Louisa Richardson Rodas needs your support Friday 3/23/12

BettyJean Downing –Kling

For Immediate Release:

We need to fill this courtroom, can Louisa count on your physical support Friday?

Sentencing
Friday March 23
Hackensack, NJ  Courthouse
10 main Street Room 412 1:30 PM

Honorable Liliana S. DeAvila-Silebi
Justice Center
10 Main Street
Hackensack 07601-7699

Case# 09-06-1226-I, New Jersey vs. George Hartwig Sentencing scheduled for February 24, 2012

Dear Judge DeAvila-Silebi,

    I am the mother of Denise Richardson and Louisa Richardson- Rodas. I am making this statement to you on their behalf because they cannot. Denise died in the spring of 2009 and Louisa is no longer able to speak.

    George Hartwig was married to my daughter Denise; they were together for 23 years. The marriage was marred by many acts of domestic violence on his part towards her. He was cruel and vicious to her during the relationship and marriage but for reasons a mother will never know, she kept taking him back.

    In June of 2007, Denise was at her home in Lodi. She was suffering and nearing the end of a three year battle with ovarian cancer. She was awakened to sharp blows to her head and body because Gorge Hartwig was trying to kill her. She begged for her life and she was finally able to convince him that if he stopped beating her she would give to him what he wanted the most, her pain medication.

    On December 17, 2008 George Hartwig was scheduled to go to court for the June 07 attack on Denise. On December 15, 2008 he entered 540 North Main Street, Lodi where I was caring for Denise. Denise was in the final stages of Ovarian Cancer and she weighed only 80 Lbs. George began to drag her around the living room and only stopped when I intervened in order to defray his attention away from her. He kept holding up the bloody pillow from the last time he had beaten Denise. He finally left but not before threatening to kill me with a gun.

    George returned hours later with a shotgun. Denise was sleeping and Louisa was at the very far end of the couch working on her computer. She never heard him enter, when Louisa spotted him hovering over Denise holding a shotgun, she immediately texted her son Marc for help.

    Denise awoke to hear George demanding the phone and holding a gun. Groggy, she began looking for a phone to give him then heard a shot fire. When she turned to look all she saw was George peering down at her – the gun pointed at the ceiling. She had no idea what direction the gun shot took nor where her sister was at the time. George now began pointing the gun at her and demanding her pain pills.

    Louisa had used the phone to call for help. George saw her and shot her in the face with his shotgun. My son and grandson arrived and George tried to shoot my son Tommy but the gun jammed. Marc then subdued him and the police came.

    Louisa had suffered a shot to the face and head leaving her nearly dead.

    George was lucid enough to tell the officers exactly what happened that day and night – he said that he thought Louisa was me and that I had made him very angry and he decided to come over and kill me.

    Denise died from her cancer on March 7, 2009. She never saw her sister again and she was forced to go to her death feeling responsible for marrying the guy who shot her sister.

    The court appearance scheduled for December 17, 2008 never happened. George was never required to answer for the beating he gave to Denise back in June of 2007.

    Louisa suffered severe traumatic brain injury. She currently resides at a Sate run hospital known as the Bergen Regional Medical Center (formerly Bergen Pines). She requires 24 hour care but receives only a tiny fraction of the care she needs. So much of her care depends on me. Louisa is a young woman who deserves to be in a happy and caring atmosphere attended to by care takers and by doctors who actually examine her and prescribe with expectations of quality of life.

This long term care facility hospital is far from that. Louisa’s injuries rendered her physically helpless and mentally incompetent but not oblivious or comatose. During this time she has been subjected to continuous acts of negligent medical treatment, physical abuse and personal neglect at the hands of management, nursing and support staff. Specifically, Louisa suffered from severe rashes, infections and other ailments the facility completely failed to reasonably treat or attend at all. On numerous occasions BMC completely neglected Louisa in that she was forced to lie in her own feces for extended lengths of time without proper nursing assistance. Louisa has often exhibited signs of bruising and various other traumas to her body, face and hands without explanation. Louisa is denied daily ear, eye, nose and mouth care. Finally, Louisa has been denied appropriate medical attention when she becomes ill and needs special care she also has been denied physical, occupational and speech therapy. Instead she is merely warehoused as if she were an unfeeling vegetable. Louisa is well aware of these wretched conditions and her untenable situation and feels pain and discomfort and she is able to clearly express this hurt and distress.

    For all intents and purposes, her life has been taken away from her. Louisa remains incapacitated for life which should be another 40 years.  While there may ultimately be a light at the end of George Hartwig’s tunnel, there is none for my daughter and her family. We will sleep with one eye open at best, knowing that she needs constant care and attention. I worry constantly over the fact that the day will come when I cannot care for her. And then, what will we do?

    This man, for no good reason bullied and battered two innocent young women and if he had his way, he would have killed my son and me. There can never be justice for my daughters and my family; nevertheless, I ask Your Honor to do the best that the law permits in punishing this man for his evil acts.

    I further ask to court to order him to pay restitution to my daughter Louisa for the extensive medical care she has incurred and will need in the future. I have been told that George Hartwig settled a civil lawsuit and received a substantial amount of money. I request that the Court make inquiry into his assets and any disposition he made of them over the period of time since he attacked my daughters over three years ago.

