Victim's Grandma: 'Keep Kids Close'

Victim's Grandma: 'Keep Kids Close'

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

filed under: tween & teen logic

Locals speak to momlogic about the slumber party slayings.

Sunday evening, Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11, were found shot to death in a ditch along a dirt road in Weleetka, Oklahoma, less than a mile from Taylor's home. They had been having a sleepover when they decided to take a walk at 5:30 p.m. When they did not answer a cell phone call 30 minutes later, Taylor's grandfather went looking for the girls and discovered they had been shot to death. So far, there are no suspects or witnesses.

This morning, momlogic spoke with locals to get their reaction. A 16-year-old teen from neighboring Henryetta says she is terrified to leave her home. "Normally, since school is out, I would be out doing things, but not now," she says, her voice trembling. "Now I'm going to be mostly locked up in my house until whoever killed these girls is caught. I'm really scared. My mom just called me and told me that I have to stay in the house. She doesn't have to worry though, because I had no intention of leaving."

Momlogic also spoke with Skyla Jade Whitaker's grandmother, 58-year-old Claudia Farrow, who had this message for other moms: "Keep your kids close. Never feel like you can let them out of your sight. And if you do take your child somewhere and leave them and you don't feel right about it, then go back and get them. You never know what can happen."

We've received unconfirmed reports that there might have been a romantic or sexual relationship between one of the victims and an adult, and that this may somehow be related to this crime. We will keep you posted as this story develops.

Moms of teens and tweens: If this happened in your hometown, how would it change the way you monitor your kids?

filed under: tween & teen logic

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“We’ve received unconfirmed reports that there might have been a romantic or sexual relationship between one of the victims and an adult, and that this may somehow be related to this crime.” I don’t understand how anyone can say that a relationship with an 11 or 13 year old by an ADULT can be called “romantic”? That’s bizarre.

- Kimberly

Posted 06/11/08 08:55 PM

Us cowardly adults have allowed the depraved and demented among us to destroy what it once meant to be a child. We have our cars, our computers, our cell phones. And deep in our hearts, we think: “To hell with all the rest of you. I got mine.” We have doomed our kids to never know what it is to not worry about the world. As children we were able to frolic in youthful abandon. Now…

- james s gagliardi

Posted 06/11/08 10:39 PM

When the person or persons who did the shootings get caught all bets are off on compassion, forgiveness. This crime calls for old-fashioned, wild west, vigilantism. After he is caught and there is solid forensic evidence that proves he was the one who committed the crime, then he should be locked in a room with the 50 highest bidders (money to the victims family), where they will commence to take turns torturing him until he is dead. There should be a couple doctors with just enough tools to keep him from dying too soon…I think that there are some old school torture devices that should be dusted off for this person..I refuse to refer to him/them as animals because it would be an insult to animals…No animal ever did what this person did.

- samt2

Posted 06/11/08 11:32 PM