GUILTY Australia - Kiesha Weippeart, 6, Mount Druitt, NSW, 18 July 2010 - #2

Mrs G Norris said:

Here's the link to the abc website, won't be up yet, but possibly tomorrow, they are pretty good about putting up documentary's and making them available for download.

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If you could supply that link Mrs G Norris, that would be great! As I am in the States, that would be the only way for me to view it! Thanks ~
And like you ... awaiting word on sweet little Kiesha, and hoping it will be sooner than later.

xo

Haddie McFaddies Mom said:

If you could supply that link Mrs G Norris, that would be great! As I am in the States, that would be the only way for me to view it! Thanks ~
And like you ... awaiting word on sweet little Kiesha, and hoping it will be sooner than later.

xo

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Eeeek sorry! I just edited that post to include it! We'll link it once it comes up, but let us know if you can't view it and we'll find a way (if possible) so you can.

Better late than never?

THE mother of missing six-year-old Hebersham girl Kiesha Abrahams has written a letter to publicly thank the community for their continual support for her daughter.

The heartfelt letter by Kristi Abrahams - written on behalf of herself, Kiesha’s stepfather Robert Smith and “all family members” - was read out at a candlelight vigil held for Kiesha on Friday night.

In the letter, Mrs Abrahams wrote: “We would like to say thank you for all the gifts of hope and love for our beautiful little girl Kiesha.

“We will not give up until our little angel is back with us.”

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* Meanwhile, police have rejected claims that a body had been found in Sadleir, near Liverpool.

A police spokeswoman said yesterday that police searched Edwin Wheeler Oval since they received a report on Saturday that a body had been found dumped inside a duffle bag.

She said police had not found a body.

She also said that media reports of the discovery of a yellow shirt covered in blood were untrue.

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More at link:

http://mt-druitt-standard.whereiliv...ha/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter


Sadly ironic that Kieshas favourite song was 'best of both worlds' by Hannah Montana. (also my DD's fave song)

The letter: Hands up anyone who believes kristi actually had anything at all to do with this letter?
Notice it starts with 'On behalf of ....."

My money her friend Alison Anderson wrote that.....she spoke on the news from the vigil that night and has been acting as a spokesperson of sorts for the family,

Butwhatif? - (I tried to quote your post here, but couldn't work it out!) .. you mentioned that the police are now denying a blood-stained shirt was found. Could you please link me to the article which says this?

It may be nothing, but yesterday we had police stating that these items were *not* linked to Kiesha - yet noone was saying the items hadn't been located? (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/na...hunt-body-in-bag/story-e6frf7l6-1225915034033)

One other thing, OK so perhaps the bloody shirt was not found. But what about the other items supposedly found (the childs ball and belt)?? Why say that one thing wasn't found, yet not mention the other rumoured items?

Let me know if I'm way off track here guys!

LadyD'enah said:

Butwhatif? - (I tried to quote your post here, but couldn't work it out!) .. you mentioned that the police are now denying a blood-stained shirt was found. Could you please link me to the article which says this?

It may be nothing, but yesterday we had police stating that these items were *not* linked to Kiesha - yet noone was saying the items hadn't been located? (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/na...hunt-body-in-bag/story-e6frf7l6-1225915034033)

One other thing, OK so perhaps the bloody shirt was not found. But what about the other items supposedly found (the childs ball and belt)?? Why say that one thing wasn't found, yet not mention the other rumoured items?

Let me know if I'm way off track here guys!

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Here it is again (last sentence of article):

http://mt-druitt-standard.whereiliv...ha/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

It's from the local (st Marys) paper and is being repeated on a few other MSM sites now.

