Portage Murder Torture case from 2007 to have final sentencing on Dec 30 2008

The BBQ Pit
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Do you remember the tortured boy of the murdered mother of the stolen baby from Florida? This has always been a very nasty case and tomorrow the last person should be sentenced. I have to bring this up now as a summary and closure of the case. I’ve linked to key articles, but you still miss some of the depth of the depravity of the whole situation. Death and burial in the backyard, severe torture of a boy, a baby stolen by a parent, a incompetent child welfare system in Florida, monetary fraud and identity theft that led to a relationship between two people one of whom is dead and the other in jail.

Looking back at how the Oneida Street case unfolded

Clark’s daughter to stay in state

Clerc gets 37 years in prison for Oneida Street abuse

Clark gets 55 years

Garlin’s daughter to Clark ‘I hope God will have mercy on your soul’

Sisk ‘I want out of plea deal’

Sisk sentencing scheduled for Dec. 30

I still can’t get everything straight in my head. So much went on that it’s impossible to understand it all. The tortured boy was taken care of immediately and you hear very little about him. The stolen baby was not returned to Florida and I don’t know if the relatives down there are still trying to get her or not. The daughter that was jailed on charges eventually was taken out of adult court and we are left wandering what her punishment is.

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I can’t get it all straight in my head either. I just hope he gets the book thrown at him. The depths of cruelty and depravity boggle the mind.

3

The details of the case are unbearable. I had to stop reading, it was too painful. Humans can be such horrible creatures.

4

Yeah, I’m not really an easily offended guy, but even I couldn’t read the entire summary of things going on in that house.

5

Wiki article: Garlin case - Wikipedia

15-year-old Felicia Garlin’s charges were dismissed by the prosecutor. She’s still a ward of the court, I think; she blames the adults for leading her into the actions she took, says she won’t let “hate rule her life,” and wishes she could apologize to her brother.

Candice Clark pleaded guilty, mostly, and was sentenced to 55 years in prison and 30 years of extended supervision. She’s a lifetime grifter; she has given interviews where she’s expressed some remorse, but mostly blamed Sisk. Some acquaintances claim she’s very manipulative, and could easily have led Sisk to do things her way.

Michaela Clerc pleaded no contest to several charges, and was sentenced to 40 years plus 28 in extended supervision. She’s apparently very mentally ill, and has a long history of violent behavior. Clark definitely manipulated Clerc, who fell in love with her after having Clark steal her identity through her online fraud activities.

Michael Sisk, possibly the ringleader, made a plea deal, tried to back out, was denied, and tomorrow faces a sentence of up to 136 years in prison. Another lifetime grifter and all-around scumbag.

AC Garlin, the abused 11-year-old, appeared in court, and is apparently still under the guardianship of a Wisconsin attorney.

The three younger children (at least two are Clark’s; one might be Clerc’s) are apparently still in foster care; various relatives in different states are trying to get custody, which is leading to some serious legal and bureaucratic wrangling.

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I made this thread because I’m not sure if this will get any national news today like it did originally and I thought most people would like to see the results of the case. I’ve been searching the articles for a couple weeks to have the ones I posted available. There is much more material like the landlord talking about the future of renting the house again, but the main story is more than enough for this thread and I didn’t add the fluff. I will post a link to the sentencing after it hopefully occurs today.

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This is really, really confusing.

Why didn’t Garlin leave? Am I missing something?

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Sentence handed down

http://www.channel3000.com/news/18381797/detail.html

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Soon he will come to me…

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So people don’t have to follow that link to see the sentencing here’s the headline. Sisk Sentenced To 58 Years In Prison.

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I’ve been reading the links in the OP and this seems to be the most confusing criminal case I’ve ever heard of. Can anybody at least give a coherent explanation of why all these people were living in one house together in the first place?

Here’s what I’ve pieced together so far:

Clark meets Clerc, cons her and steals her money. Clerc then falls in love with Clark and moves in. Then Clerc’s ex, Garlin, moves in with them (why?). Then Sisk shows up (apparently out of nowhere). Each of the women seems to have children in tow. Like an ever-accumulating katamari of fuckedupness, the little household grows and festers until somebody steals a baby (WTF??) and the police show up.

I’d be able to manage more outrage if I could begin to understand what was going on.

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Am I the only one jaded enough to think little Felicia is up to her neck in the evil here?

