Carnation girl, 14, found starved to 48 pounds

Carnation girl, 14, found starved to 48 pounds

seattletimes.nwsource.com

Calling it the "worst case" of abuse a detective had ever seen, King County prosecutors charged a Carnation couple Friday with criminal mistreatment after police found their 14-year-old daughter emaciated, dehydrated and suffering from severe malnutrition.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Three years ago, in March 2005, CPS agents investigated a complaint from the girl's schoolteacher after the child had talked of harsh treatment at home, including being locked in her room and deprived of food.

Investigators found the girl thin and confirmed her allegations, CPS spokesman Thomas Shapley said Monday. It's not clear what happened next, although CPS officials say the mother received counseling.

"There were similar issues with the girl's weight. Obviously, it was not as extreme," Shapley said Monday. What is certain is that the children were left in the home and the case was closed a month later.

Sorry for the long quote, but I don't want anyone to miss this little detail of the article.

The article further details how, after the initial complaint, the girl never returned to school and the "authorities" did... nothing. NOTHING!

These two subhuman pieces of crap that were supposed to be caring for and loving this poor little girl deserve death. The CPS authorities who failed this little girl deserve to lose their jobs and never be allowed to work in a position of public trust again. Both "parents" (and God help me I am only using that word because of ATS' TOS agreement) do not deserve humane punishment, they should be locked away and forced to subsist on the same ration of "food" and "water" they forced on this victim.

I am apalled and disgusted at the fact I live less than an hour away from Carnation. Carnation is just a little farming community not unlike the town I live in. What a disgrace for everyone who failed us all in this tragic case.


seattletimes.nwsource.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Oh my goodness...

What I don't understand is why no one looked into this more? Especially since the children were removed from school to be home schooled - wouldn't this ring some alarm bells for someone? Perhaps the person who was FIRST given this case to look into when the first allegations surfaced?

This girl is going to have some psychological issues later on in life, because of this stuff that was done to her. And no doubt, she is going to develop some sort of Father-complex, as her father did nothing to protect her from this treatment...

SICK. Thats all I have to say

- Carrot

I just can;t imagine where the parenting instincts devolved to with these people! Obviously the child must have been nearly comatose with that level of malnutrition and dehydration.

What on Earth do these people think they are doing to this little girl?

If she had died would they have told the coroner she was anorexic?

There's no excuse for this.

It's at times like these when my sense of humanity disappears completely.

I'd give anything for 10 minutes alone with these parents.

I cannot believe that "justice" for this crime is considered to be a maximum of 4 years in prison. Our legal system in this country is more screwed up than our economic system. You'd get several times that if you locked up an adult and held them captive in your home, malnourishing and dehydrating them. Why is it considered less vile and punished less severely when it's committed against the most innoncent among us?

I'm dead serious about this, there is no lower form of life on this Earth than someone who destroys the innocence and dreams of a child.

The incompetence of social services around the world (no, it isn't just an American problem) is just mind-boggling. An article was posted the other day about the death of a 17-month-old boy in England who had also been the subject of an investigation previously. The state of Florida has also admitted to having lost track of several hundred foster children who were supposed to be under the auspices of the state's social services. These are just a few stories among many. I do not understand why there is such a problem with the child welfare services in the U.S. and abroad. Are the social workers underpaid and behaving carelessly as a result? Are they understaffed? I don't know what the hell is going on. I wonder if this is a new climate, or if child welfare services have always been this awful.

It would be interesting to see the reports and the questions asked of these two 'people' at the first inquirey and the answers the inspectors swallowed as real. In the last year I have seen no less than 6 differant reports from differing parts of this country that have nearly the same aspects. Children starved nearly to death by parents who shout that it was the only way to control their kids, or they where possessed or what ever. Very strange and scary!!

Zindo

I agree that the parents need to be prosecuted very harshly, perhaps not death but some kind of penalty that is effective and sends a message to others that think they can abuse their children with the use of starvation and loss of liberty.

The authorities that are supposed to protect children from these "parents" are just bloody pen pushin' bureaucrats with a uni degree that have no clue how to work at the coal face. They have loads of theory but usually no practical solution and coupled with that is usually the problem of funding and staff. We had DOCS (Department of Community Services) in Australia and they have a very dirty name. This department was formed to protect and help families in crisis, they have actually contributed to the deaths of many children in Australia by failing to monitor and investigate complaints from neighbours and other government bodies. They sit on their hands and do the "wait and see" routine and then it's too late.

Just recently a couple have appeared in court in Sydney charged with the murder of their daughter (she was 6 ? but looked like an infant due to her emaciated condition)) who suffered the same type of abuse as the little girl from Carnation. I think the sentencing has not been passed yet but they will probably get something menial like 5 years with parole in 2.5... that is the sum worth of that child's life and it makes me soooo sick.

The parents of this little girl are filthy, knuckle dragging oxygen thieves and the room the child lived in was splattered with faeces and rubbish. Maybe I am crazy but people who get around like that ring alarm bells with me because you can tell they can't look after themselves let alone a child. I see so many people like this, they can't even string a sentence together and they openly threaten their children in public places. Why are these cretins not put on a register and monitored regularly and effectively by officers who do home visits and check the cuopboards for food and the conditions of the dwelling? I personally feel that the welfare of our children is in crisis now more than ever and more needs to be done.

