Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Support our Sister

Elizabeth Township girl charged in dad's killing

Police are silent, but neighbors say teen was victim of sexual, physical abuse for several years

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

By Torsten Ove and Jim McKinnon, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A 13-year-old girl fatally shot her father in the face with a shotgun early yesterday morning as he slept in their Elizabeth Township home, according to police.

Rachel Booth was held without bond last night in the Allegheny County Jail, charged as an adult with homicide in the death of Matthew J. Booth, 34. She faces a preliminary hearing Friday.

In an affidavit supporting the arrest, Allegheny County police did not reveal a motive.

Detectives said only that the girl acknowledged that she killed Mr. Booth with his 12-gauge shotgun at 2:21 a.m. on the first floor of 5802 Pitt St., where Mr. Booth lived with the girl and her 14-year-old brother, Matthew Booth Jr.

But a close neighbor said the girl told her that Mr. Booth had sexually and physically abused her since she was 7. [there's more, but you should just look it up]


Well let me be the first to say that this type of self-defense is a trend I'd like to see pick up. Of course they want to charge her as an adult for homocide because we can't have the children defending themselves like that (never mind that it was HIS gun). But if this scares at least one abuser, then that's awesome, and of course that guy will not be hurting anyone anymore. I'm sure a lot of people will be shocked, but I wonder why it doesn't happen more often. Hey, at least she killed her abuser and nota bunch of schoolmates. For that she gets the Aileen Wuornos award for environmental clean up.

If there's anything I can do. I stand ready with the Girl Scouts to help a sister in need.

Sincerely,

Ethel


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm with you.

Anonymous said...

I can't explain how angry it makes me to think of a young girl living like this and if the allegations of her abuse come to be true, I would like nothing more than to be able to give this girl a hug and try to take away some of that pain.

Anonymous said...

Set her free. It is a childs inalienable right to execute an abusive parent. All children should be issued a sidearm when they are old enough to operate one. These types of endings are just so satisfying, except that she got caught. Set her free.

Mike said...

They shouldn't even think of sending this girl to prison. She has already served 13 years in the worst prison possible for doing nothing but being born to a scumbag.

Anonymous said...

As a mother and an aunt I would at least know about how bad the living conditions were in that house and try and save the children. Where is the stupid mother, aunt, grandmother, friends,teachers and next door neighbors?

Anonymous said...

i don't think the girl should be prosecuted, however, I would like to pose a question. The neighbors say she had been the victim of abuse for years; If this is the case, why didn't they do anything about it. The father may have been a dead -beat jerk, but there are other solutions to this problem beyond shooting him in the face with a 12-gauge.

Ethel Spiliotes said...

Hmm. Why so many anonymous commenters? I agree that something should've been done by neighbors, social services, the police, other relatives, etc., but clearly it wasn't and anything else she tried didn't work, so I think there probably wasn't any other solution except for shooting him in the face with a 12 guage - except for maybe shooting him in the back with a 38 or in the nuts with a 9mm.

Anonymous said...

Good for her! The only reason she should be going to any psychiatric facility is to release the brainwashing that took place and to introduce her into normal society. This should happen with the utmost care and be implemented without regard to the well deserving act she committed. Only children who don't end the situation in the way she did should be sent to a mental institution. They are the one's who are unstable. She did nothing but the right thing in the minds and hearts of people, not the justice system.

Anonymous said...

If this sick jerk sexually abused her, he got what he had coming. It's bad enough the child had to live in such squallor, but you throw in being used as a sexual plaything by her own father and I would hope not a jury in the world would convict her. We should throw her a party and let her dance on that bas**rds grave!!

Anonymous said...

I recently read that animals were taken into custody by animal welfare officials a week before this happened! So my question is WHY? and please tell me this is not true!

Anonymous said...

As a foster parent of eight years who has had 21 different kids in my home. I am so sorry for this girl. Everyone failed her, her parents, her brother, her mother, her grandparents, aunts, uncles and community. She had reached the end of her limit and fought back. And they want to charge her with it. They want to examine her. I say let her free, but charge the ones who are around her instead. With a home like that no one noticed or reported. Or was there a history and overwhelmed social services. I am tired of the injustices to our children.

JR said...

Although, this situation is sad, I firmly believe that this girl should be punished. No one has the right to take the life of another human being. Before you ask, yes I have taken human life. Trust me, that act will haunt her more than the abuse she suffered.

On a different note, Ethel if you really are in the 5th grade, you need to learn to write/speak without using profanity.