Somer Renee Thompson was on her way home after school Monday afternoon with her twin brother and her older sister when after a fight she ran ahead of them running towards her home. This was the last time this 7 year old child was seen alive.
When her mother started wondering where she was when she knew she should have been home by then went out in the neighborhood looking for her daughter. After about 2 hours roaming through the neighborhood she saw a sheriff’s car passing by so she flagged them down to report that she couldn’t find her daughter which set the off search.
Two days later the body of a child was found in a landfill in Georgia that was later identified to be that of Somer Renee Thompson. Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said the legs of a child were sticking out with the rest of the body covered with garbage. Somer’s father, Samuel Thompson identified the body by a circular birthmark on the child’s shin.
Wednesday night a group of about 200 people gathered at Somer’s mothers, Diena Thompson. She blamed herself for not knowing how something like this could happen. She asked the crowd if they would sing Somer’s favorite song with her which was “You Are My Sunshineâ€. Then they sang “Jesus Loves Me†and “This Little Light of Mineâ€. While singing Diena collapsed and family and her boyfriend carried her back inside her home as the crowd began singing “Amazing Graceâ€.
Sheriff Beseler said now that the body has been found the direction of the investigation has changed. “Now we are looking for a suspect,†he said at a briefing, “somebody did it, now we’ve got to find out who.â€
Detectives discovered the body as part of a routine search of trash that is hauled from Orange Park to the landfill in Georgia. They had searched through hundreds of tons of garbage when they spotted her legs. An autopsy will be done on the child in Georgia to find the cause of death.
Somer’s mother talked about her last moments with her daughter Monday morning. She remembers putting her hair into a ponytail before sending her off to school. “I can’t even remember if I told her I loved her,†she said. “I just went to work and told her to have a good day.â€
Her twin brother, Sam talked of the live oak tree across from his home that has become a makeshift symbol of hope for Somer as he was carefully arranging the flowers that were thrown at the tree’s base with lighted candles and pictures of his sister. “Somer is going to be so happy to see this,†he said, “If we ever get her back.â€
This is so heartbreaking to me and I have never met this adorable little girl. When I woke up this morning and found that the child found was identified as Somer I started crying. Although I knew a body had been found, in my prayers last night I didn’t know which way to pray. I prayed it wasn’t Somer but then again I had to pray for whoever she was. Regardless of who she was, still a little girl is dead. She was someone’s child. Someone threw her away like she was trash. Don’t people realize a child is a true gift from God that we should cherish, not abuse.
I pray now that they catch the animal[s] that did this. I just can’t imagine the fear that this child took to her death. My heart truly aches for her. When is this going to stop? Parents should check out their neighborhoods now to find out just how many Sex Offenders live in the area before even considering raising their children in a place. Back in the days when my children were young it wasn’t such an issue but now for my grandchildren it is dangerous and parents need to make it their duty to check things out to protect these children. Laws need to be changed. If only someone could come up with an answer. IF ONLY!
My husband, Simon and I send our deepest condolences to Somer Thompson’s family and friends. We can’t say enough how sorry we are. God Bless You all!
Jan Barrett
80 users commented in " Somer Renee Thompson – Body Found "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackJan – I am praying with you!
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-children-abused-killed-102209,0,1608638.story
It is horrorfying to think that nearly 20 children have been killed in the Orlando area this year alone – 16 counties as indicated in this report…. What about the rest of the state (67 counties)? What about the rest of the country?
“no self control…mental illness…”
I fear for the wellbeing of our country…
My heart goes out to this family. I sure am starting to wonder about Florida’s predator laws!
I have to say,
the police have done a good job in this case! We all need justice for theses children it is a sad situation and we are all having to deal with it!
My heart goes out to this family!
Our most precious our innocent are under attack, its passed the critical point some laws need to be changed! Im praying for this family, feel so bad for the mother begging for her little girls life!
We need to wake up people before its our precious child!
Jan, i went to this site OMG is all i can say!
”…A national study released Wednesday shows that five children die each day as a result of child abuse or neglect in the U.S., according to the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Every Child Matters. The report analyzed 2007 law-enforcement data and found 1,760 children died of abuse that year — 153 in Florida.
Local DCF investigators find that the suspects tend to be young, poor, uneducated, out of work and frustrated, according to the 2008 Child Abuse Death Review published by DCF….”
It is time that this stops – children are our future. What future will we have without them. Children need to be loved and nutured… even in ”poor” enviornments.
In ancient Roman times if the father thought a child was sickly, not his, or was deformed – the child was put out on a ledge in the back of the home to die from exposure or to be taken by whatever. As the child was considered property – under the ownership of the householder – this was not against the law – it was common.
I would hope that we have advanced from those times… well we have… but we also have more monsters.
If Casey Anthony is deserving of the Death Penalty – then so does Ashley Hepburn, Sharon Hinojosa, Christian Rochelle Woods… as well as the 1,760 murderers of those children in 2007.
Excellent work on behalf of the Law Enforcement Officers in finding Somer’s body – now lets find the fiend and bring him to justice!
Jan, thanks for your concise, well-written accounting of this ordeal; this blog post has been the only place I’ve found that states this tragedy clearly. I’m sick at the thought of Somer Thompson’s last moments and I’m alarmed and deeply angry at what is being allowed to happen to our innocent kids.
As many of the responses here say in so many words, this has got to stop. Our children are indeed under attack. The evil, twisted sub-humans who inflict such horror on our kids need to be dealt with in the harshest manner possible instead of “registering” them back into society.
I’ll be willing to bet that when the suspect who did this to little Somer is caught, it will prove to be a “previous offender.” And if so, then Somer’s demise is as much on the hands of the attorney – indeed the entire court that approved that suspect’s release back into the community – as it is on the suspect’s hands.
