# "Calling it the 'worst case' of abuse a detective had ever seen" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 13, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735 "2008-10-13T16:53:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wernstrom5000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/41988e/32.png) [@Wernstrom5000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wernstrom5000)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/1 "2008-10-13T16:53:34Z")
[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008261218\_webabuse13m.html](http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008261218_webabuse13m.html) How do things like this happen? Is there a part of the story that’s missing? Surely, it must be the case that the daughter has some medical condition which _requires_ extremely low water intake. Surely, the daughter’s severe malnutrition must be because she has anorexia? Surely, the media is spinning this somehow and it can’t actually be how it appears at face value? Right? And, clearly the deadbolts on the door were never actually used. Right? Right? ☹ I guess we can at least take comfort in knowing that such cases are extraordinarily rare. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/2 "2008-10-13T17:07:45Z")
Obviously, from reading the story, she really was treated quite badly. I’m not sure if your questioning the facts of it is a whoosh or not… Unfortunately, it’s not all that uncommon. I see news stories like this pretty frequently here in my city, and I’d have to assume it’s just as common in other cities. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/3 "2008-10-13T17:36:28Z")
Not that uncommon. Having your very own child means you have a horrific level of power over another human being; for a lot of people, that leads to abuse, easy as breathing. Humans are vicious apes with big brains. ---
**Author:** ![FarmerChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@FarmerChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarmerChick)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/4 "2008-10-13T19:53:09Z")
That is beyond brutal. Te farther and stepmother need to go to jail. But. What the fuck is with the mother? And the grandfather? From the link, Grandpa Stokes. > [@](#): > > “I haven’t had a chance to get back in touch,” Stokes said. “I’m just sick about this.” These kids never had a chance. He was notified in fucking AUGUST!!! The father and step-mother were released without bail? The justice system really does suck. ---
**Author:** ![miamouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@miamouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miamouse)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/5 "2008-10-13T20:07:18Z")
> [@FarmerChick](#): > > That is beyond brutal. Te farther and stepmother need to go to jail. > > But. What the fuck is with the mother? And the grandfather? > > From the link, Grandpa Stokes. > > These kids never had a chance. He was notified in fucking AUGUST!!! > > The father and step-mother were released without bail? The justice system really does suck. You don’t know that he is capable of taking them in, in all honesty if he’s waited 2 months over it, it’s probably better for the kids in the long run. Let them bond with the foster family and be adopted. As for the mom, the article doesn’t say why she lost custody in the first place, but it seems like she didn’t visit either. Again, better that she stays away. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/6 "2008-10-13T20:45:24Z")
> [@](#): > > They also collected evidence that the family had health insurance and the girl’s brother had seen a doctor in the past few years. The family’s two dogs were in good health and had recent trips to a veterinary clinic. I think I’m going to be sick. Members of a crazy cult, perhaps obsessed with purity (water), maybe? I will definitely keep tabs on this story, assuming I can handle it. ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/7 "2008-10-13T20:55:33Z")
It’s appalling what parents can do to their kids. I had a case once of nonorganic failure to thrive. The 3-month-old baby weighed less than she had at birth. The doctors had ordered her hospitalized twice, and each time she gained weight while she was in the hospital, only to lose it again once she was released back to the parents’ care. Her toddler brother was strong and healthy and hearty. Made me sick, that one did. Then there was the 10-year-old suicidal kid who was hospitalized when she was having visual and auditory hallucinations… Don’t get me started. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/8 "2008-10-13T21:03:22Z")
> [@N.Sane](#): > > Then there was the 10-year-old suicidal kid who was hospitalized when she was having visual and auditory hallucinations… Don’t get me started. What’s bad about that? Not the hospitalization part, surely? Or are you saying that the parents did something to cause hallucinations in the child? ---
