FBI finds letters from Zahra to her young friend that EB and AB never mailed

[miabellamoure]

I wish I could be sad right now but I'm too angry. :furious: What does it take to mail a letter? That big huge giant walk down the driveway to put a letter in the box too much for these losers? Did they not check their own mail?

What reason to keep a child's letter? To cut her off from the world so their little secrets don't get out. To torture her and make her think her little friend doesn't like her. Now someone tell me AB had nothing to do with this as well. :hand:

:furious: I opened my eyes just 5 minutes ago so sorry if I have no fracking patience or understanding for this kind of tomfoolery.

There is no room for generousity in a selfish mind...not even for a postage stamp!

 

[vjlaw]

Perhaps I missed it but do we know for certain Zahra received the letters her little friend even wrote to her.
I know the FBI spoke with him when he visited Hickory and went to the memorial site but do we know for certain she received the letters he had written..
For some reason, I'm thinking they didn't give her his letters either..

I wondered the same thing. Either way wonder if the FBI found the boy's letters to Zahra and when they were sent?

 

[Etilema]

Perhaps I missed it but do we know for certain Zahra received the letters her little friend even wrote to her.
I know the FBI spoke with him when he visited Hickory and went to the memorial site but do we know for certain she received the letters he had written..
For some reason, I'm thinking they didn't give her his letters either..

I don't think WE know for certain. But you could probably tell by her letters to him--like if she replied to questions he asked, or commented things he told her.

It's all too sad.

 

[bessie]

Did this sweet little girl wonder why her friend wasn't writing her back?

Or, did poor little Jonathan wonder why Zahra wasn't replying to him? Either way, it's so da*n heartbreaking, and I just can't let it go. It's killing me to think of those two sweet kids reaching out to each other only to have some (most unusual) (unusual persons) stand in the way of their friendship, a friendship that would've brought a bit of joy to Zahra's lonely and isolated existence. Among all the horrific details in the many cases we discuss, for me, this ranks as one of the most poignant.

If there can be a silver lining, it will come in the form of information the young guy can offer the FBI that will help solve the mystery and put the two monsters away forever. LE might have overlooked the boy if the letters had not been found. But talk about karma. Just imagine if Zahra's letters to her friend -- which the evil ones were too cruel to mail and too dumb to destroy -- ultimately serve as the nails in their coffins. It could happen because we know that sometimes the key to solving cases is found in a little incidental detail. And wouldn't that just be something.

 

[Etilema]

ETA: I should add to my post, below, that I am embarrassed to admit this, and I am not justifying or excusing it.
---
To be honest, sometimes my daughter (who is about Zahra's age) will give me a letter to mail, and I will set it aside with every intention of stamping and mailing it, but then get sidetracked and leave it set for awhile and eventually sometimes don't remember until I find it later.

Now this doesn't happen 100% of the time, and she does contact the same people she is writing to via email and chat and phone, AND she has begun to use a different method (asking me for the stamps, then mailing it herself--SMART GIRL!). But still, if someone searched my house, they may find letters she had written and I didn't mail, and I hope they wouldn't draw the conclusion that I couldn't be bothered, am not a loving mother, or am too stingy.

It's more that this thing with Zahra and EB was within the context of so many other really HORRIBLE things we know that makes this seem really awful. (Just like the "dark child" comment.)

(I wonder if the boy might have gotten SOME letters from Zahra, and had just not gotten these ones. Like, were they corresponding and then it stopped at some point?)

 

[Wise Old Owl]

I'm wondering if LE / FBI can put a "time stamp" on when they started isolating her and then charge them with false imprisonment - although in the end I don't think its going to matter - they will be charged with murder 1.

 

[Emeralgem]

I don't think WE know for certain. But you could probably tell by her letters to him--like if she replied to questions he asked, or commented things he told her.It's all too sad.

I agree, but am wondering IF he had asked her in any of his letters WHY she wasn't responding...She would have known by the questions he wasn't getting the ones she was sending..
Guess, I just can't see them allowing her to have too much happiness...And was thinking perhaps she had been asking him WHY he had not written...

 

[Virgogalsue]

bbm

This is something I have been wondering about and hope to get some clarity on in the coming days. I want to know if Zahra had any kind of communication with her family in Australia and what form of communication...telephone, snail mail, emails...?
I also wonder if her Grandma in Australia sent gifts to Zahra for Birthdays, Christmas, etc and if they were even given to Zahra.

"No one, not even Zahra's grandmother, knew exactly where she had gone and those who knew the girl grew uneasy, especially because they thought her new stepmother was not who she claimed to be."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20021371-504083.html

 

[Emeralgem]

Positive thoughts and prayers are going up for Zahra's little friend.. Young kids his age have a hard time coping with death especially when it is someone close in age even if it is just an aquaintance...For him to lose a special little friend and know she was murdered, has to be horrific for him....I cannot imagine what he is going through at this time...

 

[dar107]

I remember an interview with EBs father. The family lived with him at some point. He said Zahra would go to the neighbourhood dances wih him and that she just loved to dance with the old folks. Was just thinking about this last nite as I wanted to add it to the All About Zahra thread. On a cell rite now but will look up a link when I get home.

I have been searching but cannot find this link now. I know that I read it and I want to back it up! If anyone remember's reading this can you let me know and provide the link if you have it? I specifically remember it as other's have mentioned that we do not know a lot about Zahra, as in what are her favourite things, color etc. and when I seen the article, it jumped out as something personal about her. I am thinking maybe this is one of the dances where Zahra met her friend.