At the moment a defendant is convicted of being a sexual predator, that defendant should have only two choices: castration or death. Sentence to be carried out immediately, with no chance for appeal.
RIP Somer.
My heart goes out to her family I CANT EMAGINE THE FEELINGS they are going thru. When I raised my son things like this wasnt thought of. They should put this person in prison and let the inmates take care of him. God will be there for family that was one of his ANGELS.You are in my prayers always.
What is going on there in Florida ?!?!? Why have so many SOs gravitated to Florida ? This is just horrible. Justice for Somer.
My heart is so heavy today as I can only imagine this poor childs last moments and the fear she must of felt. I know she is the Lord and noone else can ever hurt her again, but it does not take away the pain or tears I feel for this child or her family. I am angry that this neighborhood was not warned about the incident 1 week prior. This could of saved this child from such a horrible demise. I now am praying that they find who took this childs innocent life and hang them for all too see.
SO SAD, HEARTBROKE WHEN I HEARD THE NEWS
LITTLE CHILDREN CANT EVER WALK SCHOOL FROM HOME OR WALK HOME FROM SCHOOL …
THEY DONT SEEM TO BE SAFE IN THIS COUNTRY!
,MAY GOD BLESS THIS LITTLE GIRL’S FAMILY AND MAY SHE REST IN PEACE NOW..
Just say, a SO did this…. JUST SAY, the same one got Haleigh & dumped her body there.
What would be the chances of finding Haleigh after 8 months & her body wilted away.
This concerns me.
Sex Offenders should have a harsher punishment.
God Bless Somer. My heart goes out to Somer’s family and to Somer as she sits with God in his arms.
For the sake of her family and community, I hope they find this worthless criminal and bring him/her to justice.
Three words: Mandatory Tracking Device;
attached to bracelets, necklaces, belt buckle clips, etc.
Also, tougher punishment for child killers and sex offenders. If you can’t keep your hands off a child, then your right to have an erection should be no more. I am in favor of chemical castration.
My heart goes out to the family of Somer. I have so much anger and sorrow at the same time it almost confuses me. In poor judgement, I can honestly say, even though she was not my daughter, if given the opportunity, I would make sure this person suffered a horrible painful death. Not the right thing to do, but I wouldn’t be able to help it. Just the picture of Somer reminds me how happy and full of life a 7 year old girl is, and then to have it ripped away by some sick piece of shit is disgusting. I hope he/she rots in hell.
Just as they issue ankle monitors for people under house arrest; they should do the same for released SOs. Knowing that their every move can be traced should be a deterrent of some kind. Some drastic measures need to be taken. These awful tragedies are becoming much too commonplace.
Until the people of this area and this state take back their neighborhoods, streets and lives from these maggots that find power in stealing and killing innocent and defenseless woman and children, this will continue. Most of these freaks have no place in society and should be taken out to the swamp and hand fed to the gators instead of having millions being spent on their day in court, being found guilty or getting off for a court error and then having society pay for their worthless existence in one of our overcrowded jails filled with similar whack jobs. Who ever did this heinous thing to this innocent child and the other child in Satsuma should be killed upon capture, no trial. I do not care how terrible their life has been in the past, pushing them into this bul***it excuse of killing a 7 year old. An eye for an eye is the reason that many countries do not have these types of ghastly crimes against the most innocent, a child!
We need to have the death penalty for crimes like this (and other horrific crimes). When there is no doubt because of DNA proof, then it should be an automatic death penalty carried out within 30 days. Criminals caught red-handed or through DNA evidence should pay the price. No need for jail – what good is it? We need to rid society of people like this.
Looks like she may have been sexually abused
http://www.techbanyan.com/6326/somer-thompson-body-find-sex-offender-area/
sadly I am not surprised. It is time we ALL as citizens take control & demand changes. Sexual offenders do not EVER need to be released. How many more inocent children must suffer before our LE & courts & laws will change?
Obama is worried about healthcare for a child that is to small-what about the 300 children that are missing in Fl alone, being raped, tortured, murdered, sold?
Justice for this innocent girl!!!!!!!!!!!
You people make me sick. None of you have done any real research on crime rates, you’re just spewing whatever emotional response you feel after having watched one too many news stories about children being harmed. The truth, although I know none of you want to hear it, is that the MAJORITY of crimes against children are perpetrated by people they and/or their family know and those crimes as well as the crimes perpetrated by strangers and pretty much all other crimes by they against children or not are not higher now than when we were kids but have actually gone down and are at a low they haven’t reached since the 60s or so. The only reason this is news is because it DOESN’T happen all the time. It’s newsworthy because it is not something that happens constantly. If this happened every day then the news wouldn’t report on it as much because it wouldn’t be surprising to their audience.
And as for all of you who are advocating harsher punishment and unconstitutional treatment of other human beings who have been labelled “Sex Offender” by the criminal justice system, would you pretty please just take a moment to think back to a time with you were 17, 18, 19 years old. Did you ever have a boyfriend/girlfriend who was a little younger than you when you were that age? Did you make out? Cuddle? Fondle a little bit? Have sex maybe? Are you aware that MOST of the people who are forced to register as “Sex Offenders” are people just like you who were horny and hormonal teenagers whose “crime” was just that, just having consensual sex with their significant other. Or people who did something else that was stupid but mostly harmless when they were teenagers. And do you realize that the percentage of offenders who reoffend after proper rehabilitative programs is actually pretty low? I’m talking between 20 and 40 percent, not the 80 or higher percent that you people probably think without having done any research at all whatsoever.
Yes, when children are murdered or abused in any way it is very, very bad and heartwrenching and horrible. But no, that should not mean that we abandon all reason and logic and start advocating things that are stupid, unneccessary and completely unconstitutional just because the media has decided to fearmonger us into being ridiculously paranoid.
This crime was NOT the mother’s fault AT ALL. It was the fault of the PERSON WHO KILLED THAT CHILD. Period. End of story.
So, please, think about what I’ve written. Don’t bother replying because I don’t actually read this site (I followed a link here)so I will never come back here and respond. Just THINK. Use your BRAINS if you still have one.
This is a horribly tragic and terrible story. My prayers go out to the Thompson family. I am sad and sickened by hearing the details of this story.
However one thing I want to point out – in the article that was linked by Sara Jane, the children discussed in the article were not picked up off the streets and killed by a stranger. They were killed by someone that was suppose to love and care for them. Are we suppose to then jump to the conclusion that because so many children have been murdered all the streets are now unsafe for our children (as a few commenters seem to feel)? NO. How many children are actually pulled off the streets and killed? In a study done about 115 children were kidnapped by a stranger (not all of who were walking home from school, mind you), and about 40% of those were actually murdered, another %4 not recovered). So, talking nation-wide here, about 50 children are the victims of a crime like Somer is a year (taken and murdered, or not returned home). Yes, it is terrible, it is HORRIBLE, and I can’t imagine ever being the parent of a child that this happens to. However, the chances of this happening to any child is about oh, less than .00007%.. It is MUCH more likely they will die in a car accident or be killed or raped by someone they know and love. So, what are we going to be terrified by a couple of stories in the news like this that make big headlines and then say we should never let children walk home, or that these parents are at fault for letting their kids walk home??? That is ridiculous! If thats the case, we should never ever let our children get into cars because of how many die that way. Or then we should say they can never be left alone with family members. How ridiculous does that sound?
Are parents being irresponsible for letting their children be independent, and learning to do things for themselves (i.e. walking to school and back)?. NO! We cannot be irrational and say that because of this (and several other horrible cases that makes national headlines) that we are going to never let our children out of our site, and not let them do anything on their own, or go anywhere without us. Children are even taken out of their own bedrooms, are the parents at fault then? NO, the only person ever at fault for anything like this is the pathetic excuse for a person who did this to Somer, or any other case like hers.
Or we have the option to take this story and realize what it really should be teaching us, that life is damn precious, we never know what is going to happen, and we have to treasure every waking moment we have with the precious children we were entrusted with raising to become independent responsible citizens?
Oh, and did I mention that the violent crime rate, and rate for things like this happening is going DOWN nationwide? Not up? Its only the media that sensationalizes stories like this, makes it so we hear about it all the time, and we think that its happening more than it is.
Oh and the sex offenders registries? Really? They have been proven not do any help at all. Even if you know someone that someone is a registered sex offender its not going to keep him from doing something if he really wanted to. Sex offender registries are a joke.
My prayers and thoughts are with Somer’s family. May God bring peace and comforting to her family. As parents we dont know when bad things happen to our children it can happen any where at any time,,,
I find some comments to be just as interesting as the article that generated the response. While it is clearly true, disturbingly so, that the majority of abused and/or murdered children are indeed done by those that are expected to protect them the most – family and close family associates, whenever a child goes missing the local SOs are always investigated first. Why?
Because they are KNOWN offenders.
How many times do we read or see video of the family members who had NO CLUE that a member of their family was capable of such deviance?!
But, I too agree, we need stronger tracking of the known/convicted/out on parole offenders. Mandatory monitoring may just be one step in tracking such predators – and the list of predators will keep growing – until we/society can find a way to stop the deviance/pathology from becoming just so.
Sara Jane
– yes but the list of sex offenders isn’t really a list of violent rapists and child molesters. It is a sex offense to moon someone, or pull a prank to streak apparently now, or urinate in public, or anything where someone might have accidently seen a bit of the naked body unexpectedly . . . the list goes on and on. Being called a “sex offender” these days doesn’t have the same meaning as it once did because our laws have been too strict, too inclusive, too terrified of anyone showing flesh at all to anyone else. God forbid we see the naked body, EVER.
So, yes we need better tracking methods on the actual violent crime/rapists/kidnappers- but really – those people shouldn’t be released from prison at all. If we were to put tracking devices on ALL SO, then man oh man, you’d have a a bunch of basically innocent people living a life even more destroyed by our lack of common sense in the “justice system.” Perhaps if we had harsher penalties for those proven to have hurt/raped/tortured/killed anyone instead of paroling them, and not calling the teenage boy who mooned his friends a SO we would have better luck.
Free-Range Parenting Advocate and Mom 08 a response to your liberal babble
You both are very articulate at pointing out the textbook facts and statistics of such points as “So, talking nation-wide here, about 50 children are the victims of a crime like Somer is a year (taken and murdered, or not returned home). Yes, it is terrible, it is HORRIBLE, and I can’t imagine ever being the parent of a child that this happens to. However, the chances of this happening to any child are about oh, less than .00007%…” What a small percentage indeed. But then again Mom 08 if they discovered your child’s lifeless legs poking out of a trash pile in S. Ga, would you be as factual and calm with this textbook rhetoric, I doubt it? 50-40-30-1 child is too many and it is not “all of you who are advocating harsher punishment and unconstitutional treatment of other human beings who have been labeled “Sex Offender” by the criminal justice system” as Free Range roars. Human life is not for any other man to take from somebody else. As Benjamin Franklin said, Justice delayed, is Justice denied. Sex Offender or sick child killers; let them all die as quickly and tragically as they killed their subjects. Excuses only provide further reason for the crazy’s to be running the system.
