GA - Curtis Grayer for child rape & newborn murder, Decatur, 18 Oct 2002

mysteriew · Jun 12, 2005

It is a tale of horror, depravity and death. It is told by a child.

She says she was raped for the first time at age 7, in the back seat of a car parked at the top of a hill in Florida. She remembers watching Christmas lights twinkling in the houses below. When she was 8 years old, the rapist, her mother's husband, promised to stop. But he didn't.

In a house near the East Lake Country Club where doors were bolted and windows were nailed shut, the abuse grew worse, the girl says. She says she was forced into sex acts in front of her mother, some even with her mother.

On the day before her 11th birthday, she learned she was pregnant. The horror was just beginning. She says her rapist stomped on her stomach and tied belts around her. Still, she delivered a baby boy Oct. 18, 2002. She named him Kevin.

The rapist wouldn't take him to the hospital, the girl says, and Kevin died within a few hours. She saw the little body dressed in blue and yellow doll clothes and then taped up in a box. And she never saw him again.

It was almost a year, prosecutors say, before the girl told anyone except her mother, Sheila Hearns, described by a prosecutor as "borderline retarded." A defense lawyer in one hearing suggested that Hearns, despite being in her mid-30's, might be "very easily led." She is certain to be questioned closely about why she didn't go to the police.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/met...N_NUObNVUbTTUWUXUTUZTZU]UWUbUcUZU]UbUcTYWYWZV

sharon25 · Jun 13, 2005

It is a tale of horror, depravity and death. It is told by a child.
She says she was raped for the first time at age 7, in the back seat of a car parked at the top of a hill in Florida. She remembers watching Christmas lights twinkling in the houses below. When she was 8 years old, the rapist, her mother's husband, promised to stop. But he didn't.

In a house near the East Lake Country Club where doors were bolted and windows were nailed shut, the abuse grew worse, the girl says. She says she was forced into sex acts in front of her mother, some even with her mother.

On the day before her 11th birthday, she learned she was pregnant. The horror was just beginning. She says her rapist stomped on her stomach and tied belts around her. Still, she delivered a baby boy Oct. 18, 2002. She named him Kevin.

The rapist wouldn't take him to the hospital, the girl says, and Kevin died within a few hours. She saw the little body dressed in blue and yellow doll clothes and then taped up in a box. And she never saw him again.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/dekalb/0605/12grayer.html?Found_Session=true&UrAuth=`N_NUObNVUbTTUWUXUTUZTZU]UWUbUcUZU]UbUcTYWYWZV&UrAuth=`N_NUObNWUbTTUWUXUTUZT[U_UWU]U`UZU`U^UcTYWYWZV

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sharon25 · Jun 13, 2005

I didn't see this anywhere on WS- not sure if anyone has read about this or not.

It's a very disturbing story.
What's even more disturbing is
the fact that they are questioning
if it's true or not.

I don't think a child would
make up a story as strange and
horrible as this.

VespaElf · Jun 13, 2005

sharon25 said:
I didn't see this anywhere on WS- not sure if anyone has read about this or not.

It's a very disturbing story.
What's even more disturbing is
the fact that they are questioning
if it's true or not.

I don't think a child would
make up a story as strange and
horrible as this.

Its likely she was abused *but* her story was further embelished.
This happens for a number of reasons and in many cases a "good" case will get thrown out because of it.
Also children do lie either from parental pressure or LE pressure(as we saw in those "santanic panic" cases of the 80's) or if the child themselves are disturbed.

I myself find the weirder and more outlandish the details the less true it is but thats moo!

If this girl has been raped or gave birth that is quite easy to find out...........

sharon25 · Jun 13, 2005

messiecake said:
Its likely she was abused *but* her story was further embelished.
This happens for a number of reasons and in many cases a "good" case will get thrown out because of it.
Also children do lie either from parental pressure or LE pressure(as we saw in those "santanic panic" cases of the 80's) or if the child themselves are disturbed.

I myself find the weirder and more outlandish the details the less true it is but thats moo!

If this girl has been raped or gave birth that is quite easy to find out...........

"And there is the problem of having no infant's body to test for paternity or abuse. Medical tests cannot prove or disprove that Hearns' daughter was raped or gave birth."

why couldn't they prove it???
sounds odd to me

mysteriew · Nov 2, 2005

A defense lawyer told jurors Wednesday that the horrific allegations against Curtis Grayer that he raped his 11-year-old stepdaughter and killed the baby she delivered are lies concocted by the girl and her mother.