The police are either trying to keep everything quiet, or maybe the red stain turned out to not be blood. That's a simple and fast test.
But the shirt was definately found....there's pics, and why the heck would they remove the whole bin if nothing was in there? :waitasec:

It's a bit weird that the police spokeperson who said this ,was not named in the article- so could just be bad reporting too.
JMO

Search for human remains still on

08 Sep, 2010 12:00 AM
THE report of a sighting of suspected human remains has had police trawling through a Sadleir oval for four days.
Green Valley Police Acting Superintendent Steve Corry said a resident walking through Edwin Wheeler Reserve on Saturday told police there was a duffel bag there that contained human remains.

Yesterday police divers searched Cabramatta Creek for the remains.

Acting Superintendent Corry said that the investigating police were taking the matter very seriously and that they would continue to search for the remains but there was no information as yet to suggest the identification of the body


http://www.liverpoolchampion.com.au...earch-for-human-remains-still-on/1935766.aspx


And re: the bloodstained shirt...the person who found it says that she learned who the owner of the shirt was an that it was blood, but with an innocent explanation.
That while playing cricket over the weekend at the park, this guy had gotten a bloody nose and wiped it clean with his shirt before tossing it in the bin.

(From Princess Kiesha FB page.)

Interesting letter on behalf of Kiesha's mother and stepfather. A little bit of damage control maybe?

So no body parts or human remains have been confirmed found? My first thought, upon reading the breaking story, was they had found the rest of Kristi McDougall, not Kiesha's body.

4 days of searching? Is it standard for a search to go on this long when they 'haven't found anything'? I'm thinking we're missing a pretty large piece of the puzzle here...:waitasec:

Mrs G Norris said:

My money her friend Alison Anderson wrote that.....she spoke on the news from the vigil that night and has been acting as a spokesperson of sorts for the family,

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Totally agree Mrs. Norris, and probably at the author's own suggestion, intuition, or incentive to put out something "on behalf of" the fam as a gesture to compensate for their own glaringly obvious lack of effort.

^ yep agree, I really like Alison A, she's a rough nut with a big heart IMO. Also couldn't help noticing a change in her during the interview, she seemed very heartbroken. It must be awful for people who knew the family to come to terms with what has happened.

Playing devil’s advocate here, I have not seen any examples where the community members and organizations whose purpose is to help and support Kristi came through for her and her children when they needed help. All their cries for help were ignored. After Kiesha was bitten, Kristi needed help but she wasn’t ordered to take parenting classes or assigned a community support worker. When an eye witness saw Robert beating Kiesha, he wasn't charged with assault. Kiesha could still be alive if Robert had been charged. If the neighbors knew the children were being abused, why did they not make an anonymous call to Police? Why did the legal authorities not act when they learned Kiesha was not attending school? The system failed Kristi and are partly to blame for this outcome and they should have seen it coming. The community chose to ignore their responsibilities to provide care to their own and I understand why Kristi is bitter, I would be too if I was in her shoes. Kristi needed to be monitored closely and she wasn't. Now the community is stepping up to the plate and showing support but is it really making any difference? If a community nurse had visited Kristi after she gave birth to Levi she would have been there the weeks leading up to Kiesha’s reported disappearance. Just think of the difference that could have made. JMO

LadyD'enah said:

4 days of searching? Is it standard for a search to go on this long when they 'haven't found anything'? I'm thinking we're missing a pretty large piece of the puzzle here...:waitasec:

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Pffft- they haven't found anything!

They don't do a 4 day search, use evidence flags, 'sniffer' dogs, continue to send in police divers etc if was just based on a tip, and yet nothing was found.

If they didn't find the bag, why search the creek? Do they have a hunch that an animal dragged the bag all the way to the creek between the time it was allegedly seen by a member of the public, and police arriving on scene?
Don't think so. IMO, There has to be something there that was worth all of those resources.

