You may have heard my story, thanks to Anonymous who trended #justice4daisy. I'm not done fighting yet.Winter: cold, bleak, bitter,
ugly. Almost like summer has taken off its mask and shown its true colors. Everyone is forced to see how ugly life can truly be. Others get a season of beauty: summer.
My whole life since January 8, 2012, has been a long, reckless winter.
The night everything changed I was having an old friend over to catch up and have fun. Her name is Paige, and she is a year younger than I am. At the time, she was 13, and I was 14.
We had been best friends since we were both very young, and continued to be best friends, even though I had moved from Albany to Maryville. She was in the eighth grade, and I was in the midst of my freshman year.
Life, overall, was great.
I was on the varsity cheer squad, a competitive dance team and had a lot of friends.
Paige is my best friend. Watching scary movies was always our thing. So, that's how we kicked off our night, along with alcoholic beverages. My mom didn't know we were drinking, and I was not supposed to be.
That night I was texting with a boy that my older brother had warned me about, but I didn't listen. Looking back, I wish I did.
It wasn't until later that night that Matt, a popular senior boy, had asked to hang out. Of course, I knew my brothers wouldn't allow this so, we had to sneak out. It was about one in the morning when my friend and I climbed out of my bedroom window. I was not interested in Matt romantically. I considered him my older brother's friend. I trusted my older brother. I trusted Matt.
Matt picked us up in a black car and drove us to his house. He had to sneak us through a basement window.
There were bedrooms and a living room area in the basement. I sat on the couch and gathered familiar faces from the room. Four of Matt's friends were there. Matt emerged from one of the bedrooms with a bottle of clear alcohol he wanted me to drink. This is when one of Matt's friends suggested I drink from a tall shot glass, which they labeled the "bitch cup."
About five shots tall, I drank it. I guess I didn't know how badly it would mess me up. But the boys who gave it to me did.
Then it was like I fell into a dark abyss. No light anywhere. Just dark, dense silence -- and cold. That's all I could ever remember from that night. Apparently, I was there for not even an entire hour before they discarded me in the snow.
Waking up was a complete blur. I had to be carried into my mother's bedroom, in complete and total confusion. I was freezing and sick and bruised, my hair in icy chunks weighted against me. When my mom gave me a bath, she saw that I was hurt down in my privates.
We all knew something wasn't right. Something had gone wrong in the night.
My mother told me she found me outside, left for dead, and when she heard me trying to get to the door, she thought it was a dog scratching. I was weak and could have died in the below freezing temperatures.
Next thing I knew, I was in the ER getting blood drawn and having various tests done. We all knew what had happened, we just wanted someone else to say it for us. The doctors examined the rape kit and verified that our nightmares were real. This nightmare, though, didn't end. It continued on for many long months. It was only later I learned that my best friend,
a year younger than me, had been raped, too.
Days seemed to drag on as I watched my brother get bullied and my mom lose her job. Ultimately our house burned to the ground.
I couldn't go out in public, let alone school.
I sat alone in my room, most days, pondering the worth of my life. I quit praying because if God were real, why would he do this?
I was suspended from the cheerleading squad and people told me that I was "asking for it" and would "get what was coming."
Why would I even want to believe in a God? Why would a God even allow this to happen? I lost all faith in religion and humanity. I saw myself as ugly, inside and out. If I was this ugly on the inside, then why shouldn't everyone see the ugly I saw?
I burned and carved the ugly I saw into my arms, wrists, legs and anywhere I could find room.
On Twitter and Facebook, I was called a skank and a liar and people encouraged me to kill myself. Twice, I did try to take my own life.
When I went to a dance competition I saw a girl there who was wearing a T-shirt she made. It read: "Matt 1, Daisy 0."
Matt's family was very powerful in the state of Missouri and he was also a very popular football player in my town, but I still couldn't believe it when I was told the charges were dropped. Everyone had told us how strong the case was -- including a cell phone video of the rape which showed me incoherent.
All records have been sealed in the case, and I was told the video wasn't found. My brother told me it was passed around school.
My scars only come to the surface when I'm tan or cold now. It's as if over time my body learned to heal some of the ugly, but it will always be a part of me.
Just like this case. It will live with me forever.
Since this happened, I've been in hospitals too many times to count. I've found it impossible to love at times. I've gained and lost friends. I no longer dance or compete in pageants. I'm different now, and I can't ever go back to the person I once was. That one night took it all away from me. I'm nothing more than just human, but I also refuse to be a victim of cruelty any longer.
