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Years back I became aware of a young girl being kidnapped on her way to school in NE Indiana. After a few days her body was discovered in Central Indiana. She was sexually assaulted and murdered. I questioned why this happened. I questioned how this could happen on the way to school when other children and adults are out in full force.
This crime happened before budget cuts eliminated busing which puts more children at risk for abduction. Walking to school should be safe every day. These budget cuts that make children more vulnerable to predators should be rectified. These cuts should not have been allowed. I happen to live in a state in which the governor has used his authority to make deep cuts in the education process just because the elected State Superintendent received more votes than he did. This is shameful.
I could not help but wonder how something like this could have been avoided. Children need a way to call attention to situations that put them at risk. The young girl was known to one of the abductors. It is likely that at least one of the abductors were known to her. I am not convinced the girl accepted a ride.
In a matter of days local authorities approached a suspect. The man authorities approached would not allow them in his residence. The authorities returned with a search warrant. What they found was not easy to comprehend. The suspect’s wife and three children were found in their residence, murdered. The suspect was formally arrested and jailed.
The abducted girl lived in close proximity to the suspect. It was published that one of the suspect’s daughters were in the same class as the abducted girl and that they were friends.
I had three daughters of my own. I constantly stressed the importance of safety. Their rebuttal was that we lived in a small city and those things didn’t happen here. Our city is 20 miles from the street this occurred on. I was still pondering why this happened and why I felt the need to understand and provide a means to keep this from happening again.
I then remembered a time when my oldest daughter told me that a school mate also a girl had confided to her that sexual abuse was going on in their home. This was in the latter 1980’s. My response was wow, what prompted her to tell you? I learned the class had a segment on good touch and bad touch. My daughter was in tears because she felt so sorry for the girl in her class. Discussing why it was important to let some one in a position of authority know, my X walked in and demanded that the conversation go no further and that we were not allowed to tell anyone.
I started paying attention to the girl and other family members when I had the chance to do so. To this day I can still visualize the mother’s facial expressions and her body language as she sat through morning mass in the back of the church. Her cheeks were red and swollen from crying. The stress, despair and unhappiness were oozing out around her. Her demeanor was that of an abused canine. During a birthday party at McDonald’s I noticed an older brother around the age of 11 in the portable play pen slithering on his belly like a snake around the toddler. I also noticed strange behavior from another sibling. When the older brother was in high school, he was arrested for sexual misconduct with a minor. I never did see the father’s name in our paper for similar charges.
It occurred to me that a similar program may have been provided to the class of the abducted girl and the suspect’s daughter. I do not know what really happened. I have a strong feeling that the daughter confided to the friend and possibly her mother. The suspect found out and started eliminating everyone that could be a threat.
I was a vendor at a Farmer’s Market in the city where the crimes occurred for a couple years. A gentleman stopped by my area and asked about the personal protection products I had on display. I explained them and commented why I thought children should carry a shrill alarm or whistle to ward off predators that prey on children. The gentleman mentioned the abducted girl by name. I acknowledged that was the incident I was referring to. He told me he was the detective in charge of that case. I told him what I thought the reasons were that led to the outcome. I told him I did not believe the girl accepted a ride. He let me know they did know each other. He questioned if anyone would have realized what was happening even with a loud audible device. That is a question that will never be answered.
The suspect later hung himself in jail before the trial.
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Source by Carla J Mattingly