Here it is again
Deborah Lewis
From www.nwanews.com/adg/story_Arkansas.php?storyid=4726
Johnson County : Fire kills girl, 10, chained to bed
BY ERIC HAND
Posted on Thursday, November 13, 2003
Nothing was left in Molly Holts bedroom except an electric heater, a bed
frame, a chain and the two padlocks that kept her from escaping the fire
that killed her early Monday morning, Johnson County sheriff s deputies
said.
The fire destroyed her familys wooden, two-bedroom home on County Road
4430 about eight miles north of Clarksville.
Deputies arrested her parents after discovering the 10-year-old girl was
chained at her ankle and padlocked to the bed frame.
On Wednesday, Circuit Judge Dennis Sutterfield set a cash bond of
$100,000 each for Lloyd Lee Holt, 32, and Teresa Dick, 31, who escaped
the fire with their two other children, Johnson County Chief Deputy Jerry
Dorney said. He believed the other children were about 3 and 5.
The fire began about 11 p.m. Sunday in the front of the house near
Mollys bedroom, Dorney said. Investigators believe the fire was
electrical, and arson wasnt suspected, he said.
Holt, Dick and the two younger children escaped through a window in the
back bedroom where they were sleeping, Dorney said.
Nearly two hours later, when firefighters and deputies arrived, the house
was gone, except for its tin roof and brick chimney, he said.
In the two hours after the start of the fire, the family apparently tried
to make a 911 call. Their phone was burned. The keys to their car and
pickup lay somewhere in the fire. The nearest neighbor lived more than a
half-mile away, Dorney said.
They set off on foot Holt in coveralls, Dick in a raincoat, and the two
surviving children in their underwear, Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons
said. A passing couple picked the family up and took them to Holts
brothers residence, Dorney said.
There they finally made a 911 call at 12:45 a.m.
Holt and his brother, Henry Holt Jr., returned to the rubble and met
deputies as they arrived. Lloyd Holt told them his daughter was inside
and he wasnt able to get her out, Dorney said.
Deputies found Mollys skeletal remains under the bed frame.
A metal link chain was looped around the frame and twice around her left
ankle, where two padlocks secured her, Deputy Coroner Ashley Davis said.
Davis pronounced Molly dead at 2:39 a.m. He said she probably woke up and
tried to crawl to the door but died of smoke inhalation. Very little of
her body remained by the time he arrived, he said. "Every time I think
Ive seen everything, you see something new. It just blows your mind,"
Davis said. "You cant even imagine it."
Gibbons said he would likely charge the couple with manslaughter. He said
it was no justification, but the girl "may have been mentally challenged
to some degree and may have had some behavioral problems." He didnt
think the chaining was a recent development. The girl may have received
special schooling in Clarksville, Gibbons said.
Joy Wilson, director of Forrester-Davis Center for the Developmentally
Disabled in Clarksville, could not be reached for comment. Julie Munsell,
spokesman for Department of Human Services, cited federal privacy laws
when declining to reveal any health-related services Molly received. But
she said the department had assigned investigators to ensure the welfare
of the surviving children.
Molly hadnt attended school for three years, according to Clarksville
Superintendent Don Johnston. Johnston said Molly transferred to the
district in 1999 and completed first grade in 2000.
In August 2000, Dick filed paperwork allowing home schooling for her
daughter, Johnston said.
Holt and Dick were being held Wednesday in the Johnson County jail in
lieu of bond. The surviving children are with Holts brother, Dorney
said. Holt and Dick are scheduled for arraignment in Circuit Court on
Jan. 15.
Johnson County : Fire kills girl, 10, chained to bed
BY ERIC HAND
Posted on Thursday, November 13, 2003
Nothing was left in Molly Holts bedroom except an electric heater, a bed
frame, a chain and the two padlocks that kept her from escaping the fire
that killed her early Monday morning, Johnson County sheriff s deputies
said.
The fire destroyed her familys wooden, two-bedroom home on County Road
4430 about eight miles north of Clarksville.
Deputies arrested her parents after discovering the 10-year-old girl was
chained at her ankle and padlocked to the bed frame.
On Wednesday, Circuit Judge Dennis Sutterfield set a cash bond of
$100,000 each for Lloyd Lee Holt, 32, and Teresa Dick, 31, who escaped
the fire with their two other children, Johnson County Chief Deputy Jerry
Dorney said. He believed the other children were about 3 and 5.
The fire began about 11 p.m. Sunday in the front of the house near
Mollys bedroom, Dorney said. Investigators believe the fire was
electrical, and arson wasnt suspected, he said.
Holt, Dick and the two younger children escaped through a window in the
back bedroom where they were sleeping, Dorney said.
