Elizabeth Township girl charged in dad's killing

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | July 31, 2007 | Torsten Ove and Jim McKinnon

[ConservativeStatement]

A 13-year-old girl fatally shot her father in the face with a shotgun early yesterday morning as he slept in their Elizabeth Township home, according to police.

Rachel Booth was held without bond last night in the Allegheny County Jail, charged as an adult with homicide in the death of Matthew J. Booth, 34. She faces a preliminary hearing Friday.

[ConservativeStatement]

The neighbors quote is mind-blowing.

[irishtenor]

***The neighbors quote is mind-blowing.***

So was the shooting, apparently.

[SoldierMedic]

But a close neighbor said the girl told her that Mr. Booth had sexually and physically abused her since she was 7. "The whole street knew about it," said Suzanne Gruber, 20, who lives across the street from the Booth home.

Reminds me of a quote from "Boondock Saints". Now, we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men. Everybody knew but did nothing? UNbelievable.

[RedCell]

Detectives said only that the girl acknowledged that she killed Mr. Booth with his 12-gauge shotgun at 2:21 a.m. on the first floor of 5802 Pitt St., where Mr. Booth lived with the girl and her 14-year-old brother, Matthew Booth Jr.

But a close neighbor said the girl told her that Mr. Booth had sexually and physically abused her since she was 7.

"The whole street knew about it," said Suzanne Gruber, 20, who lives across the street from the Booth home.

"He abused them both," she said. "Some nights I would hear her screaming, 'No, daddy! No! I'm sorry.' She said she just couldn't take it anymore."

If this is the case then why hasn't anything been done for the past 6 years?!!

[KJC1]

Yeah, isn’t that nice? The “whole street” knew, but they did nothing to stop the abuse of these children.

Awful story.

[over3Owithabrain]

Sounds like this scum needed killing. Too bad that was left to the girl, however. Her parents let her down, as did her neighbors and the State. They all stood by while she and her brother were systematically raped over the years. No one else would stop him so she did it herself. My sympathy is with her and let that vermin rot in Hell.

[randog]

If this is the case then why hasn't anything been done for the past 6 years?!!

That was someone else's job.

[CarrotAndStick]

Ping for later.

[jazusamo]

Everybody knew but did nothing?

You're right, it's unbelievable. What is the matter with those people?

[LibFreeOrDie]

"charged as an adult with homicide"

It was self-defense. Everyone knew what was going on in that house.

[dfwgator]

“Rachel’s Got A Gun.”

[Valpal1]

Why is the DA charging this girl as an adult? Is it just so they can keep her in custody for a while?

[SoldierMedic]

I feel bad for whoever the prosicuting attorney is going to be. I doubt anybody will want the job, and whoever receives it is going to be severely hated.

[ConservativeStatement]

I was thinking that, too:

[GovernmentShrinker]

More to the point, why is she being charged at all? Any neigbors who say they had knowledge of the abuse, and hadn’t called police and/or social services at least twice, should be facing charges. Anyone in the police department or social services who failed to investigate when called and/or falsified paperwork to show that everything was fine, should also be facing charges. The girl should be given a medal for doing more than her share to clean up society.

[Navy Patriot]

Another article with more info here: Trib story

[chasio649]

Whiskey Tango to the nth degree.

[BykrBayb]

It looks to me like they should do an investigation before filing charges.

Prayers for all involved.

[primeval patriot]

Ya know, I’ve read articles similar to this before.

I just don’t get it. The whole block knows some kids are being abused. They’re screaming and yelling bloody murder all night long.

The social workers aren’t any use.

The local police department was apparently unresponsive.

How about contacting a Constable or the County Sheriff? The FBI?

Good Lord Almighty it enrages me when adult witnesses act as if they’re helpless.

[Navy Patriot]

It looks to me like they should do an investigation before filing charges.

Prayers for all involved.

Yes and yes.