed during the night.
...snip

Ledwaba described the scene as particularly gruesome.
...snip

The woman's allegedl motive for slaughtering the child and ripping out her intestines was not known and she appeared to be catatonic. - Sapa


http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=13&art_id=qw1055332980810B265&set_id=1

 

Witnesses say mother tossed two children into river, one missing

Posted on Sat, Jul. 05, 2003

ST. PAUL - Witnesses told police that a 24-year-old mother threw her two small children from a bridge into the Mississippi River and then jumped in herself.

Rescuers saved the mother and one of her children. Police continued to search for the second child on Saturday, but authorities presumed the child was dead.

According to police, at about 9 p.m. Friday many witnesses saw the St. Paul mother throw the two children - believed to be 1-year-old twins - from the Wabasha Street Bridge into the Mississippi River. The mother then jumped from the bridge into the river.
...snip

Police searched the river but couldn't locate the second child.

The rescued child was listed in stable condition Saturday at Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

The mother was in custody at the same hospital where she was being treated for injuries.
...snip


"We saw a baby floating in the water," she said. "Nobody was doing anything and my husband just jumped in."
...snip

Mac said the woman said "Let me go" and appeared to resist when the rescuers tried to pull her to safety.


http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/6240013.htm

 

Suddenly Susan.......

Who is nothing like Patsy.

"I love rainbows, Mickey Mouse, the beach, mountains and waterfalls," the ad reads. "I consider myself to be sensitive, caring and kind-hearted. I'm currently serving a life sentence on the charge of murder."

The ad ends with the words: "May God bless each one of you!"

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/07/11/susan.smith.ap/index.html

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) -- The Web site that accepted a personal ad from convicted child killer Susan Smith seeking pen pals from her prison cell asked her Friday to withdraw the ad because the result has been "kind of a freak show." :alien:


RR

 

40 Years Later

http://www.geocities.com/murder_stories/a_promise_to_carolyn.html

I just watched the movie, A Promise to Carolyn, based on the above story. If you have time, read this Texas Montly story about justice after 40 years.

 

Re: Suddenly Susan.......

You know what struck me immediately when I read that article RiverRat? There is not one word about loving children or family outings. Susan does not use the names of the babies she murdered - Michael and Alex. She does state, "I will always hurt for the pain I've caused so many, especially my children," but that is a <i>me</i> sentence. Look at the number of times she uses the word "I" in that brief ad. We see the same narcissistic personality traits over and over and over. JMH&CPO.

 

Girl strangled, stabbed; couple charged

Will it ever end?

http://www.forumsforjustice.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3996

 

Re: Re: Suddenly Susan.......

Kind of like when Patsy continually referred to JonBenet as "that child".

 

Police Rule Out Exorcism In Death Of Ga. Girl, 6

http://www.forumsforjustice.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=48536#post48536

 

Mom kills baby with alcohol, wrongly believed he was sick

Suicidal mother kills 10-month-old baby with alcohol
Tuesday, August 20, 2002 at 09:30 JST
NAGOYA — A woman who was found drunk with her 10-month-old son dead beside her Monday at their apartment in Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, told investigators she had intended to die with her son by drinking alcohol, police said Tuesday.

The 30-year-old woman told police officers at the hospital where she is being treated, "I have been drinking with my child all day long," the police said.

The woman's husband, Hisanori Ikeya, 35, found their son, Makoto, apparently unconscious when he returned home from work around 7:45 p.m. He called an ambulance but the baby was pronounced dead at the hospital.

According to the police, an empty "awamori," distilled liquor bottle and two partly empty bottles of whiskey were also found in the room.

The police said the woman had left a message on her computer reading, "We planned to die together."

Ikeya said his wife had been despondent since May about raising they boy, wrongly believing that he was sick. (Kyodo News)

 

Mom under pressure kills kids say police

CALGARY, Alberta — A young Japanese woman was charged with second-degree murder in Canada on Wednesday in the deaths of her two children, heightening a drama that has gripped this city since police discovered the body of a toddler abandoned in a decrepit apartment in June.
*SNIP

The diminutive woman, her feet shackled, watched intently during a brief court appearance as prosecutors laid the more serious charges in connection with Domenic's death and the death of another child, her three-month-old daughter Gemini, whose body has not been found despite a long police search.
*SNIP


The case and intimate details of Fujii's life have dominated headlines in this city since Domenic's decomposing body was found in a vacant apartment on the edge of the famous Calgary Stampede fairgrounds on June 6
*SNIP

 

Mother Kills Raped Daughter to Restore 'Honor'

November 17, 2003
Mother Kills Raped Daughter to Restore 'Honor'
According to The Seattle Times - Raped by her brothers and impregnated, Rofayda Qaoud refused to commit suicide, her mother recalls, even after she bought the 17-year-old a razor with which to slit her wrists. So Amira Abu Hanhan Qaoud says she did what she believes any good Palestinian parent would: restored her family's "honor" through murder.

