Wayne Treacy Charged with Attempted Murder in 'Text Rage' Beating that Left Josie Ratley in a Coma

'Text Rage' Leads to Alleged Brutal Teen Beating
Florida Ninth Grader Charged With Attempted Murder After Text Message Argument Turned Physical


http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/TheLaw/text-rage-leads-alleged-brutal-teen-beating/story?id=10148892

The only contact 15-year-old Wayne Treacy had ever had with 8th grader Josie Lou Ratley before allegedly beating her nearly to death Wednesday was a brief flurry of text messages earlier that day, Florida police say.

Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti told ABC News that eyewitnesses report Treacy didn't utter a word as he kicked the 15-year-old girl repeatedly with his steel-toed boots, "in the head, soccer style," until a teacher eventually pried him off.

"I think this is probably the first case of 'text rage' we've ever seen. We've had road rage before, but never text rage," said Lamberti.

Ratley was hospitalized with severe head injuries, and Treacy, who confessed the beating to police, has been charged with premeditated attempted murder. A hearing in Fort Lauderdale today will determine whether or not to try Treacy as an adult.

How absolutely horrible!

Deerfield girl savagely beating at school
Posted: Mar 19, 2010 9:30 AM EDT

DEERFIELD BEACH, FL (WFLX) - Police arrested a second teen in the brutal beating of a middle school student outside of her school.

Investigators said a "texting war" between two teens sparked the vicious assault.

A 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy have been charged.

Attorney Betsy Benson confirmed Thursday that her client, 15-year-old, Wayne Treacy, was being held after a judge determined there was probable cause to hold him on a charge of attempted murder. Treacy's next court date is March 26.

The Broward Sheriff's Office says Josie Lou Ratley was in critical condition.

Authorities say Treacy, who attends a nearby high school, came looking for her at Deerfield Beach Middle School Wednesday. He had been texting with a friend through Ratley's cell phone. The friend allegedly said something Treacy didn't like. He rode his bike five miles to the school to find her.

Authorities say Treacy punched the girl repeatedly, knocked her to the ground, kicked her and stomped on her face with steal toe boots. Ratley lost consciousness and could not defend herself. A teacher had to pull him away from her.

Josie's family launched a Facebook page for her.

http://www.wflx.com/Global/story.asp?S=12169721

That is totally disgusting. They need to lock that thug up and throw away the key. Does anybody think I need anger management given the fact that reading this story makes me want to put on a pair of steel toe boots and kick the hell out of Treacy?

No...J4A...I know exactly how you feel. Some days, while reading & adding to the site, I have to just take a break, play a game, listen to some music...ANYTHING but more reading. Today was/is...one of those days. I think Stricklands decision did me in, until I read this story. How horrible to just kick a girl to (almost) death! WTF is happening in our world? What's wrong with these kids? I just don't get it.

I don't get it either, Fysty. It seems that the C gene for caring and compassion is disappearing from far too many kids today.

Deerfield Beach Middle School student in coma after beating

By Rafael A. Olmeda
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Updated: 9:29 p.m. Friday, March 19, 2010

Josie Ratley	Wayne Treacy

DEERFIELD BEACH — As Josie Lou Ratley remained in a medically-induced coma Friday, stunned family members struggled to understand why someone she barely knew could become angry enough to allegedly try to beat her to death.

"She's not with us," said Ratley's aunt, Linda Sarmiento, describing the 15-year-old Ratley's condition at Broward General Medical Center. "She can't respond to us. She's in a coma."

Ratley was taken to the hospital Wednesday after Wayne Treacy, 15, a student at Deerfield Beach High School, attacked her at a Deerfield Beach Middle School campus bus stop, according to prosecutors. Treacy, accused of beating Ratley with his fists and stomping on her head repeatedly while wearing steel-toed boots, is in a juvenile detention center facing an attempted murder charge.

Ratley's mother, Hilda Gotay Ratley, scheduled a news conference Friday afternoon with the girl's aunt, the family's lawyer and doctors to discuss Ratley's condition. But she couldn't bear to leave her daughter's hospital room when the time came, the lawyer said.

"My baby should be home with me right now," she said through the lawyer, Rick Freedman. "Instead she is fighting for her life in a hospital bed."

Freedman and Emergency Room Pediatrician Mayra Dominguez described how doctors had to remove a part of Ratley's skull to allow her brain's swelling to go down. Dominguez said it's too soon to tell whether Ratley will suffer permanent brain damage and repeatedly declined to offer a prognosis.

Sarmiento said Ratley had recently moved from Crystal River and she didn't have a lot of friends. She is a gifted artist, although she has a slight learning disability, Sarmiento said, describing Ratley as a kind and protective girl who sometimes scolded family members for saying or doing "the wrong thing."

