Friday, March 22, 2013

Statement Analysis of Mother of Baby Shot Dead

Analysis Conclusion:  some concerning statements, but not enough sample to conclude.  Analysis is in bold type.

Update:  Police suspicious of mother:  they don't believe her.

New update:   Police arrest two teens

Let's look at the statements that caused police to be suspicious.  There is more to this story.  Someone posted that this same mother lost her 18 year old son to a stabbing a few years back.

Parents of slain baby speak out


STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • The baby was shot with a handgun, police say
  • The mother has a gunshot wound in the leg; her baby was killed
  • The shooting took place in a residential neighborhood
Brunswick, Georgia (CNN) -- The case of a 13-month-old boy shot dead in his stroller in this waterfront city in southeast Georgia left authorities groping for more leads Friday as they searched for the killer.
"Right now, we are not ruling anyone or anything out," said Todd Rhodes, a spokesman for the Brunswick Police Department.
Police have offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the killer and have received more than 30 leads, he told reporters.
"We are thoroughly investigating this case and we will not, I repeat, will not leave any stone unturned," he said.
The baby was shot with a handgun, which has not been recovered, he said.
Though no one has reported seeing the shooting, several people called 911 after hearing it, he said.
"What we heard was that there were shots that went out in the area," Rhodes said.
Sherry West told reporters that the incident occurred at 9 a.m. Thursday. As she was walking home from the post office, pushing her son Antonio in a stroller, she said, she saw two boys.
"A boy approached me and told me he wanted my money, and I told him I didn't have any money," she said. "And he said, 'Give me your money or I'm going to kill you and I'm going to shoot your baby and kill your baby,' and I said, "I don't have any money and don't kill my baby.'
Note the change of language from "kill you" to "shoot" your baby and "kill" your baby.  Shooting is specific to the baby, not to the mother.  What caused this?

Is it that the shooting of the baby was fatal?
Communicative language:  "told" is strong and is expected in a robbery.  The boy "told" her and she "told" him, which is appropriate.  

Then she switches to, "I said..."  This is a change and to have "said" is not appropriate as it is softer language.  This will cause police to question if she is speaking from experiential memory. 
Note her response:
1.  I don't have any money
2.  Don't kill my baby
"And he tried to grab my purse and I tried to tell him 'I don't have any money' and then he shoved me and he shot me in the ear. It grazed my head," she said, pulling her left ear forward. "And then he shot me in the leg and I didn't feel it. It got numb. I thought it was just a BB gun because it was a small gun."
Note that the word "tried" in the past tense means to attempted and failed.  He "tried" to grab her purse indicating that he was unsuccessful. 
She then "tried" to tell him she didn't have any money.  What caused her to be unable to tell him this, when she had previously told him so?
"It grazed my head" does not specify what grazed her head.  

The sensitivity may be due to not doing more to help her child.  No parent would believe they did enough when a child dies. 

Note that the subject reports what she did not feel and again uses the pronoun "it" without specifying what got numb. 

She continued, "And then, all of a sudden, he walked over and he shot my baby in the face."
Note "all of the sudden" jumps in time.
Note "walked"; we would not think that he was sitting.  This use of body posture is not expected.
Note "my baby" without the baby's name. 
West said she tried to perform CPR on her son and that the police took over when they arrived, but to no avail. "We lost him," she said.
During the incident, the smaller of the two boys was hiding behind the larger one, she said. "I don't know whether it was his brother or a friend."
People should tell us what they do know.  Was she asked about who the other one was?  Why the need to speculate whether it was a brother or a friend?  What difference would it make?
West said she hopes the boys will receive the maximum sentence possible. "If they can use a gun like an adult, then they can be charged like an adult," she said. "I want to see lethal injection or at least life in prison. This child did nothing to him. He was innocent and helpless."
Note that "this child" uses the word "child", which is associated with risk, child abuse, etc. 

. Note that the child was "helpless", that is, without help.  Is the mother saying she did not help the child? 
*this could be guilt for not having done more to save the baby. 
Note that the child's name is not used. This is not expected. 
She described the shooter as an African-American, skinny with "a little bit of protruding eyebrows."
She urged residents to be on the alert. "If you see anybody like that, be careful. That's what I'm saying to everybody out there because he may still be in the area."
Note that the word "because" shows the sensitivity in that she has a need to explain why people should be "careful" begging the question of why would she have the need to explain.  
There are enough indicators in her language to consider her a suspect, and not clear her at this time.  

To make a definitive conclusion, we would need more sample.  
Asked whether people in the neighborhood should fear for their safety, police spokesman Rhodes said they should be alert and report any suspicious activity. "But no, they have no reason to live in fear," he added.

Police clearly doubt the mother's account and are telling the public they do not need to be living in fear of the boy killer. 
After stating that "there is no clear motive right now," Rhodes was asked about the mother's account of having been asked for money.

The mother said that the motive was robbery but here the police say there is no clear motive. 
"That is what the mother said," Rhodes said. "We as law enforcement, we can't go off of what anyone says. We have to thoroughly investigate this case."

He does not believe the mother. 
"This is obviously just a terrible day in the city of Brunswick," Mayor Bryan Thompson told reporters Thursday, "and made even more terrible by the senseless killing of a young child -- and it appears perpetrated by children themselves."
The city's website describes Brunswick, with a population of about 15,000, as "one of the most unique, historic and visually stunning places in the world." It boasts 19th century Victorian-style homes, century-old oaks and magnolia tree-lined streets.

163 comments:

Anonymous said...

Seems two boys have been arrested

Nic said...

Seems she lost an older son, Shaun Glassey, to violence a few years ago. The older son tried to ambush another teen with a knife, but the intended target fought back and killed Shaun in self defense.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2297392/Sherry-West-tells-robbers-shot-sleeping-baby-Antonio-dead-Brunswick.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Anonymous said...

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/03/after-steubenville-what-our-sons-needs-to-know-about-manhood/

Nanna Frances said...

Why would a mother hold on to her purse when her baby was being threatened? I have trouble understanding that.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

There is more to this story.

Her statements are concerning and I see why police are doubting her.

Did she know them?

Did she know of them?

Was she expecting trouble?

Is this drug related??

Lemon said...

from the Daily Mail article (snipped):

She said the eldest boy, who looked about 15, demanded money from her and threatened to kill her if she didn't give him any, but she insisted she didn't have any.

"'When you have a baby, you spend all your money on babies. They're expensive,' she said."

'And he kept asking and I just said "I don't have it." And he said, "Do you want me to kill your baby?" And I said, "No, don't kill my baby!"'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2297392/Sherry-West-tells-robbers-shot-sleeping-baby-Antonio-dead-Brunswick.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Jo said...

"If they can use a gun like an adult, then they can be charged like an adult," she said. "I want to see lethal injection or at least life in prison. This child did nothing to him. He was innocent and helpless."

"If you see anybody like that, be careful. That's what I'm saying to everybody out there because he may still be in the area."

Changes from "they" should be punished to beware of "him" - singular. Also, just be careful, not call authorities.

Jo said...

"A boy approached me and told me he wanted my money, and I told him I didn't have any money," she said. "And he said, 'Give me your money or I'm going to kill you and I'm going to shoot your baby and kill your baby,' and I said, "I don't have any money and don't kill my baby.'

He just "wanted her money" and then it was "give me your money". Did he really ask politely the first time?

SAlurker said...

This is so sad. Why another innocent child??? Ugh. The heart break.

First thing that came to mind after reading this is that this women set this all up.

Lord, I pray I'm wrong.

But it sounds like she and these "boys" and possibly others had this planned out.

Why? I couldn't give you the slightest idea & at this point don't want to know.

John Mc Gowan said...

Check this VT out.

Manhunt for teen and pre-teen suspects in Brunswick baby killing.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/topstories/article/304784/483/Police-check-attendance-records-in-search-for-baby-killers


Mum:"I tried to protect my baby ,but i thought the gun was fake and (i thought he would never do it in daylight)".

"I'm saying you were wrong you should go out and mow lawns and rake leaves for money and not kill my baby or anybody else;s."

Dad"All they had to do was grab her pocket book":

Lucy said...

Two things stand out for me. First, as a mother, the reaction to "Give me all your money" is to throw the purse at him and say, "Here! Take it!" and then grab the baby and run. Nothing in that purse (and I don't care if the Hope diamond is in there) is worth more than that child. And no one has *no* money. Everyone has at least some loose change kicking around the bottom of a purse.

Also, the comment about how the two suspects are related. If they were strangers to her, it wouldn't enter her mind as a gun is held on her child to ponder their relationship to eachother.

Jo said...

"And then, all of a sudden, he walked over and he shot my baby in the face."

I would ask mother to re-enact the attack. I know I would have been infront of my baby so how did the distance get between her and the baby or her and the attacker that he had to walk over to shoot her baby?

John Mc Gowan said...

"I thought he would never do it in daylight"

Now this is ODD..

Was it arranged for it to happen at night???

Jo said...

"I'm saying you were wrong you should go out and mow lawns and rake leaves for money and not kill my baby or anybody else;s."

Pretty tame language for a mother who just lost her baby to a gun shot.

Dad "All they had to do was grab her pocket book":

Did she mention she had a death grip on her pocket book with no money in it?

Won't even comment on thinking the gun was fake...........seriously.

Anonymous said...

Something is very off about this whole thing. One thing I cannot understand is how this woman is able to talk to the media just hours after this event happened. If it were me in her shoes, I would be in catatonic grief. I get the feeling she is trying hard to "convince" the world that this is something that really happened.

dadgum said...

Something is off about this..
I agree.

Was she thinking the baby had a problem of some kind? He appears to have one crossed eye..being shot in the face says something as well.

Why is this the best picture they have? Are there other children? It's true you take the most pictures of your first..but I can't believe this is the best picture available of a 14 month old..

Something is wrong.

The cynic in me thinks back to the coverage and memorial for the 6 month old killed in Chicago as his father (the intended target) changed him in a car on the street.

If this was truly part of a robbery by these teens, they need to be out of society forever.

Skeptical said...

"When you have a baby, you spend all your money on babies. They're expensive,' she said."

I am beginning to dislike the thoughts that cross my mind after reading articles like this. Such as diapers and formula cut into drug money. I do so hope I am wrong.

Tania Cadogan said...


Two teenage boys were arrested Friday in the shocking shooting death of an infant, killed in the stroller his mother was pushing in a coastal Georgia town.

Seventeen-year-old De'Marquis Elkins is charged as an adult with first-degree murder, along with a 14-year-old who was not identified because he is a juvenile, Brunswick Police Chief Tobe Green said.

The mother, Sherry West, was wounded in the apparent attempted robbery Thursday morning. The precise motive still is under investigation.

Officer Todd Rhodes of the Brunswick Police Department told FoxNews.com earlier that numerous tips had been received in connection to the shooting, and police had been going door to door searching for the suspects. Investigators also were checking school attendance records for leads.

Several nearby residents called 911 after hearing gunshots fired, but Rhodes said investigators believe the mother was the only witness to what happened.

West, wept Friday while she told The Associated Press that she pleaded with the gunman and a younger accomplice who approached her Thursday morning while she walked near their home in coastal Brunswick.

"He asked me for money and I said I didn't have it," she said. "When you have a baby, you spend all your money on babies. They're expensive. And he kept asking and I just said `I don't have it.' And he said, `Do you want me to kill your baby?' And I said, `No, don't kill my baby!"'

West said the gunman fired four shots, the first into the ground. West didn't see a shell casing ejected and she assumed the gun wasn't real.

Then he fired at her head and the bullet grazed her left ear -- she has a small scab and bruising there. He fired again and shot her in the left leg above the knee. "I didn't know I was hurt."