Parents who neglect their children with the end result being death forfeit the right to live and walk amongst us. I often tell myself that I am not of the same species as "people" like this.


take care
res

I would have more respect for parents who surrendered their children to the authorities claiming they can not cope for whatever reason.

There are good people out there who would welcome the opportunity to give a child a second chance at a good life.


take care
res

OMG. I've got ONE thing to say.

CPS is THE most corrupt, human trafficking and human SELLING organization in the world. Corrupt bastards get into peoples' lives who do NOT deserve it.

And then there's cases like this, where they cannot even do the job they claim is what they do in the first place.

They make me so sick. The truth is, they only want white babies, because they are worth the most. The rest of the kids? Who cares, apparently.


EDIT to fix typo... upsetting topic

[edit on 14-10-2008 by LostNemesis]

This kind of thing happens a lot more than you want to think about, although perhaps not always on the same scale.

There is plenty of child abuse and child neglect going on every day. The legal system will take care of the parents .. or try to .. and in any case vigilante justice will only get YOU in trouble.

But hey .. you know what? There is a way YOU can make a difference! That's right! You can help children who have been abused, or help to prevent more children from being abused or neglected and it doesn't have to cost you a dime!

Your local children's shelter, foster homes, boys' and girls' homes, and detention facilities ALL need volunteers, mentors, tutors, etc. There are also agencies in many areas that offer free parenting classes, intervention counselors in maternity wards, resources for struggling parents such as diapers, formula, bottles, clothes, strollers, etc. Some of these teachers and counselors, and the staff of the places who provide material items, are also volunteers.

As little as an hour a week of your time can change a child's life and/or help ensure that the cycle of abuse/neglect will be broken for the next generation.

If you really care about kids, don't just spout off in this thread .. go DO something about it!!

reply to post by Heike


You are completely right... One thing that people can do to make a difference, is sign up at the Big Brother, Big Sister program.

Basically you are a friend to a kid who doesn't have much, I guess. It would be FUN. lol

Rebecca A. Long the evil stepmother kept the girl locked in her room behind a double bolted door.

The girl told police that her stepmother disciplined her for behavioral problems by restricting her water intake, giving her half a Dixie cup of water each day. Long allegedly monitored the girl's showers and wouldn't let her brush her teeth so she couldn't sneak drinks. She fed her a diet mostly of toast, court documents say.

So, the girl would sneak water from the toilet so the Long wouldn't would hear the water running and the girl would also drink the condensation from the window.

I'm still waiting to see pictures of these evil people but Here's a picture of the house of horrors they resided in.

These people are facing only 4 years in prison for the torture they've committed against this child. Hopefully a judge will step in and give them an exceptional sentence beyond the guidelines.

[edit on 14-10-2008 by verylowfrequency]

That's truly horrible... I can't conceive it... they deprived the girl food and water but still brushed her teeth.

Now many might disagree but this I think is another example of why homeschooling needs more regulation.

What's most amazing about this is that when a child clearly lives in a good, stable household then the authorities can't seem to catch the parents giving the kid a smack around the back of the legs, declare it abuse and put them in a foster home quick enough.

The worst part it, this is nothing new.

Probably less then 5% of abuse cases are ever reported. and of those... probably less then 75% result in immediate action.

One problem is that the CPS agencies across the US use to be very gung-ho, this lead to situations where children were being removed un-nessisarily, and disgruntled children calling false claims against their parents just to be put into a foster home so they could have a chance at free reign with foster parents that didnt know the childs behavior patterns and could get away with their bad behavior.

This led to CPS agencies being put on a leash, being forced to offer counceling to parents who had no interest or intention in changing, so that the parents who suffered a lapse in judgement wouldnt have to have thier children taken from them. another case of the system going to far in not going far enough.

Now before anyone tries to tell me that is not true, you should know that i grew up in the system. Having been raised by a residivist/drugdealer/gang member, i have seen these things first hand.

Our overly "PC" paradigm mandates rehabilitation over punishment.

Sorry, but I knew it would result to more regulations on homeschooling. How about schools being more regulated with all of the shootings fightings and killings they have? There is less than .1% of this neglect happening and it not just happening in homeschool families. Its funny how everyone wants freedom but as soon as a couple of cases of mistreatment happen you are willing to throw away that freedom. There are always going to be some people that mistreat their children homeschooled or not!

The wonder of it is this. Where are her grandparents? Where are her peers, where is the family or extended family; where is the community?

While it is clear that the system is as dysfunctional as this family, it is not the 'first line of defense' for the nurturing of children. Where did the father go when the 'step' mother started this nazi-esk regime of 'discipline'?

There were so many ways this could have (and should have) prompted a reaction to spare this girl from the inhumane treatment she underwent.

If she had treated an animal this way, I suspect, the punishment and repercussions would have been more severe. The outcry from PETA alone would have deafened the local media.

Parenting is not without its risks, but the risks shouldn't be transferred to the children, who our government doesn't even recognize a citizens, much like stray animals.

reply to post by Maxmars


They apparently have a gandfather who lives in Albuquerque. He claims that he stopped getting letters from the kids awhile back and just assumed they didn't have time to keep in touch with him. I haven't seen anything that says exactly why the father was given custody or where the birth mother is, either. This is one of those cases where I believe that a good, loving foster family is very much needed for these two kids.

I'm still dumbfounded that OJ Simpson is looking at life in prison for armed robbery in a motel room, and yet destroying your child's entire life and almost killing them is only good for 4 years, tops. Something's royally messed up with our society that we tollerate that.