Isn't it awful how often we're shocked at the stupidity and cruelty of people? Not that I'm not glad it's 'still shocking' -- it's just that there seems to be an endless pit of evil from which people draw.
Posted on 06/14/2008 11:43:09 AM PDT by LibWhacker
RALEIGH, N.C. -- A couple accused of tying their 13-year-old son to a tree for two nights to punish him for disobedience has been charged with murder in his death, authorities said Friday.
Brice Brian McMillan, 41, of Macclesfield, told a deputy that the child was being disobedient and was forced to sleep outside Tuesday while tied to a tree, the Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office said. The teenager was released Wednesday morning but again tied up that night for bad behavior, authorities said.
The boy was left tied to the tree until the following afternoon when his stepmother found him unresponsive, Sheriff James Knight said. Knight said authorities believe the boy was bound to the tree with plastic ties and possibly other kinds of material.
"An adult couldn't get out of those," he said.
Temperatures in the area rose to above 90 degrees on Thursday afternoon, with a low of 73, according to the National Weather Service. Knight would not discuss any details on the cause of death, saying an autopsy was being conducted at the state chief medical examiner's office in Chapel Hill.
The sheriff also didn't have details on why the boy was being punished, although he said deputies were investigating whether he had run away.
Dwight Jefferson, an emergency responder with Pinetops Rescue Squad who was first on the scene, said he did not know the cause of the child's death.
"What we found was a 13-year-old laying on the ground - CPR being done by his father," Jefferson said. "Then we took over."
Knight said the boy was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
McMillan and Sandra Elizabeth McMillan, 36, also have been charged with felony child abuse. Two other children at the home, ages 7 and 9, have been placed in the custody of the Department of Social Services, authorities said. Knight said he does not know of any past allegations of child abuse in the family.
He also said he could not release the name of the boy.
The McMillans are being held in the Edgecombe County Detention Center under no bond and are scheduled for a first appearance in court Monday. The sheriff's office said they did not know if the couple had an attorney.
Macclesfield is about 90 miles east of Durham.
Isn't it awful how often we're shocked at the stupidity and cruelty of people? Not that I'm not glad it's 'still shocking' -- it's just that there seems to be an endless pit of evil from which people draw.
If found guilty, save us the cost of incarceration, and just tie them to the tree until dead.
Life in prison for both, with no possibility of parole. Send their remaining children to responsible family, friends or foster home.
I’m sure one is never at one’s best in a mug shot, but those are two scary looking people. I’m glad the police took their other kids away.
Incidentally, there are sometimes strange psychotic families where they abuse one child - but not the others. There was a case in New York about ten years ago where some poor little girl died, basically starved to death by her family, while the rest of the kids were just fine. I think it was one of the other kids who finally went to get help, IIRC, but it was too late.
There was a recent case here in Fresno, CA, where the same thing happened with the mother locking the 2 yr old in a closet and starving her to death..and the rest of the kids got to eat..whenever the older ones were caught sneaking food to the little girl, they were beaten..
some people shouldn’t be allowed to have children.
Thx for posting the mug shots. I was on an earlier thread on this heartbreaking story. This couple looks like they were booked for, I dunno, maybe writing bad checks? Stealing someone’s credit card...or some retail scam. His 13 year old son, her step son, just was found dead, apparently due to their disciplinary methods and they just stare into the camera. Is there any sadness or look of loss? Or remorse? Or heartbreak? Faces puffy from crying? Man those cold eyes on both of them speak volumes to me. Poor kid...may he rest in peace.
the old man has that “yeah, so what” look
Yes he does. Body language = my lawyer will have my a$$ outta here by lunch.
Oh but when you call the cops with an out of control kid and they end up shooting him they are just following department guidlines, end of story. Hard to pin murder on the parents without intent or motive to kill. How do we know the kid wasn’t out of control that the parents did what they did out of the safety of the rest of the family.
Are you serious? The kid was tied to a tree for two days! The temps were probably in the high 90's to 100 in N.C.
You have serious issues if you think any behavior from the kid justified this torturious act!
If the kid's out of control you don't torture them! Wow!!