"The boy proceeded to go around to the stroller and he shot my baby in the face," she said. "And then he just shoved me when I started screaming and he ran down London Street with the little boy."

West was later transported to the Southeast Georgia Health System for medical treatment. She is expected to recover.

"This is obviously a terrible day in Brunswick," Brunswick Mayor Bryan Thompson said. “If you know something and don’t call, you are complicit in this crime.”

Antonio's father, Louis Santiago, told WAWS-TV he wishes he could have been there to protect his family.

"He was special," Santiago said. "He had the bluest, bluest eyes."

Residents described Brunswick — a city of roughly 15,000 about 80 miles south of Savannah — as normally quiet despite some property crimes of late.

"This makes me very uneasy," Patricia Buie told The Brunswick News. "Now I am very concerned. It is making me want to move to the mountains."

It's not the mother's first loss of a child to violence. West said her 18-year-old son, Shaun Glassey, was killed in New Jersey in 2008. She still has a newspaper clipping from the time.

Glassey was killed with a steak knife in March 2008 during an attack involving several other teens on a dark street corner in Gloucester County, N.J., according to news reports from the time.

"He and some other boys were going to ambush a kid," Bernie Weisenfeld, a spokesman for the Gloucester County prosecutor's office, told the AP Friday.

Glassey was armed with a knife, but the 17-year-old target of the attack was able to get the knife away from him "and Glassey ended up on the wrong end of the knife," Weisenfeld recalled.

Prosecutors decided the 17-year-old would not be charged because they determined that he acted in self-defense.

FoxNews.com’s Joshua Rhett Miller and The Associated Press contributed to this report.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/22/police-georgia-infant-killed-while-pushed-in-stroller/?test=latestnews#ixzz2OJDqHW6k

Anonymous said...

I am with you on her ability to talk to the press right after such an event- something stinks

Anonymous said...

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/22/police-georgia-infant-killed-while-pushed-in-stroller/?test=latestnews

Lis said...

"A boy approached me and told me he wanted my money, and I told him I didn't have any money," she said.

-She takes ownership of "my" money; possibly the boy worded it 'I want your money' or possibly she did have money.

And he said, 'Give me your money or I'm going to kill you and I'm going to shoot your baby and kill your baby,'

-Perhaps more transpired between these statements since she begins the second with "And"

-First he approached her and wanted her money, then "and" he said "give me your money"

-he is going to shoot her and shoot her baby, but he is also going to 'kill' her baby.

"and I said, 'I don't have any money and don't kill my baby.'"

-If she answered with these words, it gives me the picture of someone who was not taking the boys as any kind of serious threat. She answered in the order that the demands were made. If she felt her baby was really in danger, I would expect she'd only address that and possibly throw her purse at them or do something to protect the baby and distance herself from money.

-She does not address the shooting that was threatened but only the killing of the baby.

"And he tried to grab my purse and I tried to tell him 'I don't have any money'

-She tried to tell him but failed because he refused to accept this answer. (Did these boys have reason to believe that she did, in fact, have money? She had just been to the post office, did they watch her pick up a check? Or see something else?)

-She refused to give up her purse in spite of the threat made to her baby and herself. She either did not take the threat seriously or she had something not worth giving up in her purse, something of more value than her baby and her own safety.

-If she did not take them as a credible threat, I wonder if she belittled or mocked them? Could she have escalated the situation?

"and then he shoved me and he shot me in the ear. It grazed my head," she said, pulling her left ear forward. "And then he shot me in the leg and I didn't feel it. It got numb. I thought it was just a BB gun because it was a small gun."

-it seems as though there is information missing between the "ands". It would be hard to shoot someone as you shove them. Did she fall? Did he shoot her as she was falling and miss, only grazing her ear? She makes a point to show the injury to her ear. She adds explanations into the account of how the shots felt and why she thought it was only a BB gun.

She continued, "And then, all of a sudden, he walked over and he shot my baby in the face."

- "All of a sudden" does not seem to make sense, since this incident has been unfolding steadily in that direction. The word "sudden" may speak of unexpectedness. In spite of what has happened thus far, the mother appears to be shocked that the boy would actually shoot her child. Even though he has shot her in the leg, she still did not see him as a credible threat.

=not just "shot my baby" but "shot my baby in the face" -extra information

-"Suddenly" and "walked" seem incongruous.

Lis said...

"West said she tried to perform CPR on her son and that the police took over when they arrived, but to no avail."

-(How do you perform CPR on someone who has been shot in the face, much less an infant who has been shot in his tiny face?)

"We lost him," she said.

-"We" noted as unexpected here. She is perhaps referring to herself and the officers who tried to perform CPR but it is not expected that a mother would share the loss of her infant.

"During the incident, the smaller of the two boys was hiding behind the larger one," she said. "I don't know whether it was his brother or a friend."

-Up to now it has been "a boy" "he" and "him," now she brings the second boy into the story only to say what she does not know about him. She perhaps means that he appeared a possible brother but she is not sure, but I note she words it in the negative, what she does not know about him, instead of as, 'they looked like they could be brothers'.

"West said she hopes the boys will receive the maximum sentence possible. 'If they can use a gun like an adult, then they can be charged like an adult,' she said. 'I want to see lethal injection or at least life in prison.'"

-The one shooter has now become "they" who can use a gun as an adult.

-It seems premature to be discussing the sentence they should receive, looking that far ahead.

"This child did nothing to him. He was innocent and helpless."

-The word "child" noted, perhaps since he was the victim of murder here? But I would expect "my baby."

-"he" was innocent; was she?

"She described the shooter as an African-American, skinny with "a little bit of protruding eyebrows." She urged residents to be on the alert. "If you see anybody like that, be careful. That's what I'm saying to everybody out there because he may still be in the area."

-What about the second boy, should they watch out for him, too?

-I would expect her to say to call the authorities, although one should, indeed, be careful as well.

"Asked whether people in the neighborhood should fear for their safety, police spokesman Rhodes said they should be alert and report any suspicious activity. 'But no, they have no reason to live in fear,' he added.'there is no clear motive right now,'"

-The police spokesman says the public has no need to live in fear and his next statement is to do with motive. Finding out what the clear motive is will affect his opinion of whether the public needs to fear.

"Rhodes was asked about the mother's account of having been asked for money.'That is what the mother said,' Rhodes said. 'We as law enforcement, we can't go off of what anyone says. We have to thoroughly investigate this case.'"

-He acknowledges what the mother said yet states the police "can't go off of what anyone says." He is doubtful that he has heard the whole story and is reserving judgement until he does.

Deejay said...

There were arrests today...

Tania Cadogan said...

Sherry West told reporters that the incident occurred at 9 a.m. Thursday. As she was walking home from the post office, pushing her son Antonio in a stroller, she said, she saw two boys.
The start of the incident she tells us there are two boys.
There is no description of either of them not even approximate ages.

"A boy approached me and told me he wanted my money, and I told him I didn't have any money," she said. "And he said, 'Give me your money or I'm going to kill you and I'm going to shoot your baby and kill your baby,' and I said, "I don't have any money and don't kill my baby.
First discrepency. A boy approached her, what happened to the other boy?
Why did she not say one of the boys approached her which is the expected.
Why does she need to tell us it is my money, who else's would it be?
Money is important to her.
And indicates missing information.
Notice first he told her he wanted money which is strong, now he says give me your money which is weaker.
Why the change in language from stong to not strong when the expects is said then told as the incident escalates.
Order is important first he is going to kill her, then shoot her baby and then kill your baby.
Is his shooting the baby not going to kill it?
Is the killing of the baby separate from the shooting?
She then despite the threats and escalation prioritises what is important to her
She doesn't have any money, then don't kill my baby.
She has not told us if he was holding a gun or any kind of weapon which would give his threats support.
So far, according to her statement he is unarmed.
She has also not told us what the other boy was doing during all this, he is erased from the scene when, since she linked them at the start he should be playing some part in the scene even if it is just standing there.

And he tried to grab my purse and I tried to tell him 'I don't have any money' and then he shoved me and he shot me in the ear. It grazed my head," she said, pulling her left ear forward. "And then he shot me in the leg and I didn't feel it. It got numb. I thought it was just a BB gun because it was a small gun."
And indicates missing information.
What happened between the threat and his trying to grab her purse?
Tried indicates he attepmted but did not succeed.
And again indicates missing information what happened between him trying to grab her purse and her trying to say she didn't have any money?
She tried to tell him she didn't have any money, tried means attempted but did not succeed.
Given the threats to her child and herself why did she resist?
He shoved her and then shot her in the ear, what with?
She has made no mention so far of any gun or any kind of weapon.
He has made these threats to kill apparantly with no weapon to back them up and make them real.
He shot her in the ear, where was he aiming at and what with?
he has apparantly shot her with an invisible gun
And indicates missing information, what happened between him shooting her in the ear and shooting her in the leg?
Where did he shoot her in the leg since she was so specific about the head shot ( it grazed her, it hit her ear)
I would bet the injury to her leg was not life threatening.
Given that he said he would kill her he seems to be a really bad shot missing all vital organs.
Still no mention of what the other boy is doing not of her screaming, pleading or anyone shouting.
If you get shot it hurts even from a bb gun.
She didn't feel it, then it got numb out of chronological order you get numb then you don't feel it.
she tells us this invisible gun was a small gun so she thought it was a BB gun.
These guns can cause fatalities if you hit the right spot.

Tania Cadogan said...

She continued, "And then, all of a sudden, he walked over and he shot my baby in the face."
And indicates missing information, what happened after she was shot in the leg?
Why did he not take her purse when she tells us all he wanted was her money?
All of a sudden indicates temporal lacuna.
we have missing time at a sensitive period.
Where was he in relation to her and the baby?
where was the baby in relation to the mom?
Why does she need to tell us he walked over, was there distance between the boy the mom and the baby?
If he could shoot the mom from where he was, why was there a need for him to then walk over to shoot the baby?
Was he such a bad shot he had to stand over the baby to be sure of killing it?

West said she tried to perform CPR on her son and that the police took over when they arrived, but to no avail. "We lost him," she said.
Who is the we she is referring to?
During the incident, the smaller of the two boys was hiding behind the larger one, she said. "I don't know whether it was his brother or a friend."
Now the other boy suddenly reappears on the scene.
Now we have a description of sorts, a small boy a larger boy.
She tells us he was hiding behind the larger one.
She now gives him a role in the incident which is hiding (passive)
She tells us what she doesn't know making it sensitive.

West said she hoped the boys will receive the maximum sentence possible. "If they can use a gun like an adult, then they can be charged like an adult," she said. "I want to see lethal injection or at least life in prison. This child did nothing to him. He was innocent and helpless."
One boy shot her and killed her son, yet she uses they (plural) using the gun, which is it?
She still hasn't given us any idea of the age of the boys or any kind of description yet when this should be her priority to catch them.
This child not my child?
Why is there some distancing between her and her child?
Why child (possible abuse perhaps and distancing) and not my baby or son.
She has still not given us her baby's name.
Why the change in language from Baby -alive, to child- dead?

Tania Cadogan said...

She described the shooter as an African-American, skinny with "a little bit of protruding eyebrows."
Now we are back to shooter singular.
Wow great description, african-american, skinny with protruding eyebrows. No general age, height, clothing, any accent.
We have the child sized version of the generic bushy haired man so beloved of child killing moms.

She urged residents to be on the alert. "If you see anybody like that, be careful. That's what I'm saying to everybody out there because he may still be in the area."
Be careful?
Is that it?
No if you think you know who it is call the cops, look at your kids did you know where they were at such and such a time?
Do you recognise or think you recognise my really detailed description of the killer?
Why does she only describe one killer when there were two boys?
Surely their should be 2 descriptions?

