Received Thursday, August 14, 2008.
When help finally arrived for 7 year old Danielle, Officers found a child that weighed just 46 pounds, curled up in a fetal position covered in sores, rashes and lice, with bugs crawling all around her. She had been locked away in a dark room and ignored for most of her life, with no interaction and very little to sustain her. What kind of Mother could do this to her child?
Readers must be strongly cautioned as this is a very disturbing Story of child abuse at it's worst.
The Feral Child
Behind the scene photos and Interviews - Video
Interview with Danielle's Mother - Video
Danielle's Mother "All I was guilty of was a dirty house"
20 comments:
I started reading this story and couldn't continue, because it was so sad and I was disgusted. Because we share the same name, this little girl touched my heart. How truly sad for any child to be treated in this manner. I am happy that this child was given a chance to have a normal life.
I'm sorry, MissDee. I knew it would be difficult for most to read, that's why we decided to add the cautionary.
However, it's still an important story that needs to be heard.
All that matters now is that she is safe and with a loving Family.
"It made people suspect their neighbors and hug their kids and, most of all, want to help."
"You gave us something to think about," reader Susanne Whelan wrote. "We all must keep our eyes open and report things that are not right."
The people who took her in and made her theirs are amazing people. They are heroes, actually, and so is Dani for surviving what she went through. What a crazy story. Stranger than fiction. God bless this child and her new family.
What a sad, sad story. I have a handful of crushed tissues next to me as I write this. Poor Dani ~ some people truly do not deserve to have children. She will be in our prayers here, her and her new family who opened their hearts and home to her. God bless them!
Thanks for posting this MPP!
What an amazing story. The only thing I didn't like is that their son now sleeps in the laundry room on a day bed? How sad that he no longer has a room. I am so glad this girl was saved but I hope their son still gets the attention he deserves.
I would love to give you the credit for sending this in! Thank you, nannys .... is that what you go by?
Faith
I felt the same way, but you will be happy to hear that shortly after that article was written, they moved into a much bigger house on 1 acre of property, and William has his very own room.
:)
I too was sad for the son. I'm glad he has a room again.
This story is tragic...for everybody concerned.
And I feel that, even though as I started reading this I wanted to hate her real mom...I feel that she is probably truly mentally ill and incapable of even realizing what she did. She just doesn't seem to have a clue. Why is she not getting mental health care?
The mom was evaluated as having an IQ of 77. So she's not what most people would consider "average" intelligence. From the interview with her, she seemed not to fully understand what she did wrong.
That said, I still find it horrible that she had a lawyer who was able to work a deal with the county/state that got her out of serving any jail time.
Just so you know, not only did she get out of serving any Jail time which is despicable enough, she got out of serving her 100 hours of Community service.
How? She took a fall at Wal-mart, so the Judge dismissed it.
The only punishment she served was House arrest, big deal. How many people can do that standing on their head?
Criminals seem to be able to work the system quite well.
Still I think a hospital for the criminally insane is where this woman belongs. Like Andrea Yates.
What I don't like or understand is that these people who do these things and are found to be insane are relaeased without further responsibility for their crimes once a doctor declares them to be no longer insane. I think they should get the sentence a common criminal would get...and have to serve ALL OF IT, but in a facility for mentally ill criminals...where they at least have a chance to get some treatment so they don't repeat when they are released.
What prevents Danielle's mom from having another child and doing this again?
Mom, it says she is now like 52 or something so the probability of her having another child is slim. THANK GOD.
Thank God for small favors. Let's just hope she never finds any means to get her hands on a child again...grandchildren, or whatever.
That's why, even though I have the utmost compassion for the mentally ill, I do not think people who are ill in such a way that they have the proven propensity to harm others should be allowed out of captivity AT ALL.
And i don't see why she had ot be offered this plea in order to get the little girl adopted. They could have easily given her a mental fitness test, declared her unfit, stripped her rights, and allow the child to be adopted while she was incarcerated. So what if it took a little longer that way.She was already in the home where they intended to keep her. What difference did a delayed piece of paper make?
Those were my thoughts exactly, Mom.
I have to wonder why, after torturing this child, the Mother got off with little more than a slap on the wrist.
The Justice system really reeks sometimes .....
You'd be surprised how hard it is to declare a parent unfit in DSS and the system. My "birth" mother has three little girls and DSS has taken them away so many times I have lost count. Shes been to jail, gotten busted for heroin dealing, etc. Id say shes been arrested over 100 times, no exaggeration. Theyve been in foster care for half of their lives yet somehow this lowlife piece of crap "mother" keeps getting them back. why on earth a judge would ever deem her fit is beyond me. Also she refused to sign adoption papers for me even though I have been with my aunt and uncle, who are my parents in my eyes, since I was 16 months old. The only way my parents were able to adopt me is by the abandonment law. She had to not contact me for 6 months , no letters, calls, visits. Well finally when I was 15 years old I was able to be legally adopted because we waited the six months. Anyway, the point of my story I guess is that even though this lowlife mom in this story lost custody, adoption is a different story. Even though its not fair that she got a plea bargain, one good thing came out of it--this poor little girl has a wonderful, loving home!!
okay so her biological mom is like super misinformed, a child can become mentally impaired if you do not interact with said child.
Thats why its SO important to play, teach and interact with children, even babies! Although some people think that it doesn't make a difference, surely it does!!
This lady HAD HAD HAD to have some sort of mental disorder. Seriously. No one is that blind, a child full of cockroach bites and a diaper at that age?!
surely, and quite clearly there was neglect. This lady makes me upset.
That poor child! That lady just robber her of a typical life!
OMG, I just finished reading this. I seriously think there should be a law that if a person is convicted of child abuse with certain criteria, that they automatically lose all parental rights. I wonder if THAT might help some of these monsters to not commit the crimes that they do, but at least better people would have a better possibility of legally adopting the poor kids.
Also sickening that this woman received NO punishment at all, essentially, and I do agree with mom that it seems inexplicable that she never received any sort of mental help.
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