JMO

Bluesky#1 said:

Playing devil’s advocate here, I have not seen any examples where the community members and organizations whose purpose is to help and support Kristi came through for her and her children when they needed help. All their cries for help were ignored. After Kiesha was bitten, Kristi needed help but she wasn’t ordered to take parenting classes or assigned a community support worker. When an eye witness saw Robert beating Kiesha, he wasn't charged with assault. Kiesha could still be alive if Robert had been charged. If the neighbors knew the children were being abused, why did they not make an anonymous call to Police? Why did the legal authorities not act when they learned Kiesha was not attending school? The system failed Kristi and are partly to blame for this outcome and they should have seen it coming. The community chose to ignore their responsibilities to provide care to their own and I understand why Kristi is bitter, I would be too if I was in her shoes. Kristi needed to be monitored closely and she wasn't. Now the community is stepping up to the plate and showing support but is it really making any difference? If a community nurse had visited Kristi after she gave birth to Levi she would have been there the weeks leading up to Kiesha’s reported disappearance. Just think of the difference that could have made. JMO

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Allegedly, there were multiple reports to DoCS, we just don't know who made them.

And for all we know, Kristi may have been dodging the people who were there to help her. (much like my sis always did)

But I do think it's important to stop and play devils advocate in any case, so we don't get tunnel vision.

JMO

What if the tip is from someone saying "We put the rest of the body here..." :waitasec:

That might explain the continued searching, if they have been told there is parts of a body/or a body there...by the person who PUT it there. If that person was able to give information that convinced the police they were credible.

I wonder if one of the people in the McDougall case is talking? I guess there is a small chance it could be someone who knows where Kiesha was put, but I doubt it. :waitasec:

butwhatif? said:

Pffft- they haven't found anything!

They don't do a 4 day search, use evidence flags, 'sniffer' dogs, continue to send in police divers etc if was just based on a tip, and yet nothing was found.

If they didn't find the bag, why search the creek? Do they have a hunch that an animal dragged the bag all the way to the creek between the time it was allegedly seen by a member of the public, and police arriving on scene?
Don't think so. IMO, There has to be something there that was worth all of those resources.

JMO

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butwhatif? said:

Allegedly, there were multiple reports to DoCS, we just don't know who made them.

And for all we know, Kristi may have been dodging the people who were there to help her. (much like my sis always did)

But I do think it's important to stop and play devils advocate in any case, so we don't get tunnel vision.

JMO

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I suspect Kristi was doing a bit of dodging too.
Admittedly, this is second hand information, but I know someone who worked at that school Kiesha went to and I was told that the school had made numerous reports to government agencies, and that Kiesha was removed from that school by Kristi.

Bluesky#1 said:

Playing devil’s advocate here, I have not seen any examples where the community members and organizations whose purpose is to help and support Kristi came through for her and her children when they needed help. All their cries for help were ignored. After Kiesha was bitten, Kristi needed help but she wasn’t ordered to take parenting classes or assigned a community support worker. When an eye witness saw Robert beating Kiesha, he wasn't charged with assault. Kiesha could still be alive if Robert had been charged. If the neighbors knew the children were being abused, why did they not make an anonymous call to Police? Why did the legal authorities not act when they learned Kiesha was not attending school? The system failed Kristi and are partly to blame for this outcome and they should have seen it coming. The community chose to ignore their responsibilities to provide care to their own and I understand why Kristi is bitter, I would be too if I was in her shoes. Kristi needed to be monitored closely and she wasn't. Now the community is stepping up to the plate and showing support but is it really making any difference? If a community nurse had visited Kristi after she gave birth to Levi she would have been there the weeks leading up to Kiesha’s reported disappearance. Just think of the difference that could have made. JMO

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I don't know whether neighbours or other members of the community made any concerns they may have had, known to DoCs. They may have for all I know.
I get what you're saying, but the bottom line to this whole sad story is Kiesha's family failed her. It’s so easy for people to blame teachers or over-stretched child protection workers, or whoever, and say they're not doing their job, but that doesn't solve the problem of child abuse being endemic across all of Australia. Unfortunately, the reality is that no child protection system can save every child. It's a very complex problem and sadly, it'll never end. I’ve known people who were on the brink and they got the right help. They turned their lives and those of their children around because they wanted to and got the help they desperately needed. Fortunately, their kids won’t become statistics. Poor Kiesha seems to be another child who has paid the price for having what appears to me to be a narcissistic, selfish and uncaring parent.

