Missouri, St. Louis - Teenage girl critically injured after brutal fight with another female teen near Hazelwood East High School, 8 March 2024

[airportwoman]

I so agree with you. I sadly think both KG and MD (as well as their parents) could have benefited from anger management and conflict resolving counseling.
I have to wonder if these programs were even available in their high school or community prior to this incident.
My prayers are for both girls and their families and that KG has a complete recovery.

JMO

Chances are, if they were, these are resources that would have been spread very, very thin, and I also suspect that it wouldn't have benefited them because they didn't think they had a problem.

 

[Knitty]

MOD NOTE: If it's not specific to THIS case, it's off topic to THIS thread. Please stay on topic.

 

[Yuletide]

Chances are, if they were, these are resources that would have been spread very, very thin, and I also suspect that it wouldn't have benefited them because they didn't think they had a problem.

When violence becomes the norm, you are correct, people don’t control it because it is written off to “boys will be boys, kids will be kids, fights happen” etc. Again, this is not up to the school to handle. I am sure the school did their best.

 

[Fairy1]

Kaylee Gain is bully who tormented girl seen beating her, court hears

The unnamed juvenile officer added Gain threw the first punch during the on-camera brawl with 15-year-old Maurnice Declue, on March 8 outside their school in St. Louis.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Kaylee Gain, the 16-year-old filmed being brutally beaten by a fellow student back in March, was a serial bully who started the fight, a juvenile officer has testified.

The unnamed officer added Gain threw the first punch during the on-camera brawl with 15-year-old Maurnice Declue, which happened on March 8 outside their school in St. Louis.

In the hearing Friday in St. Louis Family Court, he testified Declue should remain in the juvenile court system, but painted a very different picture of the other principle in the fight, who has received sympathy due to the extent of her injuries.

 

[Yuletide]

I hope a strong message is sent in this case. If you agree to enter combat with another individual you accept the consequences of the laws that govern this land, regardless of your age. KG is forced to accept her consequences for losing the pre planned fight. MD must now face the consequences for winning the pre planned fight. May justice be served

 

[Yuletide]

Kaylee Gain is bully who tormented girl seen beating her, court hears

The unnamed juvenile officer added Gain threw the first punch during the on-camera brawl with 15-year-old Maurnice Declue, on March 8 outside their school in St. Louis.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Kaylee Gain, the 16-year-old filmed being brutally beaten by a fellow student back in March, was a serial bully who started the fight, a juvenile officer has testified.

The unnamed officer added Gain threw the first punch during the on-camera brawl with 15-year-old Maurnice Declue, which happened on March 8 outside their school in St. Louis.

In the hearing Friday in St. Louis Family Court, he testified Declue should remain in the juvenile court system, but painted a very different picture of the other principle in the fight, who has received sympathy due to the extent of her injuries.

If KG was a serial bully, then was that communicated to her family? Did they respond? I am bothered by the “serial bully” comment. A serial bully does not belong in a learning environment in my humble opinion.

 

[Rolypolyoly]

In my opinion, the words in text messages leading up to the planned fight could also play an important role in deciding how she is tried. Jmo. I stand behind my opinion that she should be tried as an adult. Trying her as a juvenile will be a quick slap on the wrist, so to speak, and then she will bounce on with her life, and her record will be sealed from impacting her further. Meanwhile, Kaylee is missing part of her skull and has to wear a helmet and requires another surgery and is learning how to talk, and her education has been halted, and quite possibly may not be able to ever learn again at full capacity. In addition, it is my opinion that MD is a seasoned fighter so to speak and is well versed at inflicting grave injuries on another human being.(my opinion only). She may not have a juvenile record, but in some cases that just means a youngster wasn’t caught yet.

There has been nothing at all to suggest that your opinion of MD being a seasoned fighter has any basis. On the contrary, from all available evidence Kaylee is the one that most fits your description.
I am not saying that MD didn't go way too far, she absolutely did, but I don't believe she planned it that way.

Yes, Kaylee is the victim but she is not blameless. That is becoming clearer all the time, even from her own parents description.

 

[MollyDDD]

I agree. From the People article, it sounds like Kaylee suffers from short term memory loss — meaning she no longer has the ability to retain new memories. This explains why her dad reported that KG asks the same question over and over and talks in a loop. IMO, this isn’t something she’ll likely overcome. She’ll learn ways to cope with it, of course — by learning how to live a “normal” life via rote memorization and muscle memory and the like — but she probably won’t ever remember new people that she meets or new information that she learns… and that makes me incredibly sad.

I agree with you and the OP. Regardless of who said what to who or who threw the first punch, Kaylee remains brain damaged and her life and her future is forever derailed. While DeClue,the honor student who plays violin, will most likely move on with her life, Kaylee won’t. I found it interesting when DeClue’s mother said that she had never been in a fight before, or words to that effect, she sure knew how to take someone down pretty quickly and try to slam the life out of someone. She’s very lucky Kaylee didn’t die, but I believe she needs a serious punishment to learn from this experience and hopefully prevent it from ever happening again.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

I agree. From the People article, it sounds like Kaylee suffers from short term memory loss — meaning she no longer has the ability to retain new memories. This explains why her dad reported that KG asks the same question over and over and talks in a loop. IMO, this isn’t something she’ll likely overcome. She’ll learn ways to cope with it, of course — by learning how to live a “normal” life via rote memorization and muscle memory and the like — but she probably won’t ever remember new people that she meets or new information that she learns… and that makes me incredibly sad.

That's heartbreaking. So, essentially the knowledge she had and the people she knew, that's all she'll have for the rest of her life, unless her short-term memory returns?? TIA

 

[GoBuckeyes]

There has been nothing at all to suggest that your opinion of MD being a seasoned fighter has any basis. On the contrary, from all available evidence Kaylee is the one that most fits your description.
I am not saying that MD didn't go way too far, she absolutely did, but I don't believe she planned it that way.

Yes, Kaylee is the victim but she is not blameless. That is becoming clearer all the time, even from her own parents description.

I think, imoo, it's not difficult to see MD's level of experience by watching the video. amoo

 

[GoBuckeyes]

I agree with you and the OP. Regardless of who said what to who or who threw the first punch, Kaylee remains brain damaged and her life and her future is forever derailed. While DeClue,the honor student who plays violin, will most likely move on with her life, Kaylee won’t. I found it interesting when DeClue’s mother said that she had never been in a fight before, or words to that effect, she sure knew how to take someone down pretty quickly and try to slam the life out of someone. She’s very lucky Kaylee didn’t die, but I believe she needs a serious punishment to learn from this experience and hopefully prevent it from ever happening again.

Yeah, sorry, just not buying that D has never been in a fight before, not buying that even a little.

 

[airportwoman]

That's heartbreaking. So, essentially the knowledge she had and the people she knew, that's all she'll have for the rest of her life, unless her short-term memory returns?? TIA

Short-term memory loss after a brain injury is very common. How much of it will come back? Time will tell.

 

[mickey2942]

Kaylee Gain is bully who tormented girl seen beating her, court hears

The unnamed juvenile officer added Gain threw the first punch during the on-camera brawl with 15-year-old Maurnice Declue, on March 8 outside their school in St. Louis.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Kaylee Gain, the 16-year-old filmed being brutally beaten by a fellow student back in March, was a serial bully who started the fight, a juvenile officer has testified.

The unnamed officer added Gain threw the first punch during the on-camera brawl with 15-year-old Maurnice Declue, which happened on March 8 outside their school in St. Louis.

In the hearing Friday in St. Louis Family Court, he testified Declue should remain in the juvenile court system, but painted a very different picture of the other principle in the fight, who has received sympathy due to the extent of her injuries.

That is interesting. Because in the video clip I viewed, Declue appeared to be the aggressor. I didn't even see that Gain even threw one punch.

 

[Yuletide]

O

There has been nothing at all to suggest that your opinion of MD being a seasoned fighter has any basis. On the contrary, from all available evidence Kaylee is the one that most fits your description.
I am not saying that MD didn't go way too far, she absolutely did, but I don't believe she planned it that way.

Yes, Kaylee is the victim but she is not blameless. That is becoming clearer all the time, even from her own parents description.

Watching the video one time was all I needed to draw my conclusion. The video clip does not suggest MD was a seasoned fighter, it proves it. That is my opinion of what I saw.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Gain’s stepmother, who was allowed to be anonymous in open court, gave a statement, saying she has to relearn how to walk, speak and take care of herself.

“A terrible choice made by two teen girls to solve their issues through violence caused one to go too far with her bare hands and a concrete road,” the stepmother said.

Declue’s mother, Consuella Declue, tearfully addressed the court at the end of the hearing saying her daughter regretted the incident, but maintained she was acting in self defense.

“My family, my church, we all prayed for KG [Kaylee Gain],” she said in court. “I think [my daughter] was just defending herself, I don’t think she had any intent or thought this would happen to KG and we are very sorry.”

Kaylee Gain attacker Maurnice Declue should be tried as a juvenile after pavement beatdown, officer testifies

According to testimony, both sides acknowledged Gain had started the fight with DeClue — and had gotten suspended for fighting another girl the previous day.

nypost.com

 

[Dotta]

MD seems to be twice the weight of KG
and I guess twice the strength.

Terrible tragedy.

And zero ability to foresee the results of such actions.

