Dorothy Dixon
Disabled pregnant woman used as target practice
Dorothy Dixon: The Saddest Story You’ll Ever Read (great post on this)
Pregnant mother tortured dies in IL
Teens charged in murder of mentally disabled pregnant woman
‘I Couldn’t Believe It’
Update: Dorothy Dixon murder *Michelle Riley sentenced to 45 years in prison*
Update: Dorothy Dixon murder *All charged in her murder convicted; Adults all sentenced to prison*
Suspects:
Michelle Riley, 35
LeShelle McBride, 15
Judy Woods , 43
Benny Wilson, 16
Michael Elliott, 18
12-year-old male juvenile
Filed under: crime, murder, murder in the 21st Century | Tagged: 2008, Benny Wilson, Dorothy Dixon, homicide, Illinois, Judy Woods, LeShelle McBride, Michael Elliott, Michelle Riley, pregnant woman, torture |
Bonnie's Blog of Crime 
these folks should be tortured in the same manner.
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Amen
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This has got to be one of the worst displays of human behavior I’ve ever heard of. May God Damn every one of her abusers to Hell!!
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These so call People(I would call them Demons), should be stoned by the public, no court trial, no nothing. No human being in their right state of mind would do something like this. I hope they have nightmares of their actions the rest of the lives. I hope they will be condemned to death because I really do not want my tax dollars to take care of this scum.
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I hope they do a DNA test on all the guys that were there. A mentally disabled person doesn’t just “get pregnant”; there was probably sexual abuse going on, too, along with the mental, emotional & physical abuse. Heck, Riley may have been pimping Dixon out to others for a quick buck. It’s sad to say such a thing, but when someone completely disregards another person’s well-being, whoring them out to others and treating them like cattle is soon to follow.
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does anyone know of any way to send $$ or other support for her child? My heart broke when I read of this murder, but I also can’t stop thinking of her one year old.
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Damn these people to hell,for the pain they have caused!!
I hope and pray her child does not end up in a home of this kind.
I sure hope this state puts them to death,in my eyes,they do not deserve to breathe another day.
This is so sick……and so heart wrenching.
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Drag em in the street and shoot them, these people don’t deserve to live.
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Hey, Our guys going to
iraq could use some live targets to practice on. Or we could use them for shields in Iraq. Or better yet, tie bombs to them and give the insurggents a taste of their own medicine. Be like ” killing 2 birds with one stone ” YEA!
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randy…i LOVE your comment and agree with it!!!! i am so heartbroken for ms dixon. i can only hope they get the max…death penalty…. since us regular citizens can’t do any to them now.
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What about her infant son who watched his mother dying in front of him and never knew it, may god bless this young man and I pray that he would be adopted into a loving home where he would never know abuse
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How anyone on earth can feel anything but revulsion and anger at this group of animals is beyond belief. The whole bunch should be tied to a post in public and horse whipped until every inch of skin is gone, and if by chance they are still alive then rinsed down with gasoline and torched. They do NOT even deserve a trial, I volunteer for the job of ridding the earth of this trash.
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Does anyone out there know how Dorothy Dixon’s death even come to the attention of the authorities? The soulless demons masquerading as humans who tortured her certainly didn’t call 911 to report her death. . . or did they? I would think that these pieces of garbage most likely would try to conceal the death to keep the checks coming. Also, certainly they had to know that an autopsy would reveal the cause of death if they reported it . . .
Anyone out there know the answer to this one?
Oh yeah, you’re right, John Richard, the world needs to be rid of this trash.
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@John Richard:
Now now, young man… look at your own disgusting fantasies… directed at those perverted caricatures of human beings it is true, but nevertheless: in a sense you could praise yourself lucky not to be in their place or you might have perpetrated similar acts. It’s always easy to point the finger at others, and it’s much too easy here.
Of course I do feel the same way about them most here do.
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I would like to know how to help Ms. Dixon’s one year-old child.
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Yes, these people did a horrible thing. Calling for their deaths or torture is not a solution, however. They should be punished…but not with their lives. If you really want to be strong, learn to forgive them for their actions. If you can’t forgive these people, you can’t expect others to forgive you. Those calling for the torture and/or deaths of these 5 people are just as evil and sick. You have the same bloodlust and cruel heartedness.
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I think only certain cases warrant the death penalty. A pregnant mentally disabled woman was systematically tortured (and most likely raped) over quite a period of time. 5 people considered it frequent sport. They didn’t do “a” horrible thing, they did horrible things DAILY, for MONTHS. To a mentally disabled pregnant woman.
They tortured her so often, the coroner said her death couldn’t be attributed singularly to one of her injuries; she had so many. I’m recalling I read thirty three b-b’s inbedded under her skin, infected wounds from scaldings and b-b’s , dehydrated damaged limbs and organs; so much damage for so long that her immune system finally shut down. Oh yeah, they also stole her monthly disability check.
Her one-year old baby weighed 15 pounds, so we know they must have at the very least been starving him, and who knows what else. What’s the mental and physical developmental toll this took on that baby?
I really don’t mean to be flip, because I do understand your position and argument against the death penalty, Buymeagoat. However, I don’t think we’re sick for not wanting these people in our society. Is not revenge at the heart of justice? Do we not euthanize rabid dogs? As an Illinois citizen, I don’t want one dime of my tax dollar to go to feed and house these monsters. They quite zealously, and over a considerable amount of time, earned the death penalty.
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buymeagoat, I think you are being presumptuos. These monsters didn’t do what they did to you: Are you God; is it up to you to forgive them? And there is a big difference between saying that these people should die and systematically torturing an innocent person to death and starving her child. I believe that it would be wrong to torture these people, even if they truly did all fully participate in the heinous acts perpetrated on Dixon, not because of what if would do to them (because they have indeed forfeited any claim to being treated with any decency) but because treating them the way they treated Dixon would harm us as a society. If one acts like a beast, one becomes one.
