Say Nothing and Walk Away

Have you ever been to the market and observed children being unruly? How do you handle it? I typically tell the parent – “we’ve all been in your shoes, hang in there.” The observer in this true crime handled a similar scene differently than I do. And the parent’s response … was criminal.

Father, girlfriend, and minor children are waiting at the meat counter in the market. The children are misbehaving. The father’s girlfriend is cursing at the children. Along comes a single woman who gets in line at the meat counter and observes the scene.

The woman says something to the girlfriend about her language. This confrontation sets off the girlfriend. The two women yell at each other. After a bit of a shouting match, the girlfriend pushes the woman. The woman pushed back and then walked away.

Another shopper who had observed the heated exchange tried to discourage the woman from returning to the area where the family was. That advice fell on deaf ears. The woman returned to the meat counter to pick up her meat order.

When the woman returned to the meat counter, the verbal argument continued. The father grabbed a frying pan on display and swung it at the woman who argued with his girlfriend. One of the man’s children took the pan away from him. He grabbed a large butcher knife in packaging and on display for sale, opened the package, and took some swipes at the woman.

When the man saw he’d seriously cut the woman on her head and abdomen, he fled the store. He kept fleeing right out of the state.

A hospital treated the woman’s life-threatening injuries, and she survived. The family, minus the father, went home. Through various security cameras recording his vehicle, the authorities figured out who the man was.

They arrived at the family’s home with a search warrant. Found in the home were the father’s bloody clothes and the knife which he had essentially stolen. The authorities arrested the father in another state and transported back to where he lived.

The store owner said both the family and the woman were regular customers.

It took a jury three days to reach a verdict—guilty of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon or great bodily harm. A judge sentenced the 40-year-old father to 12 years in prison, followed by three years of probation.

Even though I believe I’ve always delivered kind support for a parent struggling with misbehaving children, from now on, I will say nothing and walk away. This case shows that you never know when someone is at the end of their rope.

Source: State Attorney’s Office, Law & Crime, The Daily Sun

All data and information provided is for information and research purposes only and not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual. Criminal cases may have been appealed or verdicts overturned since I researched the case. All information is provided on an as-is basis.