Murdered Brooklyn boy

[frndshpcptn]

I rarely find myself moved by stories in the media...

But for some reason this one really got to me. I feel so terrible for that family and for thier whole community.

It's heartbreaking.

And they seem to be handling it with such outward grace....

 

[Aisling]

Does anyone remember the Etan Patz case? The same thing - the first time she let him go to the school bus alone he was taken. I can't begin to imagine how a parent can move forward after something like this.

Wow I didn't know that was the first time she let him go alone! Imagine the guilty feelings, must be unbearable.

 

[NY Disney fan]

Does anyone remember the Etan Patz case? The same thing - the first time she let him go to the school bus alone he was taken. I can't begin to imagine how a parent can move forward after something like this.

I don't get that! Etan was 6 years old!!! I don't understand...I just really don't. Why let him walk in the street!??

 

[Cat0727]

This is absolutely heart breaking. I saw the video of the sweet boy walking around lost and it was making me sick.

One thing that makes this sadder is that the guy who did this was also an Orthodox Jew and wore a yarmulke. That poor boy may have felt a sense of safety asking "one of his own" considering how close-knit that community is. I don't know if that thought crossed his mind, but it makes it sadder if it did.

I know...the article in the NYT was talking about how the Orthodox Jews don't trust outsiders in their community, that it was a survival tactic brought over from Poland after WWII.

 

[snapppyd]

I wonder how long they can shield the parents from the facts? It's sickening to me the detail I have read about the body Didn't the police and the media used to keep the gory details more private?

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Does anyone remember the Etan Patz case? The same thing - the first time she let him go to the school bus alone he was taken. I can't begin to imagine how a parent can move forward after something like this.

I remember that case. I wish there was a death penalty in NY but then again this monster could get an incompetent jury and end up walking away like another recent high profile case.

 

[3smithboys]

I rarely find myself moved by stories in the media...

But for some reason this one really got to me. I feel so terrible for that family and for thier whole community.

It's heartbreaking.

And they seem to be handling it with such outward grace....

I agree... Maybe it's because I am Jewish (not Orthodox but still can relate), or maybe it's because I have two 8 year old boys, or maybe it's just because I am a human being but there is something about this story in particular that has rocked me to my core. Last night I went to bed thinking about it and I can't stop today... I know bad things happen all the time, but this is just.... I'm lost for words...

 

[Arm Flaps]

Yep. My kids were always told to look for a woman too. Never a policeman since a security guard can look like a cop to a young child. Thankfully my kids never got lost and had to put this to practice.

 

[ElizabethB]

I keep thinking if only he'd had a cell phone and knew how to call home. It might not have helped, but maybe he would have reached his mom. These days no child should be alone without a cell phone.

 

[No.17CherryTreeLane]

I agree... Maybe it's because I am Jewish (not Orthodox but still can relate), or maybe it's because I have two 8 year old boys, or maybe it's just because I am a human being but there is something about this story in particular that has rocked me to my core. Last night I went to bed thinking about it and I can't stop today... I know bad things happen all the time, but this is just.... I'm lost for words...

I understand how you feel.

I've been thinking about this little guy since yesterday. I watched the surveillance video of him walking toward the corner. He had a bounce in his step and he held his right arm outward a couple of times -- like he was feeling the wind or playing airplane. It was such a little boy thing to do. That arm gesture just broke my heart.

I think that corner is where he became confused and forgot to turn. Really, there are no words.

 

[sparklynails23]

Eight is way too young to be walking in NYC by himself. I don't care how much he begged.

 

[NotUrsula]

In addition to the advice about asking a woman rather than a man, another good bit to tell a kid is to STAY PUT. I always tell my children that as soon as they realize that they are lost; stop moving.

I also tell them that a good person will agree stay with them, while a bad person will pretty much always try to get them to go somewhere else. (Not that a good person might not also do that, but playing the odds, someone who agrees to stay and wait is safer.)

Any time I encounter a lost child I will stay with that child wherever he is. I might step slightly away to ask an employee to call security or something like that, but I won't leave him until the searchers come to him. DH will always do the same thing; never touching, but just standing there for as long as it takes. (Poor DH tends to have this happen ridiculously often; something about him draws children, and kids sometimes just randomly follow him. He tries not to even speak to them, but he doesn't try to ditch them, because he's afraid that some other man might not be so well-intentioned. He has had hysterical parents go off on him more than once, too.)