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These people are monsters and unfortunately I’ve met quite a few people who would be capable of doing this exact sort of thing if given the opportunity. I don’t think they should be tortured, but the death penalty definitely should be considered and carried out. What they did and what they will continue to do until the day they die is to wreak havoc, pain and death to all they come across, and we as a society cannot tolerate this. Hopefully justice will come swiftly.
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They all will be judged by our creator and the necessary judgement will arise but for now what needs to be found out was why no one said a word. I just cannot understand how this woman got lost in the cracks.
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I was full of optimism before I read this story… now my spirit lies by my feet as I try to imagine the sorrow this poor woman felt.
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PW, I agree that the death penalty seems appropriate in this case. If all were culpable, then all surely deserve to die. I suspect that Riley may have been getting government checks for several of her “housemates.” Some of them besides Dixon may have been mentally deficient and Riley, as a social worker (if that’s what she actually was) must have known how to manipulate a sorry and corrupt system. Dixon would have undoubtedly been better off if she had been institutionalized rather than left in the hands of the current inept, arrogant, and often stupid social service system. Who in the hell gave that evil witch control over Dixon’s money, her very life, and the life of her child? This particular bureaucrat and the social services system has a lot to answer for.
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I agree that these people are disgusting excuses for human beings. I do think they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law for doing such horrible things to another human being, let alone one who couldn’t really defend herself. However, death penalty is not the solution. They should have to sit in jail and ROT for the rest of their lives— NO PAROLE!! That will teach them. Giving them thedeath penalty is the easy way out. Likewise, it costs more money to kill someone (with the years they spend on death row, the appeals, the court fees and what not) than to have them sit in jail until they die a lonely death from a life that was filled with nothing. That will teach them… Make them sit in a tiny cell for 100 years and reflect on what they’ve done. Even if they aren’t remorseful now, a few decades of reflection and prison should teach them a lesson, because dying should as hell won’t!
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What’s up with all the biblical references? Our country really is doomed. If it helps you grieve or understand the immense tragedy then fine… but I would worry more about how we can change this, now.
Those arguing against welfare or the sacral security payments that Dorothy Latrice Dixon was rightfully receiving are incredibly ignorant. She was exploited and tortured and there was no way, as of now, that social services would have found out her money was being stolen from that despicable family.
The irony, of course is that we need better ways of communication between social services and the developmentally disabled.
Continue to vote in ignorance and vote republican. If this new form of conservatism had their way, there would be no social programs at all.
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to glue what does that mean shes black who cares thatd be like me sayn o hes white lets kill him u racist fuk .she WAS A PERSON NO MATTER HOW SHE WAS OKAY SHE DIDNT DESERVE THAT..
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The police really need to buckle down and pay attention to people who cry for help. Afterall, they can quickly give yo a ticket for speed one mile above the limit!!
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Death Penalty is too easy to solve this case. As for myself I wouldn’t mind paying extra in taxes to have these people placed in a solitary confinement sound proof room, and allowed one hour every other day to walk through the yard blind folded. Let them experience how a mental disability feels after a few years.
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i hope they die;
cold
full of fear
full of pain
slowly
and all alone
like she did
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Bluegum, I don’t really understand your point; you appear to be somewhat muddled (and perhaps inadequately informed) in your reasoning. According to AP and CNN reports, Riley (the ringleader of this criminal gang) had worked as a coordinator for a social services program dealing with the developmentally disabled and she is reported to have met Dixon at that same program. You say that “we need better ways of communication between social services and the developmentally disabled.” I would say that you are right; there was quite a bit of communication going on between Riley (who had supposedly been involved in that same system as a program coordinator) and her victim; but that are certainly “better ways of communication” than burning someone with a glue gun and taking potshots at that person. Riley rented a house with Dixon (who had already been caught up in the system or she wouldn’t have been involved in the program which Riley coordinated) so it seems that it would have been clear to caseworkers that the one woman was preying on the other. Riley may have collected a check for letting Dixon live with her; this is a fairly common practice since de-institutionalization. Poor Dixon wasn’t the one profiting from her little check; leeches like Riley were.
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Tami, I think that what Glue is saying is that people don’t care about Dixon because she was black. I don’t think Glue is saying that he or she doesn’t care. Obviously Glue is wrong; I’m sure that many of the people here, who are uniformly voicing their outrage over what was done to this poor woman and calling for severe punishment for her killers, are not black. I’m not black and I don’t think it matters what color the victim or the killers are: it was still a truly horrible crime, and I believe that the murderers should be severely punished. These killers are not white, they are not black, they are not human–they are monsters.
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Bluegum, I, like you, do indeed admire the social service bureaucracy. They do serve a purpose: They keep a host of incompetent, mentally deficient, and pathetic people safe and off the streets; by Jove, sometimes they even make them executive directors, program coordinators, and counselors. I mean, who else would hire them!
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“eye for an eye and arm for an arm” the oldest human law, worked for centuries, should be reinstated , these sick causes for human beings should be tortured burned, starved, and left to die a slow humilating painful death, and I don’t want to hear about human rights, Dorothy Dixon had rights too, didn’t she!
but you know exactly what will happen, some scum bag lawyer will come to their defense ,a soft jury will” sympathize ” with the psycopaths sentence them to few years in prison become worse human beings than they are now<> and get out of prison many years before they were supposed to, looking for the next victim…
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Mike
Up until this, I thought maybe the system was just overwhelmed and underfunded. Illinois is actually hiring offenders to assist vulnerable people with special needs? WTF???? How many more unqualified Rileys in Illinois are given the title “social worker” in this state agency and are handpicking their victims as we speak? It doesn’t even appear that there’s anything in place to red flag one of these “social workers”.
Dixon wasn’t just one client that fell thru the cracks; Riley had her next victim already lined up.
Although Judy Woods was the first to be arrested . . . betcha Woods was receiving a monthly disability check, also.
Woods, a new tenant, had begun renting the other half of the mattress on the floor in the unfinished basement room with Dorothy Dixon.
Illinois gave Michelle Riley a title of “social worker”? Other than not having a degree in social work, no one noticed how NOT qualified she was? Were/are her superiors former offenders also? Had Dorothy Dixon tried to get help out of an abusive situation – they would have referred her to Riley??
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Killing them will not bring her back. I think life in prison. Make them sit in a room with the dead body and the unborn baby on the table in front of them till they breakdown. They are evil and possessed. Jesus and God forgive them, but they will pay the price. Ya’ll need some Jesus.
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Dan,
You don’t really believe that your suggestion would work do you? It won’t. Sociopaths have no remorse and seeing the body would only let them relive the crime and enjoy it all over again. They need punishment.
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Tangi,
I agree with your sentiments: WTF indeed! If the news reports are correct, Riley was hired as a social worker by a program “serving” the developmentally disabled. And I suspect that you’re right; Woods might have been another one of Riley’s little cash cows. I live in Kentucky and have some experience with social service agencies: I have heard some disturbing things about several of these agencies. A highly-touted agency in my small city serves the mentally handicapped and administers a number of programs to aid clients. The agency (which has recently received an enormous sum of taxpayer’s money at the behest of a prominent politician) primarily administers group homes and employment programs for the mentally disabled. The agency also administers a program which places clients in private homes in exchange for monthly stipends. Although I am not aware of any problems in the private homes at this time, the group homes have had a number of problems. It is my understanding that unqualified people (including an employee who acquired drug convictions during his term of employment) were dispensing meds to clients (prospective employees did not have to undergo drug testing); were expected to restrain and control sometimes violent clients who were endangering other clients, staff, and innocent bystanders; and were expected to carry and bathe heavy mentally and physically disabled clients without help, thus endangering such clients (who could have been dropped and injured). Even more disturbing, I have heard unsubstantiated reports of an autistic client being sodomized at a “sheltered workshop” which was part of this program; and several years ago, it is my understanding that a client left her group home without supervision, and was subsequently run over while crossing a busy street. One social worker was supposedly found engaging in sexual relations with a subordinate while clients were in another room in the group home, and there have been numerous reports of illegal drug use by staff on the premises.
Institutionalization certainly had its share of problems: clients were undoubtedly neglected and abused in hospitals and mental institutions. But surely these facilities were better controlled than the piecemeal and opportunistic system we have now (one in which many mentally handicapped persons are homeless). And under the current system, the administrators of the agency cited above draw accolades for their humanitarian efforts, exploit an unskilled and underpaid staff (who are often themselves placed in harm’s way), whine about lack of funding and sit on their rear-ends while drawing six-figure salaries.
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And where was the State of Illinois during all of this if the woman indeed had a mind of a child and was receiving disability? Especially if she had a 15 pound 1 year old child in her custody and care! Let’s put the state of Illinois on trial too and see where they are at fault besides these other criminals who all knew of the abuse! The ones who knew are just as culpable as the bastards who were raping her, starving her and shooting her with a BB gun for laughs. Riley, the bastard who let her go naked and stealing her check, will see her just rewards from fellow inmates in prison. I assure you of that! That poor lady Dorthy Dixon, if I would’ve only known. I had a nightmare last night thinking about it.
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This crime screams out for the death penalty. This is the willful torture and dragged-out murder of an innocent woman who did not have the wherewithal to protect herself and her young child. It is the willful withholding of food to a pregnant lady and her 1-year-old infant. No good can come from any person who participated in this. These teenagers obviously won’t pay the ultimate price for their crime, nor should they, but every one of you here should be frightened that these depraved children will ultimately get out on the streets one day. There was no teacher or neighbor they could tell in secret to get help? They thought it was okay to starve a baby? To burn a woman’s clothes and let her crawl around naked? Their souls have been destroyed, and trust me, they will be in and out of the justice system for a lifetime for their acts of violence. This is a hideous story for its sadness and depravity. God bless that poor young woman’s soul, and may that little baby who escaped with his life have nothing but love and a full tummy ahead in his life. — A parent
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This is what the death penalty is for, for people so evil they would systematically torture another human being to death.
But if they are not executed they should be sentenced beyond any chance of parole and their fellow inmates should be all told exactly what they did to this poor woman and her baby. I guarantee they will be punished daily. Even convicts mostly feel the same as anyone about this kind of abuse against innocent disabled people and helpless babies. Even the 15 year old and probably the 12 year old should be locked up and never let out because their evil mother has turned them into sociopaths that can never be trusted. that 15 yr old girl looks just about as evil as her mother. The older woman and the 16 year old boy look like they might be developmentally disabled themselves but that is no excuse, they can still know something is that wrong and should have not participated but should have gone to the police.
At least when people were in institutions there was one place that could be investigated. by spreading things out and cutting costs by hiring untrained evil drug-demented meth addicts like Riley to work as ‘social workers’ – – then letting them move developmentally disabled people in with them where they can control them and their money, it is just asking for abuse, and it goes on regularly though not usually so dramatically as this.
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It is really heartbreaking. How could this happen?
When police investigated Dixon case last October, did they notice the 15-pound boy? Did they think a one-year-old 15-pound boy is normal?
How could Riley become a social work coordinator? Her use of methamphetamine and cocaine brought drug convictions in 2002 and 2004.
buymeagoat: How can I be strong to forgive those who tortured Ms. Dixon to death?
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Ariane,
Ironically enough, from statistics I’ve seen, it doesn’t appear that de-institutionalization was at all cost effective. De-institutionalization meant decentralization of over-sight, administration, and services. In other words, it allowed the powers-that-be to spread the money around and hire more people, thus building a larger political base.
I’ve seen mentally-ill people placed in mental hospitals and temporarily stabilized, then put back out on the street within a matter of days. I’ve heard of municipalities buying mentally handicapped persons one-way bus tickets out of town so they can get rid of them and they will be some other city’s problem. Often, the mentally ill stop taking their meds and are back in the hospital shortly thereafter; this revolving door approach seems to cost more money than long-term institutional care, since clients come back in worse shape each time. Many are homeless and thus like Dixon (who was developmentally delayed rather than mentally ill as far as we know) may put up with abuse to ensure a roof over their heads.
