The University of Maryland noose incident right on the heels of the Jena
Six, and now this.  Fight or flight kicks in, but to where does one run
without having to fight for something or someone.

 
Soffie


	12 September 2007
	
	Details emerge in W. Va. torture case 
	By JOHN RABY, Associated Press Writer 
	49 minutes ago
	
	
	BIG CREEK, W.Va. - Inside a shed on a remote hillside of this
coalfield community, authorities say a young black woman was tortured
for days, sexually assaulted, beaten and forced to eat rat droppings. 
	
	If she wanted water, she had to drink from the toilet.
	
	Her captors, all of them white, choked her with a cable cord,
poured hot water over her and stabbed her   in the leg while calling her
a racial slur, according to criminal complaints. It wasn't until an
anonymous tip led Logan County Sheriff's deputies to the property on
Saturday that her ordeal ended and she was able to limp to safety, arms
outstretched as she cried  "help me!"
	
	"I don't understand such a horrific crime being committed here,"
said Johnny Meade, pastor of the community's Apostolic Church of God in
the Name of Christ Jesus.
	
	The motive for such brutality still wasn't clear Wednesday, but
authorities said they were investigating the case as a possible hate
crime.
	
	At one point, an assailant cut the woman's ankle with a knife
and used the N-word in telling her she was victimized because she is
black, authorities said. The FBI is looking into possible civil rights
violations, agency spokesman Bill Crowley said.
	
	Investigators are still trying to determine how the woman ended
up at the property and whether she knew any of the six people arrested
or the two others, suspected of driving her to the home, who are being
sought, said Logan County Chief Sheriff's Deputy V.K. Dingess.
	
	Police tape now surrounds the entrances to the beige-and-brown
mobile home where Megan Williams, 20, was found. An extension cord runs
from the home to the cramped shed, which authorities say she was held in
with a portable stereo, a locker and a power saw.
	
	The Associated Press generally does not identify suspected
victims of sexual assault, but Williams and her mother agreed to release
her name. Carmen Williams said she wanted people to know what her
daughter endured.
	
	"I don't understand a human being doing another human being the
way they did my daughter," Carmen Williams said Tuesday from her
daughter's hospital room. "I didn't know there were people like that out
here."
	
	The suspects in the case have prior arrest records going back
several years, according to records from Logan County Magistrate Court.
Logan County Prosecutor Brian Abraham said, "I have some familiarity
with all those individuals."
	
	The owner of the mobile home, Frankie Brewster, 49, was charged
with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and giving false
information during a felony investigation in connection with Williams'
case.
	
	She had been released from prison in September 2000 after
serving five years for manslaughter  and wanton endangerment   in the
death of 84-year-old Polly Ferrell, according to court records.
	
	Brewster's son, Bobby R. Brewster, 24, also of Big Creek, is
charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and  assault
during the commission of a felony.
	
	Danny J. Combs, 20, of Harts, is charged with sexual assault and
malicious wounding.
	
	Karen Burton, 46, of Chapmanville, is charged with malicious
wounding, battery and assault during the commission of a felony. Her
daughter, Alisha Burton, 23, of Chapmanville, and George A. Messer, 27,
of Chapmanville, are charged with assault during the commission of a
felony and battery.
	
	In May, Alisha Burton was accused of striking Messer with a
shovel and smashing the window of another woman's car. Burton was
charged with domestic assault and battery and destruction of property,
court records showed. Those charges are pending.
	
	All six remained in custody Tuesday in lieu of $100,000 bail
each, and all have asked for court-appointed attorneys. 
	
	The home is now quiet. Newborn pups sleep in the entryway to the
small shed, their mother protectively barking at approaching strangers.
The puppies have a blanket. Megan Williams apparently never did. 
	
	Megan Williams' right arm is now in a cast, but she may be well
enough to leave the hospital within a few days, her mother said. 
	
	"I just want my daughter to be well and recover," Carmen
Williams said. "I know the Lord can do anything." 
	.
	
<http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=3476126/grpspId=1705116291/m
sgId=25207/stime=1189615508/nc1=3848643/nc2=4699082/nc3=4699085> 
	__,_._,___ 


 


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