GUILTY PA - Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, 22, Germantown, 2 November 2014 - #2

[TravelingBug]

Very worth the read, IMO - http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20141109_A_village_found_Carlesha.html

From the get-go, this case defied every negative stereotype we have about the complacency of our citizens, the disinterest of the police department, the cynicism of the media.

Maybe - to quote an old saying - Philadelphia isn't as bad as Philadelphians say it is.

Freeland-Gaither's abduction isn't the only recent, high-profile case in which police, working closely with willing members of the public and aided by the media, arrested monsters who needed taking off the street.

"Hell, no," went the refrain that brought in so many tips to police. "Not here. Not on our watch."

 

[TravelingBug]

Fletcher couldn't stop alleged kidnapper Delvin Barnes, who wielded a 12-inch knife, but he called 9-1-1 twice. Retrieved Carlesha's phone and glasses from where she purposely dropped them. And then so accurately conveyed to officers what he'd seen that they immediately understood that Carlesha was in grave danger.

Fletcher, an admitted ex-con, has had past run-ins with law enforcement. No one would've been surprised - disappointed, but not surprised - if he'd decided to look the other way rather than initiate an encounter with police.

Fletcher, though, told NBC10 that, when his shouts at Barnes failed to stop the abduction, "I just cried and cried." He felt, he said, like he had "lost her."

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20141109_A_village_found_Carlesha.html#jQ4MWlGGhrv6gUzp.99

Loved this, especially!

"If you can't be touched by the horrible manner of her abduction,if you're not obsessed with getting that girl back, you shouldn't be in this job."

Carlesha's video (on the Philly PD's site/youtube (and of course it was elsewhere) was viewed 1.2 MILLION times) and they've had 6.2 million total hits to ALL their videos. That's a HUGE stat!

In 2014, they posted 500 videos, got tips leading to 180 arrests and closed 200 cases!

Good stuff!

And good changes thanks to Ramsey and the people of Philly working together now!

 

[bessie]

The mother of the 16 year old that Barnes raped, tortured and burned was just interviewed on HLN. Interesting....Captain Jayson Crawley with Charles City County LE, who brought Barnes back to Virginia: he graduated from Charles City High School with Barnes. LE said that they are investigating other missing girls AND are investigating the photos that he showed the 16 year old victim. Apparently, LE is on top of all of the possibilities that he has harmed many others. Sadly, the 16 year old victim's mother said that her daughter "did not look like herself", which speaks to the extend of the chemical burns on her skin. Monster.

And in addition to the outer scars comes enormous physical pain, as well. I have no words to express the sorrow I feel for that particular young victim. G*d bless her.

 

[FindHG]

And in addition to the outer scars comes enormous physical pain, as well. I have no words to express the sorrow I feel for that particular young victim. G*d bless her.

They both seem like two unbelievably resilient young woman. I want to believe, as I lived to see others who lived through unimaginable horrors have, that Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, and the young teen girl who had to spend three days and nights being tortured and be told to prepare to die, will both have strong joyful days ahead in life, once they begin to heal. I once interviewed a woman, as she bounced her grandson on her lap, about being tortured, raped, and made to stand in acid, for political reasons. Her attitude was that she would not let them take anything more away from her. She bore her scars with the pride of a survivor.

 

[bessie]

She seems like an unbelievably resilient young woman. I want to believe, as I lived to see others who lived through unimaginable horrors have, that Carlesha Freeland will have strong joyful days ahead in life, once she begins to heal.

I believe you are right, and I should clarify that my heart goes out to all of the victims.

 

[FindHG]

I believe you are right, and I should clarify that my heart goes out to all of the victims.

You are right, bessie. May they both be blessed in their journey through recovering both physically and otherwise.

 

[babyroxy1969]

For a 16 yr old to be raped, doused in bleach and set on fire is beyond comprehension. I cannot imagine the pain and grief and terror that she lives with to this day. He deserves the DP for that once case alone, imo. :cow:

I watched an interview last night with the 16 year old victims mother. Of course now I can't relocate it, so I have no link. But it was so sad. The reporter, then went to Barnes parents home for a comment. His father answered the door, and when asked if he had anything to say to the 16 year old victim of HIS SON, he replied "I wish them a speedy recovery" the reporter asked if that was all. He then added "I hope they move on with their life quickly"

I found these comments a bit trifle considering a MONTH LATER the 16 year old victim is STILL in the hospital trying to recover and will NEVER be the same. Not physically, mentally, or emotionally.