De-institutionalization is a national disgrace and mentally ill and mentally disabled persons are raped, beaten, robbed, exploited, and killed. Occasionally, they commit crimes themselves, but are more likely to be victimized than victimizers.
As I’ve stated before, institutions weren’t perfect, but I doubt they were as bad as what we have now: a hodgepodge of services and a serious lack of oversight.
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Where was she living before she met these people?I am praying for her baby and hopes he gets a good home.
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Mike
Your knowledge in this area is well researched, do you work in or have a relationship to this field? Mike, you sound like the perfect guy to speak before congress to bring back the mental institutions. There are plenty enough damn sad stories to support the cause. Got legislation? How can that come about? I’m thinking after January 2009, about the time this might be going to trial, perhaps there will be a congress willing to listen . .
Back to Illinois – former Illinois governor Ryan, now in prison, put a moritoriam on the death penalty. There were quite serious problems with the capital sentencing system in Illinois, too numerous to mention but the biggest problem was that more than a few proven-to-be-innocent people were sitting on death row, and a moritoriam on the death penalty was the right thing to do (the only right thing that guy ever did). It was supposed to give the powers that be more time to fix the courts’ problems and to ensure that no innocent people were put to death in the interim. I believe it can be re-instated by the sitting governor at any time.
Michelle Riley is the perfect case to re-instate the death penalty in Illinois.
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Everyone who says these animals should not die. Question: Was this your family? I didn’t think so, and Dan, Yes God forgives, but there is one stipulation, you must ask for it and mean it!
note from blog owner:
Randy,
You are very mistaken if you think that family members of murder victims, especially tortured victims, do not want or support the death penalty. I promise you , most of us do. My mother was murdered, and I very much support the death penalty. Don’t pretend to know how all victim’s families feel. Everyone is different.
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This is the saddest story I’ve ever read.
These people were nothing more than parasites. Dorothy Dixon excluded, of course.
Since I was a child, my dad told me to take care of the elderly and disabled in my neighborhood, so I did, without question or expectation of payment of any kind. It was simply the right thing to do, and I understood that early on.
I continued this until my late thirties, then, some died, some went into nursing homes.
“That” was my first experience with parasites. If you have any relatives in a nursing home, get a nanny-cam.
Nursing homes and institutions for the mentally impaired are magnets for parasites.
Private institutions need public oversight, and Public institutions need private oversight. The same parasites infest both, and they are enabled by a lack of oversight.
I rarely pray for anything, but I’ve been blessed by having all my prayers answered. I’ll pray for Dorothy tonight.
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Nothing less than the death penalty.
Glue,
Go straight to hell.
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To : Blog owner: Pay attention. How can you read my comment and come up with the determination that I don’t support the death penalty? I didn’t think it was confusing. Scroll up and read it again. You will see that I do support it. I was stating that it is easy for someone to be against it, if it wasn’t their family. I’m sorry for your loss. I hope you feel that justice prevailed, although I’m sure that it is hard to ever feel totally satisfied.
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Forgive them? They will most likely do it again…and in the mean time, waste $$$ that could be used in bringing up productive members of our society. Just think, somewhere, a bright young man or woman with a kind heart cannot pay for college because of cutbacks, while scum like these in prison get three meals a day, even after what they did. It isn’t our fight to “save” scum like this. We don’t “kill” scum like these to show “killing people is wrong.” We do it so they will not be able to kill more people, or live as useless parasites on our society. It’s a no brainer! Rest in peace, Dorothy. You are not forgotten. I agree with the people here who have hoped for a safe, loving home for her son.
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Tangi,
I’ve never worked in the field; I’m a free-lance writer. However I was married to a mental health professional for almost thirty years, and one of my children worked in a group home for the developmentally disabled for some time. I’ve also been closely acquainted with a number of social workers, psychiatrists, and others working in this field, as well as getting to know some of the handicapped and mentally ill people served (and ill-served) by the profession and the mental health industry (and that’s what it is–there’s money in it). I’ve spent much of my life observing and listening to what both professionals and clients had to say, as well as following stories in the news.
This said, I cannot understand how a society can allow individuals who have the minds of small children or who are severely mentally ill to roam the streets, to live under bridges, to be robbed. exploited and killed by human predators. I do not understand how our rich society can allow such vulnerable citizens to be so desperate for shelter that they will have to tolerate torture and abuse just to have somewhere to sleep and a place to call home.
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Mike
I’m not letting go of hope, when people hear of this case the first question is “How could this have happened?” It is the ultimate pro argument to return to centralized institutions with better oversight and qualified staff. Qualified people need to gear up and seize the moment when congress will be willing to listen. If the state calls for the death penalty here: it won’t be business as usual. This case will get attention internationally given the moritoriam status of IL’s death penalty. The question of the day will be “What case is so heinous as to cause Illinois to reinstate their death penalty?” The victims couldn’t have been more vulnerable or defenseless. The perpetrator is not only female, but a mother who involved her children in the crime.
Dorothy Dixon is the argument for qualified mental health care workers to start organizing a campaign to reinstate centralized institutions:
Change the system so this can’t happen again.
Put the perpetrators to death for what they’ve done and so they can’t do it again.
Make sure the world hears what happened to Dorothy Dixon – contact Illinois Governor Blagojevich and request the death penalty for Michelle Riley: http://www.illinois.gov/gov/contactthegovernor.cfm
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I knew Dorothy from when she lived in La Belle,mo.I was appalled to read how her life ended.Dorothy was a very sweet person,and she loved and cared for her son like any other mother would.I can only hope her son Zion will get adopted into a very loving family.As to the people who are responsible for doing this to Dorothy,all i have to say is this-In the end it doesn’t matter what sort of punishment the state hands out to you,what is going to matter is the punishment GOD is going to hand out to you,and it’s to late to ask for forgiveness now.
