GUILTY FL - Lakeland girl, 14, charged with killing newborn son, 19 Sept 2012

[Reader]

Does anyone know if there is a chance she'll be moved to juvenile court? Or if the charge , 1st deg. premeditated murder, must be an adult charge? For instance, after the most recent school shooting in Ohio, I learned any gun crime in Ohio must be an adult charge, even though the shooter was 16.
Sorry if I didn't articulate that well.
I'm kind of torn about this. The 12 y/o I mentioned earlier seems to be a Jeffrey Dahlmer in the making, but this kid seems re-habilitatable. Then again, she did murder her own newborn.

She's in juvenile court now and juvenile detention...the prosecutors will have to decide whether to charge her as an adult, it's not automatic in Fl.

Note...the OP link has been updated again and indicates neighbors also knew the girl was pregnant....she had an older sister who got pregnant and was reportedly thrown out of the home and might have thought that would happen to her....still no excuse as far as I'm concerned....sounds like the mother was in complete denial and completely unsupportive....she needs to be charged also IMO.....I sure hope there are no more girls in that family!

 

[grace60]

She's now been publicly named in Mainstream Media.

That doesn't seem right.

Her pic and a story is on theledger.com now. There are several other papers with a pic and story.

 

[PHB]

Her pic and a story is on theledger.com now. There are several other papers with a pic and story.

Dailymail too. I don't want to link it, because the article gives her name & mugshot, I'm not sure how I feel about that.

 

[grace60]

Dailymail too. I don't want to link it, because the article gives her name & mugshot, I'm not sure how I feel about that.

She looks like a normal young high school kid. No red eyes from crying. She looks rather cold to me. Made me wonder if she could do this at 14 what would she be doing at 24 or 34? I'd like to know more about what her life has been like up to the time she did this.

 

[JeannaT]

She looks like a normal young high school kid. No red eyes from crying. She looks rather cold to me. Made me wonder if she could do this at 14 what would she be doing at 24 or 34? I'd like to know more about what her life has been like up to the time she did this.

She looks rather cold to me, too. But I kind of connect with her because back in my time, when I was 14, it would be HORRIFIC to be pregnant. (Not that I was sexually active at that time, but back in my day, the horror of pregnancy kept girls from having sex with boys they were in love with.) Today, teenage pregnancy is often either sought out, as a goal, or whatever, it's fine. No big deal, no worries, no shame.

So I do kind of connect with her. As horrible as it was that she killed that healthy lovely baby, it's interesting to find a girl who is ashamed of being pregnant in high school.

I would really like to return to an age where couples were SERIOUSLY terrified of getting pregnant in high school. So seriously terrified that they use birth control, or abstain. Because babies born to teenage girls have such a hard road in life.

And then, I revert to thinking of her beautiful little boy, and how happy he could have made a married couple waiting and waiting to adopt. Really, this is horrible horrible. Poor sweet boy.

 

[Bree0372]

These types of crime are so senseless. A lot of people are more than happy to adopt a baby.
Even if these young women don't know about safe heaven laws, common sense should tell them they could drop a baby in a public place somewhere where the baby can be found.

BBM: EXACTLY! My husband and I want to adopt again so bad and yet we don't have $30,000 laying around the house to do it. These stories make me so upset not only because we want a baby, but because it takes one hellish cold-hearted person to choke the life out of a newborn baby. I sit here with tears streaming down my face knowing we may not be able to have another baby and I ask myself WHY???? Why would she (and others) murder their precious babies?

I hope they try her as an adult! At 14 years of age, she had sense enough to know that you don't choke the life out of an innocent, helpless little baby. At least her mom reported finding it. She could have covered it up.

Looking at her picture - she shows no remorse. She reminds me of my younger cousins who could care less about what they do, who they do and/or where they end up.

**She took a pair of scissors to 'pry the baby out'???? :banghead:

 

[southernnana]

Reader, please provide the "OP" link you are providing information from.

Thanks.

Note...the OP link has been updated again and indicates neighbors also knew the girl was pregnant...

 

[JeannaT]

Southernnana, she posted the link in the post you quoted - it's at the bottom of her post.

ttp://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_polk/14-year-old-lakeland-girl-charged-with-murdering-her-newborn-boy#ixzz27otWDDJ7

 

[southernnana]

Thanks JennaT ... there is no link in Post 21 that I quoted from. In that post, Reader mentions "the OP link has been updated again" ... I don't know what "OP" stands for and did not see a nearby link with OP in it. The link you provided me is in Post 18, an ABCactionsnews link. I will consider that as the link.

Thanks again for your help.

Southernnana, she posted the link in the post you quoted - it's at the bottom of her post.

ttp://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_polk/14-year-old-lakeland-girl-charged-with-murdering-her-newborn-boy#ixzz27otWDDJ7

 

[thelesis]

Thanks JennaT ... there is no link in Post 21 that I quoted from. In that post, Reader mentions "the OP link has been updated again" ... I don't know what "OP" stands for and did not see a nearby link with OP in it. The link you provided me is in Post 18, an ABCactionsnews link. I will consider that as the link.

Thanks again for your help.

OP means 'original post' or 'original poster'. So it'd be in the first post of the thread.

 

[eileenhawkeye]

She looks rather cold to me, too. But I kind of connect with her because back in my time, when I was 14, it would be HORRIFIC to be pregnant. (Not that I was sexually active at that time, but back in my day, the horror of pregnancy kept girls from having sex with boys they were in love with.) Today, teenage pregnancy is often either sought out, as a goal, or whatever, it's fine. No big deal, no worries, no shame.

So I do kind of connect with her. As horrible as it was that she killed that healthy lovely baby, it's interesting to find a girl who is ashamed of being pregnant in high school.

I would really like to return to an age where couples were SERIOUSLY terrified of getting pregnant in high school. So seriously terrified that they use birth control, or abstain. Because babies born to teenage girls have such a hard road in life.

And then, I revert to thinking of her beautiful little boy, and how happy he could have made a married couple waiting and waiting to adopt. Really, this is horrible horrible. Poor sweet boy.

I think that depends where you live. I graduated from HS in 2010, and there were TWO girls who got pregnant in my class of 400 during my time there. And no one thought those girls were "cool" or anything. I think they both ended up dropping out, and I remember a lot of people making jokes. I don't know how much "shame" they had, but let's just say, the student body wasn't exactly supportive.

Teen pregnancy was definitely not sought out. But I think in other regions of the country, it's so common that it's no big deal.

 

[Oblio]

I hope they try her as an adult! At 14 years of age, she had sense enough to know that you don't choke the life out of an innocent, helpless little baby. At least her mom reported finding it. She could have covered it up.

BBM.

Obviously she didn't have the sense enough to know not to do that, because she did it. She's fourteen, she does not have the capability of thinking like an adult. She still thinks something can disappear forever just by hiding it under her bed. There is no reason for her to be tried as an adult no matter how heinous this crime is.

 

[Zafina]

A 14 year old who gave birth on her own in the bathroom, she probably didnt had anyone to trust. This is horrifying also for the teen. Imo she shouldn't be tried for adult...come on you dont know what she has been trough and how ahe grew up or how and from who she got pregnant.

 

[Cappuccino]

The idea that anybody wants this 14 year old charged as an adult is quite shocking to me, especially as we have no idea yet whether or not she is a rape victim.

 

[southernnana]

:twocents:

in my family recently, a petite married adult delivered a full-term baby during the last three weeks. The baby weighed 8.3 lbs at birth. Pre-pregnancy normal clothing size is about size 7 for mother. At six months, she was huge. Doctor and sonograms assured family members there was only one heartbeat and one baby!

I thought at seven months the baby was ready to be delivered. If my married relative had wanted to conceal her pregnancy, after about 4 months, there was no way she could have concealed that baby by simply wearing large bulky tops or oversize clothing. Even when the baby's weight showed 5 lbs at the sonogram reading, she would not have been able to conceal the pregnancy - she is a very petite person.

All my remarks are simply leading up to IMHO ... the mother had to know this 14-yr old was pregnant and about to deliver. And, a 14-yr old would have talked to some friend about her pregnancy. This story is too hinky!

So, has the husband, stepfather or boyfriend of mother been accounted for?? And, uncles, cousins, etc?? It could be the 14-yr olds boyfriend, or she was raped.

Right now ... I going with JeannaT's theory "the age of consent in Florida is 18. I used to teach basic childbirth to pregnant teens, and can tell you, the younger the teen mom, the older the responsible dad is."

Posted by JeannaT Yesterday 06:21 PM
<snipped> the age of consent in Florida is 18. I used to teach basic childbirth to pregnant teens, and can tell you, the younger the teen mom, the older the responsible dad is. So while a 17 year old girl is most likely to get pregnant with a boy near her age, a girl as young as 14 is much more likely to be impregnated by an adult.