Sheila Hearns, the mother, had earlier lost custody of her son and feared she would lose her daughter as well if authorities learned the girl had become pregnant, attorney Gayle Bacon said in her opening statement in Grayer's trial in DeKalb County on charges of murder, rape and child molestation.

In his opening statement, assistant district attorney Max Hirsh said the stories told by the little girl and her mother have been consistent.

Hirsh said neighbors will support their contention that they lived in fear of Grayer as virtual prisoners in their house just south of the East Lake Country Club. He said items found in Grayer's home backed up the girl's claims that Grayer beat Hearns with a police baton, that he showed the girl pornographic videos and that he nailed windows shut.

Hirsh also contended that Grayer's reaction when he was arrested showed he wasn't surprised to hear that he was accused of rape and child molestation but was startled that he was charged with murder. Grayer may not have realized that he could be charged with felony murder for denying the baby medical care, Hirsh said. The charge of "felony murder" covers any death caused during the commission of another felony, in this case child cruelty against the baby.

Hirsh said Grayer then mumbled, "I guess my goose is cooked." Defense lawyers had attempted to keep that statement from being used at the trial. They argued police first induced Grayer to speak without arresting or advising him of his rights in order to make it more likely he would keep talking after he was placed under arrest.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/1105/03metgrayer.html

NanaMcZoo · Nov 2, 2005

Good grief...in the article it states the "mom" didn't even seek medical treatment for this child during pregnancy....this whole story is so very sad.
Wonder how she lost custody of her son,but was able to keep her daughter.

rachrach99 · Nov 3, 2005

This is so sad. The mother should be arrested also, JMO.

13th Juror · Nov 3, 2005

Atlanta Area [Decatur] -- Murder, Aggravated Sexual Battery, Rape (6 incidents), Aggravated Child Molestation (6 incidents), Assault (4 incidents), Battery, and Cruelty to Children (2 counts)

According to police reports, Curtis Grayer Jr., 37, was sexually abusing his ten-year-old stepdaughter on a regular basis. She unexpectedly became pregnant by him, which presented him with a problem. He couldn't take her to an abortion mill, because obvious questions would be raised.

So, after she delivered the baby boy at his home on October 18, 2002, police say, he performed a "fourth-trimester abortion" on the little infant, killing him.

On September 19, 2003, police arrested Grayer and charged him with murder, aggravated sexual battery, rape, child molestation and cruelty to children in denying medical care to both the infant and his stepdaughter.

Dale Davis, a spokesman for DeKalb County police, said that police were told an infant was delivered at the house but was unaccounted for. Police spent several hours searching the suspect's home, and they also dug up portions of his yard. The search centered on Lake Buena Vista as divers combed the pond for the newborn's remains. The lake is located about four blocks from Grayer's home.

Grayer's wife, Sheila Hearns, said Grayer fathered the child after raping her daughter. Hearns said she woke up last October 19 to find her newborn grandson dead. She said that the child was born the previous night at their south DeKalb home, and that Grayer put the infant's body in a box, with a blanket and a teddy bear, and dumped it in a nearby pond. Hearns said "When the baby was alive, he had told us not to get attached to the baby. He told us not to tell anybody or he will hurt me." She also said that the baby's death was the climax of years of rape, child abuse and beatings that Hearns says she and her daughter suffered at the hands of her husband.

Grayer began sexually abusing the child about three years ago, she said, and that their home was a virtual prison for her and her daughter. She said that "He'd keep us locked in the house. He'd nail the windows down shut. He wouldn't let us go outside unless he was with us. I don't even want to go to court because I don't want to face him, for what he done to me and my daughter." Hearns has told investigators that Grayer beat both her and her daughter. Hearns' family members also said Grayer beat her.

"He had beat her so bad all my family members ganged up on him," said Sharon Hearns, a cousin of Sheila Hearns in Virginia.

Reporters visiting the peach-colored small frame house saw several windows that had been nailed shut from the outside.

The stepdaughter, now 12, is living out of state with relatives. Her name is being withheld by the press and police because of her age.

After dating in Virginia, Hearns and Grayer were married in 1999 in Florida, records show.

That same year, according to police records, Grayer was arrested and charged with simple battery by Atlanta police for arguing with Hearns and dragging her on the ground near a MARTA bus stop. The police report said Hearns was bleeding.

(The stepdaughter is now, time of trial - qge 14.)

13th Juror

13th Juror · Nov 3, 2005

"Girl tells horrific tale of rape, murder"

By DAVID SIMPSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 06/12/05

It is a tale of horror, depravity and death. It is told by a child.

