Everyday Erinyes #59

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage.  These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that.  Even though there are many more which I can't include.  As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as "unceasing," "grudging," and "vengeful destruction."

Well.  Pennsylvania.  Grace Packer was fourteen when her stepfather, I guess you'd call it, and adoptive mother raped, killed, and dismembered her. 

The beginning of the end seems to have been when they took her to a new residence; once inside, Dad hit her in the face, took her to the attic, and raped her, while Mom watched (apparently, Mom always got a kick from watching.)  They attempted to kill her with an overdose of OTC drugs (not as easy to do as people think it is).  But finding her still alive hours later, Dad strangled her to death.

They then kept the corpse in the attic for four months, using kitty litter to mask the odor.

Eventually, however, they moved it, as, when found, it was found in pieces, in a wooded area, by hunters.  Mom may have done the actual dismembering; at any rate, she is the one being charged with abuse of a corpse.

I came across this story because there is a petition to the prosecutor for justice for Grace.  I am not sure what is most chilling about this story –

• That it was done at all;
• That it was done in part by a mother whose profession was that of adoption supervisor for a county child welfare agency;
• Or that we are now so distrustful of our criminal justice system that we feel we need to petition them for justice in a case this flagrant.

Megaera – just in case it is necessary – follow this, will you?  Thank you.

Katelyn Davis, of Cedartown, Polk County, Georgia, was even younger than Grace Packer – just twelve.  She also had apparently been the victim of sexual abuse from a family member – a family member who had also told her that she was "worthless," and that she should just "go hang herself."

So she did.  And livestreamed it from her phone.  It took 42 minutes.

No one from her home or even her home town alerted police to the suicide.  They were tipped off by a police force in California.  They went to her home and rushed her to a hospital, but she was pronounced dead on arrival.  Does this outrage you?

She had posted the video on Live.me.  Someone or multiple someones copied it from that feed into YouTube, and into Facebook.  From there, it was picked up by other sites.  After several days, YouTube and Facebook were contacted and took it down (the YouTube one received nearly 40,000 hits before it was removed).  But other sites contiinue to show it.  Some will profit from advertising every time it is viewed.  Does this outrage you?

The Polk County Police Department has taken to Facebook to ask that anyone who has any "knowledge, videos, or comments" regarding this case please keep it off of the internet.  That is really all they can do.  They have no legal power to get any site to take it down; all they have is moral suasion.  Does this outrage you?

“But it’s just the common decent thing to do in my opinion.”  [PCPD]

And in my opinion too.  Tisiphone, I have a couple of things on my mind about this.  One is, who in Olympus's name told her she was worthless and to go hang herself?  And what else did this person do to her?  There are a lot of abuses being alleged, and none of them are mutually exclusive.  Not that I personally need to know.  But I'd like for you to know so you can act.  And also – can you get that video to go away?  Thanks.

Moving downward in age, Eliyah Elvidge, of AuSable Forks, New York, was um – two.

Prosecutors have charged [Patricia] Giddings[, his mother,] with criminally negligent homicide in the toddler's death, which occurred back in August, but she wasn't arrested and charged until just last week. Giddings and her boyfriend at the time, Brandon Bushey, are accused of leaving the child unsupervised in what prosecutors called a "holding pen," using a 4-foot high piece of plywood to keep the boy in a bedroom.

Ellyah's head allegedly became stuck in a notch at the top of the board while Giddings and Bushey watched TV. That allegedly led to the boy's death when he could not breathe.

Testimony Wednesday from investigators said the room Ellyah was being kept in was deplorable, including dirty diapers, animal feces and broken toys on the floor. 

If convicted, Giddings and Bushey could each serve up to four years in prison.  Alecto, make it so (and I too wish it could be longer.)  Thank you.

And, yes, this last victim was even younger (though, had he lived, he'd be a bit older than Eliyah now.)  Ezekiel Stephan was one (well, nineteen months) when he died of bacterial meningitis in 2012, in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.

David Stephan, Ezekiel's father, and Collet Stephan, thought Ezekiel had croup or the flu.  They were treating him with remedies including hot peppers, garlic, onions, and horseradish.  Ok, and with a nutritional supplement called EMPowerplus.  Which is made by a company called Truehope Nutritional Support.  Which was cofounded by David's father.  Apparently they treated him for about two and a half weeks before he stopped breathing, which prompted them to call 911.  Ezekiel was admitted, transferred once or twice to different hospitals with increasing capabilities, eventually removed from like support, and died.

Now, I do not have a problem with EMPowerplus, if adults want to use it.  I use supplements myself, every day.  But even I do not use supplements in place of antibiotics.  Our antibiotics are being compromised rapidly, but there are still some in existence which can and should be used to treat bacterial meningitis.  At 71, there are some things about my body which I know better than a doctor does.  SOME things.  But at nineteen months, before you can even tell mommy where it hurts, you need to be seen by a physician.  David Stephan doesn't appear to agree, even now.  Though it happened in 2012, it is in the news now because he is still hawking EMPowerplus.

He also said he worries the case sets a precedent for prosecuting loving parents whose care-giving style falls outside government-dictated norms.

Right.  Ladies, someone please take a look at this.  Thanks.

The Furies and I will be back.

Cross posted to Care2 at http://www.care2.com/news/member/101612212/4030984