Jump to content
IGNORED

Williams Abuse Trial - Hana Alemu/Hannah Williams - Merge


wild little fox

Recommended Posts

I think that the testimony given by a bio daughter may be very damaging. She stated that her mom did not tell Hannah to come inside but told her to do jumping jacks to keep warm. She also stated that mom sent two older brothers out to beat Hana.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To do Anderson Cooper justice, wasn't his show cancelled? He has interviewed Pearl in the past, and sent a reporter to do a follow-up interview after Hana's death I think. Here is one link, but I need to look for the follow-up interview:

There is a definite silence from the rest of the crowd that are usually interested in these type of cases. I detest Nancy Grace and agree with Starfish. Nancy Grace is a supremely lazy journalist who just shoots from the hip without doing proper research.

What about Jane Velez-Mitchell? She is pretty in-your-face too, but identifies as a person of color. Anyone have a contact with her?

It is really depressing that Hana's cousin seems to have disappeared and has over-stayed his visa. I hope he is alright and turns up very soon. If he just tried to stay on in the USA illegally, the defense will use it to discredit his testimony.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Regarding Hana's cousin, hopefully none of Larry's Boeing thug friends went out and beat him up.

And why the heck didn't the prosecution check into the cousin's immigration status before they put him on

the stand? That's bad, bad, bad, bad. (cannot think of the right words to show my disdain). They should

have checked him out before they got him up there. If there was a problem with his status, they could

have fixed it with help from the feds. Good grief. The defense will be all over that. The prosecution can still

win, but it sets up an unnecessary appellate issue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Regarding Hana's cousin, hopefully none of Larry's Boeing thug friends went out and beat him up.

And why the heck didn't the prosecution check into the cousin's immigration status before they put him on

the stand? That's bad, bad, bad, bad. (cannot think of the right words to show my disdain). They should

have checked him out before they got him up there. If there was a problem with his status, they could

have fixed it with help from the feds. Good grief. The defense will be all over that. The prosecution can still

win, but it sets up an unnecessary appellate issue.

The prosecution paid to fly the cousin over, I think, just to testify. It sounds like he just didn't get on the plane to go home. The defense is going to try and subpoena a police officer to testify about this to try and discredit his testimony.

The cross-examination of Immanuel (the child from Ethiopia adopted at the same time) has been pretty harsh. Lots of eye rolling and attempts to confuse and discredit him. There were lots of pointed questions about things that he enjoys. Defense was trying to imply that he is being bribed or getting treats for his testimony. I get that it's their job, but it's hard to watch this kid get told he's a dirty liar all over again. I guess the prosecution is allowing some of this stuff because they feel like it's monstrously unsympathetic to the jury. Given that that one juror fell asleep today during testimony about what constitutes torture, I'm afraid they might have misjudged these people and are letting the kid be put through hell for nothing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The prosecution paid to fly the cousin over, I think, just to testify. It sounds like he just didn't get on the plane to go home. The defense is going to try and subpoena a police officer to testify about this to try and discredit his testimony.

The cross-examination of Immanuel (the child from Ethiopia adopted at the same time) has been pretty harsh. Lots of eye rolling and attempts to confuse and discredit him. There were lots of pointed questions about things that he enjoys. Defense was trying to imply that he is being bribed or getting treats for his testimony. I get that it's their job, but it's hard to watch this kid get told he's a dirty liar all over again. I guess the prosecution is allowing some of this stuff because they feel like it's monstrously unsympathetic to the jury. Given that that one juror fell asleep today during testimony about what constitutes torture, I'm afraid they might have misjudged these people and are letting the kid be put through hell for nothing.

There is something very strange about the disappearance of the cousin. I hope people are not jumping to conclusions re. him wanting to stay in the US and that he isn't lying dead in a ditch somewhere. I saw a clip where a police officer said that when they checked his motel room after he missed the flight all his belongings were still there. If he were going to do a runner, you'd think he'd take his stuff with him.

That defense attorney's eye-rolling and badgering of Immanuel really pissed me off. I hope the jury was pissed off too. Perhaps the guy who went to sleep was just an ass and the rest of the jury is paying attention.

I see that one of the older sons (the ones given immunity) is on the stand today and is saying that Hana was "only" eating outside twice a week, but he did agree that she was sleeping in the closet. :angry-banghead:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought the punk said she only got to eat twice a week. Guess I read that too quickly.

I cannot believe that the judge/prosecution is letting the defense do that to Immanuel.

Ya'll can make fun of Texas all you want, and it's deserved, but I cannot think of a judge in any of the state

courts where I work who would ever permit a child to be manhandled like that.

I wonder if Washington state elects their judges or appoints them....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

someone (in the US) should shoot an email to CNN etc....

My daughter turned on CNNN today and there was something about the trial in the bottom-of-the-screen crawl, but I didn't catch what it said.

I think Anderson's syndicated talk show was the show that was cancelled and not the one that he does for CNN, AC 360.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Such a pretty girl. And she looked happy in the online photos I saw. Why did the parents single out this one child for abuse? Or were others abused but just not murdered yet? Why do that to someone? Call for help, place the child for adoption, give her back to the state. DO something, other than abuse/murder the child. Adoptions can be interrupted. I know a family who did that, after ten years. But at least they didn't kill him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Such a pretty girl. And she looked happy in the online photos I saw. Why did the parents single out this one child for abuse? Or were others abused but just not murdered yet? Why do that to someone? Call for help, place the child for adoption, give her back to the state. DO something, other than abuse/murder the child. Adoptions can be interrupted. I know a family who did that, after ten years. But at least they didn't kill him.

Larry and Carri Williams are hard-core fundies and control freaks to the nth degree. They would have never admitted the

adoption didn't work out. Never. They would have never asked for help, not when they know everything. To the end, they refuse to admit that they did anything wrong.

Their family dynamic was very patriarchal in name, but Carri ran that home like a Latin American dictatorship. She beat those other kids from the time they were born into mindless obedience. There was no public school for the children, it was all Carri, all the time. It was no vaccinations and prairie style dresses. We all know the type.

Hana and Immanuel were older when they were adopted. I truly don't think it was a matter of disobedience or rebellion. I'm not taking Larry and Carri's word for it. I think they imagined having perfect black toddlers to complete their family, but these children were older. Carri said she thought she was getting a young daughter, not a "grown woman' as she told friends. She seemed to resent Hana's puberty. If you looked at her and how pinched she looks, it's not hard to imagine she's messed up regarding sexuality.

Although Immanuel had a tough time, Carri scapegoated Hana. Only Carri can answer why she did it, but I don't care why. The important thing is that she did it, and she needs a long stretch in the penitentiary to obsess over germs. Ditto Larry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually if you read the police and forensic reports and the interviews with the other children, you can see why Carri did this.

Hanna had Hepatitis B, a condition that was DISCLOSED to them when they adopted her. Hanna did fairly well in their home UNTIL SHE HAD HER FIRST PERIOD.

Carri claims that Hanns smeared blood all over the bathroom. The testimony of the biological children is that it was a DROP OF BLOOD ON THE TOILET SEAT.

Carrie Williams is said to be an uber control freak who was obsessed with cleanliness and an irrational fear of diseases. She should have absolutely NEVER been permitted to adopt Hanna with her Hep B status. None of the bio kids were vaccinated in any fashion and when Hanna started having her period, Carri became absolutely OBSESSED with the need to control Hanna and ensure she never exposed the bio-kids with her blood for fear she would expose the bio-kids.

I suspect, because I know how Pearl techniques go down, that the more Carrie became controlling and abusive, the more Hanna and ultimately Immanuel as well became unable to "redeem" themselves. I think we've seen it in other adoptive homes where there is no attachment between the primary caregiver and the adoptees, that the more you push and abuse, the more the victims will withdrawal and be afraid to do anything because nothing is right.

I truly believe that Carri and Larry Williams demonstrated the end result of this constant adversarial mentality that develops in adoptions that start to go poorly. They sought no outside help and no SANE resources and remained a island of hell unto their own until someone died. Immanuel would have been next to die after Hanna. He's not wrong on that one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well said, Chaotic Life. I think you are right.

I also agree that the abuse of Immanuel was escalating and he would have been the next to die.

There's a new video clip up on the Remembrance of Hanna Facebook page showing the second oldest bio son Jacob's testimony. To clarify, he said that Hana was sent outside about two days a week. When asked how long she was made to go without food, he hesitates and says, "Two days."

This is a tweet from Gina Cole who is covering the trial for the Skagit Herald:

After Hana died, parents said not to tell police or CPS about the spankings, shower room or closet, 18-year-old son says.