“How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand: there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend; some hurts that go too deep, that have taken hold.” –Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

J. R. R. Tolkien has the talent for putting thoughts into words that I, as her representative and that of her children cannot. How could I possibly put into words our journey and all the events that brought us to where we are today? These past three years, I have asked myself, “What does the human spirit need in order to heal and move on?”

I have settled on the following: We need a safe place to share our pain and be acknowledged, we need compassion, we need to know that we and others will be protected from the perpetrator, we need accountability — someone who will hold the perpetrator accountable, we need restitution for the losses incurred by the victim, and we need justice (not revenge) but vindication — to be set free. Scars remain, but healing is sufficient so as not to continue to be held in bondage to the trauma.

I am attaching photos of my daughters. They are self-explanatory and substantiate and support the information I report to you herein.

I thank you for Louisa, and her sons Marc and Josh Richardson and our family for the opportunity to be heard in this matter,

Betty Jean Downing- Kling

Louisa waits: Sentencing POSTPONED Again, Defense prepares a leniency filing!

Sentencing POSTPONED Again
From 1/27 – To 2/24 -To  3/23
Justice delayed is Justice denied

Help get Justice for Louisa

URGENT- the squeaky wheel gets the oil! I’m Louisa’s Mom and I need your help. Here are three things you can do to help! What would you do if this were your daughter?  You too would not stop or give up reaching out – looking for JUSTICE. Neither will I – if you have not already done so – please help- we still have time to get hundreds more letters out. It has come to my attention the Defense is asking for leniency! The sentencing has already been postponed twice now they need another postponement because the defense attorney needs time to files a motion for leniency for George. George plead guilty to all 10 counts against his Lawyers wishes and now his lawyer is trying to get him the best possible outcome—but his client has already told the sorry story to the judge.

Can you hear me now? His high priced attorney is begging for LENIENCY on behalf of his client who plead guilty to 10 counts including 2 counts of attempted murder – on which left my daughter missing half of her head, half a brain and almost no life at all!

Come see pictures of my daughter – who is going to show her leniency and replace her missing skull, eye, jaw, right half of her brain and memory? Who will give her the ability to sit, stand walk and eat? Who will give her any kind of life back? Leniency for poor George?

THIS is not a case of retribution it is a case of accountability! Justice demands George is held accountable for his actions! No leniency!

Now we also have time to ask for leniency – but not for George! Updates to her story are available please follow the enclosed links. While there please leave comments and find information on how you can help with fair sentencing.  We are urging concerned citizens to write to the judge requesting George Hartwig be sentenced to the full extent of the law.

1- We need hi visibility and we hope we can get it at the newspaper contact  http://www.northjersey.com/news big-time! The higher the interest in this cases the better the chances we will get results of fair sentences, He came to kill me: Don’t think for one moment he didn’t succeed. at the record, direct readers to the family blog where they can find updated pictures of Louisa and her condition now!

2- PLEASE We need hi visibility and we hope we can get it on the internet –  blog about it -or leave comments on our blog, tweet  it and by all means spread the word on Facebook..  Please come  https://freemenow.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/victim-impact-statement-let-me-be-the-face-of-dv-reform/#comments and leave your comments – leave a record of your concern for posterity.

3- It is URGENT our Comments and letter to the judge are respectful and support of  consecutive sentencing rather than the plea deal offered by the prosecutor and rejected by the defendant in lieu of lesser sentence because George says “He was very intoxicated”.

One sample letter below. Other samples and copies of your letters will be appreciated in the comments section at Louisa’s Blog:

The Honorable Liliana S. DeAvila-Silebi
Judge of the Justice Court of Bergen County New Jersey
10 Main Street
Hackensack, New Jersey 07601

Case# 09-06-1226-I, New Jersey vs. George Hartwig Sentencing scheduled for March 23, 2012

Dear Judge Liliana DeAvila-Silebi,

I am writing as a concerned citizen interested in fair and equal justice for women, about the case of George Hartwig and his violence against his wife, Denise Richardson, and his sister-in-law, Louisa Rodas. This case, as you well know, is one of the most tragic accounts of domestic violence in recent memory. I have followed this case closely since these crimes were committed by George Hartwig in December of 2008.

It is apparent to me, and to most women alive today, that the law does not adequately protect women from abusers known and unknown, and that the convention in law is to allow for lesser sentences when a man abuses a person, especially a woman or child, that he knows and has a relationship with. This seems completely upside down to me. A man who perpetrates violence against a woman with whom he has a relationship–whatever that relationship–should receive a harsher, not a lesser sentence. Women should, without question, expect that the men in their lives will at the very least do them no physical harm.

George Hartwig has a long history of criminal activity, including domestic violence and drug/alcohol charges. If the law had done its job when it released him after he had bashed in the skull of his wife to secure her pain medications for himself, Louisa might still be the functioning, smiling woman she was before George Hartwig shot her. The law will have to live with that black stain up it, but it can take action to correct this wrong.

