Hana Williams' murder and the Pearls on Anderson Cooper 360

[starfish]

A/C did a piece on the murder of Hana Williams, the adopted daughter of Larry and Carrie Williams, tonight. We had a previous thread on this topic, b/c the Williams' were homeschooling Q/F types who followed the Pearls' book on how to murder your children if they take a step out of line.

It was a great piece, although somewhat depressing. The reporter followed ole Larry into court and shouted questions at him, like "How does God feel about the murder of your daughter??" rough paraphrase.

The 911 call is interesting. Carrie sounds perturbed that she has to be bothered. The operator asks what the emergency is, and she responds nonchantantly that she thinks her daughter has killed herself. The operator, somewhat perplexed, replies "Why do you think that?" And Carrie states, "Well, she's rebellious. She refuses to come into the house. And she's been throwing herself on the ground. Now she's collapsed.". Super calmly, like the cat got into the house and it's really irritating. What a whey-faced witch.

They showed old footage of the Pearls from the Lydia Schaltz murder. Old Man Pearl looks like some type of mountain troll hermit. No new footage of the Pearls, just showed their website statement.

The report indicated that lovely Carrie is living with mom and dad, while Larry is living at their home. The neighbors are super freaked out and called him creepy, although they declined to be interviewed.

I have this crazy idea that I would love it if someone from the board would go to their hearings wearing a "Free Jinger" tee shirt to show them that we are watching them....

[StarrieEyedKat]

The 911 call is interesting. Carrie sounds perturbed that she has to be bothered. The operator asks what the emergency is, and she responds nonchantantly that she thinks her daughter has killed herself. The operator, somewhat perplexed, replies "Why do you think that?" And Carrie states, "Well, she's rebellious. She refuses to come into the house. And she's been throwing herself on the ground. Now she's collapsed.". Super calmly, like the cat got into the house and it's really irritating.

:o

I have no words.

[Austin]

Shoot! I didn't rewind far enough and missed the 911 call. Off to set the DVR to tape the rerun at 2:00 a.m.

[StarrieEyedKat]

Shoot! I didn't rewind far enough and missed the 911 call. Off to set the DVR to tape the rerun at 2:00 a.m.

Yeah, I didn't catch it so that's the one I'll be watching too.

[starfish]

It's Carrie in her own words. They play it on the tease before the break, and as soon as they come back from break.

And they will be playing that thing all through the trial in front of the jury.....

[Lainey]

I had no idea what a weirdo Michael Pearl looked like. :shock: And what's with Debi Pearl's idiotic grin?

Yeah, she didn't sound hysterical on the 911 call. My mom is here, and she was watching it with me, and she said, "they look so normal." And they do. It's scary when you know more of the story that as far as I know, didn't get touched on on the show (like when you read the affidavit).

ETA: Grammar I can't do no good-like tonight.

[grateful1230]

the lack of afflection and the monotone is what frightens me. It's similar to Michelle Duggar's constant state of keeping sweet, it's just..well, not all that sweet.

[Lillybee]

I am so glad that the Pearls are getting national attention. Since Nancy Grace has such a strong anti-child abuse following, I wish she would do a story on this.

[ChickeyMonkey]

Would Debbi Pearl's smile be considered a "shit-eating grin"? Whenever I read that I never know exactly how to picture a grin such as that.

[JesusFightClub]

A/C did a piece on the murder of Hana Williams, the adopted daughter of Larry and Carrie Williams, tonight. We had a previous thread on this topic, b/c the Williams' were homeschooling Q/F types who followed the Pearls' book on how to murder your children if they take a step out of line.

It was a great piece, although somewhat depressing. The reporter followed ole Larry into court and shouted questions at him, like "How does God feel about the murder of your daughter??" rough paraphrase.

The 911 call is interesting. Carrie sounds perturbed that she has to be bothered. The operator asks what the emergency is, and she responds nonchantantly that she thinks her daughter has killed herself. The operator, somewhat perplexed, replies "Why do you think that?" And Carrie states, "Well, she's rebellious. She refuses to come into the house. And she's been throwing herself on the ground. Now she's collapsed.". Super calmly, like the cat got into the house and it's really irritating. What a whey-faced witch.

They showed old footage of the Pearls from the Lydia Schaltz murder. Old Man Pearl looks like some type of mountain troll hermit. No new footage of the Pearls, just showed their website statement.

The report indicated that lovely Carrie is living with mom and dad, while Larry is living at their home. The neighbors are super freaked out and called him creepy, although they declined to be interviewed.

I have this crazy idea that I would love it if someone from the board would go to their hearings wearing a "Free Jinger" tee shirt to show them that we are watching them....

That 911 call is super horrific. I am not a mum and will not ever be. But I guarantee 100 percent if a child of mine (these people don't seem to get that adoptees are their kids too) was refusing to come in and throwing themselves on the floor outside I would be out with them saying "What's happening, sweetheart? Why are you upset? Let's come inside and relax a bit." I would not just let it happen, a child in a state of extreme distress should never be ignored!