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I’m so sorry you’ve lost a friend. Stunned, though that you don’t want justice for her, and to properly help others like her.
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By all accounts, Ms. Dixon was a person of honest and innocent intentions. This is a most deplorable way for this lady to die. Her memory and the way she was mistreated should inspire us all to do good in the world and prevent this from ever happening again. Although I didn’t know Ms. Dixon, I pay my respects to her memory and to her surviving son. This is truly a indelible tragedy which all good people should never forget. “Earth receive an honored guest, as Dorothy Dixon is laid to rest.”
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Harry,
I liked your comment. It was enjoyed and appreciated. God bless.
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Tangi,
I agree. Riley seems to deserve the death penalty. I believe that society has the right, AND the responsibility, to protect its members from torture and murder and to punish those
who commit such crimes. When there is no doubt that killers are guilty of such a heinous crime as Dixon’s murder and the systematic cruelty that she endured, then murderers have forfeited the right to be treated as human, and should
be put down like rabid dogs, so no one else will have to tolerate their presence on earth.
Even though it’s my understanding that capital punishment is more expensive than lifetime incarceration due to the appeals process, I do not believe that economics should dictate such a momentous decision as to how we deal with truly evil killers, and how we deal with the the horrors they inflict on victims and their families. Justice must be served, and if that means the death penalty must be brought back, then so be it.
We spend a fortune in this country on a massive prison system so we can process and incarcerate small-time drug dealers who may not have had the education and wherewithal to find legal employment; we taxpayers support a massive bureaucracy whose sole purpose it to deal with society’s outcasts and leftovers, and although we spend these massive amounts, we have a system that fails woefully, all too often. Killers are turned back out on the streets so that they can prey on the innocent and unlucky; and mentally ill and mentally disabled people are handed disability checks and then left to fend for themselves, sometimes falling into the hands of monsters. What don’t we just hang signs around their necks; “Easy Prey.”
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Doesn’t anyone think that the state should have some blame in this? Michelle Riley is definitely guilty of this crime, don’t get me wrong, but Michelle has a history of drugs and assault why was she given permission to care for these people who don’t really know what is going on? Why weren’t there home checks? Dorothy Dixon had a mind of a child she couldn’t escape, she didn’t know how. It is NOT her fault. She didn’t know any better.
Glue you are a racist bastard.
I certainly don’t want them to get life in prison, that’s where my tax money would be going. They don’t deserve to be fed, clothed and taken care of with the money that I work hard for!!!! They got to sit on their asses and torture this poor young woman collecting HER money and they are going to do this in prison! WTF!!!!
RIP Dorothy Dixon! God loves you!!!!
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Erica
The state if Illinois let this happen and they, too should be held responsible. But it could have happened anywhere in the U.S. – scroll up and read Mike’s comments, he explains it well.
If the state doesn’t end it, the dominating and violent Michelle Riley will thrive in prison, and her minions will simply learn to be better criminals. These monsters will always find victims.
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I am the mother of three children with developmental disabilities.
Instutions are wrong! Illinois ranks 50 in it’s care for people with developmental disabilities. All other states are finally realizing that institutions do not work. Have you ever seen the abuse that occurs in an institution? Have any of you ever seen Willowbrook? Why are other states closing down their institutions and Illinois is buidling another one.
Community Integrated Living Arrangements are working wonderful in other states. It is cheaper than Institutions and it’s clients are happier because they arer a part of their own community. Institutional care cost each taxpayer close to 120,000.00 dollars a year. A CILA home is approx. 60,000.00 dollars a year. Which makes more sense.
As a mother, I know I certainly have not dreamed of the day that I place my children in an institution. My children are being raised to make daily decisions about their life on their own. How many of you want to be told what you will eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner? How many of you want to be told when you can go to the bathroom, shower and go to bed? Who wants to be told when they can go to a movie and what snack to eat? How many want to be told what program you can watch on TV?
Remember that the next time you vote. Illinois should be ashamed of itself. Year after Year Illinois is voted into the “Hall of Shame”. Look at the States of the State Report.
Appalling!!!!!!!
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Mike,
We need people like YOU in the judicial system.
Erica,
So so true. It disgusts me that my HARD EARNED money supports these assholes. Imagine how the victims’ families feel. They are actually feeding and clothing the murderers of their loved ones. That should be a crime in itself.
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What do you want to bet that once these beasts are a year into their well-deserved punishment they’ll “find Jesus” and look for (and expect) forgiveness.
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Thanks Shauncey, I wish I were, but sometimes I think just writing does as much good as anything.
Yes CMB, institutions were often truly horrible, but not always. I’ve known of some developmentally disabled clients who were fortunate in receiving relatively good care in them. And yes, small group homes are often satisfactory and appropriate for high-functioning clients, and if you are unable to take care of your children yourself, then you will be luckier than most if they can find placement in such a facility. But I’ve seen the the other side of the coin; if you read my earlier posts, you’ll see that everything is not always rosy in group homes. I’ll give you some more examples: In one instance, several highly aggressive developmentally disabled people were placed in a number of the group homes in a local program; one extremely strong and aggressive client attacked staff members on a number of occasions, broke out car windows, chased a neighborhood child down the street, and eventually knocked down and choked a care provider in the home. Staff members had had numerous problems with this client and had stated repeatedly that he was not an appropriate client for this type of facility, and supervisors refused to remove him (he suffered from multiple disabilities and thus brought a tidy sum to the program.) When staff members finally called the police because they were unable to control the client and he had terrorized the entire house, these employees ended up being fired. Needless to say, allowing this individual to remain in such an open environment endangered everyone around him, and before he was finally removed from the home, another client (who was fairly high-functioning and tractable) had been forced to leave the home because he was so afraid of his violent housemate.
