Text messages led to Florida beating death of a 15 yr. old girl

Messages flew back and forth between 15-year-old Josie Lou Ratley and 15-year-old Wayne Treacy Wednesday afternoon while she was in school and he was at home.

Until Ratley made a comment about Treacy's brother, who had committed suicide.

Enraged, Treacy pulled on his steel-toe boots, bicycled over to Deerfield Beach Middle School and pummeled Ratley, kicking her in the head with his boots up to seven times.

``They never even spoke to each other,'' BSO Sgt. Steve Feeley said of the moments leading up to the attack. ``It was strictly based on text messages.''

Thursday, Ratley remained in critical condition at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale. Treacy remained in custody, charged with premeditated attempted murder.

Another middle school student, 13-year-old Kayla Manson, also was in custody, facing a felony charge as an accessory because she knew about the planned attack and helped Treacy find Ratley.

The day began with Treacy trying to reach Manson, his ex-girlfriend.

Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti said Manson did not have a cellphone but had borrowed Ratley's phone in the past. So he sent Ratley a text, trying to meet up with Manson.

But Ratley disapproved of the relationship, and she responded with a comment about that, Lamberti said.

A series of texts followed, back and forth between Ratley and Treacy. At one point, Manson saw them. Then Ratley sent a comment about the suicide of Treacy's older brother last year.

Last October, on the day before Treacy's 15th birthday, he found his older brother hanging from a tree, said his lawyer, assistant public defender Betsy Benson. Michael Bell, whom Benson described as Treacy's ``closest family member,'' was 30.

Enraged at what Ratley had texted, Treacy put on his steel-toe boots and pedaled from his home in Pompano Beach to the middle school. He even sent other people text messages, saying he was going to kill her, BSO's Feeley said.

About 2:45 p.m., he arrived at the middle school at 701 SE Sixth Ave., he met Manson and almost attacked someone else until he was told that wasn't Ratley.

Manson then walked Treacy about 70 yards to where Ratley stood at the bus area on the school's east side, Feeley said, and pointed her out as the one in the red shirt with the black backpack.

Treacy rushed over, knocked her to the ground and stood over her, banging her head onto the concrete at least five or six times, according to an arrest report. Then he stood over her and repeatedly kicked her in the head up to seven times with his steel-toe boots.

``He was kicking her in the head soccer style at that point,'' Lamberti said.

A teacher saw the attack and pulled Treacy off Ratley, investigators said. Soon, a BSO school resource officer arrived.

Ratley was flown by helicopter to Broward General Medical Center, where she remained in critical condition on Thursday night.

Soon after the attack, deputies took Treacy into custody. Lamberti said that Treacy didn't show remorse. ``It seems we have a culture of callousness with our kids,'' he said.

On Thursday, deputies took Manson into custody also. She is charged as an accomplice in the attack, a principal in the first degree, because she knew about it and helped Treacy locate Ratley.

The same afternoon, Treacy appeared before Broward Circuit Judge Elijah Williams, his fists closed by his side as Williams spoke.

Williams found probable cause to hold Treacy for attempted premeditated murder. The teen will be held in juvenile detention for 21 days as prosecutors determine whether to charge him as an adult.

Williams scheduled his next court appearance for March 26.

Assistant Public Defender Benson said Treacy has no arrest history and was a student in good standing at Deerfield Beach High School. ``He was a good son,'' she said.

Treacy's mother, Donna Powers, wept silently but did not speak. His stepfather, Cary Smith, stood behind her and wrapped an arm around her protectively.

Wednesday's attack took place at the same middle school where Michael Brewer was a student. Last October, Brewer was surrounded by a group of schoolmates, doused in rubbing alcohol and set ablaze. Brewer, burned over two-thirds of his body, survived the attack but continues undergoing physical therapy.

Three teens, also from the middle school, have been charged with second-degree attempted murder in that case.

VIDEO: NOW THIS IS AN ENTRANCE

JOKE: Psychiatrist vs. Bartenders

Ever since I was a child, I've always had a fear of someone under my bed at night. So I went to a shrink and told him. . . 'I've got problems. Every time I go to bed I think there's somebody under it. I'm scared. I think I'm going crazy.'

'Just put yourself in my hands for one year,' said the shrink. 'Come talk to me three times a week and we should be able to get rid of those fears.'

'How much do you charge?'

$90 per visit,' replied the Doctor.

"I'll sleep on it," I said.

Six months later the doctor met me on the street.

'Why didn't you ever come to see me about those fears you were having,' he asked.

'Well, ninety bucks a visit, three times a week for a year is an awful lot of money! A bartender cured me for $10.00.I was so happy to have saved all that money that I went and bought me a new pickup!'

'Is that so!' With a bit of an attitude, he said, 'and how, may I ask, did a bartender cure you?'

'He told me to cut the legs off the bed! Ain't nobody under there now!'

ATTENTION ALL DOGS!!!

ATTENTION ALL DOGS!!!

THE FOLLOWING ARE IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS FOR EVERY DOG TO KNOW

Instructions for properly hugging a baby .

1. First, spy a baby .

2. Second, be sure that the object you spied was indeed a baby by employing classic sniffing techniques. If you smell baby powder and the wonderful aroma of wet diapers this is indeed a baby.

3. Next you will need to flatten the baby before actually beginning the hugging process. **Note: The added slobber should help in future steps by making the "paw slide" easier .