MsFacetious said:

What if the tip is from someone saying "We put the rest of the body here..." :waitasec:

That might explain the continued searching, if they have been told there is parts of a body/or a body there...by the person who PUT it there. If that person was able to give information that convinced the police they were credible.

I wonder if one of the people in the McDougall case is talking? I guess there is a small chance it could be someone who knows where Kiesha was put, but I doubt it. :waitasec:

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Or it could be a completely different case, and they don't want to tip off yet another perp.. There are so many missing people, and I assume not all of them just up and left their usual lives.

Since the people involved in Kristi Mcdougalls case have already been arrested and charged, I'd think they'd publicly say it was in relation to that case if it were, ....even just to get the people following Kieshas case to back off.

And it's just too sick to think they'd dump part of the body in one place and the rest in a completely different location, but it's happened in other cases, so who knows?

I'm leaving soon to watch my DD do a performance at school, which she is so excited about. So sad that Kiesha never got the chance to do all the fun things like this that come along with school....And to shine like the princess she is/was.

JMO

Just found this page from the ABC called beating the odds. Don't have time to look at / watch it all now, but looks really interesting.

BBM, UBM

Beating the Odds- How can disadvantaged communities protect at-risk children from social exclusion and physical harm?

Children in clusters of suburbs on the fringes of Australia's cities face an elevated risk of falling into a vicious cycle of unemployment, discrimination, poor housing, crime and family breakdown, according to University of Canberra researchers.

In these locations, what's being done to stop children from falling through the cracks? What are communities doing to help kids break out of this vicious cycle and escape social exclusion?

When western Sydney schoolgirl Kiesha Abrahams was reported missing on August 1, Eleanor Bell and Ed Giles went inside one such suburb, Kiesha's community of Mount Druitt, to ask locals to reveal their daily reality and to see what's being done to help children who are at risk.


Warning: Some viewers may find some of the content and language in this report disturbing.

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/beating-the-odds/

Thanks for that link, butwhatif?. It's a very interesting article on the area, which is something I personally don't ever see first hand, even though I live there.
A family member, along with other teachers, used to run a breakfast service at the school she taught at, and for a long time the money came out of their own pockets. She'd arrive at the school at around 7:30 am. She'd get there so early because staff found out a few kids would be waiting on the steps of the front office well before they had arrived. I know there were times when she or other staff members would stay back after school until well after 5pm or until whatever time it was that all the kids were picked up from school. Many a time I'd be walking past the school on my walk home from the railway station after work and I'd see her car in there and I'd drop in to say hello. These teachers didn't get paid for that extra time. They did it for the children, bless 'em.
I totally agree with Hooksy when he says, "It is not the area, it is some of the people in it... Only a small number are causing trouble. Most people love the area.". Most people I know around here have jobs and own their home (or paying it off). With the exception of the private renters I have living next door, all of my surrounding neighbours are fantastic and pull together if and when it's needed. I live here because it was cheap and it was the only place we could find a house that we could afford to pay off in 5 years. 10 years later, and we're still here. We may live in "The Druitt", but we're debt free and we live a good life. I consider myself lucky that we can live quite comfortably on one wage and I'm grateful that we're better off than a lot of people we know. Living here is the compromise hubby and I chose to make so that we could still enjoy life's little treats. People are often surprised when they find out where we live. I've never really understood that, as the area has a lot of fantastic people who have done quite well for themselves. There is a perception of it being a welfare area full of people who don't work. (FTR, I don't work and I'm not on welfare of any kind. Personally, I wouldn't be seen dead on it. I don't want to work, and the taxpayer owes me nothing if I don't want to work, that's my responsibility.)
Caroline Edwards has the same opinion as me and my friends when it comes to the baby bonus and welfare quarantining. Honestly, I always thought the baby bonus was a bad idea and I think it should be ditched ASAP.