**Author:** ![Telcontar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Telcontar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telcontar)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/9 "2008-10-13T21:12:03Z")
> [@N.Sane](#): > > It’s appalling what parents can do to their kids. I had a case once of nonorganic failure to thrive. The 3-month-old baby weighed less than she had at birth. The doctors had ordered her hospitalized twice, and each time she gained weight while she was in the hospital, only to lose it again once she was released back to the parents’ care. Her toddler brother was strong and healthy and hearty. Made me sick, that one did. > > Then there was the 10-year-old suicidal kid who was hospitalized when she was having visual and auditory hallucinations… Don’t get me started. I just can’t understand these things. Controlling/abusive parents are one thing - they want power and are getting it from their kid - but some of these cases seem more like murder in slow motion. How does even a twisted mind justify that? ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/10 "2008-10-13T21:50:20Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > What’s bad about that? Not the hospitalization part, surely? Or are you saying that the parents did something to cause hallucinations in the child? The parents had nothing to do with getting her hospitalized. The school took care of that, thank Og. No, the father saw her being sexually molested by his father and did nothing about it. Another time he couldn’t pick her up from school, and asked someone he knew to be a child molester to pick her up. There’s a lot to the story, and obviously I can’t say too much about it. Three cases in particular still give me nightmares, and that’s one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Wernstrom5000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/41988e/32.png) [@Wernstrom5000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wernstrom5000)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/11 "2008-10-14T03:02:29Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Obviously, from reading the story, she really was treated quite badly. I’m not sure if your questioning the facts of it is a whoosh or not… > > Unfortunately, it’s not all that uncommon. I see news stories like this pretty frequently here in my city, and I’d have to assume it’s just as common in other cities. No, my questioning of the facts was not serious, it probably did happen as I read it. But: On a side note, I did read a while ago about a horrible case of malnutrition. I wanted to learn more about it to see how anyone could do such a thing, and, sure enough, research turned up a less sensationalist report. It seems the child was mentally retarded and would do bizarre things like eat toothpaste or drywall, and also would vomit into his own mouth, chew it and swallow it again, cow-style (this eating disorder is called [rumination](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumination_disorder)). All these things likely were the reason for his malnutrition. The original article had made a big deal about how the child’s teeth had horrible decay, but the more informative article noted that _everyone_ in the family had ungodly, rotting teeth, including the parents, and that the child’s delightfully pleasant rumination habit would have strongly contributed to dental decay. By the way, is it common for stepmothers to be inhuman witches? Why are stepmothers so much more evil than stepfathers? Also, regarding the father, they say he was a “software engineer”, a group which is well-known for its social ineptitude. I absolutely do not excuse him in the slightest, but it may help explain how he let such a thing happen. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/12 "2008-10-14T03:17:48Z")
> [@N.Sane](#): > > The parents had nothing to do with getting her hospitalized. The school took care of that, thank Og. No, the father saw her being sexually molested by his father and did nothing about it. Another time he couldn’t pick her up from school, and asked someone he knew to be a child molester to pick her up. There’s a lot to the story, and obviously I can’t say too much about it. > > Three cases in particular still give me nightmares, and that’s one of them. Oh, ouch. That sounds awful…makes one grateful for one’s own family, however seemingly dysfunctional it might be! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/13 "2008-10-14T04:12:38Z")
From the OP’s cited news article [The Seattle Times | Local news, sports, business, politics, entertainment, travel, restaurants and opinion for Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.](http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008261218_webabuse13m.html) > [@](#): > > . . . police found their 14-year-old daughter emaciated, dehydrated and suffering from severe malnutrition. > > . . . . > > Doctors found she has not gained weight since age 9. > > . . . . > > Prosecutors said the couple were investigated by Child Protective Services in 2005 when the girl reported being locked in her room for extended periods of time. The CPS investigation concluded that the allegations were founded after Long admitted to locking the girl in her room, but the case was not referred for criminal prosecution, prosecutors said. > > . . . . > > She weighed only 48 pounds and was 4-foot-7 when the investigation began. Police described her as resembling a 7- or 8-year-old. If she had not gained weight since age 9, and there had been an investigation by CPS when she was approximately 11, I have to wonder about the thoroughness of that investigation, and also wonder about why there was not adequate follow-up. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/14 "2008-10-14T05:33:56Z")