I am writing to ask you to sentence George Hartwig to the maximum sentences that are allowed for the 10 crimes he’s been charged with, and that you order these sentences to be served consecutively. Doing this will send a powerful message to the women of today that the law will have their backs when they are victims of a crime at the hands of a loved one. It will also serve as a powerful message to the men in your community that violence against women they are supposed to love and cherish will not be tolerated by the society in which they live. You have the power to deliver this message, to stop giving this man more chances to harm more women, including Betty Jean Kling, whose life will be in danger if he is ever released. I urge you to do the right thing and deliver this message in the form of your sentence upon George Hartwig.

I thank you for taking the time to consider my appeal and the appeals of others who are interested in seeking fair and equal justice for  women who suffer domestic violence.

Sincerely,

Victim Impact Statement: Let me be the Face of DV Reform

Louisa Richardson Rodas by BettyJean Downing

I cannot speak, I can cry out for help or tell anyone what is happening to me, to add insult to injury I can’t report my abusers or the neglect I suffer. All I can do is take it and cry until Momma comes and finds me in deplorable condition. She has filed report after report to no avail. This is my existence now and the one I will endure for the rest of my life. Given that my heart and organs are in great shape that will be a normal life span of about 40 more years in solitary confinement and at the mercy of strangers. Where is the mercy for me? I was protecting my sister from an abuser the courts would not incarcerate and I am confined for life with no one to protect me? Where is the justice for the innocent survivors of crimes?

 I am trying to help and/or protect others from crimes against women through the efforts of my mother. We have proposed a law in my name in an effort to strengthen violence against women laws and see that they are enforced.

George was never sentenced for nearly killing my dying sister with a hammer over 3 years ago – he was angry and loose when he returned. Then while I tried to call for help finding him holding a shotgun over her- he blew my brains out. The first step is in getting him sentenced appropriately then we will move to get Louisa’s law passed.

Will you help us? http://louisaslaw.wordpress.com/louisas-law/

Louisa’s Law seeks to require significant, effective sentences and strictly enforce VAW laws to reduce violence against women, using a three pronged approach of Prevention, Services and Accountability.

My mom comes to the Long Term Care Facility every night, we want you to see the impact George’s actions have made and why if he had been in jail for the first crime – I would not be in this position today. We want you to see why DV needs to be reformed. I am the face of DV reform. I want you to see what the effects of DV really look like and why you need to help NOW. This could your daughter, sister, mother, neighbor next. 

Look how she finds me?
I can’t wound myself this way, yet they say I did this to myself.  My body is banged and bruised, my faced is bashed against the bed rails and once mom saw them bash me in the head with a lift machine and two against one they denied it.

I am not given mouth care, my Mom comes each night to clean my mouth and suction my throat out so I don’t choke to death. She then scrubs my face and neck , picks my nose and clears the  stuff from my one eye and the empty socket to keep the reoccurring eye infections away – because that is not done for me by the facility.

Mom puts me to bed ever night! Friday night is shower night- Mom comes – she is the one who showers me- I like shower night because that is when the stench of urine and feces is really removed from my body best and my hair is made to smell so clean and look so shiny! Mom put baby powder on me like when I was a baby and I like being babied every night when she puts me to bed.

I have had numerous  horrible rashes, my rashes are so bad they bleed from the  blisters. Mom has had terrible fights with the heads of this place because she has taken pictures of the rashes — they say she is not allowed but she takes them anyway. She has documentation of all the neglect and abuse but can’t show the rashes here. You would cry if you had my rashes between your legs on your vagina and between the cheeks of your butt. You would not be able to sit and urinating/or moving your bowels  into a diaper then sitting in it for hours would be torture!

My finger was smashed and they refused to attend to it – I nearly lost the finger but my mother lanced it and saved it just as it was about to turn gangrene.

This is not about revenge- I will never be made whole, my mom nor my sons will ever be made whole,  but we ask that the price we all pay stands for something and that something is the future of DV no longer be a revolving door of injustice for the innocent survivor.  I am the face of one such survivor. Let’s stop this before it happens to you or someone you love! Help us help you – Please don’t sit by until it happens to you or someone you love – then it’s too late!

Louisa’s Law seeks to require significant, effective sentences and strictly enforce VAW laws to reduce violence against women, using a three pronged approach of Prevention, Services and Accountability. http://louisaslaw.wordpress.com/louisas-law/

Sentencing for George Hartwig will be handed down on 2/24/12 before:

The Honorable Liliana S. DeAvila-Silebi
Bergen County Justice Court
10 Main Street Hackensack,
New Jersey 07601

Please write the Judge and ask for consequtive sentences so that George serves for at least both attempted murders! He has thrown himself on the mercy of the court asking for the minimum and to serve as little as 10 years – we are asking for at least 40. Please help us send the message – DV is a serious crime and should be ajudicated as such!

Steven Seale: Join one man’s plea for “Justice for Louisa”

BettyJean Downing-Kling

The following letter speaks for itself- I had to share this with you. Please find it in your heart to join Steven and ask justice be applied to this as we hope it will stand a precedent for all DV cases. It is time to stand up for Justice! Steven has eloquently made the case, but even a simple letter will suffice. Please join this effort. Sample letters can be found: http://louisaslaw.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/help-get-justice-for-louisa/

January 12, 2012

Judge Liliana S. DeAvila-Silebi
Bergen County Justice Court
10 Main Street Hackensack,
New Jersey 07601

Your Honor,

I am writing you in regards to the case of New Jersey vs. Hartwig. It has come to my attention that you are scheduled to sentence Mr. Hartwig. I am also writing to you not only on behalf of my long time friend BettyJean Kling, the mother of the victim (Louisa) and her family, but also on my own behalf. I am a parent as well as a natural born US citizen.

