By NEIL JOHNSON of The Tampa Tribune
Eight teens were arrested in Polk County in connection with a 30-minute beating of a girl that was videotaped, possibly for posting on the Internet.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said six teenage girls held Victoria Lindsay on a couch, taking turns punching and kicking her while the beating was video taped.
Two other teens kept watch outside, even knocking on the front door to tell the girls they were making too much noise and neighbors were becoming curious, the sheriff’s office said.
Lindsay was temporarily staying at the home of Mercedes Nichols, where the beating took place on March 30, according to an arrest report.
The beating left the Lindsay with a concussion, damage to her left eye and ear and numerous bruises, the sheriff’s office said.
Lindsay was having trouble with her parents, according to the arrest report of Stephen Schumaker, the only adult charged in the assault.
The seven other teenagers were taken to the Polk County Juvenile Assessment Center, the report said.
According to the sheriff’s office, here’s how the beating occurred:
It started when Lindsay arrived at Nichols’s house on Calendar Court in Lakeland about 8:30 p.m. and Nichols and Brittini Hardcastle began yelling at her and threatening her.
Lindsay went into her bedroom and found April Cooper, who also began to yell and threaten her. Cooper then punched Lindsay several times in the face and slammed her head against a wall, knocking her out.
Lindsay woke up on a couch surrounded by six girls; Cooper, Cara Murphy, Britney Mayes, Hardcastle, Kayla Hassell and Nichols. All took turns punching and kicking her.
Lindsay tried to leave several times but the girls kept her from getting out of the house.
During the beating, the girls said they were going to post the video on the Internet, according to the report.
Lindsay’s father said the teens’ motivation for the attack was to produce a video that would become popular on YouTube and MySpace.
Deputies recovered the video.
The girls drove the victim to another house and let her get out of the car, but with the warning: “If you go to the police the next beating will be worse.”
In addition to Schumaker and the girls, deputies also took Zachary Ashley into custody. The sheriff’s office said he acted as a second look-out.
Ashley and the girls were arrested on Tuesday and Schumaker on Wednesday, charged with false imprisonment and battery, both felonies. He was released after posting $5,000 bond, jail records show.
UPDATE!! Mercades, aka Mercedes Nichols mother, Christina Garcia, was charged after she allegedly “beat up” her daughter. Twice. In the same day. See my post of March 29, 2009 for more on this.
55 Comments
April 8, 2008 at 9:18 am
I saw this story too and it appalled me. Especially the mother’s defending what her daughter and the other girls did.
Certainly, if the victim was posting nasty things about the girls on the web, then she should expect something in return. A fight between two kids after school is one thing and that type of stuff happens.
But this was obviously a planned attack with the intent to do serious harm. They knocked her unconscious. One of these kids should have known better and they all deserve the punishment that’s coming to them.
April 8, 2008 at 9:45 am
I just saw this too and I am enraged by this mother’s blatant disregard for the health, safety, and well being of the victimized youth. How would she have felt if it were her child being mercilessly beaten by 6 other individuals… What a joke of a parent. Those girls and especially that idiot of an 18 year old guy standing at the door as a lookout need to be tried as adults.
April 8, 2008 at 10:47 am
I also saw this “mother” on the Today show. She said something to the effect of, “Well, she shouldn’t say things that she can’t back up.” WHAT? I don’t care what the girl said on her myspace page, nobody has the right to physically assault and kidnap her! This girl could have been killed. Kids say things about each other all the time…if it was that terrible, this “mother” could have consulted a lawyer or the principal of the school, spoken to the other girl’s parents, etc. Nobody has the right to beat somebody like this. It was absolutely disgusting and I hope that all of those trashy kids rot in jail. That mother was even dumber than her low-class animal of a daughter.
