Girls Gone Wild: Brutal attack on teen girl by other teen girls
April 17, 2008 by ElfNinosMom
By now, everyone has heard about the six Florida teenagers who lured a 16-year-old girl to a home, where they beat her unconscious, waited for her to regain consciousness, then beat her again.
For thirty minutes.
And, they taped it all with the intention of putting it on YouTube.
The tape itself shows a group of shockingly, stunningly stupid teenage girls. While beating this girl, they demand to know why she doesn’t like them.
This is just a wild guess, but is it possible she doesn’t like them because they are beating her up?
The girl who was attacked, Victoria Lindsay, lost partial hearing in her left ear and partial sight in her left eye as a result of the attack. Her father said when he first saw her following the attack, he didn’t even recognize her, because her face was deformed from the beating.
The teens arrested and charged in the attack are Cara Murphy, 16; Britney Mayes, 17; Kayla Hassell, 15; Zachary Ashley, 17; Brittini Hardcastle, 17; Mercades Nichols, 17; April Cooper, 14; and Stephen Schumaker, 18. The two boys allegedly stood as lookouts.
The girls showed absolutely no remorse whatsoever when arrested; instead, they were laughing and joking. One was worried about getting out of jail in time for cheerleading practice, and another was worried about a planned trip to the beach. None of them worried about the girl they had attacked, and all of them assumed that nothing would really be done to them.
Imagine their surprise when a judge doubled their bail and ordered them tried as adults on charges of kidnapping (which carries a potential life sentence), battery, and witness tampering (for threatening to attack her again if she reported the crime). Their parents are complaining that they cannot afford the bail.
If they were responsible parents, they wouldn’t bail them out. These girls need, more than anything, a taste of reality.
The parents of the girls, including the one who was attacked, are blaming YouTube and Myspace. However, the truth is that YouTube and MySpace are not to blame for this. These girls did what they did because they wanted to do it, and because they thought they wouldn’t get into serious trouble for it. It’s exactly that simple, try though we may to find blame elsewhere when teen girls do something of this nature.
The parents of the attackers claim the victim brought it upon herself, because she made some comments on MySpace.
When I heard that, I wanted to (figuratively speaking, of course) reach through the television, grab that brain-dead mother by her throat, punch her in the face a few times, then tell her, “That was all your fault, because I didn’t like what you said.” Had someone done that to her long ago, she’d realize just exactly how stupid it is to think that way, and perhaps in turn her daughter wouldn’t be such an idiot.
The truth is that her stupid daughter and her equally stupid friends intentionally chose a victim who they knew wouldn’t fight back. In other words, in addition to being incredibly stupid, these six girls and the two boys who helped them are all cowards, not unlike any other criminal who preys on the weak.
The stupid parents haven’t helped their stupid children by blaming it on the victim; instead, they’ve made the situation far, far worse, since the videotape clearly shows that the victim didn’t fight back. Then again, they haven’t done their children any favors in the way they raised them, either.
It’s too late for the parents to help their daughters, though. Since they failed to teach their daughters right from wrong, those girls are going to learn right from wrong the hard way, in the criminal justice system. I suspect these girls got away with all kinds of abhorrent behavior as children, and that’s why they think our rules and laws don’t apply to them.
Perhaps the 14-year-old and the 15-year-old were influenced by the older girls, but the 17-year-olds definitely should know better, and they should be sent to prison for what they did. If we don’t send them to prison, when their crime is captured on tape and they show no remorse even when arrested, other teens will believe they “got away with it”, and these crimes will become more common. As a society, we cannot permit that to happen.
It’s ugly to send teenage girls to an adult prison, but reality isn’t always pretty and neither is a world where people gang up and use physical violence to control and manipulate the weak. Hopefully while in prison, these incredibly stupid girls will learn the lessons about life that their equally stupid parents were too lazy and self-centered to teach them.
I somehow doubt it, though. I’ve seen this mindset in teenage girls, back when I was a teenager, and though those girls are now women in the mid-40s, they haven’t changed a bit. That’s why I advocate prison for this crime. I honestly don’t think these girls will change, based upon my experience, so we are wasting our money trying to rehabilitate them.
UPDATE 4/18/08: One of my regular readers, Sauerkraut (thanks, Sauerkraut!) informed me that the girl whose mother made that incredibly stupid statement on television doesn’t live with her mother. She lives with her grandparents. It was at the grandparents’ house where Lindsay was attacked. Lindsay was staying there as well. I’m going to assume the grandparents weren’t there when this happened.