This is why I am saying my name. This is why I am not shutting up. Matt put on Twitter something recently. It read: "If her name begins with A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z, she wants the D."
Since Anonymous has gotten involved, everything has changed. #justice4Daisy has trended on the Internet, and pressure has come down hard on the authorities who thought they could hide what really happened.
I not only survived, I didn't give up. I've been told that a special prosecutor is going to reopen the case now. This is a victory, not just for me, but for every girl.
I just hope more men will take a lesson from my brothers.
They look out for women. They don't prey on them.
Reader Comments
That a CHILD has to bear the burden of being victimized not only by the soulless boys that attacked her, but by the community at large. *This* is psychopathy, and I'm sick of it. It's high time that Good starts uniting to kick some Evil a**! #justice4Daisy, indeed!
to anonymous for getting involved!
It's too bad that piece of $hit that did it will never really pay for what he has done.
It's too bad that he will probably end up as some important business figure or politician, fitting right in with the other psychopaths and authoritarians.
Things like this make me wish the comets came in and destroyed everything. I know it is a bit extreme,but it angers me that much!
Good thing this 'special prosecutor' seems to be now involved, some challenge is needed or it's all meaningless for that town and all its STS members. At least it has allowed Daisy and company to reach towards the STO field of play. I'm guessing karma issues were involved? And after the usual issues afterwards, she seems to be 'toughening up' quite well, with perhaps an assist from this Anon- individual from the sidelines.
Having two daughters of my own my heart goes out to Daisy Coleman. Her message, men should look out for woman, should be a human trait. The young men responsible for this crime on humanity need to be made accountable. It should be a slam dunk with the disgusting trail of evidence they left.
Shame on their so called community, Maryville.
Poor girl seriously, teens need a better education about these situations, why she didn't get a good one? is not just about warning your sisters or children, is about presenting them as crude as fresh meat examples of people that have been abused like this, present them clues about this, situations and patterns that repeat.
I'd break this Matt's jaw...
Teens don't just need better education, children actually need to be brought up - something rare in our day and age. Beats me!
First of all, I want to say, "Thank You" to you, Daisy, and to your mother for saying your names out loud and telling your story. You are both beautiful and brave women, and I respect and admire you so much for your bravery. And I hope that now, the real healing begins for both you! After reading your story and some related stories about your friend, and Cherice Morales, some other mentioned in the following links, I saw some very interesting connections, so let's do some justice here!
So, this Matt will not give his name. Rapist, coward and bully! No surprise here. Luckily, I found his name here _[Link]and his name is Matthew Barnett, a 17-year-old senior football player and the grandson of a former republican state legislator. The other one is "his buddy, 17-year-old Jordan Zech, conceded that he recorded part of the act on a camera phone, but the images were later deleted." I also read excerpts of secret recording in Maryville case _[Link]and what really stood out for me was this,
"You know, the attorney that was … the attorney that was in Omaha just simply wrote that one letter because someone said to him that, said that he was a prosecuting attorney ... and he’d heard that (unintelligible) was going to call and get everything dropped as a favor to Barnett."
So, this family, the Barnett family, that put you through all this hell is not just some family, and they have really powerful connections. So, let's see who lives in Omaha and can drop favors like that? The answer will become clear, if you read this in full.
But first let's take a look at Barnett family. From here _[Link] we read:
"Representative Rex Barnett, a Republican, represents Atchison, Nodaway and Worth counties (District 4) in the Missouri House of Representatives.
He was elected to his first two-year term in 1994.
Rep. Barnett is a retired Missouri State Highway Patrol officer. He worked in Troop H for 32 years.
He is a deacon in the First Baptist Church in his hometown and is a member of the Masonic Lodge: Scottish Rite, Shrine, Order of Eastern Star, Farm Bureau, AQHA and APHA.
Rep. Barnett attended Trenton Junior College, Draughn Business College, and Central Missouri State University.
Rep. Barnett currently resides in Maryville with his wife, Anna. They have two children and seven grandchildren."
And later, " Matthew Barnett is also in a very influential family in Maryville. His grandfather is Missouri representative Rex Barnett, and Rex serves on at least one committee with Sheriff Darrin White."
There is another Jim Barnett who also happens to be from Kansas _http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Barnett_(politician):
"Jim Barnett is an American Republican politician who is a former State Senator for Kansas' 17th District, which is centered around Emporia. On August 1, 2006 Barnett won the Kansas Republican Gubernatorial Primary. Barnett faced the incumbent Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius in the general election on November 7, 2006 and was unsuccessful in his bid as Sebelius was reelected for a 2nd term... Of the candidates, Barnett was neither a true moderate nor a true conservative, which may have helped with his win in the primary."