<snipped> and BBM

 

[southernnana]

Thanks, thelesis! :giggle: I did not know that - very useful!

OP means 'original post' or 'original poster'. So it'd be in the first post of the thread.

BBM

 

[Reader]

Southernnana, she posted the link in the post you quoted - it's at the bottom of her post.

ttp://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_polk/14-year-old-lakeland-girl-charged-with-murdering-her-newborn-boy#ixzz27otWDDJ7

Thanks JennaT ... there is no link in Post 21 that I quoted from. In that post, Reader mentions "the OP link has been updated again" ... I don't know what "OP" stands for and did not see a nearby link with OP in it. The link you provided me is in Post 18, an ABCactionsnews link. I will consider that as the link.

Thanks again for your help.

OP means 'original post' or 'original poster'. So it'd be in the first post of the thread.

Thanks for all the help on that link...I see it is not on the post anymore, don't know what happened to it but it was there last night....guess the WS ghost got it! lol......

I've found several links that also had the girl's picture and even address and won't post them either. One of those links had a link to the pdf for the criminal complaint....you have to have the Shockwave Player (Adobe) to read it...it's safe acc. to Norton....since it also has all her info, I'm going to just post a few items that may be helpful, but some of it is VERY GRAPHIC:

*She's charged with premeditated murder and aggravated child abuse

*When she was examined at the hospital they found 4-5 lacerations to the interior vaginal wall

*The mother did suspect the girl was pregnant (from weight gain, relatives observations) but when she confronted her, the girl maintained she was not pregnant and was still a virgin

*The step-father in the home had also noted the girl's weight gain and said she wore jackets and sweatshirts outside the home, and would even 'keep a blanket over her' as she walked around in the residence

*The birth, murder and discovery of the child are the same as from previous links.....however, the girl talked about the 'possible father' of the child and stated she had not told him or anyone else that she was pregnant and was wearing the baggy clothes in an "attempt to hide her pregnancy from everyone"

*The girl also said she was aware of "other alternatives, I.E. caring for the victim or adoption"...she stated she "terminated the life of the child because she was afraid her relationship with her parents would change."

*At the autopsy, Dr. Nelson verified the child had been alive and breathing independent of the mother prior to death, and noted "32 subscapular contusions, hemorrhages and severe head trauma consistent with blunt force trauma, which is consistent with the head being struck repeatedly by scissors." He also noted contusions consistent with strangulation, and ruled the death a homicide.

-------

I'm noting there is no mention by the girl of abuse, molestation or rape at all by anyone and she intentionally concealed the pregnancy and intentionally killed the baby.....32 stabs with the scissors plus strangulation....because she didn't want the relationship with her parents to change??? what the heck kind of reason is that to murder your own newborn baby in cold blood?

I do want to hear more about this 'relationship' with her parents and why it was so necessary, in her mind, to conceal this pregnancy and kill her baby. She was AWARE of other options but did not choose to seek help from her parents or anyone else. After reading the above, I'm very close to thinking she needs to be tried as an adult. This was cold-blooded, this was deliberate murder of a helpless baby....IMO, subject to change but it would have to be a very good reason....

BTW, that link for the pdf is at TBO. com....

 

[rollinginit]

How sad! I would have taken that baby boy. I'm sure a lot of people would have.

I had my daughter at 15. She's 20 now. Being a teen mom was not easy. Thankfully, I had a great support system. But I do remember the looks and whispers.

 

[Reader]

How sad! I would have taken that baby boy. I'm sure a lot of people would have.

I had my daughter at 15. She's 20 now. Being a teen mom was not easy. Thankfully, I had a great support system. But I do remember the looks and whispers.

I admire you for that, rollinginit, and I'm sure it was not easy! Bless you for loving, keeping and raising your daughter!

A lot of the comments that I have read on the articles have been other women and men who said they wanted to adopt and would have gladly taken this little baby....just a tragedy.....

 

[flipflop]

Lakeland Regional Medical Center after staff members said they had treated a 14-year-old for what appeared to be a miscarriage.


]Read more: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/ne...-with-murdering-her-newborn-boy#ixzz27u027N9f

The statement above does not make sense to me, as the Dr and nurses would be able to see the difference in a 14yr old who just delivered a full term near 10lb baby compared to a 14yr old who had a miscarriage which was small enough to flush down the toilet.
The hospital staff IMO would be able to see that she recently delivered a baby.....CPS was called in, why was no one looking for this newborn baby???????