CBS: Michelle Knight needs "facial reconstruction" after Cleveland rescue, grandmother says

[Poll_Blind]

This is one of those articles, and it holds true of the excerpt, that you should kind of read carefully. I'm not really going to highlight anything for that reason.

Michelle Knight needs "facial reconstruction" after Cleveland rescue, grandmother says:

One of the women who spent a decade in captivity is still being treated for anxiety, but CBS Cleveland affiliate WOIO-TV reports that Michelle Knight is hospitalized for possible reconstructive surgery to heal injuries suffered at the hands of her accused attacker.

Knight's grandmother, Deborah Knight, confirmed the information, telling WOIO-TV: "When she was severely beaten, he had beat her so bad in the face, she has to have facial reconstruction, and she's lost hearing in one ear."

Records obtained by WOIO-TV show Knight also may have faced physical abuse before she was kidnapped.

Records show David Feckley was charged and convicted in the early 2000s of child endangerment, for breaking the arm of Knight's infant son. He served eight years in prison. But a rape charge was dropped when the alleged victim, Knight, couldn't be found. She went missing in 2002.

Knight wasn't seeing visitors Thursday, not even her family. On Wednesday, her mother, in from Naples, Fla., met with Knight briefly at Metro Health Medical Center. A relative said the meeting was strained, and Knight asked her mom to leave.

More at the link!

I wish her well and hope she recovers soon. That's going to be a long, long road.

PB

[AndyA]

1. Barbara Bush on the discovery that Knight may have been physically abused before the kidnapping

"Well, it really wasn't so bad for her those ten years..."

[Bucky]

6. What a beautiful mind

[Bake]

12. This is enough of a tragedy without dragging the Bushes into it.

Just sayin'.



Bake

[snagglepuss]

29. Is that a joke or did BBush actually say that?

[AndyA]

35. Hi snagglepuss--it's a joke as far as I know

That's why I added the after my post. I had just read on Facebook something that was posted regarding her, and I always think of that horrible comment she made about the Hurricane victims not having it so bad...so I could see her saying the same thing in this situation.

Sorry about the confusion.

[snagglepuss]

42. Thanks for the clarification.

[heaven05]

46. cute

but she has probably had that thought course it's way through the maze and morass of confused brain cells wasted inside her skull, which she passed on to 'w'. Small, small 'w'. Tragically funny anyway.

[Honeycombe8]

76. It has a "sarcasm" notation. It's supposed to be a joke, I guess. nt

[KansDem]

50. And her comment regarding the Katrina survivors in the Astrodome...

And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/07/national/nationalspecial/07barbara.html?_r=0

[PDJane]

86. That comment zipped its way around the world in less than an hour, you know.

[Quantess]

74. Okay, but.... WTF?

as in, "what the fuck" does this story have to do with Barbara Bush Sr. in your dreamlike weird conections of what is deemed relevant to post on DU...?

[AndyA]

75. Do you know what sarcasm is?

I explained the story behind my post in an earlier response.

Is your post somehow any more relevant? Seems to me you're just trying to troll up trouble, I understand some people get satisfaction from that, but I'm not going to play that game. Nice language.

[Marrah_G]

2. This might be one of the most horrifying stories I've ever heard

And it only stands to get worse.

This poor woman, she will never be the same.

[malaise]

18. Horrific is the word

A nasty disgusting sociopath - cruel to the max

[liberalhistorian]

59. It's especially bad because she was the one

who was forced by Castro to do most of the "dirty" work, including having to deliver Berry's baby and being told, when the baby wasn't breathing after birth, that if the baby died, he'd kill her (Michelle). All the five times she got pregnant from his rapes, he deliberately caused miscarriages by starvation or beating her in the stomach. He repeatedly beat her in the face, especially, and she, of course, never received any treatment and the bones set wrong. I can't even type anymore, thinking about what she's endured and the fact that now she has nowhere to go and no family support and love, like the other two. There are no words.

[Le Taz Hot]

3. Some nice friends/family

need to get together and figure out a SAFE place she can go and be loved and cared for. Apparently her biological family is not an option.

[Journeyman]

4. ". . . every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." ~ Tolstoy

I imagine what Michelle Knight wishes for most these days is space. And time.

[bullwinkle428]

5. The more I read about what this guy did, the more the primal instinct

inside of me makes me want to kill him myself with my bare hands.