 

[aprilgail2]

I keep thinking if only he'd had a cell phone and knew how to call home. It might not have helped, but maybe he would have reached his mom. These days no child should be alone without a cell phone.

agree 100%!! As soon as my daughter started going off on her own I gave her a cell phone- last year she was off with a friend at a campground and got lost- she called me and I went and got them!

I read the story just a while ago. It's a parent's worst nightmare! Just horrific! I'm going to guess that this man suffered from schizophrenia and the voices in his head told him to do it. That's the only rational explanation I can come up with.

Of course that is what they are claiming now--what other excuse would they possibly use?
They just posted an update on a local papers site that said the other prisoners are chanting "stab him stab him" so they are concerned about his safety---me--I am about as concerned for HIS safety as he was for the safety of the little boy he killed!!

 

[7165red]

This story is so awful that it makes me ill to think about it. The poor child my heart breaks and his poor parents, how do you get over something like that. God help them!

 

[akhenaten]

Does anyone remember the Etan Patz case? The same thing - the first time she let him go to the school bus alone he was taken. I can't begin to imagine how a parent can move forward after something like this.

I do.. sadly I thought of etan the first moment I heard about this boy missing.... before he was found.. though I was hoping they would find him...

 

[FergieTCat]

I just heard on the news that there's evidence that the boy struggled against his attacker. My eyes are filled with tears. He knew he was going to die. At 8 years old.

I don't know why he was walking alone. I do know that Borough Park has many Orthodox Jews and that they are a community. Maybe the parents felt safe letting their child walk alone in their own community? I don't know.

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

I also read that the murderer has defensive wounds on his arms, indicating the boy tried to defend himself. How horrible. I hope the other inmates "take care of him".

Keep in mind this is a Hasidic community (you can tell by the way they dress and their hair). They are even more strict than Orthodox Jews, and the emphasis on community, and excluding outsiders, is even more intense. I'm sure this boy totally trusted another Hasidim 100%, and went with him without questioning it. One of the community leaders said it was worse because it was done by "one of our own". That makes it 10 times worse, IMO. So much for the sense of community :-(

I agree about the cell phones. My DS11 does not go out to play without one. He does not use it any other time. DD 13 is home by herself after school for an hour and a half every day - she walks 2 blocks from the bus stop and I text her every day to make sure she got home safely.

 

[bunkkinsmom]

I keep thinking if only he'd had a cell phone and knew how to call home. It might not have helped, but maybe he would have reached his mom. These days no child should be alone without a cell phone.

Yes! I struggled with whether to get my 8 year old a cell phone, thinking she was too young. I am so glad that I did. She got it a couple of months ago and there are rules to having it. She can call anytime she wants on weekends and certain people anytime she wants. (Fortunately almost all of our family is on Verizon so free minutes!) And she has gotten very fast at texting already, go figure!

 

[TDC Nala]

Almost all serial killers are male. (Exception: Carolyn Warmus.)

This is probably Aileen Wuornos, not Carolyn Warmus; Carolyn knocked off her boyfriend's wife, she wasn't a serial killer. And Aileen Wuornos wasn't the only female serial killer ever. However, there are far fewer female serial killers than there are male ones, and there aren't huge numbers of male ones.

This kid got into a car with the guy. One thing to teach kids is to never get into a car with someone you don't know. Probably good advice for adults too. Once they get a victim into a car, that's pretty much it.

this monster could get an incompetent jury and end up walking away like another recent high profile case.

They caught him with the body, he's confessed, and they have video of him with the kid. And he's not a famous football player. This one probably won't go the same way as the Florida trial.

I also think the perpetrator was Orthodox but he wasn't Hasidic. I think he would have been wearing a yarmulke though. The child was Hasidic.

 

[java]

This is probably Aileen Wuornos, not Carolyn Warmus; Carolyn knocked off her boyfriend's wife, she wasn't a serial killer. And Aileen Wuornos wasn't the only female serial killer ever. However, there are far fewer female serial killers than there are male ones, and there aren't huge numbers of male ones.

This kid got into a car with the guy. One thing to teach kids is to never get into a car with someone you don't know. Probably good advice for adults too. Once they get a victim into a car, that's pretty much it.



They caught him with the body, he's confessed, and they have video of him with the kid. And he's not a famous football player. This one probably won't go the same way as the Florida trial.

I also think the perpetrator was Orthodox but he wasn't Hasidic. I think he would have been wearing a yarmulke though. The child was Hasidic.

The news has said "He had all the appearances of being Hasidic" so the boy may have mistaken him for Hasidic.