32 pound 10 year old girl rescued from closet in Kansas City. Two other siblings

[pnwmom]

appear to be healthy. The "mother" allegedly knew that the girl was malnourished and kept her locked up because she was afraid she'd get in trouble if people saw her.

How can this happen?

http://www.kctv5.com/story/18864069/mother-faces-multiple-charges-after-malnourished-daughter-found-locked-in-closet

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -
A mother now faces multiple charges after police, following a welfare tip, found her oldest daughter severely malnourished and locked in a closet.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker stood in front of The Children's Place, a group who focuses on nurturing and caring for young victims of abuse, late Saturday afternoon as she announced 29-year-old Jacole N. Price would be charged with first-degree assault, abuse of child and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.


"Some of us may view Friday - the day a little girl is found trapped in a closet – as a terrible day, but it was a great day for this young girl, this 10-year-old child who is just about to celebrate her 11th birthday," Baker said explaining that Friday was the day the girl was rescued from an atrocious situation.

Court documents detail how the girl was not allowed to eat with the rest of her family and officers said the stench of urine coming from her closet was hard to bare. Baker said it's believed the girl was confined off-and-on in the small space for a prolonged period of time, but wouldn't go into more specific details.

SNIP

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. What a horrible situation.

I'm so glad she was rescued, while I'm horrified at her plight.

[Faygo Kid]

37. I agree. Does Grover Norquist care?

That's too flippant, of course, if too close to the truth. But I always appreciate your wisdom and caring, CaliforniaPeggy. Good to be here with you.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

42. What a lovely thing to say, my dear Faygo Kid...

Thank you.

[Stuart G]

2. This is unbelieveable...Why would somone do this to their child? nt...K and R

[abelenkpe]

3. OMG So happy she was rescued!

I hope she finds a good home where she can recover and live a long long happy healthy life with people who truly love her.

[tblue]

4. Oh that poor girl!!!!

Thank goodness she survived and was rescued. I just can't bear to think of a child suffering. How could anyone do something like that?

[bluedeminredstate]

5. Appropriate name for the so-called mother

"Jacole" is her name which sounds to me like Jackhole. Very appropriate and I could think of a few others as well.

[Liberal_in_LA]

6. horrifying. I'm so glad she was rescued. wonder why one child was treated differently

[TuxedoKat]

8. I don't know

why it was her, but I've read that sometimes just one child in a family is abused and the rest are left alone.

[laundry_queen]

22. You are correct

It's called scapegoating and it often happens in abusive families. It can be mild (where one child is always talked down to or about, and might get less tangible items) or severe, like in this case. Why one particular child is chosen is still a mystery - I belong to a board for adult children who were abused where we've talked about this, and the reasons for the scapegoating are numerous but all without merit (obviously). Often the whole rest of the family is turned against that child by the abuser and also abuse the scapegoat to show loyalty and to gain favor (so they don't become the scapegoat). It's so incredibly fucked up. I hope these parents spend the rest of their lives in jail. Horrible.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

7. OFFS - 'bare' - did they really write that?

Holy crap these alleged writers and "journalists" are illiterate!

BEAR is the correct word ie: " ... the stench of urine coming from her closet was hard to bear."

By Laura McCallister, Multimedia Producer
By Alice Barr, News Reporter

ReallY? How the HELL do they get these titles when they're effing illiterate?

The story is atrocious enough without ridiculous grammar errors like that.

I hope the poor girl gets the help and support she needs to recover from her nutty mother's abuse.

And I hope these alleged news "professionals" take some English grammar courses real soon. Ugh.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. mis spellings/wrong word useage is becoming too common.

Our local paper last week had a nice article on some farmers we know, but story was spoiled by the multiple references to the "heard of beef".

[tawadi]

12. I noticed that too

[kestrel91316]

13. They not only don't teach spelling in journalism school anymore -

they apparently don't teach that proper spelling matters.

[Brickbat]

16. TV stations such as the one linked in the OP don't have copy editors. And while many newspapers have

decimated (or worse) their copy desks, TV stations that put their copy online almost never edit it at all. You see a lot of homophone errors on TV websites. Part of the reason is that they sometimes spell hard or confusing words phonetically so the person doesn't stumble on the prompter feed. Part of the reason is because they're not trained as copy editors.

[TwilightGardener]

20. I know--I find mistakes like this distracting. How do these people get their jobs?

[Raine]

24. It's nothing new, I saw a headline from a 1940s newspaper article that talked about the "clews"

that were being followed in a murder case.

[Brickbat]

30. I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, so I'll play it straight.

That actually is an archaic spelling of "clue." "Cooky" is a similar archaic spelling you sometimes still see.

[Raine]

51. THANKS for that info. I didn't know that

I was being serious. I thought it was just some poor spelling. Learn something new everyday.

[hobbit709]

32. Because spell check does not flag incorrect WORDS, only incorrect spelling.

Before my mother retired as assistant editor of a newspaper, she was amazed at the number of people there who could not use proper punctuation, grammar and spelling. Most of them had degrees in Journalism. English isn't even my mother's native language and she had a better grasp than the people that worked there.