Mom08 –
While it may be true, I do not know the statistics, that a few are being labeled a sex offender for some of the ”harmless” offenses – such as ”mooning” or ”streaking”, I think that most of those individuals are probably not labeled as a SO, as to have such a label they would have to be convicted/plead guilty to the charge which is categorized under Sexual Offenses. Is ”streaking” or “mooning” categorized so? Again, I do not know. But, if so, should they suffer the same fate/scrutiny as someone who does so much worse – as in child murder?
What about the boy in Miami who was killing cats and now is waiting the pleasure of the court. Should he be monitored? Is not such a predilection the fore step to other more deviant behaviors?
What is the answer? What will protect society most?
Ok fed up – label me as a “liberal” and assume that because I refuse to be irrational and live in fear you can now call me names and put me in a box of “those crazy liberals.” You have no idea what my political leanings are, and they don’t even matter.
YES, if this happened to my child, I would be heartbroken and devastated. BUT I would be even more heartbroken and devastated if I was driving when we were in accident and my child died because of that. I would put the blame on myself, and suffer so much worse. So, does that mean I shouldn’t get in the car because I know it happens all the time (again, just not splashed all over the news – if every-time that happened and it was on the news, NO ONE would be driving we’d all be too terrified to own a car, let alone drive one)? Death is death, tragedy is tragedy, just because she was kidnapped and killed doesn’t make it any more horrific for her family than to all the other THOUSANDS of children who die in other ways all the time. Death happens. Shit happens. Thats life. Deal with it, and lets live our lives to fullest instead of living like we can control every thing, and protect our children from everything possible danger thus keeping them from experiencing life. I’d rather my children had lived a short life not lived in fear, and where they were able to enjoy life and be independent and confident, and self-reliant, and responsible, than a long life tied to my apron strings too scared to do anything for themselves because I’ve told them how horrible the world is, and made them think they aren’t capable. That, to me, is abuse.
Sara Jane,
Yes – people who don’t belong on a “sex offender” registry happens all the time. Skenazy:
“We are putting people on sex offender registries who do not belong there at all. People who peed in public. Streakers. Johns. Teenagers who had consensual sex. The registry does not discriminate between violent pedophiles and once-horny young folk who are now 30-year-old housewives, like one of the people profiled in the piece. Wendy Whitaker was 17 when she had sex (at school — dumb!) with her underage-by-three weeks boyfriend. She was arrested for it and her lawyer told her to plead guilty to get it over with. She did. But it was never over.”
Read this article, it is very enlightening: http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14164614&source=hptextfeature
– Here is a quote The Economist article, which says that the sex offender laws, “get harsher and harsher. But that does not necessarily mean they get better. If there are thousands of offenders on a registry, it is harder to keep track of the most dangerous ones. Budgets are tight. Georgia’s sheriffs complain that they have been given no extra money or manpower to help them keep the huge and swelling sex-offenders’ registry up to date or to police its confusing mass of rules.”
And the article points out that studies show that “Registering sex offenders and warning their neighbors cost millions & had no effect on the number of sex crimes.”
Really, the SO list has become very political. No politician is going to come out against them, that would ruin their career! Who would vote for someone who is “soft on crimes done against children?” No one, but in fact, they are doing more harm than good – but America is too “emotional” about things like this that our problems only become worse and not better because we can’t look at things rationally. Its incredibly frustrating!
And studies show that having zero tolerance policies like that only make criminals worse and not stop them. Lets take this true story about a boy who was suspended from school, and charged with drug possession because he was handed some pills, which he admits to, but he doesn’t want them, so he immediately throws them away. However, everyone else with the drugs get busted and rat this other kid out. He admits he was given them, and threw them away. His story was confirmed by many witnesses. Yet, he was still convicted, even though he had done what he thought was the right thing. What did he learn? He learned that if you are going to get in trouble and charged with something you might as well actually have DONE it (as his now long rap sheet shows). This is basically what our “justice system” is creating – a bunch of criminals who rationalize, well, I’m already in trouble for this – which I didn’t actually do, why don’t I do this? I’m already a felon/so/whatever – my life is already ruined. . .
So yes, LETS make harsher laws and thus more criminals. Sounds good to me . . . :/
Mom 08, my family and I do not live in fear, never have or do I care about your political views. The killing of another human being especially innocent children goes beyond political affiliations! If you had been driving and an accident occurred with your child in the car, you would have at least been in control to the end and not lost control to some parasite that robbed your child from you either in the night or from your street on the way home from school. We should not fear the freedom and opportunities that life allows each day; we should also not have to fear this waste that robs families of their loved ones. I have two grown children 22 and 19 that live life to the fullest at UF and travel the world and YES they are liberal as well. Believe it or not I once believed everybody was entitled to all the freedoms our judicial systems covet, right or wrong. My disdain is that this problem continues to manifest and will not stop until these twisted offenders are dealt with more sternly thus scaring the crap out of their maggot followers. Look at countries that enforce capital punishment for crimes such as this. Make examples of yet a handful and the remainder that where thinking about killing somebody; usually climb back under the rock they came out from under. So we have Caylee (sp?) in O-land, Hialeah in Satsuma, and Somer in Orange Park…who will be next? This has to STOP!
Fedup, sorry if I implied that you were keeping your children from living life to the fullest, and all of that. I didn’t mean to. I am just generally frustrated with the prevailing thought that parents have to hover over their children all time to “keep them safe.” Its not just things that were said here, but has been on ongoing discussion on several articles, and blogs. The problem is we want to be able to stop things like this from happening to anyone, but we can’t. Until God comes again we live in a sinful world full of awful things, and no matter how much we try to irradiate things like this from ever happening, we can’t. Its going to happen, no matter if we have harsher capital punishment laws like other countries (they still have the problem there’s too, and they have the problem of killing people who are innocent – but wait, its okay to kill them because they were suspected and convicted in a faulty system, right? It makes it okay because it was done in the name of justice?). People who are going to kill are going to kill no matter what the punishment is as terrifying as that is to realize. Do these other counties have better crime rates because of harsher laws, or is is something else? Its hard to compare ourselves to other countries statistics because the factors contributing to the crime vary SO much.