Unfortunately,
a few minutes can change and damage lives irreversibly.

I wish the victim full recovery wholeheartedly.
One has to hope.

JMO

 

[Yuletide]

I agree with you and the OP. Regardless of who said what to who or who threw the first punch, Kaylee remains brain damaged and her life and her future is forever derailed. While DeClue,the honor student who plays violin, will most likely move on with her life, Kaylee won’t. I found it interesting when DeClue’s mother said that she had never been in a fight before, or words to that effect, she sure knew how to take someone down pretty quickly and try to slam the life out of someone. She’s very lucky Kaylee didn’t die, but I believe she needs a serious punishment to learn from this experience and hopefully prevent it from ever happening again.

I agree wholeheartedly. MD’s family members initially stated MD was waiting for her bus to get home from school when this horrible event happened. That was not true, and painted a vivid picture in my mind of an honors student/athlete who was snuck up on by a group of thugs. They also have stated all along that MD was defending herself. Also not true. An agreed upon location and time to fight is not self defense. Now they state this was her first ever physical altercation. Tough sell, at this point, in my opinion. I will respect the wisdom of the Judge and accept the decision this person makes.

 

[GRT]

When this story first broke, I was all in favor of trying MD as an adult. The incredible viciousness of her actions in the fight took my breath away. I felt like I was looking at a seasoned doing what came naturally to her. And I wanted her put away for life.

While I still want her punished, my opinion has softened based on the information we've gotten since then.

There's a reason we don't let teens under 18 vote or enter into contracts--because they are prone to making incredibly poor decisions.

Now, we find that KG has a history of fighting/bullying, and MD has a history of being studious. That balances the scale slightly for me.

Still, what MD did must have consequences, but it appears that we are not dealing with the I thought we were at first. We're not dealing with someone who made this type of thing a habit. Instead, MD had real goals for her life.

Both girls are guilty of making poor decisions that day, and KG may never fully recover. Because of the extent of the injuries KG suffered, MD has to be held accountable. KG's injuries are punishment enough for KG.

I no longer want MD tried as an adult.

 

[Sundog]

I agree that MD should be tried as a juvenile, but not because she is an honor student or plays a musical instrument or speaks several languages. Whether she was failing at school or was an honor student, has nothing to do with the crime she has committed and accountability, IMO. I believe the juvenile justice system in Missouri can hold her accountable by removing her from the community with placement in a residential facility during which time she can hopefully learn to control her rage and not be a danger to society. The seriousness of her crime, a class A or B felony, should mean that she isn't only committed by the court to weekly visits with a probation officer or day treatment, but removal from the community and placed in a residential facility. A class A or B felony is the most serious crime in the Missouri juvenile justice system and it is likely that she will be placed in a secure facility. Maybe until she is 18 years of age. That will be up to the court to decide and monitor. If she can't handle the other youth who are in the same facility, then she could be there until she is 18 years of age. I am sure she will have regular court hearings to monitor her progress in terms of controlling her rage, etc. Perhaps after some time she would be transferred to a group home in the community and gradually be returned to her family home.

If the juvenile court trial and hearings release her to return to her home and school, then there is no justice for KG.

JMO

 

[MyBelle]

I agree that MD should be tried as a juvenile, but not because she is an honor student or plays a musical instrument or speaks several languages. Whether she was failing at school or was an honor student, has nothing to do with the crime she has committed and accountability, IMO. I believe the juvenile justice system in Missouri can hold her accountable by removing her from the community with placement in a residential facility during which time she can hopefully learn to control her rage and not be a danger to society. The seriousness of her crime, a class A or B felony, should mean that she isn't only committed by the court to weekly visits with a probation officer or day treatment, but removal from the community and placed in a residential facility. A class A or B felony is the most serious crime in the Missouri juvenile justice system and it is likely that she will be placed in a secure facility. Maybe until she is 18 years of age. That will be up to the court to decide and monitor. If she can't handle the other youth who are in the same facility, then she could be there until she is 18 years of age. I am sure she will have regular court hearings to monitor her progress in terms of controlling her rage, etc. Perhaps after some time she would be transferred to a group home in the community and gradually be returned to her family home.

If the juvenile court trial and hearings release her to return to her home and school, then there is no justice for KG.

JMO

I doubt MD will be placed in a residential facility because I doubt she has a criminal record. Missouri has a model juvenile justice system. The goal is to get her back on the right track. It has been reported that she wants to personally apologize to KG so I think that process has started and will have a good outcome.

JMO

"JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM: MAKING THE “MISSOURI MODEL” AN AMERICAN MODEL" - Children's Defense Fund

The state of Missouri has created a juvenile justice system that has proved so successful over the last thirty years it’s known as the “Missouri…

www.childrensdefense.org