4. The "paw slide" - Simply slide paws around baby and prepare for possible close up.

5. Finally, if a camera is present, you will need to execute the difficult and patented "hug, smile, and lean" so as to achieve the best photo quality.

Dogs, if this is properly done, it will secure you a warm, dry, climate-controlled environment for the rest of your life. Good luck to all of you

VIDEO: UNBELIEVABLE..INDIAN WALL OF DEATH

Taking the Dog for a Ride

Toddler and baby siblings 'are quadruplets'

A Lincolnshire, England woman has had triplets, two years after the birth of her first daughter from the same set of eggs, making them quadruplets, doctors said.

Experts at Nottingham's Care Fertility Clinic described the latest births as "most unusual".

The Baxter family, from Grantham, said they were "gobsmacked" by the arrivals.

"It is most unusual to see a set of triplets born from frozen embryos after a successful previous pregnancy from the same batch," a Care spokesman said.

The babies' mother, Helen Baxter, had frozen her remaining embryos after falling pregnant with Alice, now two, and then doctors defrosted them and put three back.

Alice now has sisters Niamh and Maisie and a brother, Noah, who were born in January.

"We were gobsmacked," Mrs Baxter said. "It was a complete shock. We never imagined that we would end up with three babies from that same batch.

"We went through the first cycle of fertility treatment and they harvested nine eggs from me, of which eight were fertilised.

"We put two back in and we got Alice.

"When we went through the cycle again they put three back in."

Mrs Baxter said: "We have had to buy a new car obviously to accommodate everybody. We have had to go out and buy three of everything - which has been a bit of a shock."

Medical director Ken Dowell said: "To have four babies from one set of eggs is very unusual.

"We run a big unit and we have never seen anything like it before in the 15 years we have been running the unit. It is a fantastic situation."

JOKE: An old, tired-looking dog wandered into the yard.

An old, tired-looking dog wandered into the yard. I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home.

He followed me into the house, down the hall, and fell asleep in a corner. An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.

The next day he was back, resumed his position in the hall, and slept for an hour. This continued for several weeks.

Curious, I pinned a note to his collar: "Every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap."

The next day he arrived with a different note pinned to his collar: "He lives in a home with ten children -- he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?"

Missing woman found rotting under motel bed

The body of a Memphis woman missing since January was found on Monday under the mattress of the hotel room where she had been living. "The hotel staff actually made the discovery and called us," says Joseph Scott with the Memphis Police Department.

On January 27, 2010 Sony Millbrook was reported missing to the Memphis Police Department after she failed to pick-up her children from school. Officers were notified after family members received a call from the school that Sony had not picked up the children from school.

Family members advised officers that they checked the hotel where Sony Millbrook has been residing and she was not there. The family indicated no one was in the room. Sony had been staying at the Budget Lodge room 222 at 1533 East Brooks and was last seen there at 7:00 am by a staff member who advised officers the room had been locked out today for lack of payment but all of personal belongings were still inside the apartment. Officers contacted the Budget Lodge to verify this information via telephone.

The case was assigned to the Missing Persons Bureau for follow-up investigation, however due to the nature of the incident the case was reassigned to Homicide in February. A Homicide Investigator conducting a follow-up went to the Budget Lodge, and spoke to two clerks and a security guard. The investigator learned that Ms Millbrook did not make a payment after January 26th and her belongs were boxed up and the room released for rental. The family had been there on the 27th and 28th and removed items from the room. The room had been rented three times since January 29th till February 4th.

On March 15, 2010 Homicide Investigators were called to the Budget Inn room 222 where the body of a female had been located under the bed, after a report of bad odour was reported in the room. The body was identified as Sony Millbrook and it is apparent that she was the victim of a homicide. The cause of death is not being released at this time.

The bed in which the victim was located is a metal box frame which sits directly on the floor and the box springs and mattress sit inside the metal frame. The room had been rented approximately 5 times and cleaned by the hotel staff numerous times since January 27th. "I've worked in homicide for a long time and director Godwin says in his 37 years, he's never heard of anything like this, its stranger than fiction," said Scott.

Woman fined $9000 after caught living in car with 23 animals

AN Australian woman who lived in her car with 23 pets - 12 of which were cats - has been fined $9000 and forced to surrender all the animals to authorities.

The Gold Coast Bulletin reported Carol Lynette Samuels, 66, said she was a successful cat breeder but tough financial times last year had forced her to move out of a $1.5 million mansion on Macleay Island in Moreton Bay.

She told the Southport Magistrates Court she no choice but to move into her car along with her pets which she considered to be her "children".

An RSPCA inspector found Samuels and her pets in the undercover carpark of the Arundel Shopping Plaza in September after a complaint.

The court was told inside the car, which stank of ammonia, the inspector found 11 long-haired Persian cats and a Himalayan cat inside seven cages on the back seat and nine Pomeranian dogs and two poodles beside the car.

Vet checks showed the cats were malnourished had matted fur, fleas and cat flu.

The RSPCA seized the animals and one cat had to be put down.

Samuels yesterday pleaded guilty to nine counts of breaching the Animal Care and Protection Act by failing her duty of care to feed, clean and provide adequate shelter for the cats.

"I'd lost an awful lot and a didn't want to lose my cats as well because they are the only family I've got," she said.

Magistrate Michael Hogan fined her $4000 and ordered her to pay the RSPCA $5000 for veterinary care and to pay $73.80 in court costs.