> [@Wernstrom5000](#): > > I guess we can at least take comfort in knowing that such cases are extraordinarily rare. Not so rare as you think. The so-called “family values” cabal in this country is a breeding grounding for extreme physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. There is no oversight committee or licensing board for parenthood, and many parents only have children (a) by accident, or (b) as a means of fulfilling their own selfish needs for attachment or power. When you allow two people (or, in many families, one person) to have absolute dominion over a child – controlling every aspect of their lives, from how often they eat to which God they pray to – there are zero controls in place to prevent one or both parents from going berzerk and start beating on their child for fun. This is so commonplace, only the extreme cases make the news. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/15 "2008-10-14T06:02:11Z")
> [@Wernstrom5000](#): > > By the way, is it common for stepmothers to be inhuman witches? Why are stepmothers so much more evil than stepfathers? Actually, having a stepfather in the home doubles a girl’s chance of being sexual abused. The whole no-biological connection thing makes things kind of sucky for kids in many cases. ---
**Author:** ![FarmerChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@FarmerChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarmerChick)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/16 "2008-10-14T11:03:38Z")
> [@miamouse](#): > > You don’t know that he is capable of taking them in, in all honesty if he’s waited 2 months over it, it’s probably better for the kids in the long run. Let them bond with the foster family and be adopted. > > As for the mom, the article doesn’t say why she lost custody in the first place, but it seems like she didn’t visit either. Again, better that she stays away. Obviously. I am just stunned at how casual he appears to be in the article. It’s like he has dry cleaning he hasn’t bothered to pick up yet. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/17 "2008-10-14T11:54:23Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Obviously, from reading the story, she really was treated quite badly. I’m not sure if your questioning the facts of it is a whoosh or not… > > Unfortunately, it’s not all that uncommon. I see news stories like this pretty frequently here in my city, and I’d have to assume it’s just as common in other cities. All abuse is of course terrible, and measuring one case of abuse against another is pointless. Remember when two guys were going around the D.C. area shooting people at random? There was a local sheriff on the case, and after three or four shootings, they shot a kid. The sheriff said something like, “This is getting personal now.” Oh, so when an adult gets randomly killed it’s _not_ personal? That was one of the stupidest things someone could say when national media was giving him the spotlight. It’s the inspector Clouseau phenomenon. When some local law enforcement official gets national attention, he or she almost always says something that is either patently obvious or just a self-aggrandizing, foolishly latinated attempt to say something that sounds important. Reporter: “Police Chief Smith what do you have to say about the 33 people killed by the psychopathic Starbucks employee?” Chief Smith: “It was a tragedy.” (Really? You mean it wasn’t a romp in the woods?) or Chief Smith: “Our investigators will investigate this investigation and survey with complete surveillance other similar employment situations to ensure that this employment event will not happen in other employment situations.” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/18 "2008-10-14T14:03:19Z")
Sadly starving children is a common form of abuse. Just Google “child starvation.” [This](http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/05/06/malnourished.children/index.html) case rocked New Jersey a few years ago. I’ll never forget hearing the911 call about finding a child eating his garbage. When the 911 operator asked the man "How old does the boy appear to be,"he said “About 10” and the boy said “No, I’m 16.” The man said “He says he is 16. I cannot believe this” and started crying. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/19 "2008-10-14T14:51:06Z")
Why did I read that? ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735/20 "2008-10-14T15:07:31Z")
Unfortunately, there’s only so much CPS caseworkers can do. In the case I mentioned earlier, I could not get approval for removal. Could not get approval for in-home services. Could not get approval for ANYTHING, and I had to walk away and leave that kid there. I had another case where the mom of a 9-month-old kid was cooking meth in her home. I had no proof, and she refused to take a drug test, and a family member was reluctantly watching the baby, so once again I had to leave the kid there. A few months later things escalated to the point where I did get approval to do a removal, and the mother literally threw her baby at her sister before leaving the house just before the police arrived. (another long and nasty story) So even though CPS investigated this case in 2005, and found the allegations to be true, they may have offered services that the family did not participate in; the workers may have tried for a removal or something else, only to have Legal shoot it down. Sometimes the caseworkers can’t win, no matter what they do. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-it-the-worst-case-of-abuse-a-detective-had-ever-seen/467735.md?page=2)