Posted on 08/03/2002 2:24:14 PM PDT by Prodigal Son
A 15-year-old girl was charged Friday with murder in the shooting death of her father, a Fort Bragg soldier. Aldridge Park.
The girl was found hiding under a couch in the Sunset Mobile Home Park, according to Miranda Eldridge, who lives in the mobile home where the girl was arrested.
The police would not divulge the name of the person arrested because the suspect is under 16, but Eldridge identified her as Elizabeth Shannon.
Her father, Maj. David Shannon, was shot on July 23 as he slept in the bedroom of his home in Cottonade, according to the police.
On Tuesday, his wife, Joan, was charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy. Investigators had been searching for the teen-ager since Tuesday. Police said Shannon was killed for insurance money.
The police said they got a tip and went to the mobile home park about 1 p.m. Eldridge was sleeping in a back bedroom.
“The officer told me to get up,” Eldridge said. “He put me in handcuffs and he yanked me out of the room.”
The officer heard a noise come from a folded-out futon in the living room.
“They lifted up the couch, saw she was under there, and he placed her in handcuffs,” Eldridge said.
Eldridge was not charged with a crime. She said the girl had been brought to the house on Wednesday by a friend.
“She said she didn’t have a place to stay. I asked where her parents were, and she said they were out of town.”
Eldridge said she let the girl stay on her couch and lent her some clothes.
Eldridge said the girl was wearing a T-shirt and jeans when she arrived and “it looked like she hadn’t changed in a while.”
Eldridge said the girl spent most of her time on the couch, watching TV and watching out the window. She never went out.
“When somebody knocked on the door, she would jump,” Eldridge said.
“She constantly watched the news,” Eldridge said. “They were like her morning cartoons. I just thought she was interested in what was happening in Fayetteville.”
Eldridge said the girl paid close attention to TV news about the murder of David Shannon.
Even in Afghanistan {sp} they are being limited in mission. You can't train persons to psychlogically do a mission then keep turning this process on and off and not expect serious problems. If they had sucessfull missions it would be a different story. None of these deployments have resulted in them seeing a goal obtained. They are not seeing completed military missions. If they go to fight a war a goal is obtained. Victory is the result the enemy is no longer a threat. They can turn off the process go back to the states and have time to put it where it belongs as far as the mind goes. If they go hands tied a political agenda that agenda is obtained at their expense.
We also have to take a serious look at the demished size of deployable forces. A deminished force means others are taking up the slack. This means more & longer deployments for a smaller group which is not good. We are operating under a Cold War military with a close to becoming third world nation level of military strenght compared to our nations size and population. For that the blame lies squarely in those who refuse to do a substancial military strenght build up in troop strenght and air & sea power. We are now seeing the results of the Bush Sr and Clinton policies. One is as guilty as the other Bush Sr went way too far in reductions & Clinton went further. I hope our congress and POTUS will see the problem and take quick and meaningfull measures but neither is making it their long or short term goal. All we are getting is unrealistic talk {proposed future programs at the expense of existing} followed by no action.
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