 

[Soulmagent]

I shouldnt have read this thread. If she doesnt get the death penalty I will be so mad.
I watched the video this morning but could not bring myself to post.

Zahra is most likely that little boys first crush. He danced with her and thought enough about her to write her letters.

I bet Zahra kept all kinds of writings arround. She spent alot of time being sick and sick kids write alot. Mine wrote tons of stuff and still does.
I hope Zahra writings that detailed her abuse hidden that the FBI has found so this conviction is alot easier.
As much as I would hate to hear about it and read about ,it would be worth it to know Zahra bought about her own justice.

 

[Etilema]

I have been searching but cannot find this link now. I know that I read it and I want to back it up! If anyone remember's reading this can you let me know and provide the link if you have it? I specifically remember it as other's have mentioned that we do not know a lot about Zahra, as in what are her favourite things, color etc. and when I seen the article, it jumped out as something personal about her. I am thinking maybe this is one of the dances where Zahra met her friend.

That would make sense. Because I could not wrap my mind around AB and EB taking Zahra to American Legion dances!!!!!

 

[ThoughtFox]

OMG - when I saw the headline on this thread I got weak in the knees.

This is incredibly sad! The isolation of a child who is handicapped and deaf is bad enough, but to know that she had a friend but was cut off from him is just heartbreaking.

No punishment is going to be enough for these people!!! :furious: I try to be philosophical about these cases, but this one really gets to me!!!

 

[Etilema]

"No one, not even Zahra's grandmother, knew exactly where she had gone and those who knew the girl grew uneasy, especially because they thought her new stepmother was not who she claimed to be."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20021371-504083.html

Geez--I guess they were spot-on about THAT. How tragic.

 

[tehcloser]

Ok, I can understand they didn't leave a forwarding address, but really, they were not that hard to track down. I just don't get that. Especially since they are ALL on the net.

 

[bessie]

Positive thoughts and prayers are going up for Zahra's little friend.. Young kids his age have a hard time coping with death especially when it is someone close in age even if it is just an aquaintance...For him to lose a special little friend and know she was murdered, has to be horrific for him....I cannot imagine what he is going through at this time...

I know, Em. My heart aches for him almost as much as for Zahra. If he was writing to her, it must've hurt him when she didn't respond. But at least now he knows that she did. I suppose LE will have to keep the letters as evidence, but I pray at some point he will finally get to read them.

 

[carbuff]

ETA: I should add to my post, below, that I am embarrassed to admit this, and I am not justifying or excusing it.
---
To be honest, sometimes my daughter (who is about Zahra's age) will give me a letter to mail, and I will set it aside with every intention of stamping and mailing it, but then get sidetracked and leave it set for awhile and eventually sometimes don't remember until I find it later.

Now this doesn't happen 100% of the time, and she does contact the same people she is writing to via email and chat and phone, AND she has begun to use a different method (asking me for the stamps, then mailing it herself--SMART GIRL!). But still, if someone searched my house, they may find letters she had written and I didn't mail, and I hope they wouldn't draw the conclusion that I couldn't be bothered, am not a loving mother, or am too stingy.

It's more that this thing with Zahra and EB was within the context of so many other really HORRIBLE things we know that makes this seem really awful. (Just like the "dark child" comment.)

(I wonder if the boy might have gotten SOME letters from Zahra, and had just not gotten these ones. Like, were they corresponding and then it stopped at some point?)

Hugs. Yeah, I've done this too, with my kids' letters and with my own. I've trained myself to be much better about it (nothing like getting an overdue notice for a bill you're sure you paid, yelling at the company, and then discovering the envelope with the check in the side pocket of your car where it's been for six weeks....)

In the context of what we've heard about this family, it does sound bad, but we don't know many details.

 

[OneofGodschildren]

This punches me in the stomach. Zahra had no way to reach the outside world. I won't be surprised to learn the letters were opened and read instead of being sent, even, and she also had no privacy whatsoever.

jmo

I know of a little girl (in a foster home now)that was treated this way. No privacy what-so-ever. Listened to phone calls w/speakerphone, not allowed to visit, no mail, abused mentally, etc...Hard to type this...At least she is in a GOOD foster home now. Thank the good Lord up abpve.

 

[Betta Blue]

This really makes me angry and makes me want to cry. I don't know why but this really symbolizes for me everything they wanted to steal from this darling girl. They couldn't stand her lightness and her sparkle, her sheer strength and life force. So they had to steal all that from her. After working so very hard, struggling day after day to beat cancer twice, then losing her leg, then having to learn to walk again, and struggling through hearing loss, and this sweet girl still wanted to smile, still wanted to dance, still wanted to reach out to a little friend for love. They didn't deserve to even breathe the same air as her, much less have the privilege of parenting this amazing little person. I'm thinking of the phrase "casting pearls before swine."

 

[Pugnolia]

I find it charming to visualize sweet Zarah dancing with the older people at the American Legion. I see her lovely freckled face looking up at her dancing partner, perhaps laughing, perhaps giggling, perhaps very serious as I am most inclined to believe.

It brings a warm smile to my heart when I visualize this, and for a moment I am smiling, but then my heart freezes again as my awareness of her tragic reality pushes relentlessly back into my thoughts.