April 8, 2008 at 11:38 am
I was late to work because I was watching this news story. From the looks of her mother, the apple didn’t far from the tree. This woman looks and sounds like she’s been through a lot of hard Florida times, including some sort of a loss of guardianship or custody of her trashy daughter. But if we got to blame all of our shortcomings on our parents we’d all get away with murder. Which is what it looks like this trainwreck Mercedes and her friends were trying to accomplish over some insignificant trash talking over the world’s biggest drama scene: MySpace (guilty user). I feel sorry for this low class girl and her similar friends, and the future wife beater who was watching the door. I don’t care if Mercedes was not the main assailant, she’s just as guilty as the pathetic crybabies who never learned the sticks and stones rhyme. I’m sure they deserved what was said about them, and proved it over national television. They should get used to being thought of as trashy, lower class criminals with nothing better to do on a sunny day but gang up on a skinny innocent girl who was exercising her right as an American to speak freely. These girls were concerned about missing cheerleading practice?? Well ladies, your next big concern should be wondering how you’re going to go from cheerleader status to fresh meat in a female prison with women who have done a lot more than say something bad about you.
And to the victim Victoria Lindsay, don’t let this get you down, you were dealing with cowardice bullies who got a little big for their britches, literally and figuratively.
April 8, 2008 at 11:55 am
[...] was video taped. Two other teens kept watch outside, even knocking on the front door to … credit : [...]
April 8, 2008 at 1:17 pm
The parents of those coward bullies better have deep pockets because we had a teen in my town who stole a .89 cent coke from Kroger. They prosecuted him and the parents spent over 18,000 defending his behavior. He was convicted, lost scholarship money and was not granted admission to several of the colleges he applied for. Teens need to realize that a small action can have larger consequences. The Lindsay family also can sue the Grandmother and the other teens’ families. The Grandmother could probably loose her house. That is why Christina Garcia has changed her tune when been interviewed later by Matt Lauer.
April 8, 2008 at 2:46 pm
$18,000.00 to defend an. .89 shoplifting case? Sounds like a lack of brains on both sides of that case.
The grandmother was reported to say she did not know about the attack until after it occurred. Given that, I am not so sure that she would lose her home. She ought to have both auto and home owners insurance that would protect her from most claims and unless she has puny policy limits, she should be covered. Her biggest exposure, imho, is from the use of her automobile to transport Lindsay to another location.
But I do hope the families of the cheerleaders/attackers are put on the hotseat.
April 8, 2008 at 3:19 pm
The first commenter is right, fights happens occasionally (although they should never be condoned and should be punished). What makes this shocking — and tragic — is the commonness of these girls. It’s easy to dismiss these girls as punks or “trailer trash” but I don’t think that’s right. Frankly these look and sound like normal kids to me. The house they are in is clean and decently appointed, the girls sound like average, middle-american myspace brats, and they are at least wealthy enough to have access to a video camera. Watch the video: these aren’t hoods or bullies or criminals, they’re seemingly normal kids. And that’s scary.
These girls are vicious and callous. But is it surprising? The prevalence of violence on television and sites like YouTube (among others) is so common it’s not surprising these girls thought they could do this. Hell, they actually thought it would be a welcome addition to the website. They aren’t “clueless” they’re “clued in.” They see this stuff every day.
Teen sex and drug use are bad but at least they are generally victimless. These girls lack of care about a fellow human — particularly a skinny, defenseless young girl — is a litmus test. And we’re failing it.
April 8, 2008 at 5:21 pm
I think it time we say enough is enough. These kids do not learn from their mistakes or from the lessons of others. Jail time does not deter kids, because they do not see kids doing jail time – they are out of site and out of mind.
In my opinion it is time the Courts/Judges start using good old fashion “shaming” techniques. I bet those girls would absolutely HATE wearing a bright orange T-Shirt to school that read I committed a felony, or I resort to violence because I am too stupid to work things out, or something similar they would also have to wear this fashion statement to college or work (make them wear it for a minimum of one year). Additionally they would spend the next 52 Saturdays working at shelters for victims of domestic violence (wearing their T-shirts) and the Parents can join them on Saturdays with their T-shirts saying I did not teach my child right from wrong, I taught my child violence is the answer.
This fight was not a “spur of the moment” although all fighting is wrong school yard brawls are not normally premeditated nor sinister as this attack was.
If kids see other kids being punished in such a visible way – maybe they will think twice about doing something similar. And if parents see other parents out there with their child – maybe they will pay more attention to what their kids are doing…
Just a thought
April 8, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Niether the victim’s parents nor Mercades Nichols’ mother made their daughters take down their myspace pages.
