Death by starvation of 'girl who did not exist' stuns Germany

[ckramer]

Parents kept seven-year-old without food in a darkened room until she weighed little more than the family cat. Tony Paterson reports from Berlin

Two German police officers came to carry away the coffin of seven-year-old Jessica last week but one on his own could have shouldered the tragic burden with ease.

The young girl weighed less than a stone and a half when she died in her parents' flat in Hamburg, her skeletal corpse a pathetic bundle of skin and bones.

No food was found in her stomach: only traces of carpet fluff and strands of hair that she had eaten in a vain attempt to fend off hunger.

Jessica had been left to starve to death in a shocking case of neglect that has scandalised Germany. Neighbours and social services were unaware that she even existed.

Her parents, who have been charged with manslaughter, failed to feed their daughter but made sure the family cat was well nourished. The cat, now in a home for domestic pets, weighed just over 11lb.

"The child was a skeleton," said Dr Michael Tsokos, a pathologist for Hamburg police, last week.

"In desperation she tore out her own hair and ate it. She died of chronic undernourishment that lasted years rather than months."

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[imenja]

1. How could this be anything but deliberate murder?

Manslaughter is a ridiculous charge. What a heart breaking case.

[benburch]

2. Evil is real and afoot in the world.

There is no other conclusion to draw.

[JitterbugPerfume]

3. poor child

it is heartbreaking

[Trajan]

10. Evil masquarades as psychosis.....

or is it the other way around ?

[readmoreoften]

4. Manslaughter?

What did they accidently forget to feed the daughter they locked in the closet for seven years? WTF????

That poor child.

[Kimber Scott]

7. Maybe, their definition of manslaughter is different from ours?

Seems awfully strange. I lived in Germany for two years. I don't expect these people will be treaty lightly.

[iamjoy]

5. Horrible

She weighed what - 21 pounds?
What were her parents wondering how long it would take a person to starve to death?

[Nikepallas]

6. Words can't express my anger or sadness hearing /reading this

It is times like these that I can be cruel and would love to see her parents die the same way.

[American Tragedy]

17. Honestly, I don't think I could possibly wish this on ANYBODY.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound sanctimonious. The people who did this are evil, no doubt. But I wouldn't impose such a fate on even the worst of humanity. When a person is starving and their fat reserves have finally been totally depleted, the body starts essentially devouring itself in order to produce energy. Bone density plummets, muscle and organ tissue is broken down, causing permanent internal damage. The physical and psychological torture is hard to comprehend.

[phrenzy]

8. If Ghosts Exist..

If Ghosts exist, hers will be haunting some motherfuckers for a LONG time.

[booksenkatz]

9. She exists for me, now.

Stories like this soak into me and invariably stay for keeps. Jessica, you are in my heart now. On earth, you merely existed, but it is my hope that there is an afterlife, so that you may finally LIVE. Go play in the sunshine, little girl.

[happyslug]

11. A case liked this happened in Pittsburgh about 30 years ago

They kept the kid in a closet through in food once in a while. Apparently the couple just did not want to have a child and had one. Both parents subsequently had themselves fixed bit kept the child in a Closet not wanting to deal with her. A complaint of Animal abuse and neglect was charged by a neighbor on hearing strange sounds and when investigated they found the child. Age about seven. The couple were put on probation for the chances of them ever doing this again was slim (They both had had themselves fixed) the child was taken to foster care but last report I heard was having a rough time adjusting to life, she had poor motor and speech care and her intelligence had become quite low. Sad case, but such cases happen and you have to watch for such things even among people with good income (The couple were both Professionals if I remember right).

[shanti]

12. so they'd never heard of adoption?

jesus christ.....there are truly some real-life monsters out there.

[happyslug]

16. The Courts had a rough time with what to do with the parents.

Since both were "fixed" there was almost no chance of either having another child thus to jail them to prevent another such crime was useless. Revenge would have been useless given the care the Child needed and that care could be paid for by the parents. Thus the decision of the Court to give each parent probation.

As you your comment on adoption, yes they heard of adoption but seems never to have been considered. As I Said a Sad Case, a case that should show us we are our Brother's Keepers and should watch out for things like this.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. We had a similar case in KC in 1999

Abused triplets die after being starved and scalded by mother

THE mother of Gary and Larry Bass, two of a set of eight year old triplets who died this week, has admitted denying them food for days and putting their feet in scalding water.

‘‘It was the worst case of child neglect I’ve seen,’’ said Kansas City homicide Captain Darryl Forte.

‘‘Gary was just a skeleton covered with skin. He looked mummified. It was like famine you would see in a Third World country. He basically died a slow death.’’

Gary, who had been admitted to hospital with severe burns, died yesterday, two days after his brother Larry died, weighing less than 30 pounds.

The mother, Mary Bass, faces multiple assault and abuse charges. More charges could be filed if the medical examiner rules the deaths as homicide.

The 31 year old mother admitted punishing Larry and Gary by putting their feet in scalding water, locking them in a room and depriving them of food except bread and water for up to two weeks, police said.

The third triplet and two other children were removed from the home and placed in foster care.

Larry was found unconscious by his mother on Wednesday evening.

She tried to revive him before calling emergency workers and police.

Both Ms Bass and her 36 year old live in boyfriend said they had not sought medical attention for the boys because they were afraid they would be arrested, according to a detective’s affidavit.

[phusion]

14. Sick fucks...

:(

[American Tragedy]

15. I feel so sick reading this, literally sick to my stomach.

I was going to say something substantive about this, but there are just no words... :cry: