Officials: Burn victims claims false

[cali]

Source: The Franklin Sun

Two days after multiple law enforcement agencies began an investigation into the attack and burning of a Winnsboro woman at Civitan Park, authorities now believe the wounds were self-inflicted.

<snip>

After analyzing the evidence at the State Police Crime Lab, it was discovered Moffitt's fingerprints were on the cigarette lighter and the lighter fluid recovered near the wooded area around the crime scene.

<snip>

"All of the evidence is pointing back to the victim inflicting this upon herself," Thomas said. "No evidence has shown any other person was involved."

<snip>




Read more: http://www.franklinsun.com/news.php?id=5412

---

Yes, this is a local news outlet, but it appears pretty definitive.

I wish this young woman a speedy recovery. The whole thing is very sad.

[Ash_F]

1. Wow, I know someone in the other thread is going to feel vindicated.

I am impressed with the Sheriff's take on the situation

"I want to thank the community, who under these stressful times they allowed law enforcement to do their job to seek information, collect evidence and follow the facts," Cobb said. "Although I think what she did was wrong and had major consequences not only for her, but throughout our community and our country. There's something wrong here, and we need to help individuals like this. In the same way our community came to support her as a victim, I still hope the community will support her emotional and physical recovery."

[naaman fletcher]

2. We should feel vindicated...

It was obvious it was a phoney story.

[cali]

3. Yes, sadly it was.

[cali]

4. Yes, I was impressed by that statement too.

I have to say that I thought the vicious attacks in the other thread on those who expressed doubt in her story, were just flat out disgusting.

[Ash_F]

5. I doesn't hurt to be a little skeptical about what you read in news reports

I admit I wasn't this time, considering the severity of the injuries, but people have been known to hurt themselves in such a way. I did not chasten any of the skeptics because I still knew it was possible.

[cali]

7. thank you. I was pretty horrified by

some of the attacks on people who were skeptical of this story.

[cali]

11. better than I expect from vile pieces of shit wingnut freaks, honeypie.

Is that clear enough for you? Now fuck off.

[seabeyond]

12. he just called me a concern troll. then i see the hidden post. lmao. nt

[Lasher]

27. He won't be calling anybody else names here.

Buh bye, disruptor.

[4th law of robotics]

22. The exact same thing happened

for that phoney hate crime against a lesbian in Nebraska (I think that's right).

The exact same scenario played out.

People didn't learn their lesson it seems.

/and I wasn't here but I'm guessing the same thing happened on previous false hate-crimes like this.

[Quantess]

6. This sort of thing has happened before, unfortunately.

Self-inflicted injuries with a desire to get attention and sympathy and... I don't know what. This happens occasionally, and it is really sad for the person who does this to themselves.

[crim son]

8. Well, somebody here owes somebody else an apology.

Imagine that.

[heaven05]

9. yep

I was wrong. I apologize if my outrage at the skepticism about this person story offended or hurt. Hey people are conned everyday, hell millions are voting for mittytwit. I never can believe that people would harm themselves in such a horrific manner for attention..

[Dokkie]

13. Isnt it sad

I was one of the DUers on the original thread who expressed skepticism about this lady's story. I have seen many people pull this stunt that my knee jerk reaction now is to doubt the potential victim. I totally believed the Duke Lacrosse girl and then the Lincoln gay woman who claimed they were attacked after both burns, I don't think I will ever be my old trusting self again.

Hope she gets better for her daughter, she is going to need her

[slackmaster]

14. Very sad story. The woman must have some very serious mental health issues.

I hope she gets treatment for all of her problems.

[XemaSab]

15. Why do people do this?

There was a case at my high school of a lesbian chick who said she was being persecuted, with hateful graffiti and so forth, and it turned out to be fake.

It just makes actual victims of actual hate crimes look suspicious, and that's not ok.

[slackmaster]

16. Severe mental illness. Borderline Personality Disorder is one possible cause.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001931/

[defacto7]

17. I was one of those who thought it was a hate crime.

I guess I was wrong. But I will fall just short of an apology because there was no way to not see it as a hate crime at the time. To jump completely across the spectrum to say it was not a hate crime is further than I can go, considering one extreme can't be countered by another extreme. I will still wait and see if I was wrong lest I end up flipping just as far to this side as I did when I first saw the article. I was wrong in assuming it was a hate crime to begin with, but I'm not wrong to be skeptical now.

Do I completely trust the authorities in this case? No, I can't; that's not my call, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt at this point.

[snooper2]

18. Wrong again, It's about speculating about shit on the Internet where you have little information

A couple news stories, and probably less than eight point three percent of the facts...


It's what people do though when they aren't savvy enough to find great music like this on Youtube though LOL

[defacto7]

19. Yeah, maybe....

But the vid is nice!

[heaven05]

24. well

we can speculate sure. Yet americans are famous for lynchings, driving around with hanged effigies of current Presidents, not bushmonkey. I have horrendous pictures on my wall of burned, castrated and hanged black men surrounded by crowds of 'good' americans. So whether this individual lied is really not relevant to people being outraged and believing that this could happen in good ole amerika. I'm willing, given the hate exhibited by 'good' amerikans toward our POTUS for the last FOUR years, to believe that 'good' amerikans could perpetrate such an horrendous crime and not be so skeptical about a victims story as I immediately found here at the outset of this story. So as far as I'm concerned the vindicated ones in this thread should check themselves also. You may have been right this time but amerika has a shameful record of race relations all the way up and into the 21st century. You haven't been that vindicated in my book. Go to Morris Dees site Southern Law Poverty Center, we all can see how a crime such as this could be believed as being perpetrated by the people she accused first. In this country when it comes to race relations, I hope for the best and always expect the worst from 'good' amerikans. and as an addition, I seem to remember during bushmonkey's years a case in Texas where a black man was tied to the back of a pickup by 'good' amerikans and dragged till his body came apart. I wonder if the skeptics would doubt his story if decapitated heads could talk. And yes I would expect a POTUS to mention it, not a peep from the neo-cons, anywhere. Outrage was not out of place with this woman's initial story.

[4th law of robotics]

21. There was a way to see it as not a hate crime

that is: assume you don't have access to 100% of the facts based on the headline of a story moments old and wait for those facts to materialize prior to making a decision.

We need to get away from this notion that if you don't immediately accept the official story for some horrible crime that means you're ok with said crime occurring, or that you assume all crime victims are liars.

[defacto7]

23. That's a pretty good argument...

Sometimes we.. I.. have to reevaluate how I look at things in the moment. You are absolutely right about checking the facts before spewing. One thing that makes this mistake prevalent is because there is no way you or I can ever have access to 100% of the facts. If that is an absolute prerequisite, then none of us can ever have an opinion. Somewhere in the middle is where we make the stupid mistakes, but then I usually don't worry too mush about screwing up in the process of making an opinion because I learn better how to improve the process. Jees, if I have too much coffee, I really screw up!

Thanks for the input.

[Superbot]

20. Wow

Sad

[rachel1]

25. She ought to be charged or institutionalized for her behavior

If she is charged and later found guilty I hope that she'll spend a good time in prison for her despicable behavior.

[cali]

26. Thankfully, the Sheriff is far more compassionate than you are

her behavior is that of someone with profound psychological problems. She's badly burned over 60% of her body. That seems to be punishment enough.

[glacierbay]

28. And just what good will it do to put this woman in prison?

She needs professional help, not incarceration.
I'm damned glad that the Sheriff was more compassionate than you seem to be.