Asked whether people in the neighborhood should fear for their safety, police spokesman Rhodes said they should be alert and report any suspicious activity. "But no, they have no reason to live in fear," he added.
Telling, he doesn't seem to think there is a murderous child(possibly 2) running around the neighborhood.
After stating that "there is no clear motive right now," Rhodes was asked about the mother's account of having been asked for money.
Hmm the mom tells us the motive for what happened, the cop says no clear motive, has he picked up on the discrepencies?
"That is what the mother said," Rhodes said. "We as law enforcement, we can't go off of what anyone says. We have to thoroughly investigate this case."
This is close that is distancing, he is distancing what he knows or suspects from what the mom is saying.
He then goes on to tell us that they can't go off (believe) what anyone says.
This makes me wonder if there is cctv footage or witnesses who saw what happened or who saw the mom but not the 2 boys.
He isn't buying the story methinks.

"This is obviously just a terrible day in the city of Brunswick," Mayor Bryan Thompson told reporters Thursday, "and made even more terrible by the senseless killing of a young child -- and it appears perpetrated by children themselves."
This is close that is distancing.
Why the additional qualifier of the word OBVIOUSLY which weakens rather than strenghtens the statement.
Who is he trying to convince and why?
Is this the politician in him speaking i wonder and not the man.
Note the additional qualifies or the word appears which weakens the statement of a young child ( how old was the vicitim since he goes from baby to child to young child in this artical)
He doesn't say children did the crime only that it appears it was perpetrated by children.
The mom is saying one thing and the police and mayor are saying something else and they are contradictory.

Tania Cadogan said...

I agree, the mom has red flags all over, her story is off, we have 2 boys, 1 boy then back to 2 boys with one hiding behind the other, and only a description of 1 boy.
If the boy walked over to kill the child where was boy number 2 standing where he was or did he walk over as well, me and my shadow springs to mind.
Are CPS aware of the family, is LE aware of the family, if yes why.
Is she a single mom or is there a boyfriend around?
if she is with a man is he the bio dad?
Are there other children and if so what relations are they to the adults) in the house?
Does the mom have financial difficulties.
Why would she kill her own child or have him killed, what is her motive?
Has there been any requests for donations for a funeral etc?
Considering the severity of the crime why has she been so vague about the alleged killers?
Does she have access to any guns?
Was there any GSR on her hands, clothing or skin?

What isn't she telling us and why?


addendum, Since there have now been 2 arrests (my analysis was done before i knew of the arrests)one is 17 and one is 14, i do not think given the ages they could be described as boys.
At 17 one is almost fully grown, the other still has some, when i first read the story and she used the word boys coupled with the vague description i was thinking probably as many others that the culprits were pre-teens, that the culprits were say between 9 and 12, young enough to be described as boys as opposed to teens or men or even youth.
This then is a good example of learning the subjects personal dictionary, to her, boys means teens of 14 plus.

BostonLady said...

Nanna Frances said...

Why would a mother hold on to her purse when her baby was being threatened? I have trouble understanding that.

March 22, 2013 at 4:52 PM

**************

I agree Nanna Frances. I would have handed over everything in order to keep my baby safe. And how can she be so calmly giving these accounts to the media? Seeing your baby shot in the face would be traumatic. I would either be locked up in a nut house or I would be in jail and murdering the two kids with my bare hands.

Talk about no reaction.

Anonymous said...

"The case of a ...... left authorities groping...."

Of all the words available, the writer choose "groping" for leads...okay...moving along....

Lis said...

I've read a few news articles and it seems the mom is quoted differently in every one. One has her saying that the boy asked her for money and she replied "I don't have it". Poor transcription maybe?

I noticed in comments under the news articles a number of people picking up on something being off.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if the mom owed these "boys" money (for drugs?) It would explain the scenario much better, and why the cops do not believe her story. I cannot make out what happened, but there is NO way it happened the way she said it did. Being a drug addict would also explain her emotional distance from her baby. It would also explain why she is leaving out parts of the narrative. I think her statement "babies are expensive" is the exact same thing she said to the boys. She owed them money, they saw her out WITH her baby for a change, and she had the perfect excuse as to why she did not have the money. This would also explain why she did not think the boys would use the gun - she KNEW them already. Anyone else in that situation would be scared to death that person would use the gun.

Anonymous said...

interesting her story appears to be true as two boys are arrested and cops said they did it. when i first read her story it sounded suspect to me too. intersting to have what sounds like it could be a a lie be true.

Maxwell said...

The mom also thought it was important in her press interview to state THREE TIMES that she had collected on two personal injury lawsuits. Why?

Her exact words:
"I’m disabled. They paid out. I have a bad spine. I was hurt in two car accidents, It's settled and everything. and um....They paid out and everything."
http://www.news4jax.com/UNCUT-Sherry-West-talks-about-shooting/-/475982/19429652/-/gww0u0/-/index.html

Why was the neighbor smoking crack in her home?
"I’m hoping there is no connection to the death of my first son because there is a young woman that lives next door to me who did a lot of crack cocaine. I asked her please don’t smoke it in the house and she got really mad. I think she was the was responsible for influencing the death of my young son He was 18."

The mom might have mistaken used the words "first son". The rest of the sentence contains info. showing someone was smoking crack in mom's home.
http://www.news4jax.com/UNCUT-Sherry-West-talks-about-shooting/-/475982/19429652/-/gww0u0/-/index.html


Listening said...

Sorry for the OT

Peter, can you please do statement analysis on the 20/20 show regarding the Steubenville rape case?

Maxwell said...

Did mom mention her child's name in her press interview? All I heard was "this child", 'my child", and "my baby".

After her child was shot, why does she not mention that she was screaming for help? She stated that she took her baby inside the gate of the blue house because it was a safe place. (Really? That was a chain link fence, not a titanium one.) Why did she not grab the stroller and run to a house to call an ambulance?

Was her face covered with blood when the police arrived? Giving CPR to someone shot in the face would be very messy. If this woman knew how to give CPR or even tried to do CPR, I'll eat my keyboard. I DO believe that she took her infant inside that fence to check his pulse.

Why does she use the word "we" inappropriately? The mom stated "we evicted her (the crack smoking neighbor". (Mom is a HUD recipient and doesn't own any properties to evict anyone.) Mom also said "we lost him" referring to the fact that the paramedics couldn't revive her son.

The mom also was confused or lying about the injury to her leg. She said, "They couldn’t take the bullet out of my leg (located in her upper thigh-you can see it on her press interview) because it would do too much damage to the ligaments in her knee." (The bullet entrance was at least 12 inches above her knee and no where near any knee ligaments. No physician told her that.)

Maxwell said...

The mom’s lie about her first son’s death is disturbing. Instead of telling the truth, she tells a whopper which elevates her dead son into a hero that died trying to help females. She interjected “my son wanted to be a police officer” into this whopper as another attempt to falsely make him a Saint. (He was in a gang that attacked a lone person. During the attack his knife was taken away and the lone victim stabbed him with it.)

Anonymous said...

http://www.news4jax.com/UNCUT-Sherry-West-talks-about-shooting/-/475982/19429652/-/gww0u0/-/index.html

Uncut video of mom talking about incident. Something is VERY off about this woman. This is no way a person would talk or behave after they saw their own baby shot to death. In fact, if someone saw ANY baby shot to death they would not be able to talk to a room full of reporters like this.

Sus said...

"... They paid out. ...It's settled and everything. and um...They paid out and everything."

Whoops! There it is. THEY PAID OUT repeated twice. Insurance fraud and she owes someone their part.

She didn't take them seriously because they looked so young to her. I bet it's not long before they turn on who sent them.

Unknown said...

I would have given the little thugs my purse if I saw that they had a gun, even if I thought it was a BB gun (those can do fatal damage if it hits the right spot).

THERE IS NOTHING I WOULD NOT GIVE UP TO SOMEONE IF THEY WERE THREATENING MY KIDS OR MY GRANDKIDS.

If she doesn't feel terribly guilty for not turning her damn purse over to them, something is wrong.

As for her "TRYING to tell them" that she didn't have any money, I would in all likelihood phrase that the same way. i.e. TRIED to tell them, but they didn't believe her and wanted the purse anyway. The "tried" might not be there if telling them she had no money got them to leave her alone.

If I thought that someone confronting me and my stroller-baby might shoot me.....I could see it being possible that I shove my baby as far away from the danger as possible.

I don't want to think that this woman may have had something to do with this :( but the "DAYLIGHT" comment was.......disconcerting :(

Unknown said...

Hobs - the shooter would be singular, as only one of the boys had a gun and shot.

Anonymous said...

If you watch the video she talks about how she was afraid to leave her house BEFORE the incident. She also talks about getting away from certain people back in New Jersey. This woman was mixed up with some shady characters.

She laughs and smiles in the video at one point. She even laughs at one point when describing her son. Now I have seen that laugh before. I have actually seen that chuckle, but I have only seen it when people are talking about a deceased person who was old when they died OR the death was a long time ago and the person has already gone through the grieving process. This woman is likely skilled at mimicking other people's emotions and mannerism, so she does not know that a light laugh about a dead BABY who died YESTERDAY is really really weird.

MsCabinFever said...

"He asked me for money and I said I didn't have it," she said. "When you have a baby, you spend all your money on babies. They're expensive. And he kept asking and I just said `I don't have it.' And he said, `Do you want me to kill your baby?' And I said, `No, don't kill my baby!"'

I said I didn't have "it"? This does sound like she owes a debt & referring to it here.

Why would he ask if you "want" him to kill your baby - that's like asking a child if he wants a spanking.

Note to mom here: that is the exact point you should have thrown your body over your baby, and been shot in the back while covering him, instead of grazing your head or shooting you in the leg.

It's difficult to listen to this lady.

Anonymous said...

this woman is weird. she does look/sound like she is lying. especially when she says she didn't think the gun was real after she was shot twice. and yet they caught the kids she described. TRULY STRANGE

Anonymous said...

did she pay the kids to do it???

MsCabinFever said...

http://www.news4jax.com/UNCUT-Sherry-West-talks-about-shooting/-/475982/19429652/-/gww0u0/-/index.html

Shows priority; discusses her own injuries first & all that she is suffering.

ut-oh. She told us from the very start what she was thinking instead of just giving the facts. And then how she doesn't get out enough ... okay ....

"we" are still trying to identify who he is, "we" are going to try to talk to a sketch artist today ... who's "we"?

She says her baby was shot and so she ran to take him to a "safe" place? Hugh?

"It will be awhile before I have any more" ??? WHAT?! I can't imagine considering having another baby after my first (and only) two were BOTH killed in acts of violence beyond my control. Holy Moly.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if the baby had a nice life insurance policy. This story does NOT add up at all. I do not for one moment believe that the incident went down exactly as mom described. I think that she either owed these boys money OR she arranged for them to kill her baby and injure her.

She also "overdescribed" why she was walking home from the post office. She went on about how she need exercise and her boyfriend said she needed to get out of the house. I would say that the trip from the post office to her house is sensitive to her, and not because that is where the crime happened. Was she meeting someone there? Did she think she might run into someone?

Maxwell said...

Is there any way to look up the settlement amount in personal injury lawsuits? This mom has collected on two.

I'd like to know if there was an insurance policy on her child.

Anonymous said...

notice how she says "his brother" and then back tracks a lil to say " it seemed like his brother" ---- this is very strange. those boys could CLAIM she paid them and a jury would believe it no matter what really went down

Anonymous said...

maybe she learned from the first son that she gets paid when her kid is murdered --- and went for it again this time intentionally orchestrating it

brosnanfan said...

I'm wondering if perhaps she has a drug problem, and when these boys came up to steal her purse, if she was afraid that any resulting publicity would bring her drug problem to light.

