Tag Archives: Anger

Child Abuse

Depressed and Angry

Never-ending Groundhog Day Revisited

Even though I hear his warnings, I refuse to get off this roller-coaster, at least for now, just 1 more time around.

Again I have postponed the post that was ready last night.  I can see the pool of bubbling acid in Our Lab, I know this because I see Dr Frankenstein across the movie set from me.  We always enjoyed the old scary shows when we were Children.  I might as well tell you that the bubbling acid is in my stomach.

The further I got into my post last night, the more upset I became;  from the first 5 minutes, I realized that this one instance of Indifference toward Endangered Children had lingered, and in fact, had festered like the unfelt bite of a Brown Recluse.

To find out that this instance of the irresponsible, getting paid for NOT doing their job, that WE, the taxpayer, still paid them even while they DIDN’T do what they were hired and expected to do, had lingered for over 9 months.

Little did I know, I was to discover that this one instance had gone undone, and had been covered up for OVER 20 MONTHS.

How many Children are dead because of this one instance….

Physical Abuse

Boyfriend Beats Boy to Death

Our Scotty
Jillian Tait
Gary Fellenbaum
Mobile Home where Scotty McMillian was beat and tortured to death.
Amber Fellenbaum

Mother, boyfriend beat 3-year-old boy to death

 WEST CALN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A 3-year-old boy was savagely beaten to death by his mother and her boyfriend, police say.

CBS Philadelphia reports that 31-year-old Jillian Tait and 23-year-old Gary Fellenbaum were charged Thursday in the death of Scotty McMillan.
Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan had tears in his eyes as he described the weeks of horrible abuse Scotty suffered before dying. The duo are accused of slowly killing McMillan over the course of three days, using a homemade whip, a piece of aluminum siding and even their fists, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Hogan said before Scotty died Tuesday, he had been hung upside down by his feet and spent time taped to a chair for the beatings. The couple also reportedly also hit the child with a frying pan repeatedly.  “Though the heavens may fall, justice will be done to these defendants,” Hogan said.
He said his office will pursue the death penalty.

They are also accused of beating Scotty’s brother six-year-old Ryan McMillan. Both children are Tait’s from a previous relationship.  All four moved into a trailer in West Caln Township last month, with Fellenbaum’s wife and their 11-month-old daughter.  Police say both Fellenbaum and Tait abused both boys for weeks, but the violence escalated by Sunday. The couple allegedly used homemade weapons.  “They whipped Scotty. They whipped him with a curtain rod,” Hogan said. “And while they were doing that they were laughing.”

Hogan told CBS Phildelphia, “You see here aluminum siding from a window.  And that, of course, are the holes in the wall where heads are going through the wall.”  Police say Scotty was beaten so badly Tuesday he became unresponsive, but instead of getting help Tait and Fellenbaum left him alone on this air mattress.  “They went shopping,  and went out for pizza and came back and fooled around,” Hogan said. 

The trailer where Scotty spent his final days is also home to Amber Fellenbaum, Gary Fellenbaum’s wife, and her 11-month-old daughter with Fellenbaum.  Amber Fellenbaum found Scotty dead Tuesday and called 911.  Hogan says she knew about the beatings and never called police. She is now facing child endangerment charges.

 

Child Abuse

Alleged Gang Members Charged

2 Alleged Gang Members Charged with Murder of 9-year-old Anaheim Girl

Two alleged gang members have been charged with the murder of a 9-year-old Anaheim girl, who was fatally shot while playing with her friends outside of her home

Alfredo Akino, 20 years old, is already on probation, and Ricardo Cruz, 19 years old, is on parole
Charged with Murder and Street Terrorism
Both young men have been denied bail, Prosecutor says he will seek the death penalty

Bullying, Child Abuse

Another of Our Children LOST To Bullying

Community raises awareness about bullying after teen’s death

 

October 21, 2014
HAVANA, Ill. — A community came together Tuesday night to celebrate the life of a 16-year-old girl and shine a light on the issues of bullying, depression and teen suicide.

Lindsey Heflers died Saturday after battling depression that her parents say stemmed from bullying. 

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was a junior at Roanoke-Benson High School, but spent her freshman and sophomore years at Havana High School.

Lindsey’s parents want to share her story with the hope that someone being bullied or battling depression will hear it and take another route. They say there needs to be more awareness, because right now those topics are just swept under the rug. “When it comes to bullying, it’s a simple comment. It’s a simple, you’re fat. Zero tolerance means zero tolerance,” said Linsey’s dad, Danny Helfers. “I know you are kids, but think before you say something. It’s more than just words. It lasts forever for us now, it’s the rest of our lives.” “She made people happy and laugh and kept everything she was hurting inside and she couldn’t deal with it anymore,” said Lindsey’s mom Linda Helers.

Experts at the Center for Prevention of Abuse in Peoria say more than 160,000 students don’t want to go to school each day because they are afraid of being bullied. The director of prevention services, Marcia Bolden says there are signs to watch out for if you think someone is being bullied. Those include being withdrawn, having a hard time focusing and not eating. Research shows that depression can be an outcome of bullying and experts say reporting it is key to stopping the cycle. “I want to speak to those bystanders, those individuals that are also generally present,” said Bolden. “Speak up, be a voice for that person that has experienced the bullying. You could save someone’s life.”

Visitation for Lindsey is Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Her funeral is Thursday at 10 a.m. Both are at the Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes and Crematory in Pekin.

If you suspect someone is being bullied or is battling depression you can get help by calling the Center for Prevention of Abuse at (309) 691-0551

Child Abuse, Physical Abuse

5 year-old Brother tries to defend 3 year-old Sister

New York City Studying Child Safety at Shelters After a Death

The New York Times
By WINNIE HU and J. DAVID GOODMAN   OCT. 20, 2014

Officers responding to 911 calls found a 3-year-old girl dying, her 5-year-old brother beaten and Mr. Smith on the run. The motive for the killing provided another shock: the rage that ended in the death of the girl, Jeida Torres, was prompted by little more than a pair of soiled pants, investigators theorize.

Mr. Smith, 20, was arrested hours after Jeida’s death at an aunt’s house in Queens, where relatives said he slit his wrists, apparently in a suicide attempt.  He will face second-degree murder and other charges, said Kenneth P. Thompson, the Brooklyn district attorney.  The girl’s death was ruled a homicide on Monday by the medical examiner’s office, citing the cause of death as “blunt impact injuries of head and torso.”  The police said there had been no previous calls about domestic violence at the second-floor apartment, where the recently married couple had been living since July, or calls related to Ms. Torres and her children. A spokesman for the Administration for Children’s Services declined to comment on any previous involvement with the family.

The 5-year-old boy, Andrew, may have sought to intervene on behalf of his sister before being struck himself, officials said. He remained hospitalized at Wyckoff Hospital on Sunday.

Still, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday that his administration was doing an internal investigation of the city’s procedures and reviewing domestic violence and child safety in shelters as officials sought to understand what happened, and to prevent it from happening again.  “We are all deeply saddened by the senseless death of an innocent child, and we are all responsible for our children’s safety,” Mr. de Blasio said in a statement. “We must find out what went wrong and what we could have done differently to avoid this terrible outcome.”

Camille Rivera, a deputy commissioner for the Department of Homeless Services, said the agency would take immediate steps, including reviewing intake procedures to get more information about any domestic violence and child abuse histories, and reviewing tools to assess and better understand family dynamics and any potential safety threats to children or caretakers.

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