NC couple face murder in death of son tied to tree

[Ghost in the Machine]

NC couple face murder in death of son tied to tree
Published: 6/13/08, 3:06 PM EDT
By MIKE BAKER

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A couple accused of tying their 13-year-old son to a tree for two nights to punish him for disobedience has been charged with murder in his death, authorities said Friday.

Brice Brian McMillan, 41, of Macclesfield, told a deputy that the child was being disobedient and was forced to sleep outside Tuesday while tied to a tree, the Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office said. The teenager was released Wednesday morning but again tied up that night for bad behavior, authorities said.

The boy was left tied to the tree until the following afternoon when his stepmother found him unresponsive, Sheriff James Knight said. Knight said authorities believe the boy was bound to the tree with plastic ties and possibly other kinds of material.

"An adult couldn't get out of those," he said.

Temperatures in the area rose to above 90 degrees on Thursday afternoon, with a low of 73, according to the National Weather Service. Knight would not discuss any details on the cause of death, saying an autopsy was being conducted at the state chief medical examiner's office in Chapel Hill.

http://my.att.net/s/editorial.dll?fromspage=ch/c.htm&categoryid=&only=y&bfromind=7775&eeid=5929196&_sitecat=1522&dcatid=0&eetype=article&render=y&ac=3&ck=&ch=ne

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Oh, God. How can people hate their own children so?

[TheWraith]

2. Anger and a sense of entitlement.

The belief that their children should serve their desires.

[REP]

21. Or maybe very poorly educated people out of ideas

It's entirely possible that the people who killed their child were nothing but abusive scum - I'd buy that. It's possible, though, that they're people who haven't had much education, dealing with teenager and ran out of ideas on disciplining him and came up with this incredibly stupid and brutal one as a way to 'make him listen.' I'm not defending what they did - it was brutal and stupid - but it does seem as though a lot of people have no idea how to raise children any more - it's either the little darlings can do no wrong or zero tolerance.

[NewEnglandGirl]

26. Yes, they think they own them

It's a control thing. The thing that always scares me is finding two people who think the same warped way. Sometimes you'll find one misfit but when they condone each other's abuse it's even worse.

[ladjf]

3. Something is making Americans crazy and stupid. We need to

find out what that is. Otherwise we are all in for a very "bad ride". The crazy and stupid people are
deciding the outcomes of our elections.

[B.S. Lewis]

7. I don't know what it is

but I'm sure it's in the water.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=N1KvgtEnABY&feature=related

[ladjf]

8. Could be. Here in Atlanta they are treated the city water with

copper sulfate (I believe that is it) to kill the excess algae. That couldn't be too good for people.

[Ghost in the Machine]

4. Disgusting, isn't it? I think of all the people who *want* children but can't have them,

then look at all these assholes who abuse and/or kill the children they have... and it just boggles the mind. You know something, I've done a LOT of bad stuff in my past, things I should be in prison for life over, but never ONCE did I ever harm a child. I actually got went so far as to get myself locked up on purpose once, just to get to someone who had harmed the child of a friend of mine... I detest child abusers *that* much...

[ljm2002]

10. Well, there's the "spare the rod, spoil the child" theory...

...of fundamentalist nutcases. Then there's the more new-agey "tough love" theories that have been all the rage the last 20 years -- only most people who profess "tough love" forget the "love" part.

Or, it's just an excuse to exercise their natural sadism.

Good God, I hope those people get the book thrown at them and never see the light of day as free people again.

[rdenney]

14. They hate themselves FIRST, thats how. nt

[notadmblnd]

24. You know, I find myself asking this question more and more...

parents killing their children, school officials having them arrested at graduation ceremonies for applauding, cops tasering children as young as 6. I could go on and on with examples. It seems that children are becoming the enemy and I don't know why. There's not a soul in this world that has to bring another life into it. And why people bring children into this world just to mis-treat and abuse them is simply beyond me.

