Posted on 09/20/2002 11:02:55 AM PDT by Texaggie79
MISHAWAKA, Ind. (AP) - A woman who was angry after leaving a department store was caught on a surveillance tape looking around as she helped her young daughter into a vehicle and then brutally beating the child for about half a minute, authorities said.
Police were searching for the woman and 4-year-old child Friday. The woman's sister, who had been with her in the store, was arrested, said community prosecutor Maggie Jones.
"As far as we know, she tried to exchange some merchandise, was denied that, became angry in the store at the service clerk and left. But I don't know how that could provoke an attack like this on a child," Mishawaka Police Chief Anthony Hazen said Friday on NBC's "Today" show.
The woman could be seen on the tape punching the child and shaking her, and authorities believe the little girl might have serious injuries. A doctor who saw the tape said she could have suffered head, neck and brain injuries, said Mike Samp, a police investigator.
Authorities identified the 25-year-old woman as Madelyne Gorman or Madelyne Toogood and the child as her daughter Martha Toogood.
Hazen said the woman is believed to be from the Dallas area and has a history of misdemeanor charges. He did not elaborate.
"We've spoke with several members of the family; they are not being cooperative right now. They said they disagree with the actions but they don't know where she's at," he said.
Hazen said the sister faces charges of failing to report child abuse, and the child's mother could face felony battery charges in the Sept. 13 beating.
"You can see the woman grab one of the girl's pony tails and forcefully shake her. That right there, not even counting all the blows that we saw the woman make, that right there constitutes battery," Jones told CNN.
The videotape shows the woman and girl walking to a sport utility vehicle along with a boy and the woman's sister.
The two women had tried to return merchandise at a Kohl's department store in Mishawaka, just east of South Bend near the Michigan border, but were refused, police said.
The tape shows the woman placing the girl in the vehicle's back seat and then striking her about the head. The woman also appears to shake, slap and punch the child before getting in the front seat and driving off.
The vehicle shown in the video had Texas license plates, and police eventually found it at a Mishawaka apartment complex. Police said it was not registered to either of the women shown on the tape.
This woman was not swinging at a bee. If her child was allergic to bees, the mother would certainly know not to be swinging at it and getting it all angry and much more liable to sting. She was beating the snot out of the kid, and I'd like a chance to let her know how her kid felt.
I'll bet you're right about the Irish-Gypsy angle. She was driving a very nice SUV and she's trying to scam cash out of stores by returning (stolen? shoplifted?) clothing.... Fits the Irish/Gypsy profile.
Don't forget the highly effective stiff as a board back arch to avoid being latched in. My 2 year old lovable hellion is an expert at that manuever. I of course have mastered the collar bone nerve pincher manuever in response. However, when he is determined....he can even resist that which then calls for at most two sharp slaps on the thigh which will result in howling and the very hurt feelings look directed my way (which hurts me too btw....just like I was told once). After a few minutes of squalling, he will be back to his usual self of singing or looking at semi trucks in awe or repeatedly staccato requesting his pacie or sippy cup....meanwhile his mother and I will be un-nerved for a far longer period and wonder if we did the right thing. I have another manchild due in 6 weeks....pray for my sanity please...lol....sort of. Baby girls are way way easier.(I had two)...but then then teen years and blossoming comes along and you worry yourself silly over all that encompasses. Being a parent isn't for sissies. I will examine this woman's actions further on TV for a better look. According to many FReepers, my PC doesn't do it justice.
Rather, the kid kicked rapidly because she was crying and upset.
What's wrong with you people (you and Texaggie79)? Yes, the little girl was beaten about the head. Why would you take up for this woman who calls herself a mother?
Sitting in a parking lot once in the mountains outside of Denver while my family toured some attraction, I watched an elderly man and women walk to their little red camper truck. Playing with my Mom's camera, I focused in just as he began to beat her around the head, grab her hair and shake her so hard that the little truck was wobbling.
I was a kid. I didn't know what to do. Began honking the horn. Evidently someone must have suspected something because a cook and a couple other guys came out to the parking lot.
The old lady had a bloody nose and her hair was a mess. She was crying. But she refused to get out of the truck and after a few minutes' standoff with the men who'd approached, they drove away.
What can you do?
He had an unbreakable jaw like "The Rifleman" and a squint like Clint Eastwood. When that squint got really narrow and his jaw tightened.....watch out.
Please get a grip and recognize this bitch was beating the snot out of that little kid!
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