[LiberalEsto]

34. I wouldn't hold my breath about news "professionals" studying English grammar

College English departments don't have that many students these days, except for basic required courses.

When I went to college in 1969 with the goal of becoming a journalist, I was advised by faculty members to major in English so that I would learn to write well. Other suggested majors for would-be journalists were history and political science. In those days it was possible to become a news reporter with little more than on-the-job training. Journalism and Communications degrees weren't necessary. I had a co-worker who was hired as a reporter with only a two-year associate's degree.

The advice I received worked, and I had a great career as a newspaper reporter. But over the years the newspaper industry got too corporatized, interested only in the financial bottom line and caring not at all about great reporting and writing.

Many newspapers were shut down, and the only people hired were those with journalism or communications degrees. It didn't matter if they could barely write, as long as they toed the corporate line and wrote only what they were told to write. Copy editors and computer spell checking were supposed to take the place of knowing how to write well.

More recently, papers laid off most of their copy editors to save money, and this is why we see the gibberish that passes for reporting today.

[begin_within]

52. Proofreading has become a lost art in the high-speed electronic age

I've been surprised by how many spelling and grammar errors make it to the public these days. I think it's due to the pressure of getting things out as quickly as possible. I used to work at a newspaper and there was a regular schedule for everything. Proofreaders would read everything that was destined for the press; in some cases 2 proofreaders because one person doesn't always catch everything. They were exacting about eliminating as many spelling or grammar errors as possible, because once it went to press, you couldn't change it. Today I think a lot of articles (that appear as news on Yahoo, anyway) are written by young journalists sitting at Starbucks with their laptops. They must be using electronic spell check and that's how "bare" got through, because it is a legitimate word, though not for this context. And there's always the attitude that if there is a mistake in an online news story, it could easily be corrected later by simply updating the online page. So the exacting standards of the print industry no longer seem to apply to the online industry.

[freshwest]

9. This definitely happens.

[tawadi]

11. 'She knew her daughter was malnourished and she was worried she would get in trouble'

Ya think?

[kestrel91316]

14. I don't suppose it ever occurred to her to FEED THE GIRL MORE.

[kestrel91316]

15. Gotta be either tweakers, alcoholics, or bible beaters.

Or perhaps just too mentally challenged to be having kids, in which case I'll give her a pass if she gives the kids up and gets her tubes tied.

[lunasun]

19. it could be the mother has a serious mental illness

[pnwmom]

21. She was smart enough to be able to take good care of her other two daughters.

The court can and should remove all three children for their own sake. But she should also face consequences for her crime, IMHO.

[KT2000]

17. Abusing and tormenting one child

is not unheard of. Irecall a book, "A Boy Called David" that was about a child who was abused when the other children were not. The damage done is magnified by the fact that the one child is singled out. The mother is criminally insane to have done this to her own child. Thank goodness the child was saved.

[laundry_queen]

23. Yep, I wrote about it upthread.

Quite common in abusive families.

[Raine]

25. That's the way it was for my mother, she was physically and emotionally abused

her younger sister was the little princess who was spoiled rotten.

[Voice for Peace]

18. she looks like a malnourished and bewildered child herself

[pnwmom]

26. You can tell that by one headshot? She's 29, and her other children

appeared well cared for. So she knew how to do it, apparently. Just didn't with her oldest.

[Voice for Peace]

31. I don't know if they appeared well cared for, I didn't read that.

She doesn't look well cared for & this is the cycle of despair and abuse.
As much as everyone would like to demonize the mother, it all starts
somewhere and it probably didn't start with her.

[pnwmom]

39. The article says that the girl was "singled out" and the others were "well cared for."

She had her daughter locked in a closet, hardly fed her, and didn't let her use the bathroom. And she KNEW how bad this was, because that's why she didn't let people see the girl -- who, at almost 11, should have weighed at least 2 or 3 times what she weighed. I don't care where this all "started" -- the mother was the responsible one and she knew what she was doing was wrong.

http://www.kctv5.com/story/18864069/mother-faces-multiple-charges-after-malnourished-daughter-found-locked-in-closet

Officers found that a portable crib was pushed against the closet door and a small rope and wide shoelaces were tied around the handles to keep the girl locked inside while everybody was gone.

SNIP

The prosecutor said it's unknown why this girl was singled out from the rest. She added that the girl's younger sisters were well cared for and neighbors reported seeing the mother playing outside with the two younger children on many occasions.

The little girl told authorities that she gets in trouble for peeing on herself and Prince will sometimes punch her on the back "real hard."

When police questioned Prince, she admitted to not letting her oldest daughter leave the house because she was embarrassed of the way the way the girl looked. She said she knew her daughter was malnourished and she was worried she would get in trouble if someone saw her.

[GCP]

27. No she doesn't

Sorry but you can't excuse what she did.