I, have been privileged and blessed to have born a single and magnificent Son, Jonathan, now of age 27. He has far surpassed his Father in life and value to his communities through his own efforts of scholastics, and personal responsibility for himself and his actions. I can honestly say that I have never once heard him say anything at all that was unkind to another. He has more good, kind, law abiding and faithful friends then I might have ever imagined. He is a beacon of light and faith to them and to me and his Mother. In my words…”He is the best thing that I ever did.” He is a wonderful human asset, a productive member of society, and I am VERY proud that it is he alone that will carry my family name forward. At least if he is not stopped short in life as was Louisa.

In brief your honor, I don’t want to labor you with rhetoric, or the facts that I am confident can be found in your case files. I simply want to say that the perpetrator in this matter does indeed have a problem that needs to be addressed appropriately and in a manner that will provide our communities with the assurance that such crimes will always result in the maximum allowable penalty when the case facts are clear and indisputable. Single handedly, the perpetrator has taken away a human resource, that like my Son, was a beacon of light to so many people. She was kind and loving, productive, honest, law abiding, and believed in the close ties of friends and family. Success seemed to follow her everywhere, and a room would light up when she walked into it. She couldn’t help it.

Perhaps you also are a parent; maybe even own a pet that you dearly love. And if so, you have guided, protected, nourished and also prayed for them to enjoy a better life. Free from harm but not challenge.

Everything has changed for Louisa’s family. Nothing will ever be the same.

I have always had a lot of faith in our justice system to do the right thing. I recognize that it’s not a perfect system and it doesn’t always work how everybody would want it to. That is part of life in the ‘civilized’ world. I have that same faith in you as you preside over this case and make your ruling. I want to look back on this case after your ruling and sentence is carried out and be able to say this:

“Within the allowed law, he was taken off the street for as long as was possible to further insure that he won’t have the slightest chance to regain the privilege of living in the public sector, as a free man, and that he will be asked to accept the appropriate just consequences (not punishment) and take responsibility for his own actions, even if by force of incarceration.”

I know that every case decision and sentence that you hand down is based on serving justice to the best of your ability and according to the letter of the law and all other factors. I would be remiss in my duties as a Father to not ask you to put the perpetrator where he truly belongs for as long as possible. Further, if there is some matter or point of law allowing you to extend his consequences, please consider and take that action as well. My entire family will breathe easier that justice, all that was available under the law way served.

Thank you for your consideration,

Steven Seale
Marietta, GA 30062

Louisa’s Law :To Reduce DV by Prevention, Services and Accountability

BettyJean Downing Kling

In the US, nearly 4 women are killed daily at the hands of their domestic partner, a woman is raped every few* minutes; a woman is battered every few* seconds. Every year, violence in the home and the community devastates the lives of millions of women. Perpetrators of violence against women are rarely held fully accountable for their acts. When women do challenge their abusers, it can often only be accomplished by long and humiliating court battles with little sympathy from authorities or the media. Violence against women is so deeply embedded in society that it often fails to garner public censure and outrage; instead the sentences are often nonexistent. It’s time to stop slapping the hands of perpetrators of violence against women. It’s time to send the message of zero tolerance. And It’s time to create specific sentences for VAW. Women must feel safer to file complaints and testify against their perpetrators and violators must take committing violence against women as the serious crime it is. * Statistics need to be updated to 2012

Louisa’s Law is proposed to honor my daughter, Louisa Richardson Rodas, who was caring for her dying sister Denise Richardson on the day she was shot in the head and permanently disabled by George Hartwig, Denise’s abusive husband.  Had the following proposed measures been in place on December 15, 2008, my daughter Louisa would not be lying in a nursing home, unable to sit or stand, unable to communicate, unable to eat or drink, unable to raise her children or recognize them. 

George Hartwig had viciously bludgeoned his dying wife Denise in the head with a hammer months earlier. He pled guilty to an attack on a dying woman for her pain medication as a result of drug abuse yet he was denied treatment. He was a repeat offender yet he was set free without bail and released without a restraining order. The only protection Denise had was her family taking turns to protect her. It was Louisa’s turn when George Hartwig returned with a shotgun and callously blew the right side of her head off.

Proposed Draft of Louisa’s law

Louisa’s Law seeks to require significant, effective sentences and strictly enforce VAW laws to reduce violence against women, using a three pronged approach of Prevention, Services and Accountability.

a)      Speedy trials because of the risk of repeat violence perpetrated while free on bail and incarceration during sentencing period;

b)      Enter an automatic and enforceable order of protection with a minimum term of ten years;

c)       Violators who were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the violation against a woman or who have any drug-related offenses within three years of the violence incident must enter a rehabilitation program and/or be tested periodically for continued drug or alcohol abuse;

d)      A GPS monitor should be installed if the violator is released from police custody using a system with victim notification;

e)   Full cash bail and full cash surety bonding must be implemented with domestic violence screening as part of the bonding process.  For repeat offenders or violators of restraining orders, offenders are not given the opportunity for bail but should remain incarcerated pending trial because of the documented risk of death to the victim and victim’s family members upon release of repeat offenders and those who have violated restraining orders; 

f)   Violator must enter an approved batter/anger management program with monitoring;

g)   Require a compliance conference before the judge for accountability;

h)   Sentences must be served rather than suspended so that the victims and their families are safe.

i)  Require judges to consider a variety of aggravating factors to ensure safety and punishment consistent with the risks for repeat violence, death, and permanent disability associated with VAW;

J.) Pro bono legal services are provided to the victim to advise her of her rights and direct her for help and services.