Fortunately, the rational, anti-d.p. side of me is still present, and makes me realize that keeping him in a cage of his own for the rest of his life is the ultimate form of punishment for this crime.

[riqster]

9. Yep. Let him live for decades without the ability to control anything.

A plain little cell, alone and powerless over any part of his own life. All control stripped away, decade after decade.

That part of his crimes we CAN punish him for in a fitting manner, at least.

[TeamPooka]

41. for at least 36 years, the amount of time each of those women and child spent in captivity

after that then we can start to punish him with punitive jail time....

[BainsBane]

60. He should NEVER set foot outside of a prison again

NEVER

[TeamPooka]

63. i agree i just want him to know what the first 36 are for...then we can start the life sentence.

[heaven05]

47. and

he'll be around other prisoners who will see him for the ultimate coward he is. Doesn't look good for him and I'm glad.

[Honeycombe8]

77. He'll only be isolated like that if he's on death row. That's why I think prisoners

fight the death penalty so much. Not only are they "put to sleep," but for years they are on death row, isolated, with few privileges.

[riqster]

79. No, there are other cases where isolation is indicated.

He is in isolation right now: SOP for rapists, child molesters, etc. in Cleveland, at least at first. Supermaxes also hold people in isolation.

[Honeycombe8]

80. This is true. But it doesn't last forever. Only on death row. Only on death row. Which is where

he should be put...or in the regular population. Like Jeffrey Dahmer.

[freshwest]

14. I don't think he can be punished. I just want him removed from society permanently.

He has lived in a cage all of his in own mind, but that does not excuse any of this.

Life in prison would be the first choice, and if the state of Ohio wants more, sorry, honestly, I don't much care. I feel the DP has been misapplied so often, such as the case of Troy Davis, that it's wrong on principle.

Also felony charges being filed against the black uncle in FL when the child found and shot himself with his permitted CCW, but others not being charged, added to years of bias, the legal system has a lot to answer for in this nation.

But I shudder to think what it would be like as an employee to deal with this maniac in person in a prison. What a hellish job to have to look at that face every day and be unemotional just to get a paycheck. I can't even look at his image online without needing to

[snagglepuss]

31. I can't bear looking at his smirking face.

[freshwest]

34. For me it's the eyes. Like a vampire, very hungry for something.

Yet the neighbors didn't see it, only saw a regular guy who was living a conventional life. People maintain fantasies about others that seldom match reality.

[Smarmie Doofus]

43. " People maintain fantasies about others that seldom match reality. "

That's for sure.

[Z_I_Peevey]

84. No. It is not so much that others are maintaining a fantasy.

It is the fact that psychopaths are extremely talented at deception. Extremely.

[TeamPooka]

65. you can't even put him in general population after what he's done so solitary is required

[derby378]

73. People like Castro are making me rethink my concerns with the death penalty

Any prison in America, even ADX Florence, is way too humane for this monster. And Michelle Knight? She's gonna be messed up for the rest of her life. I hope I'm wrong about this, but we've been down this road before.

Part of me says that there are some people who just need killin'. They have forfeited any right to our water and air.

[DevonRex]

8. Omg. And where is her infant son now?

That young woman deserves the best life has to offer from here on. The first part has been sheer hell.

[riverwalker]

11. he is now 13

and was placed in foster care. Don't know if ever adopted.

[DevonRex]

25. OMG. No wonder she

made her mother leave. I was afraid of that.

[riverwalker]

10. Feckley was her mom's boyfriend

Mom's boyfriend abused Michelle's son, causing her to lose custody. Explains her hatred for her mother, when mom visited in hospital, she was asked to leave.
Michelles twin brother is the only family she wants to see. He wants to "teach her how to use a computer" and help her go to school. He hates the mother as well.
The most telling thing, is that when Michelle went missing, the only photos her mother had was the one grainy snapshot, and her yearbook picture. Like she was a ghost, no photos, not on missing persons list, so sad.
I hope the Cleveland Courage fund can put Michelle up in a private healing place, or perhaps FBI safe house. She has no where to go, no "home" to return to.

[Poll_Blind]

15. If that's accurate that's very sad. To quote Kai the Hitchhiker:

"No matter what you've done you deserve respect. Even if you make mistakes you're lovable and it doesn't matter your look, skills, or age, or size, or anything you're worth while. No one can ever take that away from you."

Odd place for inspiration, but wise words are wise words.

PB

[Lars39]

49. Doesn't mean you deserve respect or love from the person you have wronged.

The wronged are under no obligation to do so.