Other examples in this particular program include the following: homes in which all all silverware had to be replaced with plastic utensils because a resident couldn’t be trusted around knives and forks; one autistic client who became so agitated that he pulled off refrigerator doors and threw drawers on the floor occasionally; a severely handicapped and almost paralyzed client who was forced to go with staff to restaurants as part of his “treatment plan” (supposedly to help him learn life skills): a treatment plan which called for teaching an unhealthy, elderly client–who was unable to learn to read, had trouble walking, was overweight to the extent that he had trouble getting around, and who had the mind of a four year old child–to drive, so he could obtain a driver’s license. (I’m not kidding here, folks; I sometimes thought the wrong people were institutionalized.) The program also encouraged some of the severely handicapped to “date” other severely developmentally disabled clients so they could learn this supposedly important life skill. I could tell you more, but I think these instances should be sufficient.
Nationwide I’ve read other horror stories; for example, in one state, poorly trained and poorly paid home care providers accidentally strangled autistic children when trying to restrain them. Another example of mis-managed care follows: When I lived in Indiana a developmentally delayed young man, who was not institutionalized, attacked a child in a mall and began to bang his head against a wall. And here in Kentucky, not too long ago, a sweet mentally handicapped young man, who had just moved out on his own, was targeted and killed by a family and several of their buddies for his disability check.
Sure, small community based assisted-living homes are great for high-functioning adults, but what about the others? What about those clients who will not or cannot practice even a modicum of self-control? What do you suggest we do with them, put them in a group home with high-functioning clients such as your children?
Institutions may be “wrong” but they may also be necessary.
In conclusion, I’d say great, if you find a good program, you are fortunate. But if I were you, I’d stay actively involved in their care, if at all possible.
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CMB, would that all of these childlike adults have a caring mother and a warm nurturing home. We’re having this discussion because a mentally disabled woman took shelter with a “friend” and by state standards, this friend was the alternative to the streets. Dorothy stayed, despite abuse, likely just to keep a roof over her and baby’s head, and because part of her disability is the inability to always make sound judgments and decisions. Closing down all the mental facilities simply threw these defenseless people to the wolves.
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Mike
I had to comment on your earlier statements – isn’t it ironic that economics isn’t an issue (as well it shouldn’t be) when imposing a very expensive capital sentence but the “pay now or pay later” approach to drug treatment instead of incarceration, is too expensive?!
A scenario that could possibly be playing out at this moment; a pothead gets arrested and thrown into a cell with one of these baby abusers/torturers/rapists/thieves/murderers. How does that make sense???
There’s actually an organization of law enforcement officials (cops, lawyers, judges) that advocate for a major change in “the war on drugs” & the 3 strikes mandate. I imagine they have to keep a fairly low profile, but you pretty much stated their case.
Personally, I think drugs should be treated like alcohol & tobacco. A criminal culture was created under prohibition, likewise so has the war on drugs.
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This has got to be one of the most demonic and inhuman stories I have ever heard. I pray that each one of these people who were involved in Dorothy Dixon’s death and the abuse of her 1 year old child and her unborn baby. I pray the law gives each and every one of them including this 12 year old and 15 year old LIFE SENTENCE WITHOUT PAROLE. Better yet they all deserve and should be given the electric chair or lethal injection. Tax payers do not need to take their hard earned money and be spending it on these low class idiots who knew better and had better choices in life to make. We have better things in life to spend money on then to give someone a cell room, bed, a radio/cd player , t.v. and 3 meals a day.
I hope the judges will throw them in the fiery furnace of HELL.
These sick individuals had the forces of evil upon them to do such vicious and malicious abuse on this pregnant woman and to result in killing her. She did not deserve this at all. Riley and the others used her for her monthly disability check. It was all about the MONEY and they could careless about Dorothy Dixon her baby and child. Her neighbors Bruse & Joann Gilker sound like a bunch of no brainer individuals and they ought to be charged in this murder as well and held accountable because they knew what was going on. They did not see some petty fighting going on but THEY KNEW what Riley and the others were doing. These neighbors need to be punished also. You do not let people abuse one another and to do the horrible vicious things that Riley, Woods and these teenagers who ALL knew better to do something so cruel and unkind to another life and to hold her hostage in a basement like they did. Bruce Gilker, said himself that he should have called the “Dept of Children and Family Services” and should have called the police but he and his wife never did and they knew deep inside they should have stepped in and did something to help this poor woman but instead they sat in their house and went about their life and did NOTHING. This is what gets me is that they did NOTHING TO HELP.
The police saw there was trouble here as well and instead of investigating this matter , talking to neighbors and doing some kind of phone tapping or survelliance they too did nothing and knew they should have. But inside they got in their patrol car and got lazy instead of doing something because they knew it would be a mess and there would be lots of paper work to fill out. So instead they went to the local donut shop in town and drank coffee and ate donuts to put around their fat bellies.
This is a sad, sad situation and I pray that these people are ALL accountable and Riley and Woods and these teen kids all get the electric chair and the people of this community fight this and stand up for justice and the Gilker’s and police are held accountable in this case as well.
Lenette
St. Joseph, MI
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Tangi,
I agree, monsters such as Riley seems to be are too depraved to live and too evil to be allowed to associate with anyone, including normal prisoners. I suspect she will have a hell of a time in prison, because everyone will despise her (and rightfully so.)
And I agree the “War on Drugs” is not working, and it’s costing us a fortune in both currency and human capital. We’re sending small-time druggies to prison so they can be brutalized or can learn how to be real criminals. We seem to prefer imprisoning people to actually educating them and providing meaningful work for them. But hey, just think how much taxpayer’s money can be spent by imprisoning and criminalizing these small-time lawbreakers. Throwing an unprecedented number of citizens in jail is a growth-industry and it benefits a number of institutions and organizations: prisons, private and public agencies and programs; even supposedly legitimate businesses involved in money-laundering. It’s business as usual–American enterprise at its best!
And as for institutions–poor Ms Dixon would probably have been fortunate to have a meal, a real bed, and the chance to even get out the basement without having a housemates shoot at her, burn her, or beat her, even if someone did tell her when to go to that bed or come to a dining hall for a meal. And as I’ve stated repeatedly, a room in an institution would have beat a basement in hell, and that’s where this poor young woman spent the last months of her sad and unfortunate life.