And really – we have NO idea what happened to Somer yet. She could have run ahead and hid in the dumpster and it got picked up and she was crushed in the process. We don’t even know the details of cause of death yet, do we?
Dear God, Mom08. S**t happens? Yeah, cars crash, pianos fall from buildings and tree limbs come down at the most inopportune times, all of which can kill kids.
Accidents are one thing. But the deliberate abduction, sexual torture, murder, and discarding like an old wrapper of a seven-year-old girl is quite something else.
Let’s not muddle the facts with arguments about the statistics regarding children who are abused by family members, or killed in car accidents.
The point a lot of angry people here are trying to make is that the violent, terrifying and deathly abrupt end of this little girl’s life could have been avoided. If we had stopped trying to be “fair” and trying to “rehabilitate” the worst of these predators a long time ago, then perhaps the deviant monster who killed Somer would have been in custody (or better, dead) on Monday afternoon instead being in Somer’s path.
Maybe I sounded callous about this case, but I didn’t mean to – not at all. But yes, she died and the way it happened was HORRIBLE. Yes, but there are also WAY more children that are killed by those they know and love (their own mothers). This happens way more than a stranger abduction case like this hopefully is (again, though we don’t know the details yet).
I do think there needs to be harsher punishment for actual violent predators. Our justice system is seriously messed up, I totally agree, I want to do something about it. But it seems pretty hopeless with the way people think irrationally and don’t take into account that the harsher laws aren’t making things better. In fact, it really pisses me off that there are 115 SO that had to be interviewed, and tied up the LE for considerable time while they should have had more time actually looking for the guy that did this. I do not believe for a second that there were actually 115 SO who had a violent history with a minor. Our SO registries like I said are clogged because of harsher laws for “sex crimes” so it makes it take longer to catch the actual criminals who are involved in cases like this.
And again, really – as much as we’d like to stop criminals and as much as we’d like to put the blame somewhere – c’mon, the perp could have never had a history before, and yet still did this – we can’t stop people from doing things like this, because its going to happen, one way or another. Thus, shit happens. I didn’t mean that her case is similar to an accident at all! Just that her death is JUST has horrifying to the parents of a kid who died in an accident, and that there are always going to cases like this making the headlines, no matter what we do. (but it doesn’t mean we can’t try to work on our justice system, and do our best to clean up the clogged so registries, etc.)
Mom 08
There is alot that we do not know as of this point with how this last child was killed, but just like all the others, and they are still trying to find the child in Satsuma, they all seem to come back the same. Sick unit kills child….nobody is held responsible or pays for the deed. How much do you fiqure has been spent in the circus side show in Orlando with the mother of Caylee, she looks at this whole thing as a coming out event. Imagine, you trash your kid because she was getting in the way of your trampish life style at night!
There is a new level of hell for people like that! Have a good evening Mom 08 and hug your kids!
Free-Range Oct 22-09 3;05
I hate it when people come on here and the first words are, You people make me sick! And dont email me cause i will never be back!
KNOW IT ALL, YOU JUST THINK YOU KNOW IT ALL!!!!!
Going through a death of child is not easy I live it the last seven years of my life. Even with the help of God and the love of family and friends I survived and now run a support group to help other parents and grandparents know they too will survive as well. It takes time to heal. My son died of a heart problem hlhs meaning missing the left part of the heart. My son was just six months old. It doesnt matter how a child dies it is the worest thing to ever go through and the toughest thing to go through. It doesnt it takes time to heal and it can take years and years to deal with the loss of a child. Grief comes in so many ways. Its hard. I dont wish it on any one to go through. When I hear of missing children being murder either from their own parents or by someone else it breaks my heart I keep telling myself I am not going to get involved cause it is so hard for me but I do cause I want to help in any way I can. As parents its easy to blame ourselves we dont need other people to do it for us we tend to do it ourselves cause we try to look at what if i did this or what if I done that would it still happen. Sadly we never know if it would or wouldnt. May God be with Somer’s family and her friends as well. I try my best not to be affraid but sometimes thats hard when you have already lost a child, I simply pray about it and leave it in God’s hands.
Anon,
It is happening every where in the States. There are alot of missing children all over try watching the news. I dont know why florida seems to be out there in the opening. But there are other states in Virgina there is a teenage girl that is missing from attending a concert, another girl in south carolina that is missing, another one in california a girl that left the police station and ends up missing, its all over the place.
I just pray these children and young adults are found so families can have closures and answers to their love ones. I pray that justice is taking. Maybe we should have had these cops on Haleigh’s side maybe they would have found her. I said maybe. I just wish something or someone would come up and bring Haleigh home.
Praying for justice…
Chemical catration has been proven to be faulty due to the fact that those who can no longer use thier “unit” will use inanimate objects thus further traumatizing and harming/murdering the child. It is a fact that women who abuse sexually will use an object to simulate a penis. Castration doesn’t work any better than what we already have in place.
Yes, some stranger abduction/rape/murders happen but more often we are hearing about familial relations being the perpetrator. We CAN NOT always assume a child has been killed by a stranger to them. Parents who expose thier child(ren) to RSOs knowingly should be PUNISHED! I don’t care if he does claim “He just peed outside”. What a bunch of BS!!! He just wanted that toddler to se his cholg you mean. EVERYBODY knows it’s against the law to: pee outside, streak, have sex OF ANY KIND with a body under 18 yrs of age PERIOD, or moon someone (indecent exposure= there are pubic bits showing out the back of boys-DUH!!!) So I for one, in NO WAY feel sorry for someone who CLAIMS they only…. I don’t care, not now, never will. You did it! TOO BAD!!! Should have kept your pants up PERIOD!