Mercades is rodeo_chick_0413 and the first music on her play list is “Smell Yo Dick.” http://www.myspace.com/rodeo_chick_0413
If any of you know the myspace pages of the others, please post them.
mschuller
April 8, 2008 at 9:03 pm
That video is absolutely heartbreaking. Every one of the girls involved deserves to suffer. I hope the miserable bags of human refuse do suffer. Hard. And for a long time. If only hell existed. One can only hope they’ll get a taste of their own medicine when they’re transferred out of juvie and into federal prison at the age of eighteen.
April 8, 2008 at 10:05 pm
this dirty scum bags who were brought by as we see by uneducated low life white trash parents deserve something really harsh. thats why i love the old country you pull this stuff down there believe we an eye for an eye if this happened to my child the only one that would be in prison would be me. this story makes my blood boil. if i brought up my kids and they got this beating id go nuts . what happened to sticks and stones my break my bones buy words will never hurt me. I think we need to stop all this bs and go back to old school where the parents can bring up there kids properely in the old days this stuff never happened. ask yourself why all this craziness is happening now. i wish the go to jail and suffer like they made her suffer and if the parents want to get heavy. I hope they get fixed too
April 9, 2008 at 8:09 am
You know all of the violence in schools and kids shooting up schools started happening when we started telling parents that they shouldn’t spank their kids, and started giving them hyperactivity medicine like candy from a pez dispenser. Unbelievable, they were worried about missing cheerleader practice. They shouldn’t even be let back into school! This girl was an honor student, she was beaten. The other trailer trash should go to jail, try them as adults. The two boys, well the father of the beatee should take care of them. They are real manly aren’t they? The father should beat them two boys from within an inch of their life. then maybe they’ll learn to act like men, not the pansy “gang” members they want to be. common trash
April 9, 2008 at 8:37 am
I missed the story this morning, but am not surprised. My family has been living a nightmare since last May.
This is going to keep happening until we as a society confront this problem head on.
I watched yesterday in horror. Last May my little brother, Griffen James Lollis, who had just turned 20 lost his life. He drank until he passed out and his “friends” drew obscenities and TEA BAG ME on him. Teabagging is all over YouTube and from what I have seen considered hilarious by many. I have spent a year and still do not see humor in it. His friends after his death, claimed it to be a “joke”. Griffen’s death just doesn’t seem funny.
Griffen made a bad choice to drink. His friends choice to embarass and humiliate him along with that helped kill him.
His friends and their parents have blamed Griffen and our dad for Griffen’s death. They are upset that their kids may have to go to jail for 30 days. Griffen got the death penalty.
Our youth are out of control. I agree we need parenting, but even with great parents you cannot protect your kids from everything. You can not teach them to be prepared for every situation. One of Griffen’s “friends” is going to be a nurse. Who would think someone in that field would not take care of someone who is incapacitated?
I have spent the last few months sharing about Griffen, trying to inform other kids of his death, hoping to save other lives. This young lady in Florida lets me know, there is much more work to be done.
Go to http://www.griffensgift.com, there you can see the entire story and photos of Griffen after this “joke” went bad.
Kimberly
April 9, 2008 at 8:49 am
I’m surprised you still call those callous twits “his friends.” I would not have allowed those twits to attend the funeral and I’d probably kick their parents upside the head any time I’d see them on the street.
What a cold, cruel and callous thing to do to someone who is supposed to be a friend. What kind of dickhead would do that to a friend who just died??
I don’t get that. Really I don’t and it’s not because I am clueless or totally stupid.
April 9, 2008 at 3:45 pm
That story is enough to remind me that way too many people in this world just plain suck.
April 9, 2008 at 9:19 pm
WTF!!! White trash defined!! And a mother who lost custody of her child has no right to defend her. If she taught her daughter the right way, this would not have happened. It is very scary how anyone could defend any of them anyways! I like many on here believe they ALL should be tried as adults and put away for a long, long time. And during their time “away,” these homely girls as ugly and disgusting as they are will surley find someone who wants to do more to them than just beat them! As for the boys, best of luck in prison boys-you will surely become a man in there and not in the way any of you had hoped!