So who DO you call, the cops, CPS??? I have seen some serious out of control kids and we read about them all the time here on FR, you know, where they kill the family and burn the house or get boyfriend to shoot mom and dad because of dating issues. I doubt the kid died from being tied up and I am not trying to justify thier actions, but, we realy don’t know what this kid did or what he might have been capable of doing. That said there are too many horror stories of parents calling cops on out of control kids who get killed by arriving LEO’sand of course anything the cops do is OK, right?
Well. That’s a precious observation. . . If it was a “safety of the rest of the family” issue, then why could the “parents” not have had the HUMAN DECENCY and HUMAN COMPASSION they would have shown to a DOG and have tied the boy up “in the house” where the heat index would not have killed the boy?
DEATH is a terrible price to pay for “disobedience”; but then it’s always refreshing to hear from someone as “understanding” as you apparently are.
I bet that I could wipe that look off his face pretty quickly.
I understand your tizzy with law enforcement, but this just is not the right thread to eleviate that frustration. I don't care what the kid was doing, gonna do, or whatever, you don't tie him to a figgin tree in N.C. in the midst of high hell hot summer! It's nothing less that unjustified torture.
As far as the "cops" and law enforcement are concerned, MOST of these people are good, decent, well trained, officers that in MOST cases could handle an out-of-control child.
Sadly, I am no longer shocked by human cruelty. Now, I just want those guilty of such behavior to be removed from our world as swiftly as possible.
He wasn’t tied up for two days. He was tied up for one night, let go the next day and for some reason tied up again the following night. I doubt he died from being tied up. Truth you said you don’t care what the kid was capable of. What if he threatend to kill everyone once they were asleep or threatend to burn the house down but, I doubt the parents planned to kill him. In the article it also stated there has not been any history of abuse. Would you send your kid off to be raised by the state because of control issues? Would you call the cops on your kids for disobeying you??
As you know, initial charges are always greater in the begining so a lesser plea, even though not as serious is still serious. Charge with murder plea down to manslaughter. Charge with manslaughter initialy could be plead down to something much less.
Large areas of NC are mountain or rural regions the same as TN. My husband could tie me to a tree on our farm and I could scream for days and nobody would hear me, not that he would, I hope.
The father was performing CPR on the teen when paramedics arrived at the house, said John Dwight Jefferson, of the Pinetops Rescue Squad.
The teen, who was identified as Tyler Gene McMillan, was in cardiac arrest and was taken to Heritage Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Jefferson said.
"People are people. When it happens, you still always ask the same question – why?" Jefferson said.
Edgecombe County Sheriff James Knight said the boy's wrists and ankles were bound with plastic ties and that he was also tied to the tree with some other material. Although a rope was seen dangling from a tree in the yard outside the house Friday, he wouldn't confirm whether that was used to tie the boy.
Investigators found bruises on the boy's wrists and ankles, Knight said, declining to comment on whether other marks were found on his body.
A 7-year-old and a 9-year-old who live in the McMillan home have been placed in the custody of the Department of Social Services, authorities said.
Tyler McMillan's mother, Michelle "Mickey" Sasser McMillan, died of cancer several years ago.
Carolyn Pollard, who lives across the road from the McMillans, said the family moved to the area about three months ago from Florida. The children were homeschooled, and the family kept to themselves, she said.
[great, more whack homeschoolers for the statists to use as fodder to brand all of us. Anyway, there's video at the link which shows a fairly normal rural brick home]
The boy had languished outdoors while the area was blanketed in dense, acrid smoke from the Pocosin Lakes wildfire to the east. State officials had warned residents to stay indoors because of the smoke's health threat.
Both of the McMillans are widowed, according to past news reports.
Sandra McMillan's first husband, Dwayne "Scott" Wilburn of Rockledge, Fla., died in 2002 at age 38, according to his newspaper obituary. The couple had a daughter, Brynana Shay Wilburn.
Brice McMillan's first wife, Michelle Sasser "Mickie" McMillan of Greenville, died in 2004 at age 37, according to her newspaper obituary. The couple had two sons, Tyler Gene McMillan and Ryan Wesley McMillan.
Records show that Brice McMillan has been convicted of several driving violations, but nothing more serious.
Sandra McMillan was convicted of theft in Florida in 1991 and received probation, records show.
Their first court appearances on the murder and child abuse charges are scheduled for Monday.
They warn people on long airplane flights in cramped positions to be aware of the deadly clots which often start in the legs and move up to a vital organ. They tell people to get up and move around every once in awhile to prevent this.
