Posted on 10/06/2007 12:01:29 PM PDT by Halls
ST. LOUIS — For nearly a year, two Missouri boys have been preparing to walk into a courtroom and face the man accused of kidnapping and abusing them. Now, an apparent surprise deal will spare them the ordeal.
Michael Devlin, the former pizzeria manager accused of kidnapping Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby, will plead guilty next week to kidnapping and sexual abuse charges, a prosecutor and a relative of one of the boys said Friday. Devlin's surprise decision brings a sudden end to a massive criminal case that has drawn international attention.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
PING
Great news! Thanks!
“””I believe he should die for his crimes””
Agree.
IIRC There were several other young boys missing from areas where he had been known to live. Wonder what happened to those investigations? If he tried to kill Shawn in 2002 - it’s possible that he may have killed before. Perhaps this plea agreement includes admission of prior crimes.
“I’m really glad there is going to be and ending to this. This man Devlin deserves life and it looks like that is exactly what he will get. However, I believe he should die for his crimes, but I know that isn’t going to happen.”
I also believe he sould die for his crimes, as I truly believe he most likely murdered a previous child or children he kidnapped. But at lease there is an end like you said and the boys won’t have to face him in court.
Not only that, but the boys would have had to face embarrassing questions about why they continued to stay with him when they were allowed to go out and walk around town on their own.
It’s all for the best, some things are better covered up.
I was so glad to hear this yesterday! I was surprised, as well, I really thought that Devlin would force these kids into court.
MOgirl
Covered up? The boys would be embarrassed? Care to explain what you mean?
MOgirl
The 14 year-old had a bicycle, a computer, a cell phone, and played video games. He would go out to eat at fast-food places with buddies his own age.
I am sure the first thing a defense lawyer would ask him was why he didn’t contact the police.
I am afraid his motives for doing what he did might not have been entirely creditable. Certainly, the defense would have gone for that angle.
Stockholm Syndrome. Would trump any BS defense put forth.
I admit that I am glad the boys won’t have to be put through reliving details of their captivity, but I don’t think Shawn Hornbeck did anything wrong. I truly believe that Devlin forced that boy into such submission he was to afraid to try and get away, even when he had his freedoms.
“...some things are better covered up.”
Yep. Like the creep that abused them...with six feet of dirt.
True. AFTER Devlin used brain washing techniques/rape/beatings on an 11 year child. Why do you think Devlin is pleading guilty? Because the child wanted to stay? He just wants to spend the rest of his life in prison, without a trial?
But, yeah, we should blame the victim.
Maybe he’ll get “Dahmerized” in prison.
That is a very charitable interpretation. Without the trial, people are free to believe he was a completely innocent victim.
That’s why I say it’s for the best. If his motives were ignoble, he has to live with himself, but at least all the world doesn’t know it as well. That is a heavy burden at a young age, and the reason why courts seal juvenile cases.
Ignoble motives?
Do I have to spell it out? Think like a defense lawyer.
Paint the 14-year-old as a slacker who would rather live with a fat homosexual and play video games than have to go to school and live with his parents. Then ask him about the other boy. Did he know where he came from? How could he not know? Did Devlin ask him to assist and make the 11-year-old feel comfortable? Didn’t he know it was wrong? Did he want to see another kid suffer the same thing he had suffered? You did suffer, didn’t you? Why didn’t you act?
Believe me, it would have been an orgy of mud-slinging. A plea is much better. The case is wrapped up, the boys can go home and make the best of their lives with their parents. They don’t need stuff like this following them around for the rest of their lives.
charitable interpretation?
Yeah, I don’t think so.
I'm sure the defense would have, but they'd be hard pressed to prove that an 11 yr. old boy who was continually told that his parents didn't want him anymore, that they'd moved and didn't say where they were going, all those things, along with the shame of sexual abuse, was acting on his own, and in his right mind. Deviants are terrific at manipulation; heck, grown women and men are victims of this all the time! How do you think a young boy could withstand this 24/7?
He made some friends locally, got used to his life, and probably didn't think anything about it until Ben was kidnapped. He might even have heard Devlin telling Ben what he's been told four years before, realized that something was very wrong, and he wanted to spare Ben what he'd been through. He also might have begun to fear for his life, but thought he had no place else to go.
I'm glad he's going to be spared having to testify in court. If he wants to tell his story, let him tell it on his own terms, not under the scrutiny of a defense lawyer who will twist even the most innocent of things against the boy, when it was Devlin who was in the wrong.
No, you do not have to spell it out for me. I get that. All of it, which is why I am so glad that these children will not have to face a trial. What I do not get is that you have apparently decided that this child had any ability to make decisions for himself, after he was subjected to the most horrific torture. That is cold. May you never be judged as harshly as you judge this victim, a child.
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