Now, what I want to know is why are people acting like they know Somer’s mom and her parenting skills, personal life, and boyfriends jsut from 1 or 2 television clips? How does anyone know if she could or couldn’t show anyone “how it’s done”. What? She ONLY WAITED 2 HOURS for a MISSING 7 yr old!!! Come on! I would have called immediately then IF we found her first I would have called back to say “Hey, Thank God we found…” I am suspicious of the circumstances of this case. I could be wrong, have been before, but there just seems to be something lurking underneath here…….
One of the reasons horrible things like this happens is that we cast the sex offender net so widely that it’s impossible to keep track of individuals who are truly predators and dangerous. Its time to inject some common sense in our sex offender laws, including ridding our lists of people who don’t belong there so that its possible to deal with the true threats.
I read the Economist story linked above and found: “at least five states required men to register if they were caught visiting prostitutes. At least 13 required it for urinating in public (in two of which, only if a child was present). No fewer than 29 states required registration for teenagers who had consensual sex with another teenager. And 32 states registered flashers and streakers. . . . non-violent offenders remain listed and subject to a giant cobweb of controls.” Both this story and others elsewhere in reputable publications abound with reports of people who have committed minor offences and are not likely to reoffend whose lives have been ruined by sex offender registries and the requirements of our laws. I’m not advocating going easy on sexual predators. In fact, a large part of the problem is that because we incarcerate and register so many people who shouldn’t be treated harshly it’s become impossible to focus on the people we need to be protected from.
What happened to this girl is terrible. I would be devastated if it happened to my daughter or son – just reading about it here is extraordinarily upsetting. Imposing harsh penalties on people who don’t deserve them doesn’t help Somer and puts other children in greater danger.
mom08, Fed up called you liberal – I call you stupid!!! You would rather your child be killed by a rapist, pervert than in a car wreck with you.
Our children in their blessed innocence are being harmed,or abused or murdered, as with Somer just thrown away horribly. My prayers are with her family for just trying to understand the why’s the how comes, or what Somer went through will torment them for a long time. I pray God will bless you with strength and the power you need to raise your other children in the darkest moments of your grief.
Sex offenders do need monitoring 24/7 even if they are in jail or in our neighborhoods to keep our kids safe. One offense and the law says ankle monitor till you die!
RIP Somer Sass
I hope that somer’s family will heal in the coming months and years. It is hard for a family to lose a child in such a tragic manner. My heart goes out to Somer and her family. I’d be devasted if I were to lose my son. I was an abuse victim growing up my a family member. That family member was sentenced to 10 years to life in prison. I was abused for 13 years. I just don’t feel that the punishments for sexual predators and child rapists is harsh enough. They need to be punished more severely, and I like the idea of tracking child predators and the violent criminals. May god be with Somer and her family.
LDavis @ 10:28 – I agree. I think offenders should be appropriately categorized (and thus punished, registered, etc). As long as it’s such a huge mixed group we can’t get the kinds of changes we need to protect children from the repeat offenders and predators.
Mom08 – I think most people are thinking it was an SO because there was a report of an attempted abduction somewhere nearby the week before (except LE never made that public).
I think there is A LOT we can do to prevent harm coming to children – not all of it, but reduce it.
For example, the devil who kidnapped Jaycee Dugard, had been sentenced for a previous sex offense to 50 years plus 5 but he got out on parole in about 8 or 11 years. That is obscene.
A jury or judge at the time decided the appropriate sentence. How could they let him go?
And the parole system is an absolute JOKE!
SO’s and their homes and property should be subject to search at any time! If we are really serious we’ll get our legislators to put more money and manpower into LE and into the Parole system (although no SO should ever get parole IMO).
Unfortunately, the “justice” system is so FAR FROM “JUST” that it is sickening.
Never miss an opportunity to tell your child you love them.
Dieing in a fatal accident and dieing the way Somer did is apples and oranges. In a fatal car accident, a daughter is with her loved ones, and normally in a happy state and it ends quickly.
The other way, she is with a stranger, scared, probably for hours, maybe molested, tortured, even days, before being killed and dumped in the garabage. You can’t imagine the pure terror she felt for that time, compared to happily riding in a car with mommy and suddenly ending.
No comparison in my book.
Sex offenders CANNOT be rehabilitated and to believe that they can, is not only naiive (at best) and dangerous.
Of course there is this new Witch Hunt idiocy that goes on for Mooners and Streakers which is out of control. Isn’t that considered lewd and lasicivious behavior?
But anyway, when it comes to sex offenders? They should never be allowed to see the light of day. The ONLY way they can keep their obsessions in control is to keep them away from the object (and that is what their victims are to them, objects) of their obession. I’m in favor of Capital Punishment. All they do is damage their victims and some go on to become perpetrators themselves, unfortunately.
As a few people mentioned earlier, it is true that more often than not, people who are related or friends of the victim are often the ones who committed the crime. The article states that the Garbage trucks were followed out of the Neighborhoods to the dumping site. That tells me alot right there. While the mother was certainly traumatized by the event, she had a lingering smirk on her face not unlike Susan Smith.
What is wrong with you people! This child was 7 years old! 7 YEARS OLD!!!!!!! and walking to school without adult supervision! WTF did you people think was going to happen??? The world we live in now is not like it once was when we were growing up. I grew up in the 70’s and even back then my parents were very protective of me. Yes, the person that committed this horrible crime should be severely punished but shouldn’t we also put some blame on her mother for being so god damn irresponsible???