[TeeYiYi]

53. Love Kai the Hitchhiker...

Just went on a trip down memory lane with Kai (thanks to your post) to see what he's been up to. Did you ever see the video of him playing guitar? I think it's an original song.

He's amazing to me. I love his spirit. Someone should give that boy a record deal.

Thanks PB, for the inspiration.

TYY

[Poll_Blind]

57. No I hadn't- holy shit that's good! nt

PB

[RainbowSuperfund]

58. Thanks :) nt

[ellisonz]

17. Speaking of the Cleveland Courage Fund:

http://www.clevelandfoundation.org/about/cleveland-courage-fund/

[riverwalker]

32. All proceeds go to the girls

they will have many needs. People are even donating "services in kind". Dentists are offering free services, people donating puppies.
Please donate if you can.

[DevonRex]

26. Jesus christ. this is terrible.

Her own mother brought an abuser and rapist into the home. And god only knows where her baby ended up.

[JustAnotherGen]

37. I'm glad she's got her brother

He's that soft place for her to land. And he's not in Ohio - right? I thought he came in from out of town to see her? Would be nice for to go and be away from all of that due to the discord in her family.

[wercal]

55. I read elsewhere that she was on the missing person's list for a while....

...but the FBI took her off, when they could not contact the mother and verify that she was still missing....apparently mom wasn't beating down their door looking for her daughter.

This is a terrible story, and I hope that she has at least one relative whom she can trust and restart her life with.

[BainsBane]

61. Wasn't there something about Michelle's mom

Paying very little attention to her disappearance and not even notifying other family members?

[WolverineDG]

69. According to NBC News tonight

they took her off the federal missing persons list because no one in the family would respond to requests asking if she was still missing.

[Gin]

13. Wonder who took care of her infant son all these years.

What a terrible existence she has had.....hopefully this new chapter will balance out the bad with lots of good...

[riverwalker]

19. she wants her son back

After enduring so much torment, cruelty and isolation, Knight is now eager to make up for the decade she lost, and wants her son, who is 13, back.

“She wants to start a new life, have the whole family there,” her brother said. “I’m gonna teach her to use a computer and stuff like that.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/cleveland-abduction-vic-gang-raped-jr-high-article-1.1339798

[Hamlette]

16. I have been curious as to why no pictures of her. Poor dear.

I still do not get why she is estranged from her mother.

[southerncrone]

21. Probably because mom's boyfriend abused her

and if above post is accurate, it must have include sexual abuse which resulted in her pregnancy. She most likely feels like mom is an accomplice to that abuse.

For the life of me, I will NEVER understand why some women think they have to have a "man" in their lives, regardless of the worthiness of the man. Any child services worker will tell you that these men often abuse the kids...it has become a national epidemic of sorts.

Please wake up mothers!

[gateley]

51. I read early on that the mother had tossed the son in a dumpster?

It was horrifying -- and no love lost on the daughter, either (although I forget what the article said).

I want so bad for her to find some happiness.

[riverwalker]

23. we take photos of what we love

what we want to remember, what we find beautiful, what we treasure.
Mom had no photos to give authorities.

[RILib]

48. Ham

if reports are true, the mother abused her other children. The brother sounds like the only decent relative she has.

[Honeycombe8]

78. There was a really old photo of her at the age when she disappeared, I think.

Her mother was apparently not there for her...Michelle had an abusive childhood, and Mom appparently did nothing to stop it (or maybe even more than that? dunno).

Don't blame her if she never speaks to her mother again.

[newfie11]

20. This poor kid

Sounds like she has never had much of a chance in life.
I hope it all changes for her now.

[freshwest]

22. I just had a terrible thought about the hate and the kidnapping:

Records show David Feckley was charged and convicted in the early 2000s of child endangerment, for breaking the arm of Knight's infant son. He served eight years in prison. But a rape charge was dropped when the alleged victim, Knight, couldn't be found. She went missing in 2002.

If Castro and Feckley knew each other this could be revenge for Feckley going to prison. Stranger things have happened.

And the boy that was taken from her, was harmed, and no doubt she was harmed by the entire process of no support and no justice.

I am very glad her twin brother is going to help her. He may be the only one who can work to heal a lifetime of abuse and grief over losing her child and the horrific injuries suffered at the hands of this monster.