I agree. The parents are the ones to blame here if anyone…not MySpace and YouTube. They obviously didn’t teach their children anything about being a productive member of society. They should have thought of the consequences before they beat that girl up is what I am thinking…and threatening to harm or kill someone to keep them quiet doesn’t really work and almost always backfires. There are laws against threats as well.
Of course the parents are going to blame everyone but their kids and themselves…I have always told DH that if he did something to got to jail, don’t expect me to bail them out. The same rules apply to Babyhead and Babygirl. If they do something knowingly and land in jail be it fighting, stealing, drugs, etc…well then they can just sit there. The way I see it, if my kids end up in jail, then obviously nothing I taught them sunk in…so maybe jail will.
Well first of all to all the people involved in this brutal beating, you all said you were not sorry for what you did to this poor girl, but yet in court your crying, and putting your heads down, if your not sorry and not asshamed for what you have done, hold your head high and accept your future, you deserve it. And to Victoria Lindsay, i just want to say that i hope you get better soon, and i hope all of thoughs teens get the punishments they desirve, this is a unbeleivable act of violence, and all of them deserive at lest 10 years in prision. Lindsay they thought it would be funny, to video tape you and put this on the internet, but whos getting the last laugh! Hope you feel better soon!
This story of the six teens beating up on Victoria Lindsay turns my stomach. I pray that God has mercy on the teens involved in this relentless act of violence and that their parents learn something from all of this and not blame YouTube for their children’s actions but rather themselves. Parents must teach their kids right from wrong- if not the parents, then who will do it?
To Victoria and her family, I wish you all the best and pray that healing comes for you all quickly and gracefully. God bless you all and I am so sorry for what Victoria had to endure. May the Lord help your family through this trying time.
Take care.
The mother who was interviewed on tv does not have custody of her daughter. Her daughter was staying with the grandparents and it was in that house that Lindsay was also staying.
Pariahs of the community, all of them.
The two boys, too.
Thanks, Sauerkraut! Well, I guess we know why “mom of the year” doesn’t have custody. Do you know how long she had stayed with her grandparents?
So they didn’t lure Lindsay there, so much as they just waited for her and then refused to let her leave?
I’m going to give the grandparents the benefit of the doubt, and assume they weren’t home when this happened.
Still, I think something is very wrong in the home life of all these girls, or this would not have happened. Girls are not like boys, in that they are not naturally aggressive. I still suspect they were all spoiled to the point that they believed they could do no wrong. I’d be interested to know if any of them have a record of prior violence, school fights, etc.
It still amazes me that anyone could think that they don’t deserve to be tried as adults. If you act like an adult (not that adults should be going this either) then there are punishments and you deserve to have them, not be babied because your under age.
The grandparents were not home and said that if they were it wouldn’t have gone. I would certainly hope not.
I was on holiday from uk to florida when I saw the news. I could not believe what these sick individuals did to this poor girl.
I agree that they should be tried as adults for the crime that they committed. I have been following this story ever since I heard about it and really hope that they get what they deserve.
I can’t believe that the parents are more or less condoning what these girls have done (if you can call them parents). This is someone elses child that has been brutally mauled by animals. How would they feel if it was one of there girls and how dare Mercades Nichols mom try act as if her evil daughter is innocent in all this. She was there, she was equally to blame as the other girls. It really makes my blood boil.
Well Victoria, I am a great believer in what comes around goes around. They will get there commupence and sooner the better. We will see who has the last laugh then.
I hope you make a full recovery and will be able to get on with your life.
As for the others, I hope you rot in hell (even that would be too good for you)
These teens that commited this terrible crime have once again proved just how horrible teens can be. I was once a teen but thought better to fight with words of wisdom never with my fist. As far as these 6 girls are concerned I am under the ideals that being tried as an adult might make them see that this is no longer about some stupid my space page or $4. These girls don’t know what reality is but I can promise you that where they are at is one big check for them. I don’t feel sorry for the mom of that girl. I feel sorry for Victoria and her family. I can’t even picture not being able to realize that it is my child beaten so badly. My heart go outs to her family. As for the other teens I hope they get the max and let it be known, what goes around comes around.