Because they haven't been able to speak to Ratley, family members can't confirm or explain news accounts about what led to the beating, Sarmiento said. According to the Broward Sheriff's Office, Ratley's cell phone was used by a 13-year-old friend to send text messages to Treacy, with whom the friend had a relationship.

But Ratley sent messages of her own to Treacy, expressing her disapproval of the relationship and making a "disparaging" reference to the October suicide of Treacy's brother, said Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti.

That remark incensed Treacy, who deliberately put on steel-toed boots, texted friends that he was going to kill Ratley, and rode his bicycle three miles from his home to Deerfield Middle to find Rately, the Sheriff's Office said. When he got to the campus, the 13-year-old friend pointed out Ratley, knowing Treacy intended to harm her, the Sheriff's Office said.

The friend was arrested Thursday on a count of accessory to attempted murder and was ordered held for 21 days in juvenile detention while prosecutors review the case. Her lawyer, Jonathon Marne, said the girl and Ratley were "best friends," and that her family wished Ratley a speedy recovery.

"It's news to us," Ratley's aunt said of the friendship. She knew nothing of the text messages other than what she read in media accounts, said it seemed out of character for Ratley to say something bad about someone else's suicide.

But Sarmiento did show some sympathy for Treacy's family, conceding that she thought of Treacy as a monster until she saw a television news account that pictured him and his weeping mother Thursday.

"Last night I felt sorry for him," she said. "I know his parents must be devastated themselves."

Freedman, speaking for Ratley's mother, urged South Florida families to use this incident as a "teachable moment" to discuss teen violence and prevention.

"Please say a prayer for Josie," he said. "And please have an age-appropriate discussion with your children about what happened to Josie. Speak to your children tonight. Communicate with them."

Ratley's family does not have health insurance, Freedman said. A directed trust account has been established at the Wachovia Bank in care of the Law Office of Gordon and Doner to benefit Josie Lou Ratley. Checks to the Josie Lou Ratley Fund can be dropped off at any Wachovia office or mailed to the Wachovia branch at 2989 PGA Blvd, Palm Beach Gardens, Fl, 33410.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/deerfield-beach-middle-school-student-in-coma-after-396977.html?

Whatever happened to teaching boys that you just don't hit (etc.) girls?

My God, that poor girl. I just saw her aunt on TV. I hope Josie pulls through this. My prayers are with Josie and her family.

I hope that Josie fully recovers from this savage attack.
The thug intended to inflict severe harm to Josie, and even deliberately put on steel-toed boots before going to find her. There should be additional charges filed against him. This was a planned attack, and he sent text messages to his friends saying he was going to kill this girl. If Josie dies, he should be convicted as an adult and sent to jail for life.

Amen Cali....he intended to kill her.

Doctors `feeling good' about beaten Deerfield Beach girl

By Jennifer Lebovich
Miami Herald
Updated: 2:57 p.m. Monday, March 22, 2010



Medical personnel treating Josie Lou Ratley -- the 15-year-old Deerfield Beach girl beaten by a teen boy last week -- on Sunday removed her bandages, exposing rows of stitches from two surgeries to relieve pressure on the girl's brain.

She remained in critical condition and in a medically induced coma at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, according to Rick Freedman, her family's attorney.

Doctors are ``really feeling good about the strength of the rest of her body,' Freedman said. ``Now it's a matter of waiting.' Josie's family remains by her bedside.

She has undergone two craniotomies -- the first Wednesday night on the left side of her brain and the second Friday on the right side.

Her mother, Hilda Gotay Ratley, and aunt Linda Sarmiento are scheduled to appear on NBC's Today Show and CBS's The Early Show Monday morning, Freedman said.

Two teens, Wayne Treacy, 15, and Kayla Manson, 13, are being held in a juvenile detention center in connection with the attack last Wednesday at Deerfield Beach Middle School. The attack was prompted by an exchange of text messages.

The Broward Sheriff's Office said Treacy put on steel-toed boots, biked to the school and attacked Ratley in a bus area, kicking her in the head as many as seven times.

The boy, a ninth-grader at Deerfield Beach High School, had been messaging Ratley to try and reach his ex-girlfriend, Manson.

Ratley didn't approve of the relationship and had exchanged messages with Treacy, including a comment she made about Treacy's brother who had committed suicide in October. Treacy is charged with attempted murder. Manson is charged as a principal because she helped Treacy find Ratley, authorities say.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/doctors-feeling-good-about-beaten-deerfield-beach-girl-419990.html

J4A-thanks for the video. So many more details. Those pictures of her in the coma, so disturbing. Such a tragic story.

I hate how his attorney tries to "explain" why he did it. There is no excuse!