[dsc]

5. that county is right next to mine

I haven't heard of the town but may well have driven by it on the way to Ohio or Virginia. On edit I just looked and I know I have had to driven through there and it is like 15 miles away, tops.

[Ghost in the Machine]

11. I'd like to see what I can do over the next couple of weeks about raising some money for flowers

for this poor child.. would you be willing to go place them on his grave if I can get some money to you?

PEACE!

Ghost

[dsc]

17. absolutely

I will also pitch in money.

[burythehatchet]

6. We are a sick and diseased society. There is no cure.

[rdenney]

12. This kind of crap in one of these reasons I always stay OUT of the South, particularly Texas....

Lots of really moronic, uneducated people still living 200 years in the past down there,
and even worse then that is that law-enforcement often lets them off the hook, for things
like this awful occurrence, WAY TOO OFTEN.

The South has a _BAD_ reputation for very _GOOD_ reasons, IMO.

[girl gone mad]

15. That's an extremely ignorant statement.

I've worked with abused children from around the country. You are terribly uninformed if you believe child abuse is not just as prevalent in the North, East or West.

[rdenney]

19. Fact: abuse is MUCH more a standard of behavior and tolerated in the South.

[girl gone mad]

27. No, that is not a FACT.

That is simply your ignorant belief.

Why don't you go find this kid and tell him how much better off he is because he isn't living in the South?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3353176

[burythehatchet]

22. I believe that people inherently are not any better or worse in the South

But after they're born they are destined to be raised in a society that is the most poorly educated in the country. This has historically been a region where farming was the way of life. Over time, the non-investment in education and "indoor" pursuits becomes evident. Due to the climate, outdoor pursuits take precedence. These are also people who are likely to never visit a foreign country except FL or TX. So they will never benefit from a diversity of views.

So essentially, if you are a person born in the South, you are likely to go to horrible schools, spend your days watching motor vehicles make left turns for 500 miles, live under the most lax gun laws in the country, etc etc etc.

[rdenney]

23. Genetics or environment, most of these dixie-stiks need to get civilised

these people just wont accept the fact that they lost the civil war.

[Athens30603]

31. So...

By these standards the South isn't terribly different from, say, the Midwest?

[rdenney]

13. Probably true, but we need to start south of the Mason-Dixon line first...

These idiots have to be brought up to 21st century standards.

[girl gone mad]

16. By whom?

You?

[rdenney]

18. By society, of course. Racism and ignorance have to be abhored by all senient beings.

[girl gone mad]

28. Senient?

funny how you trolls can never spell.

[Athens30603]

32. Rude, dude

Simply rude. And incorrect.

[mnhtnbb]

9. I'll bet they belong to some right wing 'Christian' church. There are some real nutjobs out there.

Here's another NC mother being tried for murdering her 4 yo son. I'm not sure the jury has returned
a verdict, yet. She beat her children with PVC pipes and made them eat their own feces and vomit.
What a gem.

http://www.newsobserver.com/print/wednesday/city_state/story/1103748.html

[rdenney]

20. Only in the South: Jesus loves all his little chillen.

:barf:

[Athens30603]

30. Come on, now...

The South isn't all people like this. Wackjobs are all over the nation.

[J R]

25. I was raised by a violent child-beating father...

I've always felt very "cheated" by the fact that I had such a hate-filled father who beat and abused me in every way he could imagine and not get caught. But when I read a story like this, where a child doesn't survive, I realize that I was fortunate in a weird way. I still can't figure out why in the world someone would do such a thing to anyone, much less their own flesh and blood. Displaced anger? Unresolved sexual issues? I hope these parents get the death penalty.

[renate]

29. I am SO sorry

Sorrier than I could possibly communicate on a basically anonymous board like this... but as a parent, and as someone related (though not by blood--I was incredibly lucky with my own family) to a person who still bears the scars of much lesser abuse than yours, I just can't tell you how much it hurts to even think of a child having to suffer life with a hate-filled parent. I am so sorry and I hope you're okay now, and I'm glad you made it through.

This is a very sincere hug :hug: and I wish I could deliver it in person.