Her life was full of nightmares before this. I wish her all the love in the world that she can recieve, from her supportive brother and eventually her son who may consider her to have abandoned him as well. It's been hell for all of them.

I guess this doesn't qualify as a hate crime, but I feel it should.

[riverwalker]

24. yes

her brother, Freddie, sounds very sweet. He hugged her in the hospital, but was afraid to hug too hard to hurt her.

[freshwest]

30. That love will go a long way. Her trust in humanity was shattered years ago.

I believe her survival and that of the other women was due to their love for the young girl, even in that house of horror.

Someone quoted here on DU:

Love - stronger than death, and harder than hell. ~ Meister Eckhart

[redqueen]

27. I consider these to be hate crimes. nt

[southerncrone]

28. Had the same thought when I read that.

Did Feckley "hire" Castro to "get rid of" his problem? Once he had her, decided he liked having young female sex/torture slaves & took the other two....:

[freshwest]

33. It was rather convenient for Feckley, and the fact that he was her mother's BF is appalling.

Some families are so toxic, that to save oneself and one's children they just have to separate. That the mother came from FL to visit, I don't know if she thought she'd get forgiveness or some money. Feckley got 8 years in prison for the assault on the little boy - it must have been very severe. But he got off on the rape charge. So much goes on behind closed doors, so much pain and cruelty.

[get the red out]

44. Her "mother"

I'm glad she told that wretched excuse she has for a mother to get lost. I read somewhere that her mother said they just assumed she left town and went on with their lives like she didn't even give much thought to it. I guess she was just glad her "problem" was gone and couldn't bring up more stuff on her precious man.

[wercal]

56. I'm thinking the same thing, with one twist:

Feckley hired Castro to murder the girl.

Castro kidnapped her instead, but told Feckley she was dead...which may explain why her mom wasn't that interested in finding her, or even keeping her on the FBI missing person's list.

I hope the statute of limitations hasn't run out, and she can still testify against Feckley.

One other thought - Castro may have been able to pick up these girls, to 'give them rides', because the girls knew and trusted him as their bus driver. Feckley's thought process may have been - hey, she'll trust Castro, so I'll ask him to kill her.

All speculation of course.

[vankuria]

36. Hope and pray

this young lady finds love, comfort and security in her life. Apparently something she's never had before and I could not imagine how she's coped all these years.

[pinboy3niner]

38. UPDATE: Last Cleveland kidnapping victim out of hospital

Posted in LBN by DonViejo:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014480195

[HappyMe]

39. Jesus.

It's going to take years for her to recover. I hope she gets the best of psychological care there is.

[nolabear]

40. My heart goes out to her.

[dembotoz]

52. recover is the wrong word-recover implies back to how it was before

I hope she ends up with better.

[HockeyMom]

54. She is probably the worst off of all 3

Most severely beaten, multiple miscarriages, "special needs" herself, unstable home life before, etc. I hope she gets the help she so deservedly needs.

[Whisp]

62. The poor thing. omg the cruel in this world is hard to take. Even just hearing about it.

I love you, Michelle. You deserve and deserved so much better.

I hope with all my heart that you will find some joy and happiness sometimes soon and find a safe place instead of where you have been all this time.

[liberalhistorian]

64. The police, the FBI and her worthless

piece of shit for a mother should ALL be held financially responsible and should make right their wrong. The police, for not giving a shit in the first place and just assuming, based on her age and family history, that she'd run away despite evidence to the contrary, and for doing NOTHING to try to find her. The FBI for taking her off the list after making little to no effort to find her. Yes, yes, I know, they tried to contact her mother to ascertain if she was still missing, but they're the FBI, for God's sake, there were other even basic things they could have done that they didn't get off their biased, lazy duffs to do. And her mother, for not giving a shit about her in the first place, for subjecting her to men who abused her and her child, causing her to lose custody, and for doing NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING to try to find her or keep her name in the public and keep the search alive.

This poor woman, out of all the three, had and has the worst of it and has little family love and support to help her, like the others, and nowhere to go. She should own the police and the FBI for the rest of her life.

[leftstreet]

67. Looks like the mother has already lawyered up

http://abcnews.go.com/US/cleveland-kidnap-victim-michelle-knight-visitors/story?id=19147785#.UY10WcoU94U

An attorney representing Knight's mother, Barbara Knight, said today that she was being shut out of seeing Michelle. Jay Milano said that he and Barbara have gotten no response from police or the hospital when they asked for help in contacting Michelle.