April 9, 2008 at 9:21 pm
these terrible kids who did this will become poster children for abortionists
April 9, 2008 at 9:22 pm
And I just saw how upset Mercedes is to be getting threats! AWE poor little ugly thing! Perhaps someone will actually follow through with one of them! We can only hope! And as far as Mercedes feelings-WHO CARES?
April 9, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Beth – do you have a link for where ever you saw a report on Mercades Nichols being threatened? Has she been released yet?
April 10, 2008 at 1:19 am
this all doesnt suprise me loook at mercedes myspace…all over screams messed up teen!
and this picture http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=46598429&albumID=352110&imageID=6816108
look what her mom is wearing. is she trying to be a mom here or her childs best friend?
April 10, 2008 at 4:21 pm
this is just stupid. here you have 6 girls, beat up a skinny girl, and then tell her not to say anything to the cops. girls, this isn’t gangsta way. mom and dad are not gonna be intimidated by some puny little brats like yourselves. ja, that’s funny, “don’t say anything or we’ll do it worst”. hey, you can’t do worst now can you, you’re all in jail. this goes to show you, fighting doesn’t solve anything, just gets you in trouble. and then if you see the interview with one of the parents, they say “my daughter wasn’t there” hey stupid, she was pointed out by one of the brat punch pack. now that’s dumb as hell.
next in line, you have momma, who says her daughter turned in the tape, first off, if she turned it in and was “smart” she wouldn’t have said she was there, and if she was, she would’ve made a deal to be free, which she didn’t. what a putz. and she says that she has custody, hell, i don’t want that mom. she looks like the kind of mom that just gave birth to her and left her out so that she would learn about the world watching chuck norris movies.
then you have the spice boys, the guys who were the lookout. now, they’re gonna go from lookouts to somebody’s girlfriend in prison, and michael scofield won’t go back to save ya.
someone who was interviewed said that this wasn’t planned. ok, you don’t accidentally put someone in the car and take them inside the house and push their head against the wall and knock the unconscious. right now they should be thanking whoever it is they believe in that after that kind of a beating, she’s still alive. because if she would’ve died, it would be a lot worst, and even still, it’s gonna get worst because of the kidnapping charges.
this goes to show you, if kids are messed up, look at momma and daddy, and i bet you most of these girls have good parents, but they just have this tick to be rebelious, well, being rebel is gonna cost ya time in jail, and momma and daddy a lot of green. next time people, think better, its more formal and diplomatic to resolve things by talking it out, not beating it out.
finally to victoria: i hope that you get better, and the best of luck to you and your family. think that by this happening at the begining you had your parents for support, now thanks to the media, you have a whole nation behind you for support. justice will prevail, and next time choose better friends, not ignorant kids like these ones. take care and god bless you and your family
April 10, 2008 at 5:54 pm
I know first hand that Mercedes is being raised by her grandmother, because “mother” couldn’t handle her. So, why is the mother already in the picture trying to defend her??? Don’t be fooled into believing that her mother is some “involved” mother…she is pathetic! Too bad Mercedes doesn’t respect her grandmother either. Cussing her out and coming and going as she pleases at 17!!! Jail might be a good learning experience for these out-of-control teens!
As for the parents of these teens and all the other out-of-control teens, quit being WIMPS and start raising your kids. You “chose” to bring them into this WORLD….DO YOUR JOB!
April 10, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I like how Victoria is still in Mercedes top 8…
April 10, 2008 at 6:23 pm
myspace ids:
April Cooper – 56771231
Zachary Ashley – 85447208
Cara Murphy – 142434937
Mercades Nichols – 46598429
Kayla Hassell – 130301688
Brittini Hardcastle – 92531314
Britney Mayes – 74398264
April 10, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Thanks, anon.
April 10, 2008 at 10:41 pm
If there not all still in jail its wrong. Freedom of speech is still our right i thought so no matter what the girl was saying she didnt deserve anything like that. From the way the other girls were acting by doing this its probably true what she said about them. You just cant attack someone in anyway, there are laws against it and its imoral. Looked to me like she was held hostage by force. Yeah people fight its wrong but for all those people to attack her was evil no matter what there cause. I myself think that people like that should be put away for many years and undergo intense psychiatric medication for even longer than being jailed. Youtube should montitor better if not then they should be closed and banned forever.