Nearly two hours later, when firefighters and deputies arrived, the house
was gone, except for its tin roof and brick chimney, he said.
In the two hours after the start of the fire, the family apparently tried
to make a 911 call. Their phone was burned. The keys to their car and
pickup lay somewhere in the fire. The nearest neighbor lived more than a
half-mile away, Dorney said.
They set off on foot Holt in coveralls, Dick in a raincoat, and the two
surviving children in their underwear, Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons
said. A passing couple picked the family up and took them to Holts
brothers residence, Dorney said.
There they finally made a 911 call at 12:45 a.m.
Holt and his brother, Henry Holt Jr., returned to the rubble and met
deputies as they arrived. Lloyd Holt told them his daughter was inside
and he wasnt able to get her out, Dorney said.
Deputies found Mollys skeletal remains under the bed frame.
A metal link chain was looped around the frame and twice around her left
ankle, where two padlocks secured her, Deputy Coroner Ashley Davis said.
Davis pronounced Molly dead at 2:39 a.m. He said she probably woke up and
tried to crawl to the door but died of smoke inhalation. Very little of
her body remained by the time he arrived, he said. "Every time I think
Ive seen everything, you see something new. It just blows your mind,"
Davis said. "You cant even imagine it."
Gibbons said he would likely charge the couple with manslaughter. He said
it was no justification, but the girl "may have been mentally challenged
to some degree and may have had some behavioral problems." He didnt
think the chaining was a recent development. The girl may have received
special schooling in Clarksville, Gibbons said.
Joy Wilson, director of Forrester-Davis Center for the Developmentally
Disabled in Clarksville, could not be reached for comment. Julie Munsell,
spokesman for Department of Human Services, cited federal privacy laws
when declining to reveal any health-related services Molly received. But
she said the department had assigned investigators to ensure the welfare
of the surviving children.
Molly hadnt attended school for three years, according to Clarksville
Superintendent Don Johnston. Johnston said Molly transferred to the
district in 1999 and completed first grade in 2000.
In August 2000, Dick filed paperwork allowing home schooling for her
daughter, Johnston said.
Holt and Dick were being held Wednesday in the Johnson County jail in
lieu of bond. The surviving children are with Holts brother, Dorney
said. Holt and Dick are scheduled for arraignment in Circuit Court on
Jan. 15.
[email protected]
In a message dated 11/13/2003 10:23:59 AM Central Standard Time,
ddzimlew@... writes:
In August 2000, Dick filed paperwork allowing home schooling for her
daughter, Johnston said.
~~~~
Remember to say...it happened at night, while the child was sleeping, just as
if she were in public school.
sad and horrifying.
Tuck
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
ddzimlew@... writes:
In August 2000, Dick filed paperwork allowing home schooling for her
daughter, Johnston said.
~~~~
Remember to say...it happened at night, while the child was sleeping, just as
if she were in public school.
sad and horrifying.
Tuck
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
J. Stauffer
<<some parents can and will use the privacy of homeschooling to conceal
abuse or neglect.>>
I don't know this family but the report said that the girl was at least
rumored to have mental or behavioral issues.
I have worked in psychiatric facilities and homes for children with severe
and profound mental retardation. Restraints are certainly not uncommon,
would not be considered abuse by the powers that be. For example, one child
would repeatedly chew on his hands like an infant. Not a problem for an
infant because they grow out of it. When the child has been doing it for 17
years, the tissue breaks down and infections set in. I remember this child
in restraints for hours long periods each day. It was ordered by her doctor
and considered therapeutic.
Julie S.
abuse or neglect.>>
I don't know this family but the report said that the girl was at least
rumored to have mental or behavioral issues.
I have worked in psychiatric facilities and homes for children with severe
and profound mental retardation. Restraints are certainly not uncommon,
would not be considered abuse by the powers that be. For example, one child
would repeatedly chew on his hands like an infant. Not a problem for an
infant because they grow out of it. When the child has been doing it for 17
years, the tissue breaks down and infections set in. I remember this child
in restraints for hours long periods each day. It was ordered by her doctor
and considered therapeutic.
Julie S.
----- Original Message -----
From: <KathrynJB@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2003 3:27 PM
Subject: [UnschoolingDiscussion] Re: Here it is again
> I guess it brings us back to the fact that, yes, some parents can and will
> use the privacy of homeschooling to conceal abuse and/or neglect. There
are even
> people who abuse children in the name of homeschooling. It doesn't justify
> laws that make it hard to homeschool (because it's not that hard to
conceal
> anyway), but we can't pretend it doesn't happen.
>
> Argh....that poor girl.
>
> Kathryn
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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