Has either of his parents spoke out yet? If he was the one to find his brother hanging from a tree he should have been in intensive counseling, that is very traumatic. I have to wonder what his home environment is like or if he has shown a violent nature in the past. It is still by no means any excuse for what he inflicted upon Josie. An intentional, extremely brutal attack. I continue to say prayers for Josie and her family. It's a miracle she is still alive.

Here is a link to Wayne Treacy's Myspace.

http://www.myspace.com/demonic569.0818

It's set to private and there's not much you can see except a picture of him and a status message where he whines that he needs a massage because his back hurts. Why am I not surprised that he uses the word demonic in his Myspace URL?

Sheriff: Teen Suspect Sent Apathetic Text After Girl Beating
Wayne Treacy took time to text friend in wake of horrific beating

By BRIAN HAMACHER
Updated 9:45 AM EDT, Tue, Mar 23, 2010

Broward's top cop said accused text message beating suspect Wayne Treacy had time to coldly text a friend in the moments after he beat 15-year-old Josie Ratley within an inch of her life.

"In fact, he sent another text message to someone saying 'Hey, I think I'm going to prison, I think I just killed someone,' so it just was a matter of fact thing, like oh well, this is what it is," Sheriff Al Lamberti said during an appearance on this morning's "Today Show."

Appearing on the morning talk show, Lamberti spoke about the recent and disturbing wave of youth violence to hit South Florida and in particular the Deerfield Beach school attended by Treacy, Ratley and teen burn victim Michael Brewer.

"Just five months ago with the Michael Brewer case we thought we had seen everything," Lamberti said. "And here, five months later, we have another horrific event, we just can't explain it, we can't rationalize it."

The most recent event is the horrific attack last week, in which Treacy, 15, attacked Ratley over some text messages the two had exchanged.

Police said Ratley was punched, knocked to the ground and had her head repeatedly slammed on the concrete by Treacy, who stomped on the girl with his steel-toed boots.

Ratley remains in critical condition at Broward General Medical Center and in a medically induced coma as a result of the attack. She's undergone two surgeries to relieve pressure on her brain.

Photos released yesterday showed her laying in her hospital bed, her severely bruised and swollen face wrapped in bandages.

Treacy and his 13-year-old alleged accomplice, Kayla Manson, who police said pointed Ratley out to Treacy, are being held in a juvenile detention center.

Treacy will be charged with attempted murder.

"When I grew up, my dad told me you don't hit girls, and now, I called it a culture of callousness, because last time it was over a stolen bicycle and a video game, now it's over a text message with a person that he never even met, never saw," Lamberti said. "It seems like kids are not communicating like we used to. That art of communication isn't there."

Lamberti said that while law enforcement does all it can to prevent violence like this, people need to be proactive.

"Mr. Treacy is in custody, but that doesn't help Josie, it's what can we do before these problems occur, whether it's at home, school, churches," Lamberti said. "That's where we need to focus our efforts, by the time law enforcement gets involved, it's usually too late...we need to start early."

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/Sheriff-Teen-Suspect-Sent-Apathetic-Text-After-Girl-Beating-88904442.html

Teacher Who Saved Student from Steel-Toed Beating Speaks out: "Sorry I Didn't Get There Faster"

Posted by Carlin DeGuerin Miller
March 23, 2010 2:12 PM



DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. (CBS) The elementary school teacher who saved Josie Lou Ratley from a violent beating is speaking out about the shocking incident that left Ratley in a medically induced coma.

Walter Welsh says he was about 100 feet away from the bus stop when he noticed a commotion with a boy standing over a girl in the school bus area on campus.

"At first I thought they were playing," Welsh told CBS affiliate WFOR Monday. "His foot came down. Came down a second time. When I saw him cock his leg, he kicks her. I'm screaming, 'Stop!'"

Welsh says he ran over to Ratley and stopped Wayne Treacy before he was able to land the third kick. He realized that Ratley was gravely injured and told one of the other adults to call for an ambulance while he escorted Treacy to the school office.

Welsh told WFOR that he asked Treacy what he was thinking, and Treacy answered " 'She talked about my dead brother.'"

"What do you say to a 15-year-old who has that kind of hate?" Welsh asked. "I don't know."

Welsh says Treacy was crying when they got to the office, then he noticed Treacy's footwear.

"I said, 'Are those steel toed boots?' That's when he told me,'Yeah, they're steel toed boots,'" Welsh told the station. "I had to leave the room then, because I was a little bit disturbed."

The Ratley's family and their attorney, Rick Freedman, have been critical of the security on the school campus.

But Welsh said a premeditated attack is difficult to stop. "How do you anticipate something as heinous and savage as that, that's premeditated?"

"I'm 56-years-old, and I never seen anything like it," he said. "If you see the girl, tell baby girl to open her eyes and smile one more time. Tell her mother I'll always be sorry I didn't get their faster. That's all I can say."

Video: Teacher Saved Teen From Further Harm In Deerfield

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20000992-504083.html