Posted on 10/17/2017 2:32:36 PM PDT by Red Badger
PENSACOLA, Fla. (WEAR) — Three family members in Pensacola are facing charges in the death of a 9-year-old girl.
Veronica Posey is charged with second degree murder and cruelty towards a child.
Grace Smith is charged with cruelty towards a child and child neglect for not reporting the abuse.
James Smith is also charged with child neglect.
Families who live in the neighborhood where the incident happened said they had no clue anything was out of the ordinary in the Smith's home until deputies showed up Saturday afternoon.
"Mr. and Mrs. Smith loved those kids and took care of them the best they could. I would have never ever imagined anything like that in the house ever," said Bryant Road resident Pamela Stephens.
"Neither one of them deserved that and I feel very sad for the other since she has to live on without her sister and they were very close," added Meagan Stephens.
An arrest warrant says 9 year-old Dericka Lindsay's mother, Grace Smith, called her niece, Veronica Posey over to their home on Bryant Road to help discipline the child.
The report reads Posey hit the child with a ruler and metal pipe. The report also reads Posey sat on the little girl’s chest and wouldn't move after the child told Posey that she could not breathe.
State Attorney Bill Eddins said sadly, child death cases are on the rise.
"Presently in the first circuit, aside from this case we have seven young children whose deaths have been caused at the hands of another. Eight defendants are facing charges and that is before you add the three defendants in this case," explained Eddins.
Neighbors say by all appearances, Grace and James Smith were loving parents who took good care of their two daughters.
They say they used to see the pair out on walks in the community, too but would rarely see Veronica Posey at the home.
"I remember when they moved in it was joyous because they were beautiful baby girls. They were just so tiny," said Pamela Stephens.
"I never thought it would be something as extent to one of them being killed," added Meagan Stephens.
Grace Smith and James Smith remain in jail.
Veronica Posey has been released on a $125,000 bond.
All three family members will appear in court on November 3rd.
You can view the arrest report for yourself.
Final Smith 1 Redacted (1) by Jay Anderson on Scribd
Was that Bertha, Bella, or Bathsheba Butt?
The child’s mother Grace Smith (l) and father James Smith (r) were also arrested. (Escambia County Jail)
I saw that and watched the local TV video clip. These people are “the dead child’s adoptive parents!” The “mother” looks to be in her 60’s or older. The open question is are they “adoptive” of the child who was one of their children’s children? Seems very strange that they should have a 9 year old to raise at their ages.
” I have been in WalMart and seen...”
Wow! You’ve been in Walmart and “seen”! Please provide a link to your scholarly research!
What chew talkin bout Willis? Looks like a 400 lb Gary Coleman.
Tragic.
I assume this was before they put the Child in the Oven.
Huh? I was just talking about it as a place where I have seen families with some cruel and aggressive child discipline measures that seem to be a cultural thing. People actually have done research on the subject, though, and you can find many articles about the effect of violent child disciplinary practices on the development of the angry, violent personalities that lead to the shootings and violence in many low-income communities.
The parents (or frequently, grandparents, who have already messed up one batch of children) believe they are doing this to improve the child’s behavior, of course. But much of it is based on a sort of 19th century attitude that children are fundamentally inclined to be bad and that they must be severely disciplined to “correct” them. Combine that with the fact that families in the old sense of the word barely exist in most lower income black or white communities and you have nobody to come to the defense of the child, who is simply left at the mercy of one (often crazy) cruel adult.
WTF is that?!?!?
Child from former husband...................
She never did die all the other times I sat on her...
Ah, thanks.
I agree completely with your statement about the problems with “underclass folk” and their non-existent parenting skills. What bothered me was your “disgust” with the comments. I believe the poster’s you refer to are outraged, and we need MORE outrage of this kind. Passive acceptance of outrageous behavior is what’s gotten us into this mess. I save my outrage for the brainwashed leftists who promote and celebrate outrageous behavior, not Freeper posters who post in a “less than P.C.” manner.
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