K.) Establishing a Nationwide Domestic Violence Registry for use by law enforcement and the public to promote instant access to existing orders of protection and residence of convicted abusers because of the risk of repeat violence.

 

 

 

 

Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/MajorityUnited and register to be a part of the TMU WOMEN coalition that will advance Louisa’s Law , to reduce DV by prevention, services and demanding accountability. In this way we will change the way Justice is meeted out to abusers and reduce injustice  toward their  victims women, children and male intimate partners as well.

TMU is a non partisan group seeking equitable JUSTICE for All!

Surrogate friends needed for strangled victim and Ketra’s daughters

By BettyJean Kling and Heather

If the real friends of Ketra are too afraid of the Turner family, and based on the attacks I can’t blame you, then we will have to show them that the rest of us will not be bullied into keeping quiet or backing down or caving in to their bullying and bashing of Ketra.

So will the real friends of all battered women please step forward?

Gregory Scott Turner’s friends and family are trashing this woman left and right in order to turn the victim of strangulation into the perpetrator and the perpetrator into the victim. Not only his family but his male roommates from college are on this quest to destroy the girls’ mother’s reputation just to preserve the father’s reputation. Isn’t it odd that the living parent should be destroyed by the family of the dead parent? That very man who the girls watched abused their mother. This will seal their fate as they grow up to believe their father died a hero and women deserve to be beaten and are bad. This couple has two daughters both witnesses to a horrendous crime. Should these girls have to find only one side of the story and that being that their mother was a cheating bitch who deserves to be beaten and caused her wonderful husband – their daddy to be dead?

 I think not! I think these girls are already in a family that condones domestic violence and they are going to need all the help they can get. If they are going to find news – let them find news that there were groups like this out there that said NO!

No!  Bashing , beating, strangeling, and trashing their mom is not OK.  Please help me leave positive messages for the Turner girls!

Update, December 20, 10:14 a.m.: UC Irvine criminology student Gregory Scott Turner, who was wanted for the attempted murder of his wife last week, was found dead in San Juan Capistrano Friday afternoon.

An autopsy report is pending, but it is believed the 33-year-old took his own life. He was discovered by campus police who tracked Turner through the GPS signal from his cell phone.

His wife, who was taken to a safe house after treatment at a hospital, has been identified as 32-year-old Ketra Batiste-Turner.

Original Post, December 16, 8:40 a.m.: A 7-year-old girl called 9-1-1 Wednesday afternoon to report her father, in front of her and her 5-year-old sister, beat their mother to unconsciousness in their campus apartment at UC Irvine.

A manhunt is now under way for Gregory Scott Turner.

Or, the 33-year-old criminology student’s body.

Campus police believe Turner, who is wanted for attempted murder, may be suicidal.

They say he tried to strangle his wife during a violent confrontation in their Verano Place apartment before the emergency call was made around 2:20 p.m. Wednesday.

Turner was last seen driving a 2006 blue Chevy truck with the license plate 8P53538.

His daughters, who were not physically harmed during the attack, are now in protective custody while their mother is being treated at a local hospital.

Verona Place is the same UCI apartment complex where Brian Hughes Benedict is alleged to have chased his ex-wife Rebecca Clarke out of her unit on Sept. 13, 2009, before shooting her to death in the parking lot. Their 4-year-old son was strapped into a car seat in the lot at the time.

His family demonstrates a violent temperament striking out in rage and vengeance with threats. Hi sister Amanda admits to being a victim of 15 years of battery by the hands of her own husband so this kind of wife beating is acceptable to this family and apparently these innocent children will be expected to tolerate the same.

 I would like to share some of the comments about Ketra and have folks please come and defend her . She is the victim here and does not deserve to be disgraced so that the memory of her brutal husband can be glorified and the blame be shifted from him to her as deserving to be beaten to a pulp and strangled and left for dead.

stacy, on December 21, 2010 at 5:44 pm
well maybe it was his wife or possibly a lover of his wifes… maybe he found out about an affair. maybe she got caught. maybe thats why he flipped. maybe just maybe…..

