Posted on 12/30/2009 8:18:04 AM PST by Red in Blue PA
An 11-year-old Florida girl and her 15-year-old boyfriend are accused of plotting to kill the girl's mother by setting her bedroom on fire while the woman slept, Florida authorities said Wednesday.
Samantha Broadhead and Jack Ault have been charged with attempted murder and arson after the fire Tuesday in Clearwater — about 20 miles west of Tampa on Florida's Gulf Coast — MyFoxTampa.com reported.
Clearwater Police Department detectives say the young couple poured gasoline on Nancy Broadhead's bedroom floor and bed, and then set the room aflame. Police say the pair escaped in the mother's 2007 Ford Focus.
It was unclear if either suspect had an attorney. There was no answer at a listing for an Ault in Clearwater.
The girl's mother was awakened by a smoke alarm and managed to escape. Authorities say Nancy Broadhead, 47, sustained serious burns and smoke inhalation. Her injuries were not considered life threatening.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Allow me..
One hell of an a$$ whopping followed by regular in cell visits by Bubba.
I’m sorry, but at 11 neither my daughter nor my granddaughter would have had the capacity to form a plan like that. A boyfriend? Boys had cooties!
I have to believe the 15 year old is the one behind the plan. He found a girl he could manipulate, who was too young to understand she was being used, and mom said no.
The girls intended to carry out the murder, then move to the US and work in the film industry. Instead, they went to jail.
Peter Jackson directed the film "Heavenly Creatures" which tells a version of the story.
I suspect they set mom on fire because she didn’t approve of the relationship.
Not being any kind of expert on child-rearing as I don’t have any...
I believe that the outcome of a child’s upbringing is ultimately the sum of the influences exerted upon him/her. Vague, polyanna generic statement, I acknowledge.
I agree with you that exposure to anti-achievement types in junior high and high school years can be a tipping factor, and the same can be said vis a vis achievers.
As the youngest of three boys, the other two of which went to get PHd’s and I who never finished college....though I respect your experience-based opinion, I also believe that deep inside is a simple switch that gets thrown one way or another. If that switch happens to be thrown “anti”, for whatever reason, then astounding amounts of positive reinforcement or influence will probably have little effect. And vice versa, we’ve all heard of cases where kids from abysmal circumstances sometimes achive wonderfully despite all they may go through.
I think what would have helped me would have been mentoring. Though I had every positive influence imaginable around me and got top-of-class grades in elementary and high shools, my switch was thrown to “freedom” and nothing could flip it. What I lacked was mentoring. I had examples aplenty, but no mentoring at all. Others might well be different. My Dad was a great example, but very, very stoic. He was a poor mentor.
I don’t think there is one answer for all. We have a lot of observational tools these days vs what was available in the 30’s, 50’s, and 70’s.
Parents wrongly believe that children have a choice in choosing friends in government schools. No, No, No! It is the clique ( gang) that chooses the child! Parents fail to understand that government schools cliques in school serve the exact same purpose as prison protection gangs. These cliques must discriminate if they are going to protect themselves and maintain the integrity of the protective group.
Parents whose kids seem to get through government school reasonably intact will say, "My child graduated first in her/his class and was offered $750,000 in scholarships!" Well...Good for him or her! He was smart enough, good looking enough, and had the money for just the right clothes to be selected to join one of the better cliques ( protection gangs). Those who aren't smart enough, smooth enough, handsome enough, or rich enough for the right clothes get picked up the less savory cliques ( protection gangs). Faddish clothing, by the way, serves the same purpose in schools as do gang colors or prison tattoos. Clothing styles identify the clique ( school prison gang).
The truth is that most of the "socialization" learned in government schools is prison survival skills. Nearly all of it must be unlearned for success in the adult world of work, family, and community. Thankfully humans are adaptable and most make the transition. Sadly, some don't.
i remember the days of having to go out back and get the switch off the bush for them to whip ya with....lol
No mention of any father here. This IMHO is another good example of what happens when you have a single mother raising kids. No discipline and lack of a loving father naturally leads to this.