Milano told ABC News that Barbara Knight loves her daughter and wants to be there for her during this time.

[Poll_Blind]

85. I read that whole article (thanks for link!) and am...petrified at the situation. nt

PB

[liberalhistorian]

88. I join you in being terrified

for her future well-being, especially if she isn't strong enough to fight off her vulture of a "family", particularly her mother. I can see her mother trying to get control of her, being named her "guardian", both so she can have access to any money Michelle gets and so she can control her life and Michelle not being able to do anything about it. Never put anything past the legal system. Anyone who spends more than five minutes working in it knows that, and I spent a lot more than that. Michelle needs a SHARK of an attorney who will be on her side as no one ever was before in her life and who will get her goddamn selfish, cruel family to GO AWAY and NEVER have any access to any of her money or assets.

I cannot imagine my adult son disappearing and not giving a shit about where he was and not trying to look for him and keep the search alive, I just cannot. I can't fathom this mother, who blithely went on with her own life as if nothing had changed, not even bothering to be available for the FBI when they tried to find out if she was still unaccounted for or not and couldn't get anyone in her family to respond, so they took her off the list. Fuck her mother and fuck her family. They need to LEAVE HER ALONE.

[Shadrach]

66. Sick fuck!

The poor woman. I can't even imagine what she has gone through.

[Quantess]

68. This poor woman has been through so, so, much trauma and horrible events in her life.

It's haunting to think about.

This is why people are clamoring for the death penalty for that piece of shit who tormented her for 11 years and the other two women for 10 years. I am against the death penalty in principle but I wouldn't bat an eyelash if that fucker got executed.

[Number23]

70. This is one of the most ridiculously written articles I've read in a long time

Why even write this crap if it's going to be so badly written, devoid of information and confusing?

"Records show David Feckley was charged and convicted in the early 2000s of child endangerment"

Who the hell is David Feckley?

"But a rape charge was dropped when the alleged victim, Knight, couldn't be found. She went missing in 2002."

When did the rape occur? Who was charged with the rape?

Journalism is going so far down the toilet it's amazing.

[southerncrone]

71. So true. I don't think it even qualifies as "journalism" anymore.

Not only are articles poorly written with numerous grammar, spelling (use Spellcheck, for heaven's sake, or are they just too lazy to do that!), no logical flow of information, or sketchy info at best. As a recent HS teacher, I can tell you that it goes back to lack of focus on the basics. Too much emphasis on making school "fun" & not teaching personal responsibility, especially in the homes. Don't get me wrong, not all homes are guilty, but they are the majority. We have been graduating too many students for too long who can't read, form a complete sentence, or perform even basic mathematical calculations. Here we have examples of what that approach has created.

[Turborama]

72. What about her father?

Is he still alive?

[riverwalker]

81. she is with Gina DeJesus family

Gina DeJesus' family is planning to 'adopt' Michelle Knight and look after her as their daughter after Michelle rejected a meeting with her own mother, a friend of Felix and Nancy DeJesus has revealed to MailOnline.
Lupe Collins, a neighbor who helped the DeJesus family look for Gina since she disappeared in 2004, said Nancy DeJesus told her in a phone call on Thursday that she and her husband are trying to convince Michelle, now 32, to stay with them.
'She was Georgina’s sister for ten years in that house and she’s still her sister now,' Ms Collins said.'They’re going to take her in as their own family member and help her.
'Michelle doesn’t want to go back to her own family because they abused her before she was kidnapped and they only want the money now.'
Michelle was released from the hospital on Friday and was taken to Gina's house.
Ms Collins said the DeJesus family will be able to offer Knight the loving household that she never had even before she was allegedly kidnapped by Ariel Castro.
'They’re a loving family, a giving family. Felix and Nancy will take care of her and make sure she gets the helps she needs,' Ms Collins said.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2322809/Ohio-kidnap-victim-Michelle-Knight-adopted-family-Gina-DeJesus.html#ixzz2SzVq6iHk

[madaboutharry]

82. Gina's family said this isn't true.

But, they could be denying that she is there so that Michelle's family will go away.

[whathehell]

83. A fund has been set up to help these women: "Cleveland Courage". Go here to read about & donate

http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/oh_cuyahoga/cleveland-courage-fund-donations-accepted-for-michelle-knight-amanda-berry-gina-dejesus

[GetTheRightVote]

87. Horrible is just to nice a word for this man,

I hope they put him away for a very long, long time.