GregsOldRoomMate, on December 21, 2010 at 11:57 pm said:
I lived with Greg, and Ketra used to bring over friends (male friend she was sleeping with) when she’s be mad at Greg to try to get him ‘beat up’ but we always had his back till she tricked him to move to CA. Sad, and glad the autopsy proves it was murder. God never sleeps. The murder will be found, RIP GREG, you will be missed by your REAL FAMILY AND FRIENDS

astrid, on December 22, 2010 at 12:02 pm said:
i also understand that domestic violence goes on everyday to millions of women; but is it really always the guys fault; i mean if i hit a guy ima expect him to hit me back; im putting myself in that place right? && for the innocent women; i know sometimes its hard to walk away but how is it the guys fault if you stay

aManda, on December 23, 2010 at 6:46 pm said:
this is gregs sister; i have been battered and beaten for 15 years by my husband so dont tell me i dont know what its like; first off you have no right to pass judgment on anybody! secondly if you have been through this than you would have turned to GOD! so keep your fuckin mouth shut about shit you dont know! she beat him by the way; shit! i still and ALWAYS will love my brother!

Carlos Montoya, on December 24, 2010 at 2:32 am said:
I knew Greg for Some Time and once were Roomates when he lived in Dallas,Tx and the first time i meet, at the time his fiance(ketra B.)i noticed she was VERY Dominant,as i Advised Greg at the Time,In which to me is a Possible Problem.It’s One Thing to be Equal but when a Woman is DOMINANT,that’s an Issue.Males are born to be Dominant,Not Woman.but in Today’s Time it Seems to be OK,When a Woman Hits a Man,but Turn that around and All of Sudden you’re a Criminal.Watch Tv and see for yourself.Tv is Making Woman “Think” it is OK to “TOUCH” a Man.If you look closely in the mugshot pic of Greg,you’ll see some Marks on his Face,but yet Only he went to Jail,Not Ketra,as Well.I Believe GREG was a Good Guy,Who Fell Victim,because he Loved Her and Maybe caught Ketra Cheating,as some have accused,it would Make sense.or Maybe He Took his Own Life ,cause he thought he could of Possibly Killed Her and did’nt want to go to Prison,Maybe then but What about the Children?So if the new boyfriend killed Him i would see a Motive or Setup,GReg Turner MAy You Rest in PEace and MAy the TRUTH come Out.RIP

Carlos Montoya, on December 24, 2010 at 2:44 am said
Also,If Greg Wanted to Kill Her.Then She Would of Been DEAD.There’s More to it,like a Rage of Passion/Emotions.He Did’nt Want Her Dead,Why did he STOP,Untill he knew she was Dead,If that was the Case.Give the Guy a Chance.Look at the Other Possiblities,it’s Not Always as it Looks on the Surface.ASk yourself WHAT would you Do if you found out your Wife/husband was Cheating on you?Would you just Leave,Some do and Many Don’t.What If she Rubbed it in His Face?What if this was Setup,to put him in jail?This girl was Tough,She could of probably kicked many guys butts,from when i meet her.I’m just Trying to Make ense of this Tragedy,for a Long Lost friend Greg,We will find the Truth.There are Two Sides to Every Story.Also i’m Not saying ketra,is Not the Victim here,but after reading some comments about possibly Cheating on him,Makes Other Motives come out into Play.R.i.P Gregory Scott Turner

And then from a real gentleman whose address is freeryder@yahoo.com Greg as you can see had real nice friends Uncontrollable RAGE- I was called Bitch by most of his family for several days

freeryder, on December 22, 2010 at 4:18 pm said:
wow freemenow your such a fat fuckin bitch get the dildo outta your mouth go lose some weight an get laid quit talkin shit that you know nothing about what if this was your son I wouldn’t wish anyone to do this to him so get a fuckin lif

Heather wrote:

So many times I read about women who have been killed or nearly killed by their husbands or lovers, and the killer then kills himself. So often a man who has beaten his wife or lover is released from jail only to commit more violent acts.

As I would expect everyone to acknowledge, statistically, men are by far more likely than women to commit violent acts against intimate partners. When I read the post, the story of Greg Turner fit right in line with every other story I’ve read for years about domestic violence. I see a lot of comments from various people trying to spin the story into being focused on Greg Turner and how he was wronged by Ketra. Comments that suggest there should be some equality to criticizing perpetrators of domestic violence as if Ketra somehow drove Greg to hurt her and then himself. If the reporter got the facts wrong, then the family and friends of Greg should be focused on the news source to get a correction instead of attacking people at this site. There is no equality of abuse – men by far are the perps.

I am so weary of the continued efforts either with this couple or another to cast the blame on the woman for somehow driving the man to his illegal conduct. When will abusers start taking responsibility for what their bodies do? If only women had the mysterious control abusers and their defenders attribute to us, we could end domestic violence and sexual abuse right now! Not one more child would be raped or killed! No woman would be in fear of rape or death at the hands of a man. No child would be harmed by their fathers or the boyfriends of their mothers. No child would be the target of sexual predators at school or in the neighborhood or at the mall.

I agree with Heather.

I agree with Heather. For the Turner girls Justis and Memorie – we all need to step up and say – it is not ok to beat a woman for any reason. It is not OK! Whatever else happened to Greg Turner- he had no right to beat and strangle their mother – he was a wife beater and an attempted murderer and their mother did not deserve to be touched for any reason on earth.

Help Louisa: Does this have to happen to your daughter for you to take action?

Another Rant by BettyJean Kling

I sent out thousands of requests- thousands of requests from my personal address book!

I then sent our 5000+ via TMU newsletter.

I then put it out on FaceBook to nearly 4000 who friended me and then to my TMU group and to several Domestic violence groups.

But out of 10,000 requests- I am embarrassed to say the response was pitiful. Is it any wonder our women are being slaughtered daily and the prosecutors and judges take it so lightly? Does it have to happen to your daughter for you to take action?

Do you perhaps have to see the gruesome details of my once beautiful daughter to be moved to action? So be it! Here she is!

This is Louisa, my daughter who at 40- not a gray hair, not a wrinkle – no need for make-up which she never wore. Louisa had a smile that lit up the room and a giggle that made the saddest depressed person have to laugh out loud. She was a business owner, a graphic artist and one heck of a gal.

She is my baby, a mother, a wife, a grandchild, a sister, a friend, a neighbor, a woman!

She was caring for her dying sister Denise when she was shot in the face by her brother-in law George Hartwig. She was there protecting her dying sister from this brute who was out of jail without bail after bludgeoning his wife’s bald head with a hammer a few months earlier. When Louisa tried to phone for help he told her to “put down that phone” and when she refused he aimed at her head and blew her brains out of the right side of her head! She lost half of her skull and brains her eye, her memory – she is paralyzed for the rest of her life. She does not know her family including her children; she cannot speak, stand, or even express her needs. We have no idea what she thinks as she lays there. But she is otherwise strong and young so she has a long life sentence of this ahead of her.

George has a great attorney who wants a plea deal. Remember, had he not been loose after crushing my other daughter Denise- bald head in a few months earlier – he would not have been roaming the streets and could not have done this to Louisa. Are we going to give him yet another deal?

I need your help- I will even write a simple letter for you. Do you want me to pay for the stamp? I will even do that but please in the name in good conscience stand up for the victims right and stand up for human rights. Stand up for Louisa – she can’t speak for herself.

To: John L. Molinelli
Bergen County Prosecutor
10 Main Street
Hackensack, NJ 07601

State vs. George Hartwig Re: Louisa Rodas

Dear Prosecutor Molinelli,

I am writing this letter to you because I am profoundly saddened that there is some discussion of a plea agreement in the case of George Hartwig who savagely shot and disabled Louisa Rodas. I am asking you to proceed to trial and prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law. It is important that justice be served.

It’s time to stop slapping the hands of perpetrators of violence against women and children. Let’s hold them fully accountable for their actions. It’s time to take violence against women more seriously – seriously enough to say – no more plea deals when violence does happen. It’s time to expect Judges to take this more seriously and provide stiff sentences to the fullest extent of the law. It’s time to Stand up to Violence against Women.

The overcrowding of your courts and prisons are not our problem justice is our problem. A victim’s first scream is for help; a victim’s second scream is for justice.

The primary reason women fail to report violence or fail to follow through is the failure of the courts to provide protection and to prosecute domestic violence to the full extent of the law. Many victims feel safer negotiating with their perpetrator than relying on the system to protect them or to bring them justice.

Sincerely

Concerned citizen

If this plea doesn’t get a response- I am going to have to wonder if any of you care a fig about women at all? I am going to have to wonder what you think you can expect if this happens to your child. We need to stand up now- we need Louisa’s Law!

Louisa’s Law which will require those with the power to do so to “Stand up to Violence against Women”

It’s time to stop slapping the hands of perpetrators of violence against women and children. Let’s hold them fully accountable for their actions. Let’s hold prosecutors feet to the fire – no more plea deals when violence does happen. Let’s hold Judges accountable for sentencing these violators to the fullest extent of the law by handing down stiff sentences.

On the meantime I urge you to join us in calling an end to a proposed plea deal in the case of George Hartwig.

• 85% of domestic violence victims are women
  
• One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.
  
• An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.
  
• Historically, females have been most often victimized by someone they knew
  
• Females who are 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence
  
• Most cases of domestic violence are never reported to the police.
  

  http://www.ncadv.org/files/DomesticViolenceFactSheet(National).pdf

***************************
John L. Molinelli
Bergen County Prosecutor
10 Main Street
Hackensack, NJ 07601
Phone (201) 646-2300
Fax: (201) 646-3794
http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/

Louisa’s Law will “Stand up to Violence against Women”

BettyJean Kling

We are looking for an attorney to write the language for Louisa’s Law which will require those with the power to do so to “Stand up to Violence against Women”

It’s time to stop slapping the hands of perpetrators of violence against women and children. Let’s hold them fully accountable for their actions. Let’s hold prosecutors feet to the fire – no more plea deals when violence does happen. Let’s hold Judges accountable for sentencing these violators to the fullest extent of the law by handing down stiff sentences.

On the meantime I urge you to join us in calling an end to a proposed plea deal in the case of George Hartwig. Below a sample letter.

September 7, 2010

To: John L. Molinelli
Bergen County Prosecutor
10 Main Street
Hackensack, NJ 07601

State Vs. George Hartwig Re: Louisa Rodas

Dear Prosecutor Molinelli:

My name is Myra Spearman; I am a survivor of domestic violence and the Founder and President of The Weaker Vessel, Inc. We successfully and proactively maintain a database of domestic violence offenders which is viewable by the general public. It is of great importance to us that women and men are able to recognize and stop abuse before it happens to them.

I am writing this letter to you because I am profoundly saddened that there is some discussion of a plea agreement in the case of George Hartwig who savagely beat and disabled Louisa Rodas. I am asking you to proceed to trial and prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law. It is important that justice be served and that the family of Louisa is able to achieve some measure of closure.

If you merely offer a plea agreement you will allow the possibility for his release into society in the future. Mr. Hartwig has already shown us the consequences of his actions, allowing him to plea will significantly endanger more lives upon his reentry. He has clearly proven himself to be a repeat offender and we cannot allow recidivism to continue. We understand that you’re extremely busy but would implore you to review the case and proceed to trial.

I know you understand fully the extent of what you might allow to happen if you decide to offer a plea. Before you do, think about Louisa and the struggles she has left. She will never be normal again, she’s lost half of her brain, her face and is severely disabled and will need 24 hour care for the rest of her life. Prosecute this case as you would if Louisa were your daughter!

 I, as well as other important women’s rights and advocacy groups will continue to watch this case very closely. It is my sincere hope that you will use your legal expertise to win a conviction in this case.

Sincerely,

Myra Spearman
Founder/President
The Weaker Vessel, Inc.
P.O. Box 2603
Gary, IN 46403

www.theweakervessel.org
www.domesticviolencedatabase.org

Louisa

By BettyJean Kling and Louisa

My Louisa is making very big progress — I don’t even know where to start.

I have her brushing her hair and doing sign language and snapping her fingers and well she hugs and kisses her mommy and rubs my face and back with tenderness.

I guess you know she got the trach out because I taught her to flip the Dr. the bird right?

Well anyway I now know that she has sight and can mimic hand motions that she sees however, they are delayed. I am very excited.

Lou and I have come a very long way and I am so excited – I can hardly write this!

WE were able to get the attention and finally some help when I stopped the ER Dr. from inserting the Trach for the 5^th time – I burst into the ER screaming that they had no permission to reinsert that damned thing she keeps ripping out of her throat.

The Dr. tried to remove me but I insisted that Lou could communicate and then Louisa got the chance to prove it. We were in blizzard conditions and no one was there but Lou and me – no one to stop us now!

Lou could say no (I do not want it reinserted) with 1 finger then yes (she was sure) with 2 fingers and finally flip the bird (can you hear me now) to assure the Dr. who then understood.

Indeed the Dr. understood and when the Dr. acknowledged as much – Lou placed her hand over her throat and managed a faint smile!

That did it and we were on our way! The Dr.’s they came in one after the other for days warning us what might happen and continued to warn us. They frightened us and gave us every warning they could muster but Louisa and I braved onward. I knew if she ripped it out 5 times she either could live without it or rather not live and I was damned well going to give her – her dignity. Over the next 9 days in that hospital – I barely left her side.

Since then Lou and I have managed to show them all the things we have been working on every night for a nearly a year. Louisa had earned the right to have services reinstated and NOW she finally is receiving; PT, OT and last Thursday we started speech therapy finally! After one year of solitary confinement, no therapy and never leaving her room Louisa is off life support machines, the trach, and has gone outdoors into the sunshine and yesterday I took her out of her room to meet the other patients she has lived in residence with for one year and has never met. I have made many friends there and now they know who else it is I have been visiting all year.

Part of the plan for now is that I accompany her because Lou is not yet responding to anyone else but me so I must be present but I will teach her to be comfortable with others and if not – then I will gladly stand by her side till we make it together over that finish line. Louisa and I are coming home one day.

Absurd Collaborations: The abuser, the lawyers and the judge

Another Rant By: BettyJean Kling

Unemployed repeat offender 29 year old Fredrick Wood

Words fail me—I have found a report that I cannot add to nor subtract from. This beats all that I have ever seen or heard.
How in God’s name can this happen? How can this defense lawyer and prosecutor be allowed to practice? Keep in mind this deal was cut without the woman being present in court to agree to the marriage.

The Judge has been moved out of domestic violence courts and moved to a better position no doubt – he should be put in jail if this woman or her children are hurt!  Obviously this woman was forced into this situation and has previously testified that she fears for her life and that of her children – it is recorded thusly. This is the cruelest thing I have ever heard of in my entire life. He sentenced the batterer to life with his new wife!

If he kills his new wife and children and he might – this judge should serve the sentence as accessory to a murder.

A Baltimore County judge has been reassigned after pausing the trial of an accused batterer, unemployed repeat offender Frederick Wood, to marry him to his alleged victim so she could avoid testifying against him. Judge Darrell Russell Jr., the Baltimore County District Court judge assigned to the non-jury trial, performed the wedding ceremony in his chambers for defendant Frederick Wood and his girlfriend. Prosecutors say they were powerless to stop it.

“It’s very frustrating. We view very seriously the crime of domestic violence,” Deputy State’s Attorney Leo Ryan said. “We understand that very often the nature of this crime means the victims are reluctant to testify.” The officer also compiled a report called a “domestic violence lethality screen” in which the woman said she thought he might try to kill her and that he has threatened to kill her and/or her children in the past.

Late breaking news: This Judge has skeletons in his own closet- but that was pretty evident from his behavior wasn’t it?  She got the house – it took him 5 lawyers to hide the divorce records – wonder if he is hiding battery? tsk tsk tsk!

 

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