So, what about this "Nodaway County Prosecutor Robert L. Rice may have dropped the charges because of the Barnett family’s political connections. He pointed out that the town is not far, less than 15 miles away, from Skidmore, Mo., whose reputation was seared into history with the 1981 killing of Nodaway County bully Ken Rex McElroy." Bizarre argument, isn't? Well, maybe not. From the story of Ken Rex McElroy and his 21 years of terror and killings some interesting facts emerge: [Link]
"In all, there were 46 potential witnesses to the shooting, including Trena McElroy, who was in the truck with her husband when he was shot. No one called for an ambulance. Only Trena claimed to identify a gunman; every other witness either was unable to name an assailant or claimed not to have seen who fired the fatal shots. The DA declined to press charges. An extensive Federal investigation did not lead to any charges."
And from here _[Link] some more interesting details:
"McElroy was indicted 21 times and acquitted 20 times for his life of crime - due in large part to the keen legal abilities of his Kansas City attorney Richard Gene McFadin.
Author Harry N. MacLean carefully details the background history of McElroy's childhood, early and later life, the endurance of the farmers and victims of McElroy's two decades of crime and terror, the failure of the criminal justice system to even superficially respond to McElroy's crime spree, the State of Missouri's bemused reaction to McElroy's death, the federal government's sudden interest in pursuing McElroy's death as a civil rights violation, and ultimately the skewed and misinformed coverage of the story by the national and international press and media.
The book, as well as the movie, chronicles the story of McElroy’s crimes, his killing on July 10, 1981, and the alleged coverup by the town of the identity of the killers for more than 30 years."
So the question is what is going on in these parts of the woods?
What about this 'special prosecutor' Robert L. Rice? Couldn't find any specifics on him, but I found another one with the exactly same name, although from Utah, who I think is a relative of the one in question here. From Wiki [Link] we read:
"Robert L. Rice was a health club pioneer and a philanthropist. Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah, location of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics, bears his name. Rice donated $1 million in 1972 to renovate the stadium, then known as Ute Stadium. The Eccles name was added to the stadium in 1997.
In November 2006, Rice was inducted into the David Eccles School of Business Hall of Fame at the University of Utah."
Interesting, ha? A health club pioneer and a philanthropist. Please keep it in mind.
Now, what about the current Missouri State Attorney, Chris Koster, that people are planning to write a petition to. Well, let's read from Wiki again: _[Link]
"Chris Koster (born August 31, 1964) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Missouri and is the current Attorney General of Missouri. Prior to his election as Attorney General, he had served in the Missouri Senate since 2005 representing the 31st Senatorial District as a Republican until August 1, 2007 when he switched to the Democratic Party.
On August 1, 2007, Koster made Missouri political history when he announced that he was leaving the Missouri Republican Party and becoming a Democrat. Citing his longstanding differences with the Republican Party on issues like stem cell research, workers’ rights, and the non-partisan court plan, Koster said that the Missouri Republican Party had become too beholden to the extreme right-wing to lead the state of Missouri forward.
He commented, "Today, Republican moderates are all but extinct.
He was sworn in as Attorney General on January 12, 2009, succeeding now Governor Jay Nixon.
Koster is an advocate of the death penalty, and as of July 2013, there were 21 inmates on death row in Missouri whose executions he was pressing the Supreme Court of Missouri to expedite. After the 21 inmates filed suit before the state Supreme Court against the Missouri Department of Corrections over the use of the drug propofol used in lethal injections, concerning cruel and unusual punishment, the state Supreme Court temporarily halted the further use of the death penalty until the case had been ultimately decided.
With Missouri law allowing for the use of other forms of the death penalty in cases where lethal injection is not available, Koster has advocated the use of gas chambers to execute Missouri prisoners."
Gas chambers? As in Nazi concentration camps, perhaps? What a guy! A 'democrat'... Feeling safer now? The most curious thing I see here is that he told the truth about the Republican party being beholden by the extreme right, he just 'forgot' to include himself in this category.
So, as I see it there was a cover-up then, and there is a cover up now. And if you want to know, what cover-up it is, you need to take a look at all political figure heads mentioned in Franklin cover-up story here [Link] and here [Link] And the one, living in Omaha, called the "Wizard of Omaha", one of the leaders of philanthrocapitalism _[Link]is Warren Buffet.
How's that for a 'philantropist' along with Bill and Melinda Gates and all others... People don't fooled. Look and realize for what it is., what bloody creepy bastards they All are! And Speak UP!