Former Vice President Dan Quayle had these clots and they believe it was from his long airline flights.
As the paramedics arrived around 4:30 p.m. Thursday and he'd been tied to the tree the evening/night before he was in a very fixed position for over 3/4 of a day. And that's assuming they did give him a break on Wednesday. They could be lying.
I believe and investigation will show he was abused and it's said that he was punished for trying to run away - likely trying to escape the brutal parents.
Goodness, it doesn't matter!!!! They could have called authorities! Are you seriously telling me, and everyone else this behavior by the parents is justified?
Would you send your kid off to be raised by the state because of control issues?
I tell you right now there is no way in hell I'm tying my kid up to a tree in June in N.C. for punishment no matter what he said or did. If it's serious enough, and he's that out of control you're absolutely right I'm sending him off for professional help.
I can't believe I'm having to even argue this point with another freeper! There is absolutely no justification for what these parents did over a TWO DAY PERIOD! NONE!
Poor kid...he was about nine when his mom died from cancer. This kid had a rough life (probably remembered alot about his real mom and her illness). Dad remarries (quickly) a woman with her own loss and child to deal with. Blended families are not easy...and I would guess that both ‘sides’ of children were still grieving the loss of their biological parent. Can become a volatile mix.
I never said it was justified but I did say it did not warrant a murder charge. Remember little Lionell Tate from Florida, 13 when he killed his playmate practicing wrestling moves.On the other hand niether you or I lived in that home or even a clue as to what went on. As far as the mug shots of mom and dad, they look like they are at thier wits end and haven’t slept in quite a while. I will withhold judgement till I hear the whole story.
Lionell Tate was a 170 pounder - not little. Meanwhile a neighbor described this boy as little - and that is probably in observance of his size.
These parents look good-sized, not cowed parents at their wit's end - and they look tough.
The woman is a convicted thief meaning she's very sneaky and a law violator.
The man has had "several" driving offenses (they don't get into details of how serious they are, but he violated driving laws frequently.)
It's said they only moved from Florida recently - perhaps to escape their bad reputation they were accumulating or suspicions of neighbors there.
There is no report on any crime record on the kid - no mention of any injuries to the other children or parents. Even they said he was punished for disobedience and I read also of running or trying to run away. No mention of him making threats - though perhaps people like you will give the lawyers a good story to cook up and somehow justify this deadly treatment of the boy.
Plus the woman's husband died at age 38 in 2002. She could have murdered him for his insurance for all we know - you can't put it past her being a sneaky thief, plus allowing the boy to be tightly bound (he's got bruises and marks from this all on his body) for over 3/4 of a day and with no water.
I think you are the one barking up the wrong tree and an investigation will show the parents in more and more worse light.
My problem simply is there is no justification for what the parents did. They admitted they were "punishing" him, not trying to remain safe as you might suggest could be the case.
I understand your point here and even agree with it, but I can't imagine anything that could convince me what the parents did with their 13 yr old son was justifible under any circumstances.
Do you know of any "punishment" or protection for family safty where it would be warrented to tie up a child to a tree, with sweltering heat oiutside by protective parents over the span of a two day period?
Gee, where did you read or hear about he had no water and the theft conviction was in’91 and the guy had some traffic tickets,big deal. So, if the kid ran away and got killed doing something stupid I guess your gonna blame the parents again. I work in 95 degree heat all day long, in the sun wearing long sleave FRC’s. I doubt being tied to the tree killed the kid and I severely doubt the parens meant to do the kid pysical harm.Oh, and I smoke 2 packs a day and the heat still hasn’t killed me and I’m 55. In the end, it still does not justify murder charges.
Thats just it, we do not know the whole story, thats why I am with holding judgement.
You move around and get circulation. This boy was in fixed position from Wednesday evening/night until around 4:30 p.m. Thursday. He also had bindings all over his body such that it left bruises. I doubt your shirt gives you bruises.
You are probably long used to working in the heat if you've done it for years and years.
The theft conviction was in '91 but most often a person is only caught a small percentage of the time and the character of a person is usually formed and doesn't change once they are grown - and she would have been 19 or 20.
Though we will have to wait and see for the autopsy report. I wonder if they'll give the child's weight but I'll be it is much less - probably almost half - than that 170-pounder you bring up.