Personally...Even though my husband and I have doctorates, we do **not** ( and have not) emphasized academic credentials with our four children.
What we have instead emphasized with our children ( 3 of the 4 were homeschooled) is enthusiasm, passion, creativity, and excellence for one’s work. For example, if one of our children were a cashier at Mc Donalds we would encourage them to be highly observant, curious, and to ask questions. Their goal should be to learn everything possible about owning and running a McDonalds.
Also...Our emphasis to for our children is to look for ways to increase their choices and opportunities, and in many ways, having formal education does do that. They need to be realistic about this.
Obviously,...The two youths in this article have sharply and permanently reduced their opportunities in life. From here on out, even in the best of circumstances, they will always be trying to make lemonade out of a lemon of a choice.
Fortunatly the birth of a child changed her life. She now has a job, her own place, and can act responsibly (for the most part) Plus she never set fire to us!
Maybe.
However, I have seen moms who put everything above raising their kids then wonder why the kids go wild.
My SIL sat on Welfare while she went to school for 10 years. When she got a nursing job, she chose the 3-11 shift. She then wondered why her girls went nuts, sex and drugs and rap, when actually she left them to raise themselves at 11 and 13.
“Mom, you’re FIRED!”
I was not tying to assign blame as we do not have enough information. Maybe this relationship developed behind mom’s back, maybe not. But an 11 year old with a boyfriend is a problem if just cultural in that TV is telling her she should have a boyfriend.
11...15????? the mother should be charged with wilful idiocy.....
Troubled Family Life Emerges During Investigation Of 11 Year Old Girl That Attempted To Burn Mother To Death CLEARWATER - As authorities continue to sift through the family history of an 11-year-old girl accused of plotting to kill her mother by burning her alive, court records show that trouble brewed in the household long before the girl was even born.
Nancy Broadhead, the girl’s mother, struggled with alcohol addiction and neglected her son Zachary, who was about 2 years old at the time, according to a paternity suit filed in 1995.
During a custody battle for Zachary, father John F. Busby told authorities Broadhead was constantly drunk and let their son wander through her Clearwater neighborhood unattended, court records show.
Broadhead accused Busby of being a deadbeat father with a history of alcohol and drug abuse, the documents state.
A guardian ad litem appointed to the case said Busby has had problems in the past but overcame his addictions while Broadhead had a drinking problem. The guardian ad litem, who called Zachary a bright, polite child, recommended that Busby get custody and Broadhead receive counseling.
In September 1996, a judge upheld that recommendation and added Broadhead should not be left alone with the child, court documents state.
Broadhead has also been accused in the past of abusing or neglecting her daughter, according to court records.
She was charged in July 2002 with driving under the influence of alcohol with her then 4-year-old daughter in the car. Her blood alcohol level was reported as higher than 0.25 percent.
Florida law presumes impairment at 0.08.
After pleading guilty to driving under the influence and child neglect, she was sentenced to 18 months of probation and ordered to attend parenting classes and multiple-offender DUI school, records state. Adjudication of guilt was withheld.
Then, in 2005, two other cases were brought, one charging her with domestic battery and the other involving a charge of child abuse. The child abuse complaint states that Broadhead was intoxicated and “began beating her child repeatedly with her hands.” When Broadhead’s live-in boyfriend tried to stop her, he was also battered, the complaint states.
The child told authorities that her “mother repeatedly hits her, and as a result, [she] is in fear of continued living conditions.”
Broadhead declined to speak today with reporters.
Ault and girlfriend Samantha Broadhead, 11, were charged Tuesday with attempted homicide and arson resulting in injury.
Samantha Broadhead is undergoing psychiatric assessment under the state’s Baker Act and didn’t make an initial appearance.
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Children and Families said the agency has an “extensive family history” of cases involving the girl and Ault, but no open cases.
http://hoodhollywood.com/blog/2009/12/30/troubled-family-life-emerges-during-investigation-of-11-year-old-girl-that-attempted-to-burn-mother-to-death/
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.