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I’ll try:

Clark is the mother of 3 kids: a 2yo, 1yo, and 3 month old. The 2yo is the child that was kidnapped; Clark took her from a foster home in Florida. The search for that child is what brought the whole thing to light.

The dead woman, Garlin, was the mom of the 15yo girl (who had the charges against her dropped) and the 11yo severely abused boy.

Sisk was Clark’s boyfriend; he is supposedly the father of the younger two kids.

Clerc was the previous lover of Garlin; the two of them and Garlin’s kids were living with Clerc’s mother until their breakup.

After the breakup Garlin moved out, Clerc was scammed by Clark but fell in love with her. Clark and her (then two) kids moved in with Clerc and her mother, then left the kids with Clerc’s mother while she and Clark traveled around. While they were gone, Garlin and her kids moved back in. Eventually Clerc and Clark returned, and they all lived with Clerc’s mother.

There was a domestic situation, the police were called, and Clark was arrested on previous warrants. Clerc’s mother was given legal custody of the 2yo. Eventually Clerc’s mother sprung Clark from jail, and a few months later the women went to pick up Sisk who was being released from jail (not sure what he was in jail for). They returned to Clerc’s mother’s house, where they lived in utter dysfunctionality for about two months. The whole group left in September, and eventually settle in Wisconsin.

Cops show up to the Wisconsin home looking for Clark and the 2yo because by this point the case of the missing kid is HUGE in Florida, Clark and Garlin’s daughter lie about who they are and who the kid is, cops bring everyone in to the station, everything comes out about the boy in the closet and Garlin’s body in the yard.

So… Clark and Sisk are boyfriend/girlfriend; Garlin and Clerc used to be lovers, but broke up prior to Clerc meeting Clark. Clark posed as a lesbian to scam Clerc; there doesn’t seem to be any real evidence that she and Clerc had a relationship, but Clerc was definitely in love with Clark. They all lived with Clerc’s mother for no apparent reason, then went on the run together, but because Clerc’s mother still had legal custody of Clark’s 2yo, it (eventually) prompted a search for them.

Sick situation; glad everyone is going to be behind bars for a long time.
ETA: No, spooje, you most certainly aren’t.

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Soon after the arrests the boy was said to have damage to his hands so they would likely be hard to use in the future. He definitely had physical damage that will always be a problem. Luckily he wasn’t required to be present at the trial last week so he at least doesn’t have to deal in a face to face encounter with Sisk. The possibility had him terrified. The girl really caused confusion, because she kept changing the events in her interviews. I think the girls account early on that the mother was alive in the trunk when they went to buy a shovel at Walmart was one of the false stories be it purposeful or her confused mind at the time of questioning.

I’m glad bobkitty was able to summarize it in some coherent manner, because I couldn’t have.

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Someone who testified - a social worker maybe? - said that the little boy looked exactly like a skeleton with skin on it. Another said he wouldn’t expect to see pictures that look like that child did other than in a museum.

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When you get someone that has been in the news for something particularly horrific do you ever have pause in your professional demeanor? I know you must be able to compartmentalize like a motherfucker to do what you do (treat people that most people deem not worth it) but do you ever have one that you end up knowing why they are there and have to bite the inside of your mouth to keep from prying their fingernails off?

Or are you just all zen like that?

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Do any of these articles explain why Garlin was targeted for abuse and why she just didn’t pack up and leave?

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Sisk gets 58 years in West Oneida Street case, apologizes to abused boy

I’ll tell you right now if you read this article describing the boys injuries it will really horrify you. That’s stating it mildly, because I don’t have words to describe this. The article has no pictures so you won’t see anthing other than in your mind. Unfortunately it’s your mind you can’t always clear when you want to. Remember this was done by the group of people in that house and not by one person alone. More details emerge in West Oneida Street abuse

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I know what the high profile ones did, so I can prepare myself ahead of time.

As a result, I can be pretty much zen.

At need, I vent to select individuals, though.

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This quite possibly both the strangest and most horrific tale I’ve ever heard. I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t know it to be true. There was enough mental illness in that household to fill a volume of the DSM-IV.

Falling in love with someone who stole your identity? Really?
A complete lack of empathy for the beating and murder of your own mother, and furthermore, actually assisting? Really?
Wanton physical abuse and neglect of children without batting an eyelash? Really?

All these things seemed completely normal to the people involved.

Sick.