Though we will have to wait and see for the autopsy report. I wonder if they’ll give the child’s weight but I’ll be it is much less - probably almost half - than that 170-pounder you bring up................. A hundred pound kid can wield a knife or a match just as easily as a 170 pounder.
I don’t see any cuts on their faces nor hear about any cuts at all on them or the kids, and if he was wielding a knife then they make reports to the police to at least get it on record. Interviews with his siblings and an investigation will reveal what is really went on. But I’ll bet my intuition will spell out better than yours.
What does bragging about your smoking have to do with anything? But while you brought it up, how long can you hold your breath if you time yourself?
This person seems bent on justifying the actions that killed a 13-year-old child.
Presuming it all happened the way we’ve been reading, I actually agree that the first degree charge is perhaps unjustified, since afaik, in order to get a conviction for that charge, premeditated intent would have to be proven. I seriously doubt either of them planned for things to work out this way.
But to rail against a murder charge in general is absurd. They clearly neglected/abused the kid. He died from their actions. It might not have been premeditated, but that’s why the law recognizes several degrees of murder.
I share your intuition with these two. They are not frail or weak looking (aside from the dead eyes) they seem stunning ‘normal’ in the mug pix. So ‘normal’ (no remorse, sadness, signs of crying or stresss) that in IMO it keeps with the ‘type’ that could so wantonly disregard the safety and well being of another human (let alone their—at least his—own child).
Amen. And the cops don’t release all the info they have either. I am just surprised that no one has shown up (here) yet to rail against the other kids being taken care of by CPS.
Thats right, the cops don’t give all the info,sometimes they even hide it from the courts, especialy if it doesn’t help the prosecution.
Really...I don't think that the Police in NC have it 'in' for the couple whose mug shots are posted here.
That’s flat-out a lie. I did NOT say that I did not CARE what the kid was capable of.
IF the kid was capable of violence, then he should be sent to reform school or spend a night or two in the county jail. IF he threatened to kill the family, then he needed reform school.
NO. I would not call the cops on my kids for disobeying me; but I would not tie them to a tree in the scorching heat and go off and forget them for hours. - I personally would like to slap the crap out of both of those sorry excuses for parents.
What’s wrong with you anyway?
Lets wait for all the facts. No one knows what they would do unless faced with it first hand. I am not saying what they did was right but I won’t say it was wrong to the point in charging them with murder either.
I think several here (myself included) are saying that under no circumstance could they ever see tying a human to a tree. Ever.
It would be interesting to learn why they left FL? Maybe they were being investigated there (child abuse?) and decided to move on. Their zip code may have changed, but their parenting didn't.
No criminal record there as far as I can see and the dad has a speeding ticket for doing 66 in a 45. $25 fine.
James Pollard said Brice McMillan told him he was a construction worker. McMillan had worked hard building a horse fence, he said.Janice Pollard recalled Brice McMillan asking her about the neighborhood during a visit before they moved in.
"I told him it was the most peaceful place he'd ever find", she said.
Are you incapable of acknowledging that other people believe tying a child to a tree overnight is inappropriate for any reason?
Sure, you can believe what you want. I see lots of statements of beliefe on this forum I don’t agree with. Tying the kid to the tree wasn’t the smartest move but I don’t believe it killed him.Sending a kid to public school isn’t the smartest either but many here do but these parents didn’t. Quit trying to judge people till you know the whole story.
Tying a kid to a tree, and keeping him there over night equates with public school attendance in your universe?
Oh grow up and quit nit picking, I was just stating that these parents homeschooled and were concerned about the kind of neighborhood it was. They sound vicious.
Are you for real or just playing devil’s-advocate troll?
I’m stating that I don’t believe tying a child to a tree overnight is an appropriate punishment for any transgression. You can excoriate me for what you see as haughty judgment of others if you want. I don’t care. I do believe I’ve made better parenting choices than them this week, yes.
What do you believe might have killed the boy? Was it his natural time to go, coincidental with being restrained outdoors for, conservatively let’s say 23 hours out of the final 48 of his life?
[Before you try to change the subject by nitpicking my choice of numbers, I am estimating 7 hours for Tuesday night and 16 hours for Wednesday/Thursday, basing his imprisonment occuring at midnight both nights. I’m presuming it was earlier, but since the number of hours sounds heinous to me as is, I’m willing to give conservative estimates until we know.]
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