Posted on 01/30/2009 2:54:32 AM PST by malkee
A father allegedly threw his four-year-old daughter off a bridge in front of the girl's two young brothers and scores of motorists during rush hour in Melbourne today.
Witnesses said Arthur Phillip Freeman, 35, suddenly stopped his family car – which also had his two young sons inside – and, with young Darcey Iris in his arms, walked to the side of the West Gate Bridge, just after 9 a.m.
He then allegedly dropped his young daughter over the railing and into the water, 190 feet below.
Shocked drivers who witnessed the incident – which police say occurred in a matter of seconds – immediately called emergency hotlines as Freeman reportedly got back in the large white family Land Cruiser, and drove away.
Darcey miraculously survived the fall and was pulled from the water by police within 10 minutes and ambulance officers spent the next 50 minutes resuscitating her on the bank on the side of the Yarra River.
She was then airlifted by helicopter to the nearby Royal Children’s Hospital in a critical condition and treated for the next four hours.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Poor little girl! Why didn’t that idiot just do himself in!?!
Yes, in this case it seems the mom had dad pegged exactly right. He should have had supervised visitation with his children.
The point is that this man has never been identified as having any psychological problems in the past. Now, one day after a court hearing - and note that, I’m not talking about a decisions that might not go his way, the case had already been heard - this happens.
The court decision wasn’t based on his state of mind, because there was no apparent reason for anyone to be worried about that. It was based on other factors.
We don’t know all the details of this case, yet, but the Family Court in Australia is often extremely hostile towards fathers in custody hearings even when the father is clearly a good father, and even when the mother clearly isn’t the best mother. Unless a woman is actually beating the children, the chances of getting custody are remote. I’ve seen a lot of men brought low by unfair hearings.
Nothing can come close to excusing what this man has done but he may have been exposed to stresses that no person should have to deal with.
The bottom line is that we all want children to be safe. No, this shouldn’t have happened whatever the provocation, but pretending that there may not have been unfairness in the courts involved in what has happened isn’t going to make children safer.
Your mistake is thinking someone who is crazy can't be evil. His punishment should be to be tossed off the same bridge
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