Could this be a reason for her conflicting, weird statements? When one is in a life or death situation, weird thoughts will sometimes flash through the mind. Maybe she really did think they would not hurt the baby, but she did also think that publicity would expose her drug problem and then they would take her baby away.

Of course, she doesn't have to worry about that now. :( Poor kids...

brosnanfan said...

It seems weird...it reminds me of Patsy Ramsey's "ransom note".

Thankfully, I have not been a victim of a crime, but I have read of and heard of people who have. In most cases, the perp wants to get in and get out. They don't want to stand around and chit-chat about the price of formula and diapers. They would want to grab a purse, demand money, anything that was fast and quick. Get in get out. Fast and gone.

But the mom here is having a conversation with the killer:

"A boy approached me and told me he wanted my money, and I told him I didn't have any money," she said. "And he said, 'Give me your money or I'm going to kill you and I'm going to shoot your baby and kill your baby,' and I said, "I don't have any money and don't kill my baby.'"

[from the Daily Mail article from Nic]

'When you have a baby, you spend all your money on babies. They're expensive,' she said.
'And he kept asking and I just said "I don't have it." And he said, "Do you want me to kill your baby?" And I said, "No, don't kill my baby!'"


It seems that she was having a conversation. Considering the parts of the conversation she didn't relate, it could have taken up to a minute. A minute is a long time to stand in the street with a gun, trying to get a purse from a mom with a stroller. Anyone could have seen them. You go out and stand in the street with a gun for a minute, and see how many people take notice of you and what you look like. There's always a nosy grandma peeking through the curtains.

The two accounts differ as well. In one, the boy asks if she wants him to kill her baby and she says no. In the other, she goes on and says she doesn't have any money and don't kill her baby. Yeah, it could be that in the heat of the moment and the shock of what happened fogged her memory and she doesn't remember exactly what she said. But then again...

Have you ever watched a cop show on TV? In them, do the perps ever come up and "ask" for the person's purse or wallet? "Excuse me, but could you be so kind as to allow me to borrow your wallet on an indefinite basis?" But she says, the boy "kept asking" her for money.

She said, "When you have a baby, you spend all your money on babies. They're expensive." First, I would think that if she were to say something like this (not to the perp, although she says she said it to him), "I spend all my money on my baby. He has expenses." But she said "you spend" all "your" money on "babies" (plural). She didn't say she spent all her money on her baby, but that YOU would spend all YOUR money on babieS, because they're expensive. She spent her money...on...? She didn't say what SHE spent her money on. Perhaps she doesn't want people to know.

There's a lot of emphasis on money throughout this whole thing. Don't take the purse, there's no money. All the money is spent on the baby. Babies are expensive. I don't know about you, but if you gave me a choice, if it came down to my money or my son or daughter, I'll give you all my money and all the money I can find underneath my vehicle's floormats and all the money I can beg from strangers. The money can be replaced. My son and daughter can't be replaced. Take it all, leave me my babies.

brosnanfan said...

Oh, by the way, my babies are 21 and 18. :) But anyone who lays a finger on them will find out what I can and will do to them. Don't touch my babies.

Anonymous said...

I'm excited for the twist to come out -- those boys will tell if she put them up to it.

Anonymous said...

the fast that she doesn't have any money in the ~abstract is the motive, that she didn't hand over her purse in the moment -- empty or not -- is a red flag that this may have been something she got the kids to do to/for her

John Mc Gowan said...

Baby murdered: Teen's family says he has an alibi..

Listen carfully @ 1:57 she says"I put my arms over my baby and he SHOVES ME"

"SHOVES ME"= IS PRESENT TENSE.

In stateements written by the journalist they say "SHOVED" =Past tense ,they have qouted her wrong.

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/content/topstories/story/Baby-murdered-Teens-family-says-he-hasspx

John Mc Gowan said...

Alleged killer Demarquis Elkins Fb Page..


https://m.facebook.com/demarquise.elkins?

Anonymous said...

Was this done for insurance payout?

John Mc Gowan said...

This case is very confusing to me.

Her statements are inconsistent,Yet her body Language has all the hall marks of a grieving parent.

In order to spot the sometimes obvious and other times very faint or disguised signs of sadness, there are key areas in the face to pay special attention to. The three major areas where signs of sadness appear are in the raising of the inner eyebrows, the drooping of the upper eyelids, and the dropping of the lip corners. All three cues interacting together unquestionably indicate sadness. If someone is trying to suppress feelings of sadness, these movements may appear and disappear very quickly. You might also see fragmented signs of the sadness expression. If that is the case, the meaning of the expression can change. The inner brows raised obliquely are the most reliable sign of sadness. The muscles that control the inner brows are involuntarily engaged when people feel sadness or distress. However, only 1 in 10 people are capable of producing this movement willingly. Seeing the eyes droop or the lip corners droop alone without the presence of the inner brow raise can mean a variety of other things and should be interpreted cautiously. For instance, if you catch just the drooping of the upper eyelids alone, it may mean that someone is tired or bored. Likewise, if just the lip corners are pulled down, this may simply be a display of disbelief or denial.

So, is she sad because she has lost her baby,i don't think there is any doubt there.

Is she sad because this never happened they way she says it did, and is in fear of being caught out.

This is were i am ambiguous,i don't see as yet, any signs of fear if she is lying.

I have noticed she is really good at switching her emotions on and off very quickly..

If she is one of the 1 in 10 that can perform these reliable facial muscle's of sadness,she is really good.

We need the right questions to be asked, and watch her reactions carefully.

JerseyJane said...

I believe the mom, I will try to explain
The mom said all of a sudden he walked over and shot the baby... These boys DONT stand still as they are 'up to something'. THEY are in constant movement like as one may circle their prey. That is why the smaller one was more unidentifable to the mom(victim).

Yes, the boy making the demands, sounded like he was asking for a piece of candy. Yes, he was calm, smooth, and that is what you get from petty young thiefs who victims for their whole career HAS been their peers, other children.
As far as her bringing up babies are expensive is NOT strange at all. In my area, responses often throw off the crime. I have used, "damn bro, I'm piss ass poor. " if u find any, send some this way!"
the mom talks too much info, my guess, people in area knew of her different settlements or lawsuits, she has lived there long enough to be a regular.

Now I know why no one here talks or acknowledges me, after reading this about this incident.

JerseyJane said...

John, I just read your work. Excellent!!
You do know what you are doing with your Body Language Analysis.

JerseyJane said...

As far as not saying her baby's name. So much has been taken in her life, and she to was apart of the 3 bullets that were rapid fire( first in ground wasn't).. The guilty of not dieing with her baby and past baby DOES NOT allow her to want to share his name.
She has nothing but his name. For now it is in her heart. Later, she will speak his name when he is a memory just as her older dead child is.

John Mc Gowan said...

To add to my last post about reliable muscles used in sadness and grief.

Watch the Susan Smith clip.There are no indicators of sadness or grief in her face,her voice yes.
Watch it again with the sound down,would you think she was grieving for her babies?.Me thinks not..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYNE_Wy5yjY

I know i will be pulling splinters out my butt for ages,but,(no pun intended)i'm sitting on the fence for a while,i need more information and statements..

Skeptical said...

In her interview on HLN she commented how independent her 13 month old was. If I remember one of Peter's points correctly, he said when parents comment on how independent toddlers are it can be a sign of neglect. She also made a point that his favorite movies were Disney and noted a stack of his favorites. Lack of interaction with her baby? Babysitting by video?

John Mc Gowan said...

This is interesting:

Why do killers speak out.

Narcissistic sociopaths..

Scott Peterson:

Susan Smith:

Mark Hacking:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15l9HQgAk4M

Mainah said...


Sus,
Re: "They paid out", twice...

Maybe she did have money? Maybe she lied to the shooters?

Many things did't make sense to me, like the move 1k miles away -not sure when the move took place; pondering aloud how long before she'll have another baby; says it was 4 years last time (creepy).



AnnieG said...

I agree with you! Just because her past is what it is does not mean she did this. I believe her

Mainah said...


at 1:10 she says: "...told me he wanted MY money..."

It would not make sense for the boy to say the words "wanted" or "my" to her during a robbery. She either perceived his meaning as such and reinterpreted in her own language, or she is story telling, manipulating and alibi building.

Ney said...

"He asked me for money and I said I didn't have it," she said. "When you have a baby, you spend all your money on babies. They're expensive. And he kept asking and I just said 'I don't have it.' And he said, 'Do you want me to kill your baby?' And I said, 'No, don't kill my baby!'"

I think the IT was not her purse, or it was a made up story. She probably new them. She also brings in the issue of children being expensive to raise. It is surprising to read from a grieving parent.

Maxwell said...

Reporter, in uncut version of Sherry's interview: If you could talk to these boys, what would you tell them?

Mom (Sherry) with a very calm demeanor: What they did was wrong and I hope that they get the maximum sentence if they are caught. If they can commit an adult crime...I mean even the police can’t even go to training without being 21-years of age so if they can use a gun like an adult, they can be charged like an adult........

Mom was asked what she would say to the boys that killed her son. Instead of saying, "You $@$!* 8*^%^!!! I hope you rot in Hell, you *(&%$(@#!!!" Mom calmly addresses the reporter and gives a mini lecture on police gun training. Wth?

Mom's speech is rehearsed and there is ZERO expression of anger. Big red flag.

Mom doesn't mention her child's name and calls him "this child". She had little to no attachment to (independent) Antonio. (She left her baby alone to care for and entertain himself for very frequently.)
Mom also calmly mentioned that it was going to be a while before she had another child as if her child was a hamster that had recently died.

Why does Sherry describe her relationship with Antonio's father in PAST tense? They have been dating for 3 years and have a child together, but he lives across the street (Welfare fraud) and/or they don't have a relationship. In this photo, the father is said to be comforting the mother. He doesn't appear to be trying very hard to comfort her.
http://www.knoxnews.com/photos/2013/mar/22/329911/

Either mom's affect and story are "off" because Antonio was only an income-generating device, HUD asset, and tether to Luis (father) and Antonio can be easily replaced or she arranged this horrible tragedy.




Anonymous said...

I find it odd that she warned neighbors to "be careful" if they saw these boys. Not - "run, hide, call 911 !"
Anna

John Mc Gowan said...

The slain boy's father, Luis Santiago, lives in a house across the street.


"He's all right," Santiago told the boy's mother, trying to smile. "He's potty training upstairs in heaven."


Does this come under, (Water,Washing,cleaning Etc?.

Anonymous said...

"He asked me for money and I said I didn't have it..."
_____________________

I, too, find this a jarring remark. It definitely sounds like a response to a debt owed, not a response to an armed robber.

Jeff said...

At one point, in telling the robber she doesn't have money, she states, "I don't have it." I can see alot of ways of referring to money, but never as "it" - unless, of course, the money became "it" when it was going to be used as something else, such as paying a debt? Then it becomes, "Do you have the money you owe us?" and the answer is, "I don't have it." What do others think?

Sus said...

I don't think the mom had anything to do with it. I do think she owes someone money and those two boys were sent to get it from her.

She didn't take such young boys seriously, and by her own words didn't think it was a real gun.

When she brought up the car accidents, she stammered about the settlements, but made a point TWICE to say "THEY PAID OUT and everything". Accidents like that are set up everyday for insurance fraud. Who helped her? Who does she owe? But she spent the money on the baby SHE SAYS because babies are expensive.

Anonymous said...

All I can say now after the arrests and watching the video and reading the statements is this: even if this went down exactly as this woman said, she very clearly did not love or care about her baby all that much. She talks about him like he is the neighbor's kid that she babysat for from time to time.

paula said...

So I applied sa in another blog CDC-and people ripped me to shreds over it. They called me callous and cold hearted because I didn't believe her. I read one of her statements and she spoke in the present tense,not in the past as I would expect. I still think she had something to do with it and I believe she even knew the boy(s) that were involved.

paula said...

