Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Kidnapper told boy his parents did not want him
thisislondon.co.uk ^ | 1/15/07

Posted on 01/15/2007 8:27:11 AM PST by Halls

Kidnap victim Shawn Hornbeck was "brainwashed" into staying with his abductor after being told his parents no longer wanted him.

His kidnapper also threatened to shoot the 15-year-old after snatching him off the street.

Friends of the teenager have revealed Michael Devlin, 41, had at least three guns in the apartment where Shawn was held captive.

Tony Douglas, 15, who was Shawn's best friend, said: "We both knew there were guns in the house. Michael told us that he had the guns and were for his protection."

Shawn's stepfather Craig Akers, 45, has revealed his son's life was threatened by Devlin while he lived with him in a ground floor flat in Kirkwood, a suburb of St Louis, Missouri.

(Excerpt) Read more at thisislondon.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: devlin; hornbeck; missouri
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 81-100101-120121-140 ... 361-367 next last
To: mtbopfuyn; OldFriend

see 16
read 18 (to see what was in 16)
my comment in 20 was to 16 as sarcasm


101 posted on 01/15/2007 9:28:19 AM PST by stlnative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 93 | View Replies]

To: subterfuge

"far too little attention is being paid to the low-life perp."

Michael J. Devlin is getting all kinds of attention in the local news. Authorities are keeping mum while they move methodically to find answers. They want to get this right and put this guy away for a long time.

See http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/BEA5ADA4817C93318625726400176102?OpenDocument&highlight=2%2C%22devlin%22


102 posted on 01/15/2007 9:28:22 AM PST by rwa265
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: MizSterious

I've just scanned this thread and the creeps outnumber the decent folk. What a dungheap of human stupidity (not you, them ;) )


103 posted on 01/15/2007 9:28:39 AM PST by najida (Campers laugh at clowns behind closed doors.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 97 | View Replies]

To: OldFriend

Reading comprehension really pays off. Try reading a post before answering it.

I did not blame the boy.

Some measures we took:
1. He was never alone in the house.
2. He never came home from school to an empty house.
3. He never walked through a motel corridor alone, since one monster grabbed a kid at a motel and silenced him immediately.
4. He never went to a public bathroom alone.
5. We kept track of where he was at all times.
6. I always went along on school trips. No other father did.
7. He took karate lessons.

When children grow up with both their parents, a rarity today, bad things happen less frequently.

Also, we have a culture where child molestors and other sex criminals get out of prison too easily, if they are even charged. Bill O'Reilley is good on this issue.


104 posted on 01/15/2007 9:29:00 AM PST by sine_nomine (The United States...shall protect each of them against invasion. Article IV, 4. US Constition)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 68 | View Replies]

To: MizSterious

Yes , I Really think the apologists have some sick %%%% in their closets . I wonder if the apologists were ever raped or beaten ........


105 posted on 01/15/2007 9:30:07 AM PST by DvdMom (Impeach Nifong -)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 99 | View Replies]

To: UpAllNight

Are you even human?

Just curious, you seen to have no knowledge of the mindset of a human child.

One who's father is dead, has been told his mother is dead also, been physically abused, sexually assaulted and in the care of madman.

Think about it and get back to me when you don't need a phonebook to reach the keyboard.


106 posted on 01/15/2007 9:30:50 AM PST by najida (Campers laugh at clowns behind closed doors.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 89 | View Replies]

To: OldFriend

Amen!


107 posted on 01/15/2007 9:31:33 AM PST by Sue Perkick (Just a water spider on the pond of life.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: MizSterious

I think you are right. It certainly seems that some are determined to justify the kidnapper by saying the victim "wanted it". And one has to wonder what strange mind bends makes them feel that way.


108 posted on 01/15/2007 9:32:06 AM PST by pepperdog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 99 | View Replies]

To: MizSterious

Not much better over on the Rush thread. All 24 all the time.