Now, that is damning. It means that the parents knew their methods of punishment were wrong and were trying to stop the children from talking. I hope the jury is paying attention.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those poor kids. I can't imagine how scared and confused Hana must have been, wondering what she did to make these people, who were supposed to protect her, treat her in this hideous manner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even if she had smeared blood all over the bathroom, why would you punish her and not talk to her and help her?

I mean, I'd imagine that happening in a moment of terror scrambling the brain ("What the fuck is going on here? I'm bleeding out my what? Nononono I don't like this and I am really angry and scared") or not knowing what to do (wiping yourself, ending up with a bloody hand and touching surfaces) or anger for whatever reason (like a dirty protest). None of these seem to require punishment, all of them seem to require mum cleaning up the blood and sitting down and talking with/reassuring her daughter.

(I can remember vividly me freaking out when I got my first period. I was ten, and I knew what it was, but I hadn't imagined it happening so..soon. I burst into tears and refused to come out of the toilet. It was scary being a woman and I wasn't ready yet and I wanted to stay in there and be a child for at least a few minutes longer. )

Poor wee Hana. A big change occurred, she was upset, and maybe there was a drop of blood on the seat or whatever, who really gives a flying one. You can clean up blood but you can't sort out making your child feel as if they are diseased and disgusting.

Normal mums help their children through such changes and make sure they know it's all natural and they're loved and can come to Mum with any questions. It is so sad for her that she didn't have a normal mum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In addition to torture, does anyone reckon the starvation was done in part to keep Hana childlike? I understand that oftentimes a woman's reproductive system will go on hiatus if she undergoing a stressful situation, such as not having enough to eat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Food is a common object used to abuse and control, especially children. I think there is likely part of the abuse that involved trying to starve Hanna out of her periods, and certainly they are trying to cling to that part of it in claiming she had an eating disorder now. However, I think it is more that food is something the Williams could control, could evoke absolute terror out of Hanna and Immanuel and thus did so because as Immanuel has testified, they mocked Hanna even as they abused her.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My daughter turned on CNNN today and there was something about the trial in the bottom-of-the-screen crawl, but I didn't catch what it said.

I think Anderson's syndicated talk show was the show that was cancelled and not the one that he does for CNN, AC 360.

I want to correct that first sentence: The screen crawl I saw was about Hannah Anderson's kidnapping case and not Hannah Williams. I read Hannah Anderson and thought that sounded wrong because of the clothing company in Sweden. I apologize for my mistake. CNN or MSNBC really needs to be on this, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news ... f887a.html (Didn't break the link. It's a newspaper.)

One of the kids, one of the older boys, testified Friday. The prosecutor asked him about To Train up a Child.

Jesus, the last line of the article... The older kids still just do not seem to get it.

The 16-year-old said Friday he was “confused†when Child Protective Services removed him and his siblings from the home, and that he still feels that way two years later. On Friday, his voice shaking, he said he hopes the outcome of the case will be “that our family is back together.â€

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bumping to report that this story is front-page, above the fold in today's Seattle Times - but no mention of TTUAC or the Pearls. :x

seattletimes.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bumping to report that this story is front-page, above the fold in today's Seattle Times - but no mention of TTUAC or the Pearls. :x

seattletimes.com

I was just catching up on the story and saw the Seattle Times article. Reaching the front page is an improvement at least.

In other news: someone on the facebook page says that she is writing a book exposing the Pearls; the 16 year old, obviously a hostile witness, said that he thought Hana was possessed by demons and is still under subpoena so may be asked to testify again; and Immanuel testified for the last time on Monday. He has done a good job and is a brave young man. He walked out of the courtroom making no eye contact with his "parents."

I came across this too. It is the Seattle Ethiopian community's newspaper coverage of the trial and gives excellent weekly summaries of the case. http://ecseattle.org/2013/08/update-on- ... week-four/ (news link, not broken.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if the 16 year old is living with relatives, or is in foster care....

I read that he was with cousins in Spokane.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is some speculation that Larry will testify. Probably to throw his charming wife Carri under the bus. I'm sure he's one of these arrogant Patriarchs who think he will testify and clear everything up and then the jury will understand Hana was possessed and unclean and whatever other fundie crap he can make up.

I'd like to see the older boys prosecuted. At least indicted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.