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  1. Oh Brenda, How I wish we could keep our children safe from all these evil people. I have a 12 year old grand daughter, a brilliant girl with long beautiful blonde hair. She has never met people like that and I'm not sure she would believe it if we told her there were people like that in this world. I pray for her every day, as I know many people do pray for their precious children.
    Heartbreaks such as this are just too much.
    Hugs, Cindy

  2. Brenda what a horrible event and your moving story helps us all realize how this kind of thing changes lives forever. I admire your writing and your strength!

  3. A very sad story , thank you for sharing. That's one sob down maybe by spreading information like this many more people will be aware as to what kind of inhumane people lurk the streets and prey on children. Laws should be more strict for registered child molesters. Many parents are not aware that they can pull files up on line in their area on registered child molesters. Thanks again! Lisa @ Sweet Tea N' Salty Air

  4. Brenda, I can only imagine how difficult this "story" was for you to cover. After reading this post, I'm sure you handled Jen's story with compassion and love–and that her mother knew you cared. 20 years (Do you know, is her mother still alive?) Twenty years on death row and "natural causes" were too good for that monster–at least we know that he won't harm anyone ever again.

  5. You are a gifted writer, and I know the family of the young girl clung to your words as their way of telling her story. Bravery is needed by people everywhere to warn of dangers when you least expect them.
    How tragic the bystanders didn't react in a different way at the initial abduction. We should all take this as a lesson to speak up! Say something! Pay attention! Keep an eye on all children!

  6. One of my former students who was also a family friend, was abducted, not by an older man, but an older boy who complimented her and made her feel "grown up". He tired of her, killed her and threw her in a drainage ditch. He was part of the search crew along with the police and friends and family. But, his family had money and her family did not. He finally confessed and led them to the body, and his parents paid off someone so he got off.

  7. I do not know how people can work in cases like this and remain sane. Truly. I admire(such an understatement) those who can. I googled the details of the last post you wrote of the two girls who vanished and think I found the case you spoke of. Tragic.

    Though I live in a country without capital punishment, I fully believe there are some crimes for which there is no other acceptable punishment.

  8. Maybe fate stepped in when he stole that car that morning and was arrested. Just maybe another innocent child was spared from this animal. I reported several of these cases when I was working in Superior Court here, and believe me you never forget them. You wrote a beautiful tribute to Jen, thank you for doing so.

  9. Unreal where people are in our world today. As a parent and grandparent, I grieve for anyone who would have to deal with this kind of situation. Humanly, one can never forget what this person has done to this girl and others. The only peace I can bring to my mind is knowing God will bring His justice one day.
    You take care.
    Emily

  10. What is our society doing to create so many perps?

    Why is it easier to catch someone for stealing a car than killing a girl?

    You bear witness Brenda. I have no idea why G*d has given you this skill. We need your grace in telling these stories.

    Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

  11. Oh Brenda, who can understand these horrible things…your work must have been so draining and difficult in that you had to live them alongside the victims and families 🙁 It is hard to fathom losing a child, let alone to something like that. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around it 🙁

  12. Brenda,

    Your recounting of this horrible tragedy made me stop – smack in the middle of reading it – to try and grip the reality of your previous career. You must be a very strong individual to be able to interview parents of victims, write about the facts, and with each edit, repeat the monstrous crime in your mind, the torn faces of the parents and the eery and haunting experience of the victim. Work experience such as yours, I imagine, never takes a leave of absence, for it is simply too embedded in your mind and your heart.

    Thank you for this story and its accompanying images. And, although I couldn't read it fast enough, it made me slow down to appreciate the health and safety of my loved ones.

    Poppy

  13. This was a hard one for me to read tonight. My girl is 12 years old now and starting to enjoy some of the freedoms that come with being in middle school and I just can't imagine how horribly painful it must have been for her family. I remember you writing about her before but now it hits a little bit closer. I am glad that you keep her memory alive when so many of those who fought for her are now gone.

  14. This is so unbelievable sad. As a mother, this would be my worst nightmare. I don't know how any parent goes on after the death of the child, especially in an instance such as this, knowing how she suffered in the end.

  15. Can you tell us the child's name? Maybe just her first name? I believe that a person is never forgotten if someone remembers his or her name.
    Is the mom still alive? I'll pray for her.

  16. This is a cut and dried case for a quick death penalty if I ever saw one. The fact that we have to house these monsters makes my stomach turn. I pray for peace for the mother and a future happy reunion in Heaven with her beloved daughter.

  17. Such a sad time for you I bet..gives me the chills someone could do this to an innocent sweet young girl…God Bless her sweet soul and damn him to hell!!! where I am sure he is…so many predators in this world anymore its scarey…no one is safe anywhere today 🙁 Carol

  18. What a sad story. It is a reminder of the world we live in. Things and people are not always as they seem. It's a shame that people sit on death row so long. Is there ever really any justice?

  19. What a heartbreaking story, but thank you for sharing it all the same. There really are no words to say, just sadness over such a tragedy.

  20. WOW! I tink that this would stay in my mind forever if I were involved in any way. I didn't know that you worked for the media. You really saw the good and bad of life didn't you?

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