What could an 11 year old girl be guilty of
that would condemn her to
a beating so bad that she would die?
What caused Rodney Michael Reaves, Joella's
father who is 37 years old and Charlott Lynett Reaves, her stepmother who
is 38 years old to
tie Joella up in the garage, not feed
her or provide a bed or sanitary
bathroom facilities for her and then beat
her to death with an umbrella and a paddle? Rodney Reaves is a sailor for
19 years, with a 3 1/2 year tour as a Navy recruiter, and is a gunner's
mate on the USS Wasp which is based in Norfolk, Virginia. Charlott Reaves
works as a vascular ultrasound technician at a hospital.
Rodney and Charlott gained custody of Joella
in June of 2002 after
her biological mother was killed in a
car wreck.
This brave girl tried to escape and was
only punished further for her
attempts to save her own life. Joella
was being puinshed for something that is unknown to the public as of this
date, December 10, 2003.
After keeping Joella in the garage for
about seven days, even over the Thanksgiving holiday, with temperatues
sometimes going as low as
only 30 degrees, Rodney made a call to
911 on Monday, December 1, 2003 and when emergency crews arrived, Joella
was prounounced dead. The cause of Joella's death is listed as blunt force
trauma and her father is denying that he had any part in it. Joella has
a brother who was taken into the custody of the sate.
Phyllis Shrader, director of the Henry County
Department of Family and Children's Services said:
"The Reaves family has no history
of child abuse"
Rodney's Attorney, Bruce Harvey stated:
''Mr. Reaves absolutely denies any
liability for the tragic death of his daughter. We categorically
deny that.''
He had this to say about the details of
the abuse in the arrest warrant:
"It's a one-sided version of what
police would like the public to believe, without the opportunity to be
challenged. They vigorously deny the charges against them."
Police were not releasing any information
about how they determined
the extend and kind of abuse which caused
Joella's death.
Charlott's Attorney, Michael Antoniolli,
says it is to early to make a statement.
Both Roday and Charlott have been charge
with felony murder and cruelty to children.
Neighbors say they were shocked to learn of
what to place and have
wondered why they didn't hear anything
that would have alerted them
to the situation. Randy McCollom said:
"If I had, I would have called someone.
It's shocking, especially being two doors down,"
Some caring neighbors, who say none of
them knew the Reave's very
well, decorated the Reave's mailbox with
balloons, stuffed animals and angels.
Jim Davis, the Principal at Joella Reaves'
school had this to say about her:
"She made very good grades. She was
a very personable
student. She had her circle of friends,
she was relatively quiet."
Grief counseling was offered at Joella's
school. Jim Davis added:
"You get a sense of mortality when
someone your age dies. Some students took it harder than others,"
UPDATE: On June 14, 2004 it was reported that
Flint District Attorney Tommy Floyd, was seeking the death penatly for
Rodney Michael Reaves, Joella's and Charlott Lynett Reaves. The charges
against them are
malice murder, two counts of felonly murder,
first degree cruelty to a
child and aggravated battery. They are
both being held without bail
in the Hengry Count jail. They, along
with three other defendants who
are charged with failing to report signs
of child abuse, will be due in
court for their first arraignment hearing
March 16.
The couple is going to be represented by
death-penalty qualified
attorneys. Rodney Reaves attorney
plans to seek a trial separate
from the trail of Charlotte Reaves.
The three other defendants will be Catherine
Turnigan Mauer and two
school employees, Patricia White and Carolyn
Clemons are believed
to have known about the abuse Joella was
suffering and did not report
it even though the law states that they
have to. Carolyn Clemons is
charged with making false statements to
the police about having seen
Joella and knowing she was being abused.
Carolyn and Patricia
were both fired over their failure to
report the abuse. Not reporting
child abuse is a misdemeanor, making falst
statements to the police is
a felony.
Please
don't let them become Angels to soon.
1-800-4-A-Child
Call
this number to report child abuse!
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