Details Emerge in W. Va. Torture Case
Wednesday September 12, 2007 2:31 PM
By JOHN RABY
Associated Press Writer
BIG CREEK, W.Va. (AP) - Inside a shed on a remote hillside of this coalfield community, authorities say a young black woman was tortured for days, sexually assaulted, beaten and forced to eat rat droppings.
If she wanted water, she had to drink from the toilet.
Her captors, all of them white, choked her with a cable cord, poured hot water over her and stabbed her in the leg while calling her a racial slur, according to criminal complaints. It wasn't until an anonymous tip led Logan County Sheriff's deputies to the property on Saturday that her ordeal ended and she was able to limp to safety, arms outstretched as she cried ``help me!''
``I don't understand such a horrific crime being committed here,'' said Johnny Meade, pastor of the community's Apostolic Church of God in the Name of Christ Jesus.
Authorities said they were investigating the case as a possible hate crime.
At one point, an assailant cut the woman's ankle with a knife and used the N-word in telling her she was victimized because she is black, authorities said. The FBI is looking into possible civil rights violations, agency spokesman Bill Crowley said.
Investigators are still trying to determine how the woman ended up at the property and whether she knew any of the six people arrested or the two others, suspected of driving her to the home, who are being sought, said Logan County Chief Sheriff's Deputy V.K. Dingess.
Police tape now surrounds the entrances to the beige-and-brown mobile home where Megan Williams, 20, was found. An extension cord runs from the home to the cramped shed, which authorities say she was held in with a portable stereo, a locker and a power saw.
The Associated Press generally does not identify suspected victims of sexual assault, but Williams and her mother agreed to release her name. Carmen Williams said she wanted people to know what her daughter endured.
``I don't understand a human being doing another human being the way they did my daughter,'' Carmen Williams said Tuesday from her daughter's hospital room. ``I didn't know there were people like that out here.''
The suspects in the case have prior arrest records going back several years, according to records from Logan County Magistrate Court. Logan County Prosecutor Brian Abraham said, ``I have some familiarity with all those individuals.''
The owner of the mobile home, Frankie Brewster, 49, was charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and giving false information during a felony investigation in connection with Williams' case.
She had been released from prison in September 2000 after serving five years for manslaughter and wanton endangerment in the death of 84-year-old Polly Ferrell, according to court records.
Brewster's son, Bobby R. Brewster, 24, also of Big Creek, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and assault during the commission of a felony.
Danny J. Combs, 20, of Harts, is charged with sexual assault and malicious wounding.
Karen Burton, 46, of Chapmanville, is charged with malicious wounding, battery and assault during the commission of a felony. Her daughter, Alisha Burton, 23, of Chapmanville, and George A. Messer, 27, of Chapmanville, are charged with assault during the commission of a felony and battery.
In May, Alisha Burton was accused of striking Messer with a shovel and smashing the window of another woman's car. Burton was charged with domestic assault and battery and destruction of property, court records showed. Those charges are pending.
All six remained in custody Tuesday in lieu of $100,000 bail each, and all have asked for court-appointed attorneys.
The home is now quiet. Newborn pups sleep in the entryway to the small shed, their mother protectively barking at approaching strangers. The puppies have a blanket. Megan Williams apparently never did.
Megan Williams' right arm is now in a cast, but she may be well enough to leave the hospital within a few days, her mother said.
``I just want my daughter to be well and recover,'' Carmen Williams said. ``I know the Lord can do anything.''
2007-09-23 10:35:36 · 19 answers · asked by Anthony B 2 in News & Events ➔ Current Events
Humans yet again, at their worst.
I have posted the link for you
http://www.loganbanner.com/articles/2007/09/20/news/news01.txt
I think life should mean life in this instance.
2007-09-23 12:23:16 · answer #1 · answered by Curious39 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Death Penalty should have been used previously i.e when Frankie (the mother) killed her Mother in law, and when Frankie's son killed his Father by shooting him SIX times in the back of the head!!!
What you failed to mention was that this story was linked to a story of Six black teenagers accused of Attempted Murder for beating up a white kid after months of racist abuse which included nooses being hung on a tree, when one of the black kids sat on a bench normally occupied by white kids
2007-09-23 10:57:03 · answer #2 · answered by Dimples 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That is a pretty horrible case and does show that racial prejudice is still around. I understand that in some parts of America kidnapping carries a death sentence.
2007-09-23 10:45:04 · answer #3 · answered by Maid Angela 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Welcome to the all so fair, justice, and equality for all America. These words are very easy to write on an old piece of paper but pretty difficult to put into practice. Maybe before we go around advertising liberty, freedom, and justice for all to the rest of the world, we should see if those "ideals" exist at home.
2007-09-23 11:06:03 · answer #4 · answered by The Prince 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I read this when it came out and thought now if there was any justice in this world, they would all be rounded up, tied together and pushed off the nearest cliff. A racial case that should make everyone feel ashamed.
2007-09-23 10:48:41 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
That is horrible! I guess all those jokes you hear about people from West Virginia really are true. It's like the movie Deliverance. Scary.
ETA: Sorry, I really didn't answer your question. I was kinda shocked when I read it. I think they should at least get life. I wish we could go all eye for an eye on them . Stupid rednecks. I can just hear the banjo playing in the background.
2007-09-23 10:44:09 · answer #6 · answered by just me 4 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Just because it depends on how you were raised, and what ideas and beliefs were put in your head growing up. It shouldn't matter though. I hate it when people ask me that too, im half mexican, i mean it doesnt really matter its none of their business anyways.
2016-04-05 22:04:08 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hang them. Now, not enough to choke them to death, but hang them over a sharp cliff, the fools.
2007-09-23 10:50:12 · answer #8 · answered by Academy& Clockworthy 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
i think in this case , an eye for an eye is a good rule to go by. how can people do such things. ?
2007-09-23 11:02:19 · answer #9 · answered by kati 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
People like that are a waste of valuable air.
2007-09-23 10:44:22 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