Los Angeles, CA– Abused children usually blame themselves for what their parents do. The boy’s comments in the case below remind me of something from the Andrea Yates case. As one of the little Yates boys was being drowned in the bathtub, the boy kept fighting his way up to the surface. When he surfaced, what did he say? “I’m sorry, mom, I’m sorry.”
I think that’s something that not enough divorcing couples realize–the kids will often blame themselves for the divorce, thinking, “If I were a better kid, they wouldn’t have split up.” From Boy kept in closet by grandmother says he deserved it (Aznet.com, 9/4/08):
A grandmother accused of forcing her 9-year-old grandson to stay in a closet reportedly gave the boy pills that were not prescribed to him to “make him be quiet,’ a court document shows. The grandmother told authorities she didn”t allow the boy — who weighed only 48 pounds — to go to school because “they can”t handle him.’ As a result, the boy was unable to read or write. Becky Lee Tortellet, 50, and her husband, 52-year-old Larry Alan Tortellet, have been arrested on child abuse charges. According to a search warrant affidavit, Becky Tortellet took her 9-year-old grandson to a behavioral health center for assistance where she told them that she made the boy sleep in a closet, which measured 49 inches deep and 41 inches wide. The center contacted Child Protective Services and the boy and his 8-year-old brother — who was allowed to go to school and appeared to be normal — were removed from the home. During an interview with authorities, the 9-year-old said that he has to sleep in the closet and is also made to stay in there when he is punished or when his grandmother was in the bathroom, the court document states. The boy — who had pale skin and difficulty walking — said it was his fault because he misbehaves. “I am bad, horrible, and my mom doesn”t want me anymore,’ he said. He refers to his grandmother as his mom. His biological mother left the two boys with the grandmother years ago and hasn”t been heard from since, authorities said.
Read the full article here.