April 11, 2008 at 12:42 pm
I said something really nasty about a classmate once in high school. You know what happened? After her mom called my mom my mother, my mom and I “had a talk” until I was in tears and then when my father got home from work I got an a** whipping. The next day I told the girl I was very sorry for what I had said and I didn’t say anything really nasty about people other than saying it to myself or writing it in my journal. These kids are so out of hand. If they were so upset about what she wrote than they should have either confronted her without trying to beat her to death or gone to the principal or their parents. I don’t understand what makes them think that it is within their rights to beat her unconcious, I could understand getting in one good punch or yelling at her, teen girl drama. But to beat her like that… She could have died and she is going to be messed up for a really long time emotionally. Those kids need to be expelled and tried as adults. Either way, good luck getting into college… and the cycle of trashiness continues. And Mercedes’s mother blaming Victoria, what is that? She deserved a beating? She shouldn’t say what she can’t back up? What the hell is wrong with you? They should all be sterilized.
April 11, 2008 at 7:17 pm
I think all parties involved are about be taken out of the gene pool. Their physical addresses are all over the internet and death threats are flooding in.
April 11, 2008 at 8:26 pm
The people making death threats against the cheerleader beaters are no better than the beaters.
April 12, 2008 at 12:00 am
Those girls are typical of the type of low class trailer trash people that live in Lakeland Florida. I’m not saying all of the people there just a good percentage of them. There are a lot of Trailer parks, low income, I think there was a study done that showed it had the highest arrest for Crystal Meth. I am familiar with the area as my girlfriends family lives out there. This whole thing is a shame. On the streets the area is known as an area of inbreeds.
April 12, 2008 at 2:42 am
Kimberly — I’d be a lot more inclined to believe that you were the sister of Griffin James Lollis if you hadn’t misspelled his name nine times in your post. It’s a horrible story, but I think posing as a family member is even worse.
April 12, 2008 at 6:32 am
Mercades mother makes a strong case for forced sterilization. She is unqualified to be a mother and should never again have custody of her daughter.
April 12, 2008 at 8:59 am
I have not seen this question yet, why haven’t these girls been charged with attempted murder? They could have killed her with what they did, is it because they actually let her go after threatening her if she told!!!
April 12, 2008 at 1:19 pm
I can’t believe the other parents are saying thier kids are good kids… Hello they planned a beating and did it.. SO unfair.. Plus that Garcia lady blaming tori and all thats crap. I agree with the post about if it was my kid i would be the only one in jail.
April 12, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Michelle – they didn’t leave her for dead and the video is pretty clear that the intent to murder was not there. However, had Victoria Lindsay died, it would be a fair assumption that all 8 would be up for the death penalty.
Time for the families of the beaters to stand up and apologize to the family of the beaten.
April 13, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I think they should all be thrown in jail for life, its obvious they are going to be very violent adults.
April 13, 2008 at 5:00 pm
What I wouldn’t give to get that little bitch and her friends in my house and her mother too. They all would get a beat down for what they did to that girl. What the hell was Dr. Phil thinking for bailing her out? She WAS NOT THE VICTIM, why isn’t he helping the girl that was ambushed and attacked? That’s who needs the help. Since those girls think that they are so grown up, thrown em’ in a real Woman’s jail and let those women take care of them. All those girls are lucky I dont live in Florida.
April 14, 2008 at 10:24 pm
well, since I am still angry, I will post this. I want Victoria to know she is a victim, she did nothing that would every be an excuse for this, and she needs all of our support. She has extensive injuries which will take a long time to heal.
She could not defend herself at all. And thats what riles me up the most. We all can sympathize about being in her shoes, and it is a real nite mare. And, to think she was attacked in a house of a friend she was staying at–a safe haven if you will. Can you imagine that? A friend she trusted sold her out. And she could not get away. And beaten, then beaten, and then beaten some more.
So, if you can even for a moment put yourself in Victoria’s shoes, you can realize why this is a very very troubling affair. We all must, and I mean, must let Victoria know she is not alone, at least in the internet she is among friends, and that no harm will come to her here. We offer only our support to her.
And to the perpetrators who wanted to get this brutal attack on you tube, you got your wish.
April 18, 2008 at 11:51 pm
I watched this video and it made me sick to my stomach. The bullying that is going on in schools is not the bad kids, no, most of the time it is the so called good kids. The teachers pets and the jocks and cheerleaders. They are just plain mean and cruel to those not fortunate as them or not as pretty as them, or popular. These kids need to be punished to the max and the parents and kids need to quit making excuses for this violence. Also, Dr. Phil should not have bailed this little snot out of jail, let her take a few licks like the victim was given. As for me, No, I don’t feel bad for saying this, cause I believe in an eye for an eye. Send those punks to the slammer and let them take it like a woman or man.
April 20, 2008 at 6:21 pm
“this woman is totally clueless and bears personal responsibility for her daughter’s criminal behavior” I’m a teenager myself and if i did something like this my parents would disown me….what these girls did appalled me and i cant believe they actually wanted to take a video to put on youtube! they should go to jail and i agree with peter taylor the parents shouldn’t have custody of the girls…i also read somewhere that when the girls were in the jail cell one of them wondered out loud if she would be late for cheer practice….thats what bothers me the most, how can they take this so lightly! i mean what if she died, they would be in jail right now
April 20, 2008 at 6:26 pm
i was wondering why my school and most other schools bans the use of myspace and facebook and other sites like that in school….looks like i got my answer, what a horrible thing to do and right after she was having troubles with her parents
April 21, 2008 at 9:24 am
Jen? Perhaps you understand this better than the average teen (and more than a few adults) because you are brighter and more self-aware than they are?
April 23, 2008 at 2:35 pm
THE PARENTS CAN NOT TAKE DOWN THE PAGES. THE POLICE HAVE CONTROL OF THEM. IT IS AN ACTIVE INVESTIGATION.
USE SOME BRAINS IDIOTS!
AND WHEN I MAKE A FAKE PAGE OF SOMEONE WHO IS STILL IN JAIL…PUT THOSE 2 SIMPLE, WELL-KNOWN FACTS TOGETHER.
YOU SUCKAS GOT GOT!
p.s. here is another one to shit your pants over: http://www.myspace.com/372567782
April 24, 2008 at 5:13 pm
THEY WERE ALL SET UP!
THE GOVERNMENT IS BEHIND THIS!!
TRUST NO ONE!!
April 24, 2008 at 5:30 pm
I have been following this story since it first hit the news. I can agree with all those that believe these kids deserve to have the full punishment handed to them. My hope they have a jury trial and the jury envokes the right to give them the maximum sentence plus one day. This will ensure they serve the full sentence plus one day. No time served for good behavior, no early release, no probabation. For those ignorant parents: they should be forced to pay the state child support, due to know the lovely Florida taxpayers get to pay the state to raise their kids, since they did not have the brains to do it themselves.
I truly believe all the kids that are commiting these crimes the parents are responsible, FULLY. The computer,TV, and games are not our personal babysitters, nor are their friends. Be a real parent accept responsibility for your childs actions due to you lack of actions.
Beyond this the kids and the parents need to pay restitution to Lindsay for the suffering she endured at the time, and will continuallyendure the rest of her life. Her parents are having to pay medical bills, home schooling bills and etc. They are enduring more cost that these little thugs and their ignorant parents can ever think of. Lindsey willnot be able to go back to school, enjoy her high school days, or even the activities because the kids were not raised by parents, they were raised by each other.
If we start MAKING these kids pay now when they decide to do something wrong and get caught, then maybe we might have the chance in saving other kids in the future.
April 25, 2008 at 10:02 am
Search Mercades Nichols on myspace. Looks like she made a new account filled with peace signs and asking forgiveness.
Thought she wasn’t suppossed to be there? This new page has no pics unlike the other one that is full of pics of her, her dog, the confederate flag. Yeehaw, if I looked like that I wouldn’t be advertising it.