Those boys weren’t involved, they have no evidence at all showing that they were.. All 6 girls have said that those boys knew nothing about it. Grady Judd released the video on national television BEFORE they talked to a SINGLE witness, actually they didn’t speak to ANY witnesses until 9 days later. Yeah there were neighbors around who heard the noise, and those neighbors seen Zach, and Steven at Zachs house. (which was next door!!) So What I want to know is why Grady Judd released this video, and pretty much stated that everyone was guilty before he even had facts!!! And if you people have not seen a fight before where the hell have you been living? It’s a fight- now there are people making death threats OVER A FIGHT! Where the hell is the logic in that???? How can anyone justify that? Some people need to GET A LIFE!!
Crystal: I have seen lots of fights. However, this was not a fight. A fight is one person fighting another person who is fighting back. I think they knew this girl wouldn’t fight back, and that’s why they did this to her.
The fact that she didn’t fight back means that it wasn’t a fight, it was an attack by six people upon one person. There is a very big difference between a fight and an attack. No one with half a spine “fights” someone who will not fight back.
Their age is meaningless to me, at least with regard to the 17-year-olds. If they want to commit an adult crime, they can pay the consequences just like any 18-year-old. A few months’ difference in age does mean that they should get a pass on their criminal behavior, after all. This was not a victimless crime, so I don’t think they should get probation or some other slap on the wrist. It was premeditated, it was prolonged, and they very clearly held her against her will, as is clearly seen in the video. That calls for prison time.
I think the best thing that could happen to these girls is for them to them get a very big taste of their own medicine. Throw those 17-year-olds into adult prison, and let them find out what the real world is like, living among people who act just like them. They will come out of the experience with a very real respect for what it is like to be beaten by multiple people at once, and to have no way to escape their attackers.
I have no sympathy for them whatsoever. They committed a violent crime, and now they must pay the price which society demands for that behavior. Oh well. It’s either stop them now, or wait until they hurt someone even worse.
As for the boys, all I know is that they were arrested, and that they allegedly stood lookout. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but if they are in that video, they’ve got a very serious problem.
Having a problem with someone you don’t like and confronting that person is one thing, but taking turns beating someone who isn’t even fighting back is characteristic of a psychopath or psychopaths in the making. I hope there is no mercy shown on all of you involved in the brutal attack, you need an example made out of you. As for Victoria I wish you the best and hope your recovery is swift and full.
I have seen the video and I have listened to the 911 call and read the copies of statements that have been made public in this case. I am still very angry about it but I was never that shocked about the mentality of the girls involved not to mention the lazy mother. I was disappointed to hear the parents of Victoria blame YouTube which cannot be blamed in the least. It was just a medium of information, if we didn’t have the internet they would have made posters of pictures and put them around school or have done it in school to let others know not to mess with their cliche. I have read comments on other sites about older people talking about how teen violence and suicides were never heard of due to having better discipline which is ludicrous. Remember back when blacks couldn’t attend the same schools as whites? When women couldn’t vote? When the Nazis killed 6 million Jews and other anti-semitic violence? Or now finding out about abuse by Catholic priests and Sisters in the United States and Europe? I would recommend watching the movie The Magdoline Sisters (the director couldn’t show everything due to fear of alienating the audience of the full account). I think that media may have some influence but for the most part all it has done in the last couple of decades is bring horrnedous acts to light. The main culprit in this case is sexiest upbringing, ‘my little girl can do no wrong and is a princess’ attitude. It festers the mentality of entitlement and a lack of work ethic having everything handed to them and no real respect for anyone or anything besides themselves. I also can’t stand genetic based love; like their child can do no wrong because it came from their loins. Even the best and brightest selfless parents can give birth to selfish morons. Parents in that situation need to face reality and do all they can to correct those problems, the first step to solving a problem is acknowledging you have one. As far as sentencing goes they all need to do some jail time, at least a year. Probably why April Cooper could hardly keep a straight face even in front of the judge thinking the most she’ll get is probation. Put her in State prison for a year and see if she still has any teeth left to smile with.
Hi everyone,
In my opinion I do believe theese teenagers did wrong by beating Victoria she didn’t deserved getting beat up by 6 girls at the same time and I think the teengars should have some time in jail…. but!!! my concern is why did Victoria’s parents let her leave out of their house in the first place??? why was she living in Mercades Nichols grandmothers house?? second of all why did Victoria post comments about those girls on myspace?? she’s old enough to know the difference between what’s bad and what’s good…… not that i am on those girls side is just something people have to think of too….. Everyone as a teen gets into arguments with parents like myself but they dont kick me out of the house I don’t leave either I had thought about it but i don’t. I still think its Victoria’s parents fault also.