And I agree with those who think she owed them money.

Jeff said...

@ Paula - don't feel too badly. People who are not yet educated in statement analysis don't comprehend it, and some will certainly 'rip to shreds' anyone who may seem to be more educated than their own level of understanding. Statement Analysis is an absolute godsend for detecting deception, and I use it daily now (all thanks Peter and his great site!).

Sus said...

Anon,
".....she very clearly did not love or care about her baby all that much."

While I was googling "Georgia BABY shot" last night, I realized the mother only talks about her BABY. Every news article spoke of the BABY.

I was dismayed that this poor BABY had no name or personality for me, at least. Here is what I found.

He is ANTONIO, 13 months old. He was beautiful, with a bright smile and bright blue eyes. He had 8 teeth so far. I love that picture with his hair parted to the side like a little boy. He often sat on the front porch in his mom's arms smiling.

That's all I've got, but it made Antonio more than the baby who was shot for me.

child advocate said...

Uh oh, another mother crying with no tears. I'm very concerned about this mom. Her story makes no sense. What is the connection between the shooters and the mom?

Dad refers to a girlfriend, is that the baby's mom or someone else?

paula said...

@Jeff thanks for the kind words. I use SA everyday - especially at work. I've learned a lot about my coworkers and myself when analyzing statements. I'm not an expert but the more I read here the more I learn. I was so shocked to read the comments posted at me. People are disgusting! I also caught the present tense in her original statement and that was the first red flag. She said, and then he shoves me. This woman told her story like it was just another conversation with some kids. I hope she fries for it.

paula said...

Thank you Peter for this site! It has been an eye opener for me and I've learned so much from you. I come here daily; I don't like to read the crime but by analyzing liars it's helped me to understand myself and especially the sociopaths I work with...lol!

Rose said...

If someone robbed you and demanded money and you did not have any, you would say "I do not have any money." When someone demands that you repay money on a debt owed, i.e. asks you for $200, you would say "I do not have IT." In the latter, the debt owed becomes something SPECIFIC that can be referred to with the pronoun "it." When someone robs you at gunpoint, they are never after a specific amount of money, just whatever money you have. Thus, you would not refer to that amount as "it."

BTW, the way the mother refers to the two boys makes me definitely think that she knew them and that she KNEW that she owed ONE of the boys money and not the other, which is why she mainly talks about one boy.

Juliette said...

Thank you Sus, I appreciate your comment at 11:26 AM.

'That's all I've got, but it made Antonio more than the baby who was shot for me.'

You have added something important, Antonio deserves this. It has helped make Antonio more than just *the baby that was shot* to me also.

The shame is, this should have come from the parents in the article, not a caring reader.

Juliette said...

Based on the statements, it does feel like the parents owed for drugs. I agree with Rose at 12:03 PM.

I wonder, if the boy shot her and she felt the bullet graze her ear, could she have squatted down and used Antonio to defend herself?

It could explain why the boy shot Antonio instead of the mom in a drug debt senario; he missed his intended target because she *suddenly* shielded herself with Antonio.

Obamao said...

Reparations do not go far enough.

John Mc Gowan said...

Sabrina Elkins, the sister of the older suspect in the Georgia baby's slaying, said Friday evening that she believed her brother was innocent of the charges. She didn't know whether he had a lawyer.

"He couldn't have done that to a little baby," she told AP. "My brother has a good heart."

She said that her brother had been living in Atlanta, and only returned to Brunswick a few months ago. Typically, he would come by her house in the morning and they'd go to breakfast. But Friday morning, police came to her door as her brother was approaching along the sidewalk.

"The police came pointing a Taser at him, telling him to get on the ground," she recalled by phone. "He said, `What are you getting me for? Can you tell me what I did?'"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/23/demarquis-elkins-arrested-baby-antonio_n_2939022.html

Juliette said...

This quote is new from the mom since two boys have been arrested in the shooting of Antonio:
"I'm always going to wonder what his first word would be," West said.

Antonio was 13 months old; it seems to me he is old not to have said his first word yet.

Also odd is her choice of wording here:

Police announced the arrest Friday afternoon after combing school records and canvassing neighbourhoods searching for the pair. The chief said the motive of the "horrendous act" was still under investigation and the weapon had not been found.

"I feel glad that justice will be served," West said. "It's not something I'm going to live with very well. I'm just glad they caught him."

The mother says she's *not going to live with this VERY well*? She's *JUST GLAD they caught him*?

HERE is the link to the new article I'm taking these quotes from; it is about the arrest of the two teens suspected of shooting Antonio.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Georgia+teens+arrested+after+baby+killed+wounded/8143508/story.html

MsCabinFever said...

She sure talks a lot.

"He asked me for money and I said I didn't have it" ...

"The chief said the motive of the "horrendous act" was still under investigation and the weapon had not been found"

ut-oh.

Nanna Frances said...

This informaion came from the link John provided:

Andrea Yawn Herbert
Demarquise money-vill Elkins I am a fair person ask my nieces shanice, brandy, an tyisha an my nephew Dalton they are friends. Now I Have turned this case upside down becalse you are friends of my family.... But after all my reach 1 dude your aunt said on fox 30 live on tv I know becalse it is on my facebook you was with her Wednesday morring but Thursday morning is when that shit went down. Then you go an tell the cops you was at ged school after your aunt on national tv told everyone you was with her an I meen stressed that you was with her so there's no way possible you could have done something so cold hearted as to take the life of an incident lil baby becalse you was with her on Wednesday morring. ?. But you see what I'm having a hard time understanding is WHY? If your friends of my nieces an nephew you had to have had some good in you at some point... An your right no one can judge you but the lord almighty. ?. But you also need to remember that when it comes to babies I MEEN GOD ALREADY DON'T LIKE UGLY. .. BUT BABIES I know in your heart well I PRAY that in your heart you feel GOD SPEEKING TO YOU becalse if you do then you already know that for the rest of your life hes going to remind you of what you did to that baby... So like all your friends are telling you don't listen to what everyone is saying it's going to be hard enough listening to GOD...An liveing with the reminder of the thought the question that's going to haunt you WHAT WOULD I DO IF SOMEONE DID THAT TO MY CHILD? MY FLESH MY BLOOD MY REASON I WAKE UP EVER MORNING AN THANK GOD I AM ALIVE. ?. But no you took that from someone the one thing you can never take back. So like all your friends on facebook are telling you theyare all here for you got your back but its not them who have to spend the rest of there live with a memory an NEVER LETTING YOU HAVE AN NORMAL LIFE I PRAY THAT GOD SHOWS YOU MERCY becalse honestly I would take death before I could deal with the fact that GOD IS NEVER going to let my mind ease that I would have to live with the fact I WILL NEVER BE OF FREE MIND AGAIN ITS A HEAVY BURDEN YOU WILL HAVE TO BEAR BUT REMEMBER IT WAS A CHOICE YOU MADE. ..

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=436925219716906&id=100001982964171&set=at.397630966979665.94026.100001982964171.100001897593565&relevant_count=2&refid=17

Jo said...

"When you have a baby, you spend all your money on babies," she said. "They're expensive. And he kept asking and I just said, `I don't have it.' And he said, `Do you want me to kill your baby?' And I said, `No, don't kill my baby!'"

Sounds to me like she owed him money. She says "I don't have it" not "I don't have any".

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/23/demarquis-elkins-arrested-baby-antonio_n_2939022.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Chp-desktop%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D288182

child advocate said...


**Just glad they caught him**

Weren't there two young men? Which is the one she's glad they caught? Who's glad they caught him?

If someone came up to me while I was with a child or grandchild and asked for money, I would hand over my purse without question. Why would mom argue? it sounds more like a conversation between mom and the older boy. I would put myself between the gun and my child. This is not adding up.

child advocate said...

I read the whole quote, she does say shes glad they caught him. Who's him? She's glad only the shooter was caught?

shmi said...

I just read another article that says she has packed up a few bags of clothes and diapers to give to charity!!

Why so soon?

If that happened to my baby I would hold on to everything, for a long time. Maybe forever.

shmi said...

http://news.yahoo.com/police-arrest-2-teens-ga-baby-killing-204023308.html

This is my attempt to post a url.

Juliette said...

I wonder if this woman is another Susan Smith. There were no witnesses.

I'm curious if she has insurance on Antonio.

Fern said...

Nanna...thank you for providing that FB comment. I took a look at Mr. Elkins' FB page and I must say, it sure doesn't look good.

https://m.facebook.com/demarquise.elkins?refid=13

I also want to mention that I can't remember the last time I carried cash on me. I get cash-back points for using my Discover Card...I've been known to charge a single postage stamp! Most folks I know use their debit card for purchases these days.

My point is that a mother on a stroll with her baby is not what I would consider a "hot" target for robbery. I know I wouldn't have had a dime on me.

Anonymous said...

I noticed this statement from the mother that I found strange:

"I feel glad that justice will be served," West said. "It's not something I'm going to live with very well. I'm just glad they caught him."

West said detectives showed her photographs of about 24 young men. She pointed to one, saying he looked like the gunman.

"After I picked him, they said they had him in custody," West said. "It looked just like him. So I think we got our man."

Specifically, It's not something I'm going to live with very well." It is said in the context of the suspect(s) being caught. What is she not going to live with very well? The fact she picked him from a photo line-up or that she lost her baby.

I'm sitting on the fence about this case.

MsCabinFever said...

Wait, they already had him in custody when she picked him from the photo? Shouldn't they have had her identify him first?

It just looked like him? Not that it was him, and she would never forget the face of the man who killed her precious baby ...
"So"=storytelling

this is just getting worse & worse each time she speaks.

Anonymous said...

Also, she states "I think we got our man"

I think. She's not sure.

We got our man. Weird statement to someone who murders her child in front of her.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=9037407

Fern said...

Bonnie Blue...I do believe they had Elkins in custody prior to West making the identification. They swept in pretty quick to make the arrests all things considered. My guess is that there was word on the street that it was Elkins... Elkins was quite boastful on his FB page about all things murder and money.

Still, West makes some weird remarks and is quite the Cathy Chatty on the heels of losing her baby to a bullet in the face. Santiago is an odd duck as well, IMO.

Anonymous said...

No kidding. "Potty training in heaven." ????? Really????

Anonymous said...

I have been doing research into the "alleged" 17yr old perp., & found his myspace page, which I took screenshots of. He claims to be a "blood" gang member on his Myspace page ,as well as a "midtown goon"
here is his myspace page => http://www.myspace.com/lildelkinskill271600w
He accessed his page last on February 22, 2013
"lildelkinskill" <== interesting pagename "lil" "Delkins" "kill" hmmm?
I haven't looked at the victims video statements (due to my possibly being biased from reading comments) but, I have gone through multiple scenarios in my head as to how she could have shot herself in the ear, leg etc.. and I just don't see it as possible.
Four shot's then the shot killing the baby. 1st shot to the ground, 1 shot grazes her ear, 1 shot hits her in the leg, 1 shot yet to be explained where it went, Then the shot that hit the baby (according to 911 calls hit the baby "right between the eyes") i.e. close range?
How do you graze yourself in the ear? Is this woman a marksmen or experience with shooting a gun? Possible? Well anything is possible, Probable I don't think so.
Also, there are 911 calls where witnesses saw her trying to give the baby cpr, after they heard the shots. How much time could she have to let off at least 5 shots, hit herself in the leg, graze her ear, one in the ground, one who knows where?, shoot the baby in the head then dispose of the gun with enough time to be seen giving the baby cpr? I don't think so.