I found the link:
http://www.nbc12.com/story/27321757/mother-to-suspect-in-richmond-teens-abduction-fry-in-hell

 

[PricklyPear]

Thanks for sharing SCHMAE!
There is no doubt that nurture has a significant impact. My personal belief is that it is a combination of nature and nurture. I believe that some people are born with "different" brains. That's not an excuse, just an observation. Otherwise how do we explain the wide difference in certain families? How do we explain those individuals who grew up in a "normal" loving family but turn out to have no empathy? Their parents notice the lack of empathy in their child at a young age, and even if they seek help there really isn't much they can do about it.

Of course, an abused child (nurture) will have difficulty if they haven't been show "normal loving behavior".

Hats off to all of my fellow WSers for sharing their experiences.

I mentioned this in the JLM psychology thread, but studies on psychopaths have found that violence tends to be more tied to upbringing, although not always. People with a genetic predisposition to psychopathy who grow up in loving homes are less likely to become violent than people with that genetic link who grow up in abusive or neglectful homes. There are exceptions on both sides, but that does tend to be the case. There are links in that thread to an article about "pre-psychopathic" children and work by a doctor who found out his brain scans match those from known psychopaths which supports that.

In my own experience, mental illness in general tends to be a combination of both nature and nurture. I have some problems with mental illness in spite of my fantastic parents, but I really believe I'd be a much bigger mess without their support. I have cousins in the same situation, and my grandmother and many of her family members have also struggled with MI, mostly depression/bipolar. It runs on that side of the family, but there is also a big tendency toward support (my grandfather was incredibly supportive of my grandmother and stepped in to take on the role of both parents for my mom, aunts and uncles whenever she struggled with mental health issues) and as a result, most of us who have MIs on this side of the family have grown into functional adults, especially as we've become more open about it. This is not to say there haven't been issues — the support really began with my grandmother, and no one was open about it until my mom's generation. And in the generations before that support and openness, there was alcoholism, suicide, and so on. So the support and openness really made an enormous difference.

That's just my own experience, pure "anecdata." But it would seem that in this case, if everyone in the family "knew" Barnes was a monster but everyone sort of swept it under the rug and didn't get him help, or even outright avoided him, I could see him just getting worse and worse. I'm not blaming his family AT ALL. Mental health problems have an incredible stigma in the U.S., and there is a major lack of social support especially in some communities. It's not just a family problem, but a societal problem; my family is not at all typical. But I could definitely see that playing a role in his journey toward violence. If he had gotten help as a child, maybe he would have grown in a different direction — or the red flags would have been recognized by a psychologist and he would have been at least monitored more closely.

 

[Ontario Mom]

So it really baffles me how DB came out so bad after coming from such a religious background.

Christian here, and the answer to this question is as simple as it is complicated. I genuinely believe some people are just purely wicked and evil, contrary to what is popular psychological opinion. You can be raised in an overbearing "Christian" atmosphere were there is a lot of judgement & condemnation and come out just fine, balanced & compassionate. That is of course, assuming you're not a psychopathic nutbasket to begin with. If you are, however, all that condemnation and judgement takes on a way creepy manifestation in your own life, where you become judge, jury and executioner. I know it sounds all fairy tail, but it happens all the time.

I know this is no place to discuss particular spiritual elements in crime cases but it's important not to ignore them either, because for most people, they do answer some questions.

MOO.

 

[Ontario Mom]

For a 16 yr old to be raped, doused in bleach and set on fire is beyond comprehension. I cannot imagine the pain and grief and terror that she lives with to this day. He deserves the DP for that once case alone, imo. :cow:

A simple "thanks" was not enough. If a person is capable of this type of crime against another human being, their chances at life, liberty and the pursuit of whatever, should be rendered null and void.

 

[cluciano63]

I hope that family member who has spoken out about him being a "monster" called police as soon as he saw the video...no excuse for not doing that, jmo, even if parents would not. Jmo
Speaking out afterward helps, but not if one did nothing to assist, even anonymously.

 

[mpnola]

I hope that family member who has spoken out about him being a "monster" called police as soon as he saw the video...no excuse for not doing that, jmo, even if parents would not. Jmo
Speaking out afterward helps, but not if one did nothing to assist, even anonymously.

It was reported (sorry, have no idea what link) that a family member reported to the police they suspected it was him. No doubt, it was Uncle Lamar. I don't doubt for one second that he called. And good for him!!

 

[RSC]

I watched an interview last night with the 16 year old victims mother. Of course now I can't relocate it, so I have no link. But it was so sad. The reporter, then went to Barnes parents home for a comment. His father answered the door, and when asked if he had anything to say to the 16 year old victim of HIS SON, he replied "I wish them a speedy recovery" the reporter asked if that was all. He then added "I hope they move on with their life quickly"

I found these comments a bit trifle considering a MONTH LATER the 16 year old victim is STILL in the hospital trying to recover and will NEVER be the same. Not physically, mentally, or emotionally.

I found the link:
http://www.nbc12.com/story/27321757/mother-to-suspect-in-richmond-teens-abduction-fry-in-hell

With all due respect, WS is a victim friendly forum, and I believe this would include family and friends both of victims and perpetrators. We have no idea what kind of grieving this family may be going through given what their son has done.

 

[Ontario Mom]

I can't even imagine how I'd react upon learning one of my kids did something horrific, but no matter how I reacted there will always be someone who hears it the wrong way and/or goes on the "it's the parents fault" bent, because that's what people tend to do when looking for answers or some kind of something that makes it (the crime) make some kind of sense. I have watched SO many documentaries and interviews with parents, siblings and other family members of notorious criminals and they were in many cases just literally blown away by the acts of their family member. Even many of them who said things like "well he was always kind of weird" never truly believed in a million years he was genuinely THAT weird, you know?

MOO.

 

[FindHG]

I watched an interview last night with the 16 year old victims mother. Of course now I can't relocate it, so I have no link. But it was so sad. The reporter, then went to Barnes parents home for a comment. His father answered the door, and when asked if he had anything to say to the 16 year old victim of HIS SON, he replied "I wish them a speedy recovery" the reporter asked if that was all. He then added "I hope they move on with their life quickly"

I found these comments a bit trifle considering a MONTH LATER the 16 year old victim is STILL in the hospital trying to recover and will NEVER be the same. Not physically, mentally, or emotionally.

I found the link:
http://www.nbc12.com/story/27321757/mother-to-suspect-in-richmond-teens-abduction-fry-in-hell

Time is not on this predators side though
Police examine GPS printout, seek more victims in Barnes case
Laura Geller reports - Nov 10, 2014 7:05 PM EST
They're also taking advantage of the National Crime Information Center. “I've sent out that message to all agencies in the nation to be on the look out to check their case files if they have anything similar to what Mr. Barnes did here,” [Capt. Jayson] Crawley said. “Just to look for any similarities between the victims, our victim here was 16-years-old. The victim in Philadelphia was 22 years old but she looked much younger than 22."
http://www.nbc12.com/story/27346891/police-examine-gps-printout-seek-more-victims-in-barnes-case

 

[Just K]

Barnes will be tried in the federal case, in Philadelphia, before he will be charged and tried in the case of the brutalized Richmond teenager.
http://www.nbc12.com/story/27344223...y-will-face-charges-in-philadelphia-wednesday

 

[Knox]

Time is not on this predators side though
Police examine GPS printout, seek more victims in Barnes case
Laura Geller reports - Nov 10, 2014 7:05 PM EST
They're also taking advantage of the National Crime Information Center. “I've sent out that message to all agencies in the nation to be on the look out to check their case files if they have anything similar to what Mr. Barnes did here,” [Capt. Jayson] Crawley said. “Just to look for any similarities between the victims, our victim here was 16-years-old. The victim in Philadelphia was 22 years old but she looked much younger than 22."
http://www.nbc12.com/story/27346891/police-examine-gps-printout-seek-more-victims-in-barnes-case

Monday, authorities confirmed they're examining if there's any connection to Barnes and the victims in Richmond and Philadelphia on Facebook.

Also from your link. That's interesting, he did not have many friends on facebook. Wonder if he had another account?

 

[mpnola]

Also from your link. That's interesting, he did not have many friends on facebook. Wonder if he had another account?

Seems like it, doesn't it. Wonder if we found it already and then changed our miinds!

 

[PricklyPear]

The man accused of abducting a teenage girl off the streets of Richmond last month was transported to Philadelphia Tuesday to face similar charges there. Delvin Barnes is scheduled to go before a federal judge Wednesday where he will be arraigned on those abduction-related charges.

<snip>

Investigators in Charles City County have asked homeowner who lived near Barnes to check around their properties for anything suspicious.

http://wtvr.com/2014/11/11/delvin-barnes-to-philadelphia/

 

[maureen718]

Delvin Barnes will be in court at 1:30pm today
http://6abc.com/news/kidnapping-suspect-delvin-barnes-due-in-court/391942/