[YeOscarInat]

If folks wouldn't mind, could we please call this poor child by her birth name Hana Alemu? The "people" that adopted her don't deserve recognition in the form of pasting their name onto hers. :(

[Guest Anonymous]

"Hana Williams" murder will be more likely the name that is googled, and I would like folks unaware of the Pearls to be directed here. We tend to get high up in the google rankings on stuff like this, which is all good, as far as I am concerned.

[BravaAmica]

That 911 call is super horrific. I am not a mum and will not ever be. But I guarantee 100 percent if a child of mine (these people don't seem to get that adoptees are their kids too) was refusing to come in and throwing themselves on the floor outside I would be out with them saying "What's happening, sweetheart? Why are you upset? Let's come inside and relax a bit." I would not just let it happen, a child in a state of extreme distress should never be ignored!

I can't help but believe that if one of her birth children was acting that way, she would've been out there with umbrellas, raincoats, doing everything in her power to save that child. But because she didn't love (or even like) Hana, she just let her die out there.

I hope they never get custody of their kids back and that the parents go to jail for a long long time.

[Austin]

If folks wouldn't mind, could we please call this poor child by her birth name Hana Alemu? The "people" that adopted her don't deserve recognition in the form of pasting their name onto hers. :(

I totally understand and agree with your assessment of the Williams as "parents". I will try my best but may not remember the second name in later topics. I will just refer to her as "Hana".

But anniec is right about the google stuff, as people will be searching for Hana Williams.

[Koala]

:o

I have no words.

Dear lord....I don't even know what to say.

[Koala]

Link for those who weren't able to catch it: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/201 ... lliams.cnn

[Kelsey]

I thought she didn't allow Hana in. I could have sworn that's what I read in the affidavit. I think she was playing CYA by saying the girl refused to come inside.

[BravaAmica]

I thought she didn't allow Hana in. I could have sworn that's what I read in the affidavit. I think she was playing CYA by saying the girl refused to come inside.

She didn't allow her inside. That's an interesting theory, though. I wonder why they even called 911. They could've buried her and put out that she ran away. No one would've known or even followed up on the poor girl.

I'm inclined to think Ms. Williams is stupid. She didn't have a clue how to raise or manage children with RAD, and she abused and broke her own kids.

Has anyone found anything about the adoption agency? Was there no follow up? Do they even care that one of their placements was murdered? What has Ethiopia said, anything?

[YeOscarInat]

There's a facebook group dedicated to Hana's remembrance that has a lot of information:

www.facebook.com/groups/156422897766042/

The adoption agency was AAI out of Washington State. The facebook group has posted a letter from AAI that details the changes they are making in their program as a result of Hana's death.

The orphanage she lived in in Ethiopia has also been informed.

[Austin]

She didn't allow her inside. That's an interesting theory, though. I wonder why they even called 911. They could've buried her and put out that she ran away. No one would've known or even followed up on the poor girl.

I can't help but wonder if that isn't exactly what happens more often than we'd like to believe and nobody is the wiser.

[Guest Anonymous]

Here's another good link to the tv coverage with more links imbedded.

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/26259/v ... f-religion

[Austin]

I'm going to post the letter here for the facebook challenged (like me):

Letter from AAI, Hana's Adoption Agency,

Dear Adoptive Family,

Everyone at AAI is shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Hana, a 13 year old from Ethiopia who had been with her adoptive family for three years. She passed away in May and, after several months of investigation, the adoptive parents have been charged with homicide by abuse and assault of a child. The coroner determined the ...cause of death to be hypothermia. She died in the family’s yard. It is hard to imagine a more horrible end to the dream of a new life in America for this girl.

AAI learned of Hana’s death in August, seeing it in the press, as did everyone else. AAI quickly informed the Ministry of Women’s and Children’s Affairs in Ethiopia. The Minister asked AAI to arrange to have a representative from the Ministry travel to the U.S. to write a report. Adoption programs such as AAI working in Ethiopia are typically asked to host foreign delegations every few years and it had been six years since AAI had done this. Last week the Vice Minister came to Washington State, accompanied by AAI’s legal representative in Ethiopia, Temesgen. Meetings were arranged with the prosecuting attorney, lead detective, and child protective services involved with Hana’s case. The Vice Minister met with adoptive families in their homes and in groups, having the opportunity to converse with many Ethiopian children. He visited a school, a court room to attend a re-adoption, and met with AAI staff at th e office. He then visited another agency in Washington and one in Minnesota. He concluded, as we had, that given the circumstances it was not possible for AAI to have known or predicted the outcome of this adoption. It was his first visit to the U.S. He loved the beauty of the countryside, enjoyed seeing the children, and had his questions about Hana’s tragic death answered to the extent possible. Temesgen reports that it was a successful visit, given the sobering circumstances.

But, we ask ourselves, what can be done to prevent such a tragedy in the future? We have developed a new form that each adoptive family will be required to sign, that lists very clearly the types of discipline that are not allowed to be used in AAI’s adoptive families. Homestudy workers will be asked to speak with applicants in much more detail about discipline. Our goals are to eliminate applicants with harsh discipline plans and to promote training methods which are more humane, effective, and neurobiologically based. There will also be a change in the post placement schedule for agency visits. For families whose child arrives after November 1, 2011, reports will be required at 1, 6, 12 months intervals after placement. For families applying after this date, a fourth agency post placement report will be required at the 24 month mark. We are hoping that this elongated schedule will give us all a better idea of h ow placements are progressing while keeping families connected with their agencies and social workers for a longer period of time, allowing for more personalized support and guidance, if necessary.

Because of concerns raised by this tragic death, AAI has been given approval to request the assistance of law enforcement to make safety checks on any families who are behind on post placement reports. Several countries require that families submit reports annually until the child turns 18 years of age. In the past we have sent multiple reminders to some families asking for reports, in the future AAI will contact law enforcement for assistance if the reports are not forthcoming, to assure the well being of the children.

We are also pleased to know that the EMCA (Ethiopian Community Mutual Association) has responded by establishing a “HANA FUND†with the purpose of preventing cases of abuse and assault in adoptive families. This fund will promote a program of outreach and crisis intervention, focusing on cultural awareness, education, and counseling. For more information or to make a donation see ecmaseattle.org. Though EMCA is a Seattle organization they hope the effort will expand across the country.

Nothing will soften the impact of this sad death, but AAI will strive to learn, grow and improve as we reflect on the tragedy.

Bolding is mine. I think this is a step in the right direction, but have a couple of questions. One is, why wait until November 1? I know that is next week, but why not just make it "effective immediately". Maybe there were no children being adopted through the agency in the interim between when the letter was written and November 1, but if so, I wish they would say that.

And it also says "for families applying after that date" (November 1) there will be new safeguards put into place. Again, why not make this effective immediately to include any adoptions that are in process?

I am relying on memory here, but I don't believe that Hana had lost significant weight by the 12-month mark post adoption. The abuse had already started, no doubt, but was seriously ramped up in the next year or two as she entered adolescence. And who will generate these reports? If they're relying on family reports, couldn't the family just say anything they wanted?

[Austin]

This breaks my heart, too. This is a good friend of Hana's (also adopted from Ethiopia) commenting on another FB post:

Etaferahu Martha Kenbata Whicker me and are were in ethiopia we go to school and we are Adopted .and i live montan

Etaferahu Martha Kenbata Whicker my room and hanna room 1 bed room

Etaferahu Martha Kenbata Whicker she was my best friend

Etaferahu Martha Kenbata Whicker yes i was 17 when i was Adopted she is one awsome sister friend and smart. she like to cook ethiopia food and she love ethiopian food and her favit song is teddy and yes she have sister and brother her sister work and her parent die she told me there sick and die .i am 21 she is going to be in my heart all my life

Etaferahu Martha Kenbata Whicker i love her some much

[theologygeek]

That 911 call is super horrific. I am not a mum and will not ever be. But I guarantee 100 percent if a child of mine (these people don't seem to get that adoptees are their kids too) was refusing to come in and throwing themselves on the floor outside I would be out with them saying "What's happening, sweetheart? Why are you upset? Let's come inside and relax a bit." I would not just let it happen, a child in a state of extreme distress should never be ignored!

They made the child stay outside. I don't think the girl went outside of her own free will.

[BravaAmica]

I'm going to post the letter here for the facebook challenged (like me):

Letter from AAI, Hana's Adoption Agency,

But, we ask ourselves, what can be done to prevent such a tragedy in the future? We have developed a new form that each adoptive family will be required to sign, that lists very clearly the types of discipline that are not allowed to be used in AAI’s adoptive families. Homestudy workers will be asked to speak with applicants in much more detail about discipline. Our goals are to eliminate applicants with harsh discipline plans and to promote training methods which are more humane, effective, and neurobiologically based. There will also be a change in the post placement schedule for agency visits. For families whose child arrives after November 1, 2011, reports will be required at 1, 6, 12 months intervals after placement. For families applying after this date, a fourth agency post placement report will be required at the 24 month mark. We are hoping that this elongated schedule will give us all a better idea of h ow placements are progressing while keeping families connected with their agencies and social workers for a longer period of time, allowing for more personalized support and guidance, if necessary.

This is bull shit. A form?! Are you kidding me? I can sign something that I have no intention of honoring. I can write anything I please in a placement report. I could also scare some children into acting right for a home visit. I could lie about how I plan to discipline.

I am relying on memory here, but I don't believe that Hana had lost significant weight by the 12-month mark post adoption. The abuse had already started, no doubt, but was seriously ramped up in the next year or two as she entered adolescence. And who will generate these reports? If they're relying on family reports, couldn't the family just say anything they wanted?

I think you're right, the abuse ramped up after the 12-month mark. It's like they waited until they knew the adoption agency was out of their hair.