I think the reasons why her statements seem to show deception is because this woman really didn't think they would shoot the baby and she didn't do anything to protect the baby because of her assumption.
Why she held on to the purse? This could be a natural reaction. If someone goes to grab you the first thing you do is recoil. Anyone would. I think she thought these were just stupid kids playing hard and that they weren't a real threat. She states she thought one of them was about 10 yrs old.

I think the reason she changes to "we got them or we couldn't save the baby" etc.. is because she is feeling extremely guilty as a mother that she underestimated the situation and is trying to interject herself into the "heroic' acts of others because she failed to asses the threat.

As for the previous death of her older son, as well as insurance payouts (for car accidents mind you) etc.. they really don't seem relevant in this incident at this time.
This woman I believe was being robbed, she didn't think these two teenage punks were as much of a threat as they actually were ( could be she knew them, drugs etc.. yet still irrelevant to the murder of the baby even if she owed them money, unless she paid them which I'm doubting at the moment)
I don't think it's deception to the point that she is involved (though anything is possible) I think it's her covering up for her failure to properly assess the threat of two kids with a gun who shot her baby. (with the possibility that she didn't think they would shoot the baby and hid behind him?)

MsCabinFever said...

Anon 3:56pm do you have the link to her 911 call?

Anonymous said...

Now I don't think the boys were ever even there.

I think she described two young black boys from her imagination and then the cops found two kids who had no alibi to match her description. and she says -- yes that's him give him the death penalty.

I think she did the whole thing herself and made the whole thing up.

Anonymous said...

if somebody points a gun at your baby and says give me your money you don't say " I don't have any" you have them your empty purse and run!

Fern said...

Anonymous 3:56...I agree.

Unless West and Santiago owed a debt and these kids were the "goons" to collect the debt, I just don't see it.

What do we know about "potty training in heaven" Santiago?

lane said...

shmi said...
I just read another article that says she has packed up a few bags of clothes and diapers to give to charity!!

Why so soon?

If that happened to my baby I would hold on to everything, for a long time. Maybe forever.
March 23, 2013 at 1:55 PM

I agree with you.

When I read the following, I was saddened. :(
"At her apartment Saturday, West had filled several bags with her son's clothes and diapers to donate to charity. "

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2013/03/23/demarquis-elkins-arrested-baby-antonio_n_2939022.html?icid=hp_crime_art_more

Anonymous said...

One 911 caller solemnly tells an operator: "No, the baby's not breathing." He says the child was shot "right between the eyes."

Why did this semi-professional marksman that is able to shoot a baby between his eyes “miss” the mother and only strike her in the leg?

No one reported hearing the mother screaming after her baby was shot. Why? She was in the middle of a neighborhood of Victorian clapboard houses.
http://www.newser.com/article/da56uqh02/911-recordings-in-fatal-shooting-of-ga-baby-show-callers-weeping-pleading-for-help.html

Anonymous said...

Santiago came and went. At one point he scooped up an armload of his son's stuffed animals, saying he wanted to take them home with him.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/mar/22/police-search-boy-suspects-ga-baby-killing/

Dad was saving the baby's items. Mom was giving them away.

John Mc Gowan said...

On Saturday, police released recordings of three 911 calls made by West's neighbors right after the shooting.

One caller, sobbing, tells the operator she heard three gunshots. The woman says she saw the mother lay the child on the ground to try to revive him with CPR.
"Yes, I heard the shots. Somebody shot this child," the caller said. "She's got him on the ground. Please, we need everything we can get."
One caller solemnly tells an operator: "No, the baby's not breathing." He says the child was shot "right between the eyes."
A woman can be heard screaming in the background just before police arrive and sirens drown out her cries.
No callers reported seeing the shootings, and police said the three calls were the only ones they knew of.


Read more: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/crime/article/Ga-woman-says-she-s-certain-suspect-shot-her-baby-4378622.php#ixzz2OOwgumEp

Anonymous said...

She could be packing things to give to a children charity out of guilt. She may be feeling the need to do something "heroic" because she failed to protect her baby. (Just like she tried to interject herself into the "heroic" acts of the first responders as well as police who arrested the alleged perps with her use of "we")
I just really think she didn't assess the danger of the situation(maybe because she knew them? owed them money for drugs? or most likely didn't think they were a threat because of their age? etc..) Even if she owed them money for drugs, it's irrelevant to the fact that they murdered a poor little baby in a stroller(sic)!

She doesn't have tears when she cries but she has ALL the facial indicators of grief including the teary red eyes &she could be "all cried out".
She also could be experienced with this type of media situation from when her older son was killed. Which I also think is what is causing her to make some of the strange statements she has made about the teenage perps.
I think she is having a "collision of morals" because I'm sure she didn't see her "knife wielding" son who was killed in self defense as a "bad guy" deserving of death. There's definitely a clash going on in her mind right now. Having to face all of the excuses she made for her older son is making a mess of her brain. Her life has come full circle! It seems though that the collision in her mind is evolving & is almost done being reconciled, because she is now demanding for the execution of the perps.
She also has the appropriate body language of grabbing her ear when she speaks of the perp shooting at her and the bullet grazing her ear (also the timing of her body language is fluid with her statement). And it is clearly visible it's been injured.

As for the father(Santiago) stating their baby is "being potty trained in heaven" that is an interesting statement but there isn't enough information, (i.e. more statements from Santiago)that I have come across yet for me to fully assess for malice (if any) behind the comment yet.
I just think this woman failed big time to assess the danger in this situation and it cost her baby his life.
She is detached, is it the Medication from the hospital? Xanax? etc... I did see a bag of prescriptions in one of the news pictures next to her feet.
As for news reports that quote her as saying "She didn't have it" when they asked her for money,
In the interview i just watched she actually says "she didn't have ANY" the media misquoted her. So again I think this woman failed to protect her baby and is trying to cover that, even in her own mind.

Anonymous said...

What is she not going to live with very well? The fact she picked him from a photo line-up or that she lost her baby.

No, the fact that she knows she was 100% responsible for the death of her baby, the fact that she knows she acted like a stupid idiot and knows her idiocy resulted in her baby's death.

She should be charged with manslaughter for her role in aggravating the situation so much that the perpetrators retaliated against her stupidity by murdering the baby on purpose in retaliation against her idiocy, when they probably did not intend to do so.

CRM said...

The way that this woman speaks reminds me of my sister. My sister is married to an addict (pills), and she has uncompromising loyalty to him. Her husband steals from their kids and steals from my family and then blames it on his kids; all to support his habit. My sister has no attachment to her kids, and she has said that "the kids know daddy is sick."
Anyway, if something were to happen to any of my nieces or nephews, I think my sister would mourn because she does love them, but having no maternal attachment to them, I think she wouldn't feel the pain and the loss like a typical mother would. I could also see her doing and saying the things *she* would view as a "selfless mother" act; such as donating baby's things, talking about how it would be a while before she could have more, etc.
I do think this woman has guilt about her baby and I think it is because she owed money and her baby was killed because of it. I have heard my sister making excuses as to why she doesn't have money she owes, and that was the first thing that popped into my head when I read, "babies are expensive." I don't think that this woman killed her baby or arranged a hit, but I do think she is the cause of her baby being murdered. That is why her statements show guilt. I know from dealing with my sister and her husband that a drug addict will lie even with proof being laid out in front of them.

Anonymous said...

it's possible that her bf did it and then they created this story to cover for it,

Lis said...

This seems like a good illustration of how different things can cause sensitivity that is read in a victim's statement. Something is off about the mother's statements but I believe it has to do with there being more to the story than she has told, not that she was "in on it" (you'd have to be completely insane to shoot yourself in the ear or have someone shoot you in the ear on purpose- think about it).

Lis said...

JerseyJane said...

"Now I know why no one here talks or acknowledges me, after reading this about this incident."

JerseyJane, I'm not sure what you meant by knowing after reading about this incident, but please forgive me- I have often read your comments with interest but I haven't said anything. I guess I am not much of an interacter, if that's a word, but I do appreciate what you add to the discussion. I feel that way about most of the commentors here.

John Mc Gowan said...

“This is the second child that people have taken from me in a tragic way,” West said to CNN. “I’m so afraid to have any more babies now. I tried to raise really good kids in a wicked world.”

“I just took a walk with my baby,” West said. “I can’t believe that this would happen, and I left early in the morning. I thought you know that there would be less people on the road and I wouldn’t be in anybody’s way walking down that road.

“Apparently, either he targeted me or I was just unfortunate,” she said of her encounter with the teenage gunman.

http://www.theglobaldispatch.com/demarquis-elkins-and-unidentified-teen-arrested-for-antonio-santiago-murder-the-second-child-of-sherry-west-to-die-98635/

John Mc Gowan said...

“I JUST took a WALK my baby,” West said. “I can’t believe that this would happen, and I LEFT early in the morning. I thought you know that there would be less people on the road and I wouldn’t be in anybody’s way WALKING down that road.

“APPARENTLY, either he targeted me or I was just unfortunate,” she said of her encounter with the teenage gunman.

JUST=Minimising.

WALK,WALKING=Here she uses the words WALK,WALKING
twice.

This indicates an increase in tension for her at this part of the story.

LEFT=Some people go to the store.

"I went the store."

Some people leave to go to the store.

"I left my house and went to the store."

Both end up at the store, but for the second person's statement, the location from which he departed, is what is on his mind. He felt the need, in less than a second, to use the additional words, "left my house and" in his sentence. It takes more effort and the subject is not saying the same thing as the first subject, but this is not something generally picked up without training.

People use the word "left" as a means of mentioning the place where their mind is. It is like a way to get that place into a sentence.

First, this had to be observed, and then it had to be contemplated. Most of us do not get past the first: we don't listen enough to even hear that the person "left" to go to the store.

Secondly, it had to be contemplated. Why, in the law of economy of sentences, did the person feel the need to add in that they left first, since one cannot get to the store without leaving? In that the subject felt the need to mention the place departed from, LSI learned something both simple and brilliant: Peter Hyatt.

Did something happen at home before she went the store?.

“APPARENTLY"=Here she is avoiding committing herself to the truth of what she is saying.
It is also a unnecessary word.

I still believe that something is of..

dadgum said...

What mother packs up the precious clothing and toys that her deceased baby loved, and that smelled like him? This isn't SA, I know, it is unnatural behavior.

A father comforting by telling her Antonio is 'potty training in heaven' ?? Who connects a 13 month old with potty training? At least his father was trying to rescue Antonio's things from the trash.

I have to say, as the 7th anniversary of Sam's accident nears..Sam will never use his fly rods, never use his fly tying gear, never use his rock climbing gear again. Sam will never wear his coveralls to work on cars and tractors, won't be welding, or wearing his apron at Pizza Hut on the weekends. He won't be studying his textbooks in hopes of teaching biology or herpetology..his things are all still here.

I have given some of Sam's things to his brothers, and his nieces..most of it remains right here, with Sam, as it is part of who he is.

Discarding Antonio's belongings..his 'identity', so soon after his murder is akin to discarding Antonio himself. The choice of picture blurs and distances his identity as her baby as well. Failure to speak Antonio's name? Unnatural for any toddler's mother.

Rose said...

After reading many articles, watching video clips, and reading the comments here, I will say that Sherry West at the very least had a neglectful relationship with her son. She raised her first son to be impulsive and violent, and died because of it. Then she describes baby Antonio as independent and talks about movies he liked to watch - sure signs a child is not really being taken care of.

My guess is that Sherry West likely has a low IQ, poor education, and poor work history. She has been living off of an insurance payout which was likely not a large amount of money. Otherwise she has spent her life either living off of welfare or living off of very low wages. Thus the threat of killing her baby in order to take her money was actually something that gave her pause. She may have a drug/alcohol problem too which made her stop and think even MORE about giving up money in exchange for her son's life.