She says she was raped for the first time at age 7, in the back seat of a car parked at the top of a hill in Florida. She remembers watching Christmas lights twinkling in the houses below.

When she was 8 years old, the rapist, her mother's husband, promised to stop. But he didn't.

This house at 683 Parker Ave near Lake Buena Vista is where Sheila Hearns says she and her daughter were held prisoner by Curtis Grayer.

In a house near the East Lake Country Club where doors were bolted and windows were nailed shut, the abuse grew worse, the girl says. She says she was forced into sex acts in front of her mother, some even with her mother.

On the day before her 11th birthday, she learned she was pregnant. The horror was just beginning. She says her rapist stomped on her stomach and tied belts around her. Still, she delivered a baby boy Oct. 18, 2002. She named him Kevin.

The rapist wouldn't take him to the hospital, the girl says, and Kevin died within a few hours. She saw the little body dressed in blue and yellow doll clothes and then taped up in a box. And she never saw him again.

The public first heard parts of the girl's story when DeKalb County police arrested Curtis Grayer on Sept. 19, 2003. The case stayed in the public eye as investigators and trained dogs spent parts of five days digging in Lake Buena Vista's muddy shoreline, where Grayer allegedly threw the tiny package. Authorities finally gave up on the search without finding human remains.

On Monday, almost two years later, Grayer is scheduled to go on trial for charges including murder, rape and child cruelty. While he sat in jail awaiting the trial, new information about the case, including statements Grayer made to police, has accumulated in court records. Page upon page of transcripts add detail to a story of relentless evil.

Can a story so horrible be true?

Grayer's statements may hint how his lawyers will attack the story. He told a judge the girl his wife's child by a previous relationship was forced to lie by his wife and her family. The child had a baby, he told police, but he was not the father and had nothing to do with the baby's death.

It was almost a year, prosecutors say, before the girl told anyone except her mother, Sheila Hearns, described by a prosecutor as "borderline retarded."

A defense lawyer in one hearing suggested that Hearns, despite being in her mid-30's, might be "very easily led." She is certain to be questioned closely about why she didn't go to the police.

And there is the problem of having no infant's body to test for paternity or abuse. Medical tests cannot prove or disprove that Hearns' daughter was raped or gave birth.

But can the story possibly be false?

Prosecutors may argue that the allegations are so detailed as to be beyond the imagination of a child. They will introduce evidence they say supports the story, such as the handwritten birth certificate the little girl drew for her little boy. And the police baton that the girl said Grayer used to beat Hearns. And the lock on the house's front door that would open only with a key, even from the inside, and the nails in the window sills.

Hearns said later she and her child were prisoners at the house on Parker Avenue in south DeKalb from 2000 to 2002. The girl said she was kept inside the house and home-schooled so no one would see she was pregnant.

A month after the baby was born and died, Hearns and her daughter say, the pair moved to Virginia, away from Grayer, who apparently did not interfere. There, an aunt learned that Hearns' child had told a cousin about having a baby. The aunt called police.

In a statement to police, Grayer said the child actually became pregnant during an earlier trip to Virginia with Hearns.

"Sheila whipped her because she was sexually active," Grayer's statement said.

He said he was out of the house when the child was born. When he arrived, "the baby wasn't moving," his statement said. "It looked little to me. It was wrapped in a little sheet. Sheila was holding the baby and it died in her hands. Everybody was crying. I saw the baby wasn't moving, so I started crying. We all cried and prayed for the baby."

He said he then went for a walk, and Hearns disposed of the body in his absence.

Grayer, who will turn 39 Tuesday, has three teenage sons by other women. He did not have custody of them. Sheila Hearns also has a son who did not live with her in DeKalb.

Grayer told police he was a self-employed electrician. He said he served in the military for four years and attended community college for two years.

Grayer's statements to police have been approved for use in the trial over the objection of defense lawyers, who contended DeKalb police duped him into talking to them without reading him his Miranda rights to remain silent or call a lawyer.

Police said they didn't know whether they wanted to arrest Grayer when they first took him to police headquarters and questioned him.

Superior Court Judge Michael Hancock ruled police did not violate Grayer's rights.

Without Grayer's statements to the contrary, defense lawyers might have raised doubts whether the girl was ever pregnant.

If jurors accept that she was, the question at the trial could become not whether she endured things that should be foreign to a child, but who is to blame.

13th Juror

mysteriew · Nov 3, 2005

I think I believe the child. For me the telling point is the nails in the windows and the lock on the door. What the girl says seems credible and detailed. She is only now 14 years old, and she has seen too much abuse for a lifetime. And she is still a child. Very disturbing.

Observer · Nov 4, 2005

I thought that doctor's could tell whether you had a child or not.

SewingDeb · Nov 4, 2005

Observer said:
I thought that doctor's could tell whether you had a child or not.

That's true, but no one is disputing that she had a child. Grayer is denying he is the father and he claims the baby died on its own and that Hearns disposed of the baby while he was gone for a walk.

fran · Nov 4, 2005

Personally, I don't think this guy is going to get off. He can say anything he wants, but the circumstantial evidence is against him, IMO. Like someone else said, the lock on the door and the nail evidence on the windows will support the mom and daughter's allegations.

What a he is.

JMHO
fran

SewingDeb · Nov 4, 2005

fran said:
Personally, I don't think this guy is going to get off. He can say anything he wants, but the circumstantial evidence is against him, IMO. Like someone else said, the lock on the door and the nail evidence on the windows will support the mom and daughter's allegations.

What a he is.

JMHO
fran

I agree with you fran. What a horrible life this girl and her mother had. He needs to be locked up and they key thrown away.

fran · Nov 4, 2005

SewingDeb said:
I agree with you fran. What a horrible life this girl and her mother had. He needs to be locked up and they key thrown away.

You know, SewingDeb:
I just can't comprehend how these guys think, with all the evidence pointing a big red arrow directly at them, they think they can come up with some BS story, and people are going to throw all the 'circumstantial evidence' out, and think, oh, he said it's true, ok, NOT GUILTY!

I think it's just that they've sweet talked their way through life, and don't have a clue that probably 99% of the people that knew them, KNOW they're full of BS! :banghead:

Disgusting!!

JMHO
fran

mysteriew · Nov 5, 2005

A medical examiner testified Friday that if Curtis Grayer threw a baby's body in Lake Buena Vista, as his wife alleges, it is not surprising that authorities could not find it when they partially drained the lake more than 10 months later.

Grayer, 39, is accused of raping and impregnating his stepdaughter, who was 11 years old when she gave birth at the family's home in south DeKalb County on Oct. 18, 2002. He is on trial this week charged with murder in the death of the baby boy because he allegedly denied him medical care.

The girl and her mother testified earlier that the baby died within hours after birth. They said Grayer put the dead baby in a cardboard box. The mother, Sheila Hearns, said Grayer told her he threw the body in nearby Lake Buena Vista.

On Friday, jurors were shown a videotape from a 2003 police interview with the girl, in which she said her mother saw Grayer rape her.

"She tried to stop him, and she would [try], he would hit her," she said on the videotape.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/1105/05metgrayer.html

itsreenw · Nov 5, 2005

SewingDeb,
I think Observer was referring to this paragraph from the article:

"And there is the problem of having no infant's body to test for paternity or abuse. Medical tests cannot prove or disprove that Hearns' daughter was raped or gave birth."
I was confused too!! There doesn't seem to be any dispute regarding the pregnancy, I think the writer just added some incorrect info. There has to be a way to tell if you've given birth-especially such a young girl. How sad.

SewingDeb · Nov 6, 2005

itsreenw said:
SewingDeb,
I think Observer was referring to this paragraph from the article:

"And there is the problem of having no infant's body to test for paternity or abuse. Medical tests cannot prove or disprove that Hearns' daughter was raped or gave birth."
I was confused too!! There doesn't seem to be any dispute regarding the pregnancy, I think the writer just added some incorrect info. There has to be a way to tell if you've given birth-especially such a young girl. How sad.

I would think any Ob/Gyn could tell by doing a pelvic exam. I think you're right that the writer added incorrect info. The case would be a slam dunk if they had found the baby's body to do DNA testing.

mysteriew · Nov 7, 2005

Murder suspect Curtis Grayer insisted on representing himself in his trial Monday, despite a DeKalb judge's stern warning that it could be a mistake.

Superior Court Judge Michael Hancock spent 30 minutes listing the problems a non-lawyer would have handling the case.

When Grayer would not budge, Hancock agreed to the request. He told Grayer's public defenders to remain in the courtroom to help Grayer as needed.

Grayer then asked for time to review evidence and to hire an expert witness. Hancock denied those requests.

"You are not going to delay this trial," the judge said.

The prosecution rested its case this morning.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/1105/07grayer.html

GA - Curtis Grayer for child rape & newborn murder, Decatur, 18 Oct 2002

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