 

Doting Father, Abusive Husband

To outsiders, Pearle's life had appeared as picture-perfect as her home. She was from a well-to-do family and worked as an antiques dealer; her husband John Battaglia was an accountant. Their first daughter, Faith, was born in 1992; their second, Liberty, came three years later.

"John was very charming, and giving and fun, and he was just wonderful," says Pearle of her former husband. "Everybody loved John."

But though Pearle had two beautiful girls, three dogs and a home in one of Dallas' wealthiest neighborhoods, she was also married to a man with a violent past.

"He did tell me before we married that he had gotten into an argument and hit his ex-wife," she says. "He didn't tell me that he'd broken her nose."
'I Never Thought He'd Hurt the Children'

But on Christmas day in 1999, Pearle let him in to see the girls. An argument erupted.

"I saw him coming, and so I just grabbed my head and I fell on to Liberty's mattress, and I covered my head," says Pearle. "He was just pounding on me as hard as a man can pound on, on the back of my head. And I'm screaming 'Call 911! Call 911!'"

The paramedics came, says Pearle, but she didn't go to the hospital because she wanted to prepare Christmas dinner for her family. "I wanted to try to let them know everything was OK," she says.

Battaglia was charged with misdemeanor assault and pleaded guilty. He got two years' probation, was forbidden contact with Pearle, and denied visits with his daughters for 30 days.


Filing for divorce

After seven years of torture often witnessed by her daughters, Pearle had had enough. She filed for divorce, hoping, she says, that her husband would get help and pull the marriage together. Meanwhile, the Dallas County family court allowed John to see the girls, but not to enter their home.

One Wednesday night last spring, Pearle drove the girls to their usual drop-off point: a parking lot at a local shopping center. The girls got into their father's pick-up truck, and Battaglia drove them to his apartment near downtown Dallas.

Pearle — who did not know that Battaglia was tipped off about her wanting him arrested — had an eerie feeling. She cancelled her plans and drove to a friend's home. On the way there, she was told by her mother that the girls wanted to speak with her.

Pearle called.

"'Mommy, why do you want daddy to have to go to jail?'" she says one of the girls asked her. Then, she says, she heard Faith yelling, "'No daddy, no daddy. Please don't do it.'"

She heard gunshots — and then silence.

She drove to Battaglia's apartment, where detectives told her that the two girls were dead.

"It's the most empty feeling you can ever have in your life," says Pearle, "that everything, all your hopes, your dreams, your everything, is just gone."



Sentenced to Death

At first, Battaglia was nowhere to be found. He had fled to a bar to place one last spine-chilling phone call to his daughters.

"Goodnight my little babies," he said. "I hope you're resting in a different place. I love you, and I wish that you had nothing to do with your mother. She was evil and vicious and stupid. I love you dearly."

Then, in another bizarre twist, he stopped at a tattoo parlor and had two roses tattooed on his arm: one for each girl. Police captured him outside the parlor at 2 a.m.

 

oh my gaud!!!

this is all so horrific.

i was in dallas when that guy killed
his 2 daughters.

so very sad!!!
purr

 

Each one of these stories makes it clearer and clearer how much of an idiot Lou Smit is for maintaining that "parents would never do this".

 

Correction.

Hey Jameson, remember this remark;

"It just didn't seem like a parental crime."

Whatever the hell "parental crime" means, we all know she meant to 'try' to sound smart for her interview; too bad you and Don King weren't so far apart, you both make up words that don't exist and use them in conversation to try to sound intelligent. You know, if he's single, you could always ditch the hubby and hook with someone who's more along the same wavelength. MOTIVATED BY GREED

 

this is a GREAT thread.........thanks BobC!

children MUST be protected from
these NON-parents.

Dear God, Please Help Them ALL!

God Bless All abused children!
purr

a pic just for BobC....

a pic of Bob's little piggy in heaven as a piggy angel!
(i know your piggy had a darker color,
but this was the best i could find.)

 

Thank you Purr!

And thanks to JR for keeping this thread alive. In terms of sheer lunacy, nothing tops the various statements of people in and around Boulder DA's office that parents don't do sick things to their kids everyday. We had a case here in Austin a few years ago where this little boy kept wetting the bed, so his parents wrapped fishing line around his penis and forced him to walk around like that during the day. Eventually his penis developed gangriene (sp)and dropped off. Both parents are in prison now but that's little consolation to that little boy.

Have you all ever seen the shock value site called Ogrish.com? It's news story after news story of sick violence, a lot of it involving parent/child abuse.

Anyway--Lou Smit wasn't the only person expressing this magical POV regarding parents. Trip DeMuth felt the same way, and Hofstrom made similar statements as well.