[Voice for Peace]

29. no need for you to make an assumption that I'm excusing her.

[pnwmom]

40. Except that that's what your posts appear to be trying to do.

"She looks like a child herself" implies that this 29 year old isn't responsible for her actions, even though the article said she knew that the child was malnourished and that she would get in trouble if people knew about the girl.

Whatever bad things may have happened to her doesn't justify her singling out this daughter for a life of torture.

[Voice for Peace]

43. Instead of assuming the worst about where I'm at, please try and understand.

There is no defense of this situation. I see an unspeakable
crime upon an innocent life, for which there is no good
explanation. Somehow the young mother had become
very ill; it's only a sick or starving creature who will do this
to its own offspring.

How does this happen? If we don't try to understand --
and with an effort at compassion even in the face of
an unforgivable crime -- there is less chance of breaking
the cycle of insanity.

Without help, and probably even with help, the abused
child will be an abuser, of herself or others. She will only
feel like *herself* when she is alone, starving, and locked
away in darkness. As horrible as it is, it's her most familiar
safe place, it's what she knows best. One way or another
she'll repeat it as an adult, if she survives to adulthood.

It's bleak and sad, but it happens all the time to so many,
in so many different ways. I wonder what somebody
had done to that young mother when she was a child.
And I wonder what somebody did to that somebody,
on and on -- all the somebodies, who re-enact what they
know best, damaging one generation after another.

My way of thinking isn't about excusing the crime, it's about
breaking the cycle.

Much of my life's work has been about understanding the
human psyche -- in particular, how one gets from utter
beauty and innocence at birth, to point B: for example,
a newborn baby with infinite promise grows in 29 years
into a creature who can torture her own offspring.

When does the damage begin? How can it be stopped?

Every human is born innocent. If you disagree with me
that's ok, but please don't distort my meaning, thank you!

[pnwmom]

48. Thank you for your thoughtful post.

Every human is indeed born innocent. But I cannot excuse this mother for her behavior, even though she may have been mistreated herself.

[Quantess]

50. I think I understand your point...

I thought others reacted too harshly to your comments.

[Voice for Peace]

53. thanks

[Judi Lynn]

28. Sure hope she will be placed with someone well-focused who will help stabilize her with love

and support as she tries to overcome all these years lived in fear. I believe it can be done, with the right people trying to save her future.

Thank you, pnwmom.

It's doubtful her siblings will ever be o.k., knowing their sister suffered like that at the hands of their mother. Hope they are removed to a better place, as well.

[snooper2]

33. Here's the picture of the miserable excuse for a human (In case you see her on the street someday)

Let her know what a POS she is..

[2ndAmForComputers]

36. $10 says that woman does heavy drugs.

[obamanut2012]

44. tweaker

[YellowRubberDuckie]

35. This sounds terribly familiar...

http://newsok.com/yukon-couple-convicted-of-child-abuse/article/3685955
When they picked up their oldest adopted son (he had ran away to the NEXT COUNTY in the middle of winter in a tshirt and jeans and slept in a box behind a fast food restaurant), he weighed 80 pounds and wasn't 5 feet tall. They were living on pet food.

It happens more than we like to think. I'm not sure why people starve their kids. There's some pathological behavior that makes people evil, mean. And sometimes it's just because they're mean and evil. It's sometimes not mental illness. Most of the time people are just evil and mean. We like to think that it is mental illness because we like to tell ourselves that monsters don't exist. I have looked evil in the eye, and I will tell you, they exist.

[Quantess]

41. My jaw nearly dropped.

That is outrageous. And nobody checked up on them?

[YellowRubberDuckie]

49. They moved from Wisconsin when they started an investigation...

...Then them moved to an East OK City Suburb and then they were about to get caught there, so they moved to a west side suburb out in the country and started home schooling. They weren't on Oklahoma's radar. Then the kid escaped and all hell broke loose. Worst part is, they admitted to everything, then they tried to blame the kids for what was done to them. "They were damaged when we got them." Well, you knew that when you got them! They were getting 4500 from WI PER MONTH for them, and they were eating dog food and they wouldn't take them to the doctor, a counselor, or the dentist or buy them shoes to fit! It was ridiculously horrible.
Good news is, they were found guilty. Sentencing is July 24th. She's facing Life plus 125 years, and he's facing 50.

[Quantess]

38. Incredible. How could nobody else know about the girl?

What about school? Nobody came asking about her?

[obamanut2012]

45. Why would they?

Was the girl even registered? Was she being "home schooled"? Some states have basically zero restrictions or supervision for homeschooling.

[Quantess]

46. I just think it's amazing

that someone can disappear, especially a child, and nobody notices them missing. It's like she disappeared off the face of the earth for a couple of years. The mother could just as well have murdered her daughter years ago and hid the body.

[turtlerescue1]

47. May this young girl START a brand NEW life!

Yes, it took too long. Yes, it is appalling. Yes, the writers can't spell. BUT at least one nearly 11 year old is no longer being abused, neglected and humiliated.