April 26, 2008 at 10:52 am
sauer kraut,
I saw your post about Griffen. I am glad to see another who finds it disgusting. I have been traveling all over the upstate of SC and most kids find this behavior funny. I just do not get it either.
I know they are not his friends. There just are no words for my description of them.
Everyone keeps saying I am naive because I don’t get this. I don’t think I ever will.
Kimberly
April 26, 2008 at 4:57 pm
yo CG.
yes, its fake. no computer for her.
i thought it would be funny since none of it would be anything she would ever say.
the page is still up but myspace shut of my access to it a few days ago.
June 15, 2008 at 1:02 pm
The charges were dropped against the boys and Cara. From the start, law enforcement lied. Anyone who actually examined the released evidence knew this.
People encouraging violence against these kids should be ashamed, you can get them severely or permanently injured. You’re no better than Cara Murphy who failed to stop the beating, in fact you’re worse, you’re like the camera girl (NOT Cara Murphy) who cheered the beating.
Trying 14 and 15 year-old girls “as adults” for *misdemeanor* battery is simply child abuse and the reasons are purely political, the sheriff is running for re-election in the fall.
There are still many more lies and a lot of misinformation about this case out there. The girls do deserve a fair punishment for their misdemeanor battery, but they do not deserve a deluge of death threats, massive encouragement of violence against them on the Internet (conveniently ignored by the media and bloggers), biased judicial system (the bail amounts were ludicrously high if you know *anything* about Florida bail amounts in similar cases), and being shut silent by the judge while law enforcement saturates the media with lies about them.
Those girls went way too far trying to get back for whatever wrong, real or imagined, the victim did to them. Now powerful people are going way too far in exploiting this for their own gain. It’s poetic justice but it is NOT justice. And the difference is those people are adults and they are trying to outright destroy the children’s lives. And the entire world cheers. Hypocrisy is alive and well.
June 15, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Yeah, yeah, didi. You posted the same nonsense on my other post about this situation.
destroy the children’s lives… oh yeah, dumbo. What about beating the crap out of Victoria Lindsay? You think maybe those girls were trying to destroy her life? Or is that line of thinking too difficult for you?
June 19, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Those girls never tried to DESTROY any life. No more so than millions of other kids who are guilty of misdemeanor battery.
June 20, 2008 at 11:58 am
Destroy life or destroy her life?
How much better do you think her life is with wide circulation of that video? How about her eyesight? Is that back to 100% Or her hearing?
Whether the miscreants intended to or not, their actions put a major adjustment to Ms. Lindsay’s life. By making it known that they were taping it for posting onto youtube, they made clear their intention to “destroy her life” as it was. For that, they deserve to face the fiddler and pay up.
If that means in adult court, then so be it. I’ll have no trouble sleeping if they get a few years behind bars to think about it.
June 20, 2008 at 7:32 pm
The doctors said from day one the victtim should fully recover. These injuries are common in beatings and contact sports. If the victim had likely permanent damage, the kids could NOT be charged with *misdemeanor* battery. And the charges would have been upgraded to felony battery, just like the “false imprisonment” charges were upgraded to “kidnapping”. Prosecution hit these kids with everything they could.
There is NO evidence so far that the taunts about YouTube were anything but… taunts. Unless Tori started to fight back, the girls would be destroying their own reputation by posting the beating — and they never did, although they had plenty of time. Vidoes of beatings get often posted by third parties and get labeled like “A fat ugly cow beating a pretty girl whose refusing to fight”.
It was the sheriff who LIED when he said the video had to be made public, and it was the sheriff who ensured that her beating was shown by major TV networks over and over. This did NOT have to happen, it was the sheriff EXPLOITING the victim and her family.
So by your own logic, it is the sheriff who is GUILTY of trying to destroy the life of the victim.
I’d have not trouble sleeping if the sheriff got a few years behind the bars to think about that and other nasty things he did.
As for the girls, they should have been punished fairly, in a similar way that hundreds of Florida girls have been punished for similar crimes in the recent past.
August 9, 2008 at 11:27 am
everybody just needs to chill cuz maybe ur kids done alot too. its straight to talk but do it to the person!!!!!!!! that gurl tori still talks crap about it and braggs but didnt yall know that!!!!! so u cant put all the blame on her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!