This is shaina booker I want to say was Im sorry for your lost of your Daughter my little sister Know your Daughter she knew her. my sister names is Janiya Booker.
From my little sister
is about 7-year-old
@ Wake up. I also saw that the child walked through a business area to get home, which would concern me and I doubt that I would allow it. The fact was that she walked with a group of children and she walked away, angry after a dispute with someone. The truth is we can tell our children what to do (stay with the group, don’t talk to strangers, don’t get into a car even if you know the person, etc.) but they don’t always do it.
My son walks two blocks from school to my job and even though it’s a small town, I worry about someone doing the unthinkable but you can’t hover over them 24/7 as much as you want to protect them.
Outraged – NO I NOT rather have my child die in a car wreck with me than by a rapist. I never once said that. I said I would would be probably put the blame on ME in a car accident and blame myself for longer, and have a harder time getting over guilt of that. I would never EVER get over the grief of losing a child in either situation. But clearly you’ve totally missed the point of everything I was saying – so I don’t care what you think, honestly. I simply refuse to live in fear and hide away my children from the light of day in fear of a rapist/kidnapper. Its like living in fear of her getting killed by lightening striking and killing her, it happens more, so should I never let her go outside when its raining? Sheesh, people, open up your eyes and if you’re going to read my comments, then READ them, not take bits and pieces out to suit your needs.
Outraged – NO I NOT rather have my child die in a car wreck with me than by a rapist. I never once said that. I said I would would be probably put the blame on ME in a car accident and blame myself for longer, and have a harder time getting over guilt of that. I would never EVER get over the grief of losing a child in either situation. But clearly you’ve totally missed the point of everything I was saying – so I don’t care what you think, honestly. I simply refuse to live in fear and hide away my children from the light of day in fear of a rapist/kidnapper. Its like living in fear of her getting killed by lightening striking and killing her, it happens more, so should I never let her go outside when its raining? Sheesh, people, open up your eyes and if you’re going to read my comments, then READ them, not take bits and pieces out to suit your needs.
Sass, Zippy and others, the problem with what you suggest is that our legal system cannot now distinguish between predators who are the real problem and the bulk of others who are classified as sex offenders who are not a threat. Until we can get some sanity into the way we deal with “sex offences” we’ll never be able to adequately protect our children. WE need to push our politicians to use more rational criteria to classify sex offences and to be willing to take people off the lists who are not a threat. This will only happen when we deal rationally with these issues. As it is now, we spend way too much money incarcerating and following way too many people who should be allowed to get on with their lives, people who can be rehabilitated (or who don’t need rehabilitation in the first place because their “crimes” are so minor or clearly aberrations from normal behavior) and people who are not threats to our children. When our sex offender lists make sense is when we’ll be able to adequately focus on people who are threats.
gatorgirl, I am aware of such instances in other states. I do not think that it only occurs in Florida. However, several high profile cases happen to be in Florida, ( at the moment ). I also thought that this particular county’s LE seemed much more on the ball than the LE working Haleigh’s case.
@ LDavis, I totally understand what you’re saying and the system as such is so out of control with basically a witch hunt for anything that might be considered a perversion. Lord have mercy on us, a good old fashioned mooning is offensive today but porn is fine? (it even makes some talentless people famous!). It’s the distorted thinking of the system as a whole and the whole social mental disorder of perception. We have gone to such an opposite end of the spectrum of ridiculous that true criminals get out of jail very easily. Everyone has rights and apparently once you commit a crime you have more rights than those who violate you.
correction: than those who are violated.
Zippy, Thanks for a reasoned response. I suspect we may not agree on what should constitute a dangerous sex offence but maybe we would. What will help is to get some common sense and reason back into the discussion (which, admittedly, is VERY difficult to do in the immediate aftermath of a horrendous crime). Just as an aside, I also think that even though the media too often ignores the suffering of victims, I also think it is what one might call an “urban myth” that the scales are tipped too far towards the protection of criminal rights. I can care for the plight of victims and still be bothered that all too many people languish in jail in circumstances where a rehabilitation program can be effective (albeit it does seem that some sex offences are resistant to rehab)or for crimes that don’t warrant the expense is incarceration. My point is to push our criminal justice system to be more rational and less based on currying political favor.
Wake up, I think it is sad that you blame the mom. Yes, I am sure she wishes she had done it differently but I imagine she thought her children were safe. They were walking 7 blocks in a large group of kids. I am sure the mom had told them to stay together. According to the neighbors they all thought their kids were safe staying together. May God BLess not damn this family. treece
LDavis – You said, ” My point is to push our criminal justice system to be more rational and less based on currying political favor.”
I agree but the the “political” aspect is somewhat dictated by what tirade we, the public, are on. If we’re demanding that sex offenders register (just an example), then that’s what the politicians say they’ll do to get us to vote for them. WE have to be SMARTER! And demand the right things!
LDavis @ 1:06 You said, “WE need to push our politicians to use more rational criteria to classify sex offences.”
I agree because what we REALLY WANT is mandatory life without parole for some of these offenders. And we’re not going to get that when the 14 year old boy who moons some friends out the school bus window is just as eligible for life without parole as the guy who just raped and/or murdered a child.
I know people are screaming for buses for the kids that live 2 miles away but that’s not the final solution. How many kids have been abducted walking to and from the school bus? A lot.
Adult supervision is needed even then. And I don’t think kids are “safe” in groups either. What’s a couple of ten year olds supposed to do if a car stops to grab a 7 year old friend? Sure SO’s prefer picking them off when they’re alone but not always. I’m afraid it’s just to the point where an adult needs to drive or walk the kids to the bus and/or school. Maybe this will encourage parents to try to coordinate such efforts among friends and neighbors and communities.