Assuming this all went down as Sherry West said: everyone else is baffled because all of us would give ANYTHING in exchange for our baby's life. To people like Sherry West, this is not true. They view their children more as objects that real human beings. They do not have that really deep and lovely attachment most people have with their children. Sherry West is, mere hours after her son's death, talking about whether she can "replace" him in the near future. Those are not the thoughts of a parent who deeply loved their child.

Someone upthread said that if you really look closely, you can tell that indeed she DOES show markers of grief. Okay, I agree. What I think is damn odd is that we would have to "analyze" her face in order to see real markers of grief. She is a mother whose baby was SHOT TO DEATH IN THE FACE MERE HOURS BEFORE. Her grief should be all up in our collective faces. She should be shaking with rage and sadness. I also honestly believe that any other parent would be telling everyone they just wished the robbers would have shot and killed them and left their child alive....Sherry West has never said anything close to this.

Fern said...

Just a casual observation on my part...Luis Santiago comes across as one strange dude. Did he have a relationship with his son? Did he support his son?

It is being reported that the Brunswick community is shocked and outraged by this senseless incident, but Luis seems to be taking it all in stride. Now, that may be an unfair statement on my part...the father may indeed be grieving deeply in private. But his young son was shot in the face and murdered, and I don't see the outrage. Or a sense of relief that two arrests have been made.

The boy's father, Luis Santiago, said: "He was special ... He had the bluest, bluest eyes."

This comment, coupled with the bizarre "potty training in heaven" remark, makes me want to learn more about Mr. Santiago.

Again...just a casual observation. It is not meant to attack a father that may be in the throes of grief.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Interesting post, Rose.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Nanna Frances said...
Why would a mother hold on to her purse when her baby was being threatened? I have trouble understanding that.

March 22, 2013 at 4:52 PM >>

Nanna, Lemon pointed out that even in word order, money came first.
In later interviews, she spoke about money and how expensive a baby was.

No wonder why police suspected her initially.

I am not convinced, however, that this is a completed case.

Fern said...

Luis Santiago said he “forgives” the two and “will pray” for them but that they “have to pay the consequences.”
____________________

Again, I find this comment "off." The ability to "forgive" and "pray for" two boys that just murdered my baby in a botched armed robbery doesn't feel like an appropriate reaction.

A bit OT. If robbery was the motive, why didn't the boys just burglarize an unoccupied home? Why murder a baby in broad daylight and leave behind the adult who can ID them?

Rose said...

How can the father forgive these people already? That makes NO sense. First of all, the only person who can "forgive" them is Antonio, and he is dead. Secondly, when forgiveness is given in these situations, it is years and years down the road. If a complete stranger murdered anyone in my family, I would NEVER forgive them, much less two days later. However, I understand that some people are more forgiving than I.

Forgiveness is the FINAL stage of grieving. It exists so that people can let go of (rightful) anger and move on with their lives in a more positive way. The two parents should not even be close to that stage of grief yet. They should still be in the disbelief stage of grief - still thinking their child is just in the other room - sort of like the time my ex MIL turned around to tell her husband about all the flowers people were leaving at the door of his medical practice (4 days after he died).

For some reason, the mother herself believes there is a connection with her own actions (ratting out crackhead neighbor) and the murder of her baby. While the mother may be technical "innocent" she at least personally feels that her lifestyle and choices directly resulted in the murder of her child (by complete strangers)....very, very odd.

Fern said...

I agree, Rose, re: forgiveness and prayers for the two punks that JUST snuffed out my child's life by shooting a bullet between his eyes. This is why Santiago makes me uneasy.

I want to be cautious, because I know people grieve in different ways...and some of those ways may come across as very strange.



Nick said...

The father of Antonio sounds like a scumbag. In an Interview for ajc, he said he doesn't blame the suspects because of their upbringing, but he blames Sherry. He said she should have taken another route. He was arrested after yelling at her; blaming her for what happened.

http://ajc.com/news/news/anger-disbelief-grip-brunswick-after-toddlers-shoo/nW233/

Sus said...

The aunt of the 17 year old is giving him an alibi.

The aunt of the 14 year old gave the boys a ride in her car closely after the shooting and saw a gun on the 17 year old. She contacted police.

Hmmmm How were they in two places at once?

http://m.news4jax.com/news/Brunswick-mother-certain-suspect-shot-toddler/-/16626108/19439744/-/t6eckoz/-/index.html

John Mc Gowan said...

There are 3 911 calls on that link.

WARNING THEY ARE VERY UPSETTING.

http://ajc.com/news/news/anger-disbelief-grip-brunswick-after-toddlers-shoo/nW233/

Fern said...

Wow, Nick. Just wow!

“I’m not upset with the boys,” Santiago said Saturday of the two teenagers charged with killing his son. “They didn’t have a good upbringing.”

He has lots of questions, but they are mostly for West. “Why did you go that way?” Santiago asked. He said he frequently told her to take another route when she walked their son in a neighborhood that has public housing projects on each end of the street.

Does he blame West? “Hell, yes, I do,” Santiago said.
_______________________

My suspicions of Santiago grow deeper. He isn't even UPSET with the boys who murdered his son? He "forgives" them, "prays" for them, and is sympathetic for their difficult upbringing? How the hell does Santiago know the boys had a difficult upbringing? How does he know that they live in "the projects"?

There is something quite hinky about Santiago, IMO. He shows more compassion towards the alleged teenage killers than he does for his own dead child.

Pak31 said...

I'm agreeing with most of you. Something is way off with this mom. I just never felt comfortable with her story from day one so it's good to see that others feel the same. I don't think she's innocent. I think she owed money and maybe brought her baby along as a way to feel safer knowning she was meeting them. When she told him she didn't have his money he got upset and killed the little boy as revenge for non payment. Even though there are a lot of evil people, I find it surprising that the baby was shot. Most won't hurt a baby unless it's drug related. Why would they kill him and not her over not having money in her purse if it was some random mugging? I think she knows these boys or knows who ever sent them. Her complete lack of emotions and bigger concern over protecting her purse than her child makes me think she's guilty.

Anonymous said...

I bet when her first son was killed Sherry got money from gov for it. And now she was desperate for cash again so she faked the murder of her second son so she could get another pay out. Those boys were not on the scene, either she or her boyfriend did the shooting themselves.

Pak31 said...

NICK said: The father of Antonio sounds like a scumbag. In an Interview for ajc, he said he doesn't blame the suspects because of their upbringing, but he blames Sherry. He said she should have taken another route. He was arrested after yelling at her; blaming her for what happened.

http://ajc.com/news/news/anger-disbelief-grip-brunswick-after-toddlers-shoo/nW233/----------------------------Wow, he's blaming her for his death? Did you also notice in that article that it said she had her son's body cremated and disposed of because she didn't want to see him in a box? Disposed? Does that mean she had him cremated and then thrown in the trash? I don't get it at all.

Anonymous said...

don't know exact $ #'s she would have access too -- but on initial search of crime restitution, in Texas a person may apply for up to $50,000.00 cash for having their child murdered. no insurance policy necessary.

Anonymous said...

A mom that normally doesn’t get out of the house decides to take a walk down a street filled with housing projects. She was warned not to do down this street. Remember in the uncut video Sherry West stated that her neighbor was in her home smoking crack. I don't think the post office was the only place Sherry went on Thursday morning.

Rose said...

More reading in the comments here AND based upon what the mother said, I am starting to believe that the thing that set this whole thing off was drugs. The mother herself says that the murder may be related to the neighbor who smoked crack. That does not really make any sense at all. But is does link the event in the mother's mind with "smoking crack."

Here is what I think happened:

Mom took her baby with her to either do drugs or buy drugs. Something went down during that time (argument, debt owed) that resulted in the murder of the baby. This is why the police were suspicious of her, and why her boyfriend was livid with her. You see, she took her baby down THAT street. THAT street is known to be a "bad" street (i.e. a place where people buy, sell, and use drugs). No one in their right mind would take their baby down that street on a "stroll." Police may either know that the incident happened near a crack den, or they just may know that mom is a user. Maybe the other reason dad is so ticked at her - she perhaps promised him that she would no longer go "down that street".

I think this would explain why no thinks she is grieving enough. Sure, she is grieving, but not the way one would imagine a mother would in that situation. As we have see on this blog over and over again, drug users never make deep emotional bonds with their children.

Apple said...

Rose said:
"As we have see on this blog over and over again, drug users never make deep emotional bonds with their children."

-------------------
Well said.

Fern said...

Just some random thoughts...

Where was it reported that West seldom left the house? Santiago "frequently" urged Sherry to take a safer route. To me, that indicates that taking a stroll wasn't necessarily out of her character.

I think the drug link is weak at best. It has been reported that West lived at her residence for some six or seven years. I'm sure Santiago and/or neighbors would have caught on to drug use.

I find it interesting that Santiago attacked West for taking that particular route that fateful morning. Shouldn't he be angry that Sherry didn't give up her purse?

I think that little boy would have been shot even if West forfeited her purse. Pure speculation...but I believe that baby was targeted. And I doubt very much that baby Antonio slept through four gun shots and the altercation before taking one to the face. I do hope he remained sleeping, but I find it highly unlikely.

I hope Peter considers examining Santiago's comments.



Devrie said...

"I can't believe that this would happen." It did happen. I find this language odd.

I want to add that the comments on expensive babies are important, considering Antonio was the one fatally shot. That may indicate that the shooters spared her life because she still owes some debt. The mother linked this supposedly random tragedy to some crack-head neighbor. Why? Luis is pissed at the mother, not so much the boys. Why?

CRM said...

After reading about the father blaming the mother, I wonder if the father is the addict. I have seen, many times,, my sister's husband blame her for things he has done. He has yelled at and berated her for acts he has committed, and my sister takes it. I'm interested to know if the father works. In my sister's marriage, she is the one who works, so when her husband owes money for drugs, it's her that is confronted. I wonder if the father owed money, and those boys knew the mother would be their only chance of getting paid. The mother would have guilty knowledge of the shooting and would also be trying to protect the father. I have no doubt that my sister would sacrifice my nieces and nephews to help her husband.

Anonymous said...

This video interview with her is making my head spin. How anyone can watch this and NOT question her story is beyond me.


http://youtu.be/DdkY1nmMxfU

Anonymous said...

the boyfriend shot the baby and sherry in the "safe" place she supposedely ran to after the incident. he had previously arranged to then go shopping with a neighbor (alibi) -- then ~some minutes later Sherry starts screaming. tells everybody it just happened, she was chock full of painkillers of some kind this is why she "didn't feel it". the boyfriend got the idea of blaming black kids from a news piece he had recently seen about a baby getting shot in Chicago. the motive is CASH. victim's restitution to be precise. sherry learned from death of her first son that she gets paid lots when her child is murdered, -- she also gets paid lots more if she is rendered disabled by the voilence -- thus her priority to show this has happened to her via the bullit in the leg. It's a double indemnity kind of plot. And the teens arrested just happened to be truent and unnacounted for that day -- some boys were gonna be -- sherry and her boyfriend counted on it as part pf their plan.

Anonymous said...

if anybody has weird eyebrows it's her and her boyfriend

John Mc Gowan said...

Q;"Tell us what happened"

A:"I was walking back from the post office,I DON'T GO OUT ENOUGH"

"I DON'T GO OUT ENOUGH"

This is extra information,she has gone beyond the boundaries of the question asked.Anytime someone go's beyond the question asked we take note.Some people feel the need to justify their actions,we look at why they feel the need.

So why did she tell us this?
Why does she want us to know she doesn't go out much?

Couple this with the word LEFT,when she said"I LEFT to go to the post office"

We know that when someone feels the need to tell us they left somewhere it is highly sensitive.


"I DON'T GO OUT MUCH"

"I LEFT"

What was going on in that house for her to show such high sensitivity?

Tania Cadogan said...