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Can someone explain to me how it wasnt a conflict of interest for Riley to be sharing a house with a ‘client’ in the first place ? Perhaps greater checks need to be put in place to prevent more instances of the same.
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I bet Riley will check her worthless butt into PC as soon as she gets to prison .The worthless system will protect her no good butt even in jail because she was a case worker ( one of their own). It is sad but true. I only hope there is some big ladies in PC that don’t like baby killing B#tches! Because that fetus was a baby that they killed. I hope Ms. Dixon and her baby is in a better place (heaven) and that some decent, loving family adopts her one year old child and gives that child a great life!
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Mike,
I agree the war on drugs is not working. Actually I think it was lost a long time ago. Yet there is still hope. Hope lies in being a good role model and everyone letting it be known that using is drugs is not cool! As a matter of fact I think it would help if we all went out of our way to let young people know that using drugs is gross, dirty, nasty and scummy & skanky! I mean think back to being a kid, everyone wants to be cool and be accepted. So if we can convince young people drugs aren’t cool we can at least cut down on the number of young ones using drugs maybe! As for the scum that killed Ms. Dixon I think the only drugs they need are the ones the state uses for lethal injection!
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I used to work with Ms. Riley she always appeared to be different but I never knew that she was like this. A women who would put her childern in the situation has to be one of the sickest women ever. I don’t want to be supporting her for the rest of her life. death penalty is the best justice or is it justice or what is justice in the case
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Since reading about Dorothy and how those people took advantage of her.I am not hear to brag about this,but I turned my aunt into Social Security for using my grandmothers Social Security checks for her own purpose.I didn’t feel right by turning in family,but my aunt was asking other family members to borrow money to put back into my grandma’s account cause my aunt had written bad checks to get herself and her daughter soda,lottery tickets,and stopping by fast food places to get themselves something to eat while my grandmother was at home.Yes,my aunt is my grandmother gardian.Then my aunt had the gall to say that she just “borrowed” the money.Does anyone know whatever became of Dorothy’s son?Is there a way to send money to help with his support?
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Michelle Riley worked for a Center for Independent Living. There are such centers all over the world and are run by and for the disabled. The services they provide include advocacy, information and referral, peer counseling, and assist with independent living skills. While they are state and federally funded they are autonomous and are not state agencies, nor do they like to be referred to as social workers. Most of these centers provide excellent guidance for their consumers.
I worked with Michelle for two years at such a center. Even though Michelle was woefully ignorant, she was given a chance. She proved to be a controlling, mean and vicious person. I learned this from observing the way she spoke to and treated others. Michelle was greedy and I was not surprised she took Dorothy’s money. Nor was I surprised to hear that Michelle ruled the household with an iron fist and that Dorothy was treated like a slave. Michelle has no true compassion or feelings for others and could be described as a sociopath. I firmly believe Michelle is responsible for everything that happened to Dorothy and she deserves to be in prison for the rest of her life.
As for the others arrested in this case, I’m sure they are all guilty, but maybe to a lesser degree. I believe some may have been afraid of Michelle (and rightly so) and therefore did nothing to help Dorothy.
God will see they get what they deserve.
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doesn’t matter how much they probably will repent, just like all killer, they are being sent to hell. their crime was worse than anything imaginable. i will be glad to look down at them in hell from heaven, sipping on juice will they are tortured by the devil and are working like dogs.
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Treating them the same as she was makes you no better. If there is a such thing as hell, saying we are not living in it, I’m sure they will end up there.
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i believe that in todays day and age we all know where to get help. Even if these minors were afraid of Riley, they sure as hell knew right from wrong and could have reported this to the authorities annonymously. They should all be left locked uo until the day they die and i can guarantee that they will get their punishment in jail when the inmates hear about what they have done.
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Micheal Elloiot Should Be Hung
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I don’t like anything you people have written. you all don’t have any heart. I knew these people and i am a part of this case. I think they should do jail time but thats it. I know the things they did were bad, but everyone in the house didn’t take a part in it. and thats the truth. I was at there house all the time, Leshele and i were good friends. I even went to see them after they moved to quincy.
People like you are lokking outside in and maybe thats how they should be treated…….But from a inside out look of thing i don’t think everyone should be treated the same…..
if you want to talk to me about anything you can call me….
i knew more than anyone about the case that isn’t in jail..
i was one of the closest people to the family…
it happened in alton,which is where i live……
my name is kenny jones and i really do miss Leshele..
me and her hungout everyday…i know everything there is to know…….but the thing about it is the im not a fan of the police and im not a big talker if you know what i mean…..
i just dont like the way you people are talking about something you really don’t have a clue about…. the news doesn’t show it all……..
my number is (618)975-3551……call me if you want to hear my point of view or just want to talk……
you’ll need God…..i do fell bad for dorothy,and they should get time for it…..Dorothy was a sweet person even though she didn’t listen sometimes….but that life………
(618)975-3551
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So, Kenny, you believe that people should not take responsibility for MURDER? They murdered her. And if you were there, YOU should be prosecuted as well. And don’t think that the police won’t read what you wrote either.
You are looking at this the way you do because you know them and CANNOT be open-minded. Regardless of what you think.
And this should ONLY be about Dorothy. She is ALL that matters here. The victim. The one who was murdered and can’t speak for herself.
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all of them are ugly stupid white trash fuckers and i hope they die!
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NO i dont think that they shouldn’t take responsibility for what happened.But at the same time you have to understand that this hole famliy didn’t just set down and say “hey let kill Dorothy”,it was nothing like that. The reason i am standing up for them is because i’m the only person that can right now.The police tryed to prosecut me.!And i can be open minded about this,regardless of what i think it is a bad thing that happened and they should do jail time for it..i just really miss LeShelle and her mom Michelle.I know that its reall ruff on them thats why i care and am on here
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I was recently in jail with both of the minor juveniles. I have heard their stories, and I think they are taking this case a little too far. I mean, I understand this is a murder case and all, but they have both these juveniles in a Detention Center. They are being held there on minor charges. And the youngest was tried before he was 12, so he is awaitng a foster home.