109 posted on 01/15/2007 9:32:06 AM PST by OldFriend (THE PRESS IS AN EVIL FOR WHICH THERE IS NO REMEDY)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 97 | View Replies]

To: Thrownatbirth

You say that now as an adult without the added trauma of actually being taken from your family and forced into the dark side of a very adult world.

I've worked with pedophiles and their victims. Let's just say that these scum are very manipulative. The physical stuff is much easier to heal from than the head games. That is what really screws up these kids.


110 posted on 01/15/2007 9:35:20 AM PST by CajunConservative (Nancy Pelosi is two heartbeats from the Presidency. I hope the protest voters are happy.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: OldFriend

Egads, Shawn's parents are going on Oprah Wednesday. I never knew I could despise that woman more, but this is just too much. Also, I don't see how the family thinks this is an appropriate time to be making a publicity tour.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/BEA5ADA4817C93318625726400176102?OpenDocument


111 posted on 01/15/2007 9:35:49 AM PST by mtbopfuyn (I think the border is kind of an artificial barrier - San Antonio councilwoman Patti Radle)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 109 | View Replies]

To: MizSterious

I think kidnap victims start to believe that they've been so changed by what they've endured that they could never return to their former lives. Their parents couldn't accept them, and even if they did, the vicitm would never be the happy, normal person he was before. At some point, they feel hopeless and start to adapt.


112 posted on 01/15/2007 9:35:51 AM PST by joylyn
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Paved Paradise

I don't think that the poor kid had any will left in him. I mean, look at how submissive he was on Saturday, when his mother dragged him back to the fifth grade classroom where he was attending school when he was abducted. I can't imagine that the kid wanted to be there.


113 posted on 01/15/2007 9:37:39 AM PST by Eva
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: pepperdog
I don't have to wonder. These are people who think it is OK to have sex with a minor. This is why they are placing blame on Shawn because he did not escape his captor so he must have enjoyed it and wanted to be with him willingly.
114 posted on 01/15/2007 9:38:31 AM PST by stlnative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 108 | View Replies]

To: Hildy

It also probably helped that he has a stepfather, rather than a biological father at home...


115 posted on 01/15/2007 9:40:19 AM PST by Txsleuth (FREEPATHON TIME-Please become a monthly donor, or Dollar a Day donor.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Halls

The POS Devlin did tell Shawn he would be killed according to the stepdad. The part about Shawn thinking his family didn't want him is speculation according to this article.

Devlin must have been very confident that nobody would recognize Shawn. Or, if they did, would do nothing about it. Sadly, and amazingly, he was right.


116 posted on 01/15/2007 9:41:34 AM PST by Jrabbit
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eva

I think you might be projecting. According the the parents, they did not want Shawn there but he asked to go. The decision was left up to him.


117 posted on 01/15/2007 9:42:35 AM PST by ican'tbelieveit (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team# 36120), KW:Folding)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 113 | View Replies]

To: UpAllNight; mel; OldFriend; Halls
Let's see. I am in a police car with a policeman and do not tell the policeman that I have been kidnapped?

Let's see... in a lot of news reports the neighbors have said that Devlin was always threatening to call the police. Maybe Shawn felt he couldn't trust the police.

118 posted on 01/15/2007 9:42:51 AM PST by abner (I have no tagline, therefore no identity.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 89 | View Replies]

To: Eva

I didn't see that.
Why would she do that?


119 posted on 01/15/2007 9:43:12 AM PST by nuconvert ([there's a lot of bad people in the pistachio business] (...but his head is so tiny...))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 113 | View Replies]

To: Halls
I'm more concerned with Shawn getting the help he needs.

I've seen HBO specials on kids with life threatening eating disorders, discharged from facilities because their insurance ran out.

I'm certain Shawn will get immediate mental evaluation and care, but I'm not so sure the family can financially keep it up?

It's likely he is going to need counseling for the rest of his life.

sw

120 posted on 01/15/2007 9:43:16 AM PST by spectre (Spectre's wife)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 81-100101-120121-140 ... 361-367 next last

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson