Deal With the Devil

She was listed as an "endangered/abused child" in Utah , but apparently we lack a nationwide database in this country which allows for states to communicate between them when a child's family has been under investigation for suspected abuse. It seems her family moved around a lot and had recently settled in South Phoenix, which is no surprise given the fact that there were 12 children and 4 adults living in the home, many more lived among the backyard in tents. The neighbors thought they were strange given the fact that babies could be seen wearing next to nothing, sometimes without diapers, being fed in their high chairs in the front yard...at 1 am.The children were home schooled which is no surprise either although I doubt highly there was much schooling going on in their small home which investigators would later note was overcome by trash and debris. On a sweltering hot Phoenix morning police would be called to the home and there they would be told an elaborate tale.That 10 year old Ame Deal, who by all accounts of everyone living in the home liked to play hide and seek had found her final resting place while playing a game with her sister. She must have fallen asleep in the box, they said. They would tell officers that it was amazing how she could fit into some of the hiding places she would get into. That when the family went to bed at 1 am they assumed she was already asleep. The officers found her in a footlocker, she would have had to be quite a contortionist to fit in there.What they didn't know at the time was she was forced into it and a padlock was placed to make sure she couldn't escape. I wonder if they heard her cries or gave it a second thought when they stopped, what did they expect to find in the morning. Ame was found in dirty soiled clothing, she had wet herself much like she did on any given night..that is why she was forced to sleep in a shower stall and forbidden from having a bed to rest on. Who would do this incomprehensible act, who would stand by and allow for it to happen..what could she possibly have done to warrant such an evil act that cost her her life? She took a Popsicle out of the refrigerator on a hot summer day, a day where the temperature was well over 100 degrees.. It was on that hot day she was made to do back bends one after the other as she would be kicked every time her back got tired, then she had to run outside to the point of exhaustion. Kind of like the time she had to walk back and forth down the street barefooted while neighbors watched as punishment on a day that reached 118 degrees. Watched and said nothing, to no one. This is what happened before she was forced in the footlocker, and the padlock was placed on it. What we do know now is that investigators didn't buy their story and that this little girl had been enduring years of abuse which involved having been forced to consume dog feces, having it rubbed on her face, she had been beaten by a board and hot sauce was poured in her mouth. This is probably nothing compared to what really went on behind closed doors. This is not your typical case of child abuse where you may have one person in the home who is the abuser, usually a boyfriend of the mother or a step dad and another, often times the mother who doesn't stop it. No in this case the abuse was committed not only by her Grandmother but both of her Aunts, her Aunts husband and more than likely her father who lived in the home. Although he hasn't been arrested yet he was aware of the abuse and did nothing, said nothing to stop it. This wasn't her first time in the footlocker, the people saw her in it before, the ones in the backyard...they witnessed it being kicked, spun around, flipped over and over on many occassions..with Ame inside. They didn't think to say anything, or do anything to stop it... 4 people have been arrested so far...it looks as though none of them have teeth..her biological mother who gave her up 4 years ago because she was living on the streets sure doesn't.. you know what this says to me? Meth addicts...that much is apparent. You hear stories like this and you think how could anyone do something like this..for many of us it is incomprehensible... We are not born as evil human beings what has to happen that causes an entire family that was supposed to have loved and cared for this child to abuse her, all of them and leave her to die. How could people have been aware of the abuse and witness these horrific acts yet closed their curtains, turned there heads and said nothing at all? Stories like this weigh heavy on me because I have to look at the people and consider the influence of the substances they took and how it affected their decisions and behavior. ..But I think the answer to this is simple..there are two kinds of people on this earth and the devil is alive and well and living on it.