These children are innocent.
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unknown,
Why are these “children’ innocent? Because you heard their stories, from them? Did you see the evidence? Did you talk to Dorothy’s other child? (yes, I mean the todder that lost his mother) Just because they are juveniles DOES NOT make them innocent. Far from it. Maybe you don’t care, but a woman DIED due to their actions. They deserve to suffer the consquences of their actions. But, I am guessing that since you were also in Detention with them, you don’t believe in that kind of thing. Criminals sticking together, huh?
If you can’t come here and speak a kind word for the actual victim, don’t come here.
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Kenny
I don’t care who you are. There is no EXCUSE in the world for what these people did and if you were there and didn’t report what was going on then you are just as guilty! You KNEW and you said nothing! How can you live with that? What kind of human being are you? What if Dorothy had been your mother or your sister? Would you have remained silent just because one of the tormentors is your friend? What a low life you and your “friends” are. You should be put away just like the ones who committed this horrible crime. I would call you but trust me you would not like what I have to say!
This crime reminds me of the Sylvia Likens case that ocurred in 1965. She was only 16 years old and the woman who tortured her showed no remorse about it whatsoever. When she got out of prison she had to locate to another state and change her name. People knew something was going on and those who knew never reported it either.
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“Judy didnt have a mean bone in her body”???????? WHAT??????? Judy tortured and killed that poor woman and didnt want to face prison so she decided to lie and involve everyone else who lived there. She alone is responsible for this heinous crime. She is the manipulator in this case. She knows what she did and bragged about it constantlyTHEY didnt torture her…JUDY tortured her. The Social Security checks were not withheld, they were not confined to the house, in fact Judy had repeatedly been asked to leave because of the abuse she was inflicting not only on the victim in this case but also on the children who were living there. Judy is NOT mentally disabled…she is a sick inividual who plays stupid for sympathy and to get out of the consequences she is facing. No one in that house was mentally disabled…if Dorthy had been, she wouldnt have had custody of her 1 year old. Michelle HAD a history of drug abuse but has been clean for quite a while…look up what she has done in the past few years..she has gotten help and has worked-legally- and provided for her children….she is a good mother and a good person….her side of this deserves to be heard instead of all of this speculation
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An eye for an eye justice is the best punishment in this kind of case. Hopefully ALL will be punished equally… unlike the Sylvia Likens case. Kid and adults – torture the guilty in the same manner – SLOW death. This case is so much like the Likens case… both have hit me with a wave of sadness and anger like no other murders on record. It makes me want to track these people down (in Sylvia Likens case) even after all this time.
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Amen E.S..
It does put alot of anger in my heart to. I don’t understand how or why people are so cruel.
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my nAME IS SHANICE i new all of them , me and Leshelle been best friends for 7 years . Her mom needs too be killed in their , i hated things she did too them kids and Dorothy . Her mom did drugs and Leshelle and Dorothy woul have to take care of the house and the baby . I’m not sayin that Leshelle not apart of this , But i no she would not hit or touch Dorothy . RIP Dorothy we will always love you. and Michelle you can die I hate you………………………
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They are my family… Michelle went crazy… my little cousins don’t deserve any of this…
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Neither did Dorothy.
note from me
EXACTLY
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Mike,
Your whole point is null and void, makes ni sense.
Tangi,
Damn good points you made.
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I’m disgusted that people would come here to defend these animaks that murdered Dorothy and make it seem like it’s trivial. Makes me seriously want to throw up.
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I completely agree. There is no excuse for her murder and no one should be trying to justifiy it. Dorothy was a human being and did not deserve this, especially from so-called friends. I am sure glad I don’t have those kinds of friends!
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mylifeofcrime,
Tell me about it!! With friends like those, who needs enemies???
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What really annoys me about this news story is that they don’t say how anyone found out about Dorothy Dixon’s death! They made some mention of Woods being arrested in January and then the rest being moved out.
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Look at thoes mug shots i wish i was there so i could beat the shit out of all of thoes kids and shit. I would grab that jabba the hut looking thing by its neck gobbler and toss that shit into the nig that looks like he’s playin with himself. Ha thats how strongly i feel about this.
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to all those people that say the death pentalty is expensive .223 remington rounds are not to expensive and of course we could turn there bb gun on them and bbs are realy cheap. Also they will get long sentend=ces but they will get killed in prison
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people like this and sirial baby killers get killed in prison
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How and why did that bunch of people kill that poor woman? A damn shame thats how. I know MLK wanted all different people to live and get along with people but i didnt think he had killing other people as a whole together in mind.
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i am unfortunatly connected to this case, my son had a daughter by the leader of this mess. michelle riley. she is a monster!!!!!!!!! and i hope they fry her!!!! as for the children and the other woman involved, they were all her victums!!!!! she used them to do her dirty work!!!! i just pray god is with them!!!! and my grand daughter who is unfortunatly being raised by this monsters mother!! because the courts say this murderer still has rights to her daughter!!!! please pray for her!!! the smallest victum, Anesa…
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i did call the police and dcfs and i never seen her being abused her boyfriend was a pedifile and that was my worries for her child they had police and us marshals at here home many times i was helping dcfs trying to find her and her baby i looked at all motels for days trying to find her thats when they ran off to alton are houses are two feet from each other and i heard a lot of fighing over money there was a lot of people in and out of the house so to say i did nothing to try to stop this is a lie if i could have found her maybe things would have been changed i searched everywhere i could think she could have been the day i called dcfs is the day they ran to alton so please dont think i did anything wrong to make this happen
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Some people are just bad. Like mad dogs. Their brains don’t work right, their sense of right and wrong is all off. They are crazy. We can live with them if they are not dangerous. These people are. I say put them down like the mad dogs. Do it quick, no expense and no excess drama.
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