M2c,
I agree there needs to be an adult to walk with their children to and from school. In my neightboor their are more then one parent at my son’s bus stop he is in middle school, for school age children there are alot of parents up there as well.
M2c, you’re correct that WE must demand better of our politicians. However, I wouldn’t be positive toward them as you may be. I think all too often they use/promote issues like this as a means of preying on our fears in order to get votes. Nevertheless, the ultimate responsibility is ours. We must be in touch with politicians and demand that they legislate more responsibly and not vote for people who use fear as a tactic for winning elections.
First let me say that my heart goes out to these families. I can’t imagine dealing with a child’s death by unnatural causes. I too have lost children due to premature birth, I have also had a child abused by a trusted adult and the adult’s partner physically and sexually. So I speak from experience when I say that a parent can have every sex offender alert available, check every public data base, they can do EVERYTHING right, and still the big bad wolf will sometimes get in. The bad guys have to get caught once before you know they are bad guys.
Don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying that you should just leave it to chance when you move into a new neighborhood, by all means, do check! Truly KNOW who you are leaving your kids with and if for any reason you feel they aren’t safe, even for a split second, don’t negate your “gut” because it seems silly or you don’t know why you feel that way, follow your instincts.
I think we get comfortable as parents and we want to allow our kids freedoms of former generations but the thing is, we don’t have the same freedoms that they enjoyed. My kids are all under 10 and I won’t let them even run down to the neighbor’s house without either physically taking them or watching them go into the other house. We even have a Mommy group around here that watches out for a lot of kids in our neighborhood, we watch the kids, we watch adults that seem too interested, that new person walking their dog to the dog park… are we too suspicious? Possibly, but with VERY good reason.
In this age of social networking, we don’t know our neighbors as well, & they in turn don’t know us & therefore have less invested in our lives.
Someone who loves our child, that has an emotional stake in that child is going to be watching when you can’t be there. Don’t thumb your nose at the busy body that seems to know everything about the neighborhood, she is your greatest friend if you have children!
The old adage is true today but for very different reasons, it does take a village to raise a child… only now you need the village to keep them safe too.
IAM ALSO WONDERING WHY HER DAD MADE SUCH A STATEMENT
(He was worried something like this was going to happend!)
Was it because he and his wife are divorced and she had boy friends hanging around, the walking so far to school, or because she was to friendly?
Linda, I remember reading that, but the father had said several sentences BEFORE that pne – I think they were about no bus to school, how far it was etc. What he said before saying he was “worried something like this was going to happen” help to define what it means. The sentence shouldn’t be taken out of context like that.
I have looked but can’t find the quote at all right now.
Linda, you may well have a good “nose” for something fishy! I just read that Somer’s father is in a wheelchair (all or part of the time) following an accident while serving in Iraq. I just found an article saying he hopes to bring the children back to NC with him (after the funeral or soon I guess).
The statement of his that I had found weird was before she was found he addressed her on camera, saying something like “..hope you’ll be home soon and we’ll be a family again.”
I thought uh oh. He wants to get back with the wife.
Now I wonder if it’s going to turn into a custody issue. And he has no money of course. Not even enough to go to the funeral.
Please see this article:
http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/thompson-29065-girl-members.html
If this man needs help then we all need to help him! He was hurt in Iraq? Thats so sad that means he never got to see Somer before she died? I saw alot of guys standing around her mother, i thought one of them was Somers dad? Maybe if she had been with her dad this would not have happend! PUTS ANOTHER LIGHT ON THINGS!
On TV. reported they have the results of autopsy , police said . not releasing it ?
I am praying for you Diena. These horrible crimes have got to stop now! I wish we could keep Guantanamo Bay open for these child killers.
Yes this is tragic for this poor child but one question looming in my head is why the hell is a 7 year old child walking 1 MILE home? Where is a responsible adult to oversee this kid got home safely? In this world today I think it is highly unresposible to let such a young child walk home from school especially that distance. Shame..
Denise, Somer was with her twin brother, 10 year old sister and a group of about 10 neighbor kids that walk home together. Her mom had told her to stay with the group. But she got upset and took off running for home. A typical kid she didn’t think anything would happen. Her mom, like all the other mom’s that let their kids walk with her, thought it was safe in a group. It could have been any of us. At some time we made mistakes with our kids, there just wasn’t a predator around at the right time. I don’t think that mom is to blame. Just info, hope it helps. treece
I think the police have more information than they are making public and are waiting (out of respect) to intensify this until after the funeral. I tend to agree with Linda – there are too many boyfriends hanging around this single mom with two little girls. I read the police report and it said the mother was home for lunch with a “friend” Sean Patton and she asked him to stay there til the kids came home. Who would search for their child for two hours before calling the police? I don’t know – strange. Also, her brother and sister said she ran ahead with another group of chldren which means she was with other kids before she arrived home?!?!! When did this abduction take place? I am not pointing a finger, I just think everyone is [naturally] focused on a sexual predator when it doesn’t necessarily have to be. It is a strange world, you know.
I just heard that there was an armed robbery at Somer’s house by 4 men a couple of hours before Somer’s body was found.
This makes no sense. I don’t know what to say.
Golden, Somer did not run ahead with another group of children. She ran ahead FROM the group of children that she was with.
Mom 08, sorry to break it to you, but your original comment definitely does make it seem that you would rather have your child abducted and murdered than die in a car accident with you, because then it wouldn’t be your fault. Even though any kind of death is obviously horrible, you really can’t compare these two situations. Accidental deaths cannot even begin to be compared with ones that are due to malicious intent.
Wow…we prayed and had flyers around for Somer. It is very sad to see this happening in Jacksonville, Florida. My prayers go out to the family of Somer Renee Thompson. I am deeply sorry for your lost!
Leave A Reply