BRUNSWICK, Ga. – Police in Georgia say an anonymous tip helped them make arrests in the shooting death of baby who was killed in a stroller.

The Brunswick Police Department said Sunday that they got a tip that someone was crouched in the back seat of a vehicle as it drove away from the shooting Thursday. The Glynn County detective's division spent hours following up on the tip and eventually arrested a 14-year-old suspect. The boy's statements led them to take 17-year-old De'Marquise Elkins into custody.

Elkins is charged with murder in the death of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago. The baby's mother, Sherry West, said she was walking home when Elkins and a younger boy approached and asked her for money.

Elkins' family says he did not shoot the baby.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/25/police-anonymous-tip-led-them-to-arrests-in-case-baby-who-was-killed-in/#ixzz2OXX0dINh

John Mc Gowan said...

This is from DeMarquise Elkins Facebook, NO source...


SHE SAID THAT SHE WENT IN FOR NOT ONE BUT TWO (2) PHOTO LINE UPS, AND COULD NOT ID HIM, BUT THIS IS THE MAN THAT STOOD IN YOUR FACE SAYING GIVE ME YOUR PURSE OR I WILL KILL YOUR BABY AND SHOT YOU, SO THAT TOOK 5 MINS OR MORE SHOT YOU, AND THE BABY DAYLIGHT AND (2) LINE-UPS AND YOU COULD NOT ID HIM! HOW COULD YOU FORGET THE FACE OF WHOM TOOK YOUR CHILD LIFE?

Anonymous said...

Has anyone mentioned the discrepancy between number of shots heard by neighbors versus number of shots she says were fired? She says the gunman fired 4 times: once into the ground; once at her head, grazing her ear; once at her again, hitting her in the leg; and finally a fourth time, shooting her baby in the face.

But in the 911 call, the woman on the phone reports hearing 3 shots, not 4. I am betting the bullet that she says grazed her ear was never fired and the superficial injury she showed on her ear wasn't caused by a bullet at all.

I am betting 3 shots were fired. If she was the shooter, she probably shot the baby first and then missed the first time she tried to shoot herself in the leg. If she had help, whoever her accomplice was missed on his/her first attempt to hit the leg. That's where the shot into the ground comes from in the narrative.

Anonymous said...

I wonder how the baby could be sleeping in his stroller when he was shot. According to mom's telling of the events, he was asleep but this would mean he slept through his mother arguing with the gunman and the other boy AND 3 shots being fired (if you believe the mother's account of hw many shots). After all that the boy would have woken up and most likely been crying hysterically in his stroller.

If he was sleeping when shot, then he was shot first; before she was shot, not after 3 other shots and not after a loud and tense argument. Of course, the way it probably went down is that she (or her accomplice) shot the boy first, then her leg. So he might have been sleeping when he was shot, but he wouldn't have been sleeping when shot if it went down the way she claims.

JerseyJane said...

Thanks Nanna-Frances.... The Aunt saying the arrested teen was with her for breakfast and such did NOT happened on the day of toddlers murder...

Mom is a victim and she has been sharing every fact, thought, and every extra mental quess that crosses her mind.. Even over-stating with extra info. Her child and her are victims, her heart and mind are putting it all out there. I would too times a millionbilliontrillonblahblah...
I would pack 99% of my babies stuff too. So my baby can live thru another child, so there is no break in his life here on earth.. My babies' favorite blanky would be at the morgue on him.

Sus said...

Anons with the conspiracy theories and nothing to back you up, please cool it.

The aunt of the 14 year old gave them a ride and saw Demarquis with a gun shortly after the shooting. (See my post above to cite the article.)

Obviously, Demarquis's aunt is lying when she says he was with him.

Another obvious point is that the 14 year old is talking. (See Hobnob's post above.)

SAlurker said...

Even with the arrests of the 17 & 14 YO's. I still feel something is terribly off with the story we've been told so far.

I don't know what it is-but something major is missing from the puzzle.

Again, I hope I'm wrong. But my gut is saying otherwise.

Anonymous said...

Mom reports that baby was shot as he was sleeping. How was he able to sleep through 2 - 3 gunshots that she claims were aimed at her and which were loud enough to be heard by neighbors prompting calls to 911? A mother who has just witnessed the murder of her baby giving television interviews and had enough wherewithall to put on lipstick and eye makeup? She has also reportedly already packed up his clothing and toys for donation to charity. Her story vascilates - first she says she draped her body over the baby and was pushed out of the way and then the baby shot; then she states that he walked over and shot her baby. Hmmmm.

Lemon said...

Regarding GSR tests, search for weapon:
Snipped-

"Immediately after the shooting, detectives searched her [Sherry West's] home for a gun and conducted gun residue tests on both her and the baby's father, West said, adding that the tests were negative and the search did not turn up a gun.

Citing the ongoing investigation, police spokesman Todd Rhodes declined to comment when asked about the search and those tests."

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/25/us/georgia-baby-killed/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Fern said...

"I thought he was just using a toy gun to scare me. And then he shot at my head, and the bullet grazed my ear and the side of my head, and then he shot me in the leg, and I still thought that it was a fake gun," she told CNN's "Piers Morgan Live."

"He kept asking me (for money), and I kept telling him I don't have any," she said. "He shot my baby in the face, and then I knew it was a real gun."


http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/national/demarquise-elkins-dominique-lang-sherry-west-update-lawyer-defends-teens-in-baby-killing-case#ixzz2OeKvhkWV
_______________________

Sherry West was shot TWICE and STILL thought the gun was fake? It took a bullet to her son's face to convince her the gun was real?

Granted, I've never been shot (knock-on-wood) but I believe I would feel SOMETHING if a bullet grazed my ear and another went into my upper leg.

Fern said...

The daughter of Sherry West, Ashley Glassey, said she does not want to falsely accuse anyone but she wants the truth.

Glassey, 21, lives in New Jersey and said her mother lost custody of her when she was 8. She said she has forgiven her mom and has spoken to her every day since Thursday's shooting but said some of her mother's responses have her concerned.

Glassey said she started to have her doubts after receiving a phone call from her mother telling her that her brother, Antonio Santiago, had been killed. She claims the night of the shooting her mother asked, "How soon do you think life insurance policy will send me a check?"

Glassey tells First Coast News she hopes her suspicions are wrong but based on conversations with her mother she's not sure. Glassey described their discussions by saying her mother is crying one minute and then sounds fine the next.

"I spoke with the detectives and investigators and the evidence leads to many witnesses, not just me," said Sherry West, mother of the 13-month-old that was killed last Thursday morning.

Glassey says her mother is bipolar and has schizophrenic tendencies. She believes her mother is on medication but could not tell me any prescriptions specifically.

"She changed her story she told me the baby was shot first and then she told me she was shot first," said Glassey.

Fern said...

Just rambling here...

I believe these boys MAY be involved in a "murder-for-hire" situation orchestrated by West and/or Santiago. West's injuries were essentially superficial.

But why would West ID Elkins as the shooter if she herself was involved? That is a big reason why I'm suspicious of Santiago and his "compassion" towards these two young men. Santiago's capacity to "forgive" and "pray for" these boys is frankly unnerving.

The big question is whether or not there is an existing policy on Antonio's life.

If Ashley Glassey's conversations with her mother are to be trusted (and I'm not sure they should be), wouldn't Ashley ask if there was a policy when Sherry brought up a life insurance payout?

Anyway...sorry for the rambling...

Rose said...

I am sure the daughter is right in her assertion that something about this story does not add up at all. I do not think the mother personally shot herself and her baby, but she has some guilty knowledge about something. I highly doubt that this was a completely random act.

Fern said...

"Guilty knowledge." Totally agree. But by making the identification, Sherry may have just put herself in hot water.

I wonder why these boys didn't at least attempt to mask their faces. It was a pretty brazen act to pull off in broad daylight.

Honestly, I vacillate with this story. Something is so "off."

I'm floored that Santiago "blamed" West for the murder of their son because of the route she took home. Perhaps he was just lashing out in a state of intense grief, but he expressed that he wasn't even "upset" with the boys.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one...



Fern said...

If Ashley Glassey's account of her mother's mental illnesses is accurate, West is going to make a VERY bad witness. Bipolar with schizophrenic tendencies is going to punch holes in her already suspect story which keeps changing.

If it weren't for family members of Elkins and Lang suspecting their involvement, I would say these boys were being railroaded.

Jeff said...

"I spoke with the detectives and investigators and the evidence leads to many witnesses, not just me," said Sherry West.

In this quote, the mother admits that some of the evidence does lead to her.

Anonymous said...

As a mother of 5, it breaks my heart whenever a baby is hurt, let alone killed. But when I first saw this story on the news, I got a terrible feeling. The mother was being interviewed, and I'm not sure if it was her language, her body language, or a combination of both, but I immediately got the feeling that something was wrong. Since then I have read more of the story and it troubles me even more. Someone else mentioned mom's purse. If I were in that position, I would gladly hand over my purse. I think most moms would. But in this case mom only told the boys that she didn't have money. That just doesn't make any sense. Add to that not using the baby's name (distancing?) talking about how expensive babies are (absurd!) and asking about insurance, I really have a problem with this innocent lamb's death. It sickens me when mothers hurt their own children, and it was that same sick sense that I got when the story first broke. Something just isn't right here. I really believe mom isn't telling the truth and knows a lot more than she is letting on. So Peter: how do you see LE exposing the truth about this case.

Habundia said...

For those who think (said) they find it odd the baby slept through the incident? I can tell you from experience there are babies who sleep through everything.
My oldest was such a baby and still is now she is a teen.
When I was living with her father it was a toxic environment to live in. Domestic abuse by yelling, physical and mental abuse as there was sexual abuse (although I still have a hard time acknowledging that it was also sexual I've blamed myself for a long time to have stayed in that environment but I got out and have tried to forgive myself, yet I haven't been fully successful at it , still feeling guilty at times eventhouh it has been 13 years ago I left)
She, my daughter, has slept through many yelling and fighting. She also slept through a fire alarm that I accidentally activated when burning food on the stove, it woke up the whole house (safe house for battered woman) but she slept through it (I let her sleep because I knew it was false alarm)
One time she was sleeping close to a subwoofer when her father decided he wanted to hear some terror music and set the volume loud. very loud. I asked him to turn it softer, he wouldn't, she didn't wake up at all

So there are babies who sleep through loud noises, especially those who are brought up around noise or are just deep sleepers who sleep through everything.

After stating this. This story is still odd
I would love to hear what those arrested teens had to say about the incident. What did their statements reveal about this case?
Did their statements add to the strange way this mother has responed on the murder of her baby?

How could she have gotten money from the killing of her first child? He wasn't murdered. He was killed in selfdefence by the victim he wanted to rob and threatened with a knive.
How could she be able to get money from it? Seems as odd as this incident comes across.

It also isn't odd that partners blame one another for the death of a child if it was accidental. ...many marriages come to an end after a child is death because of different reasons, one of them can be one parent not be able to overcome blaming the other parent for causing the accident. They need someone to blame.
I don't know if the oldest child that was killed was also a child of this man who now lost his baby.....if it was I can see how he could blame the mom "for taking that route" (not saying it is her fault) but can see how he could feel that way.
But him being forgiven for the killers action does seem odd. Accept if he's aware of why this incident happened. if it was related to drugs and dept then it wouldn't be odd he blames the mother and not the killers.
It would be because of her actions that this happened (he would explain it, if she hadn't been into drugs it wouldn't have happened)
It's been almost 6 years ago....it would be interesting to see what has occurs in this time about this case.
Did these teens commit this crime and we're they arrested correctly? or is it a case of "innocent teens" locked up for a crime they didn't commit?
The numbers of innocent people in jail is like 90.000 (that's a lot!)