The Misery Machine - The Case of Harley Rae Williams

Starting point is 00:00:00 Harley Ray Williams was born in Oklahoma on September 24, 2015 to parents Ivan Williams and Shelby Love. Harley had short red hair, a soft smile, and pale blue eyes. According to Shatoria Good, who took care of the toddler at daycare, she was a happy and lovable little girl. She said, she was just the happiest kid, always smiling, never any issues with her. She was just a sweet little girl. Everyone that she came in contact with just loved her. caretakers described her as a free spirit and a bundle of energy. They said Harley loved going to the beach and love being outside. One of the pictures her family shared online showed her on a sandy beach with waves breaking in the background.

Starting point is 00:00:44 She wore a blue dress with pink buttons and smiled for the camera. Shelby and Ivan had a troubled relationship. They got married around 2013, were only married for three years and didn't stay together long after Harley was born. In August of 2016, Shelby filed for a protective order against Ivan, claiming that he had hurt her. September, just a month after the judge granted that order, Ivan violated it by driving by the place Shelby worked. Around that time, their divorce was finalized, and she was given custody of Harley as a result. Ivan was allowed visitation with his daughter, but not until he took court-ordered parenting classes. He didn't complete those classes, but soon that didn't even matter.

Starting point is 00:01:25 Even though she had full custody, Shelby was supposed to let Ivan know if she moved out of Oklahoma. Instead, she disappeared, leaving Ivan and his family searching for Harley for more than a year. By early 2018, Shelby had moved to the state of Virginia and was living with Harley in the Sandy Beach Tower's apartment complex in the East Ocean View section of Norfolk. She claimed she left Oklahoma because she was fleeing a relationship marked by DV, but it didn't take her long to find an even worse relationship. with her new boyfriend, John Tucker Hardy. John had three kids of his own, but he wasn't allowed to see any of them. In fact, he wasn't allowed to be unsupervised around children at all because he was still

Starting point is 00:02:07 on probation for DV and CA. In 2011, he was in a relationship with Jacqueline Coates, and she was 14 weeks pregnant with his son, and they got into a fight that turned physical. John was planning to trip out of town with his friends, and Jacqueline was angry about his plans and told him to leave the house. They fought, and during the argument, John threw a cell phone aiming at and hitting her in her pregnant belly. He told her that he wished the baby would die. Jacqueline got a protective order against John because of that incident, but that only protected her.

Starting point is 00:02:39 Five months later, when the baby was born, his father still had the right to get custody. That seems to be exactly what he did. In March of 2013, an unnamed girlfriend called police and child protective services because John had strangled her and abandoned his 14-month-old baby. She turned the toddler over to CPS, who noted he was dehydrated and unkempt. He could sit and crawl but wasn't walking yet. He appeared to be underfed, and investigators believed he had been physically neglected as well as medically neglected.

Starting point is 00:03:10 His last doctor's visit had been when he was only six months old, and he had missed several important appointments. He wasn't growing or gaining weight like he should have, and seemed to be developmentally delayed. The girlfriend told investigators that she saw Jonathan hold the baby up by the neck with one hand and that they often had to keep the baby home from social events because of the bruising. She also showed them a text message John had sent her saying he would kill him if he doesn't stop crying. Doctors at the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk

Starting point is 00:03:41 examined the toddler and found dozens of injuries, many of them serious. He had what they described as an extensive skull fracture with scalp swelling. that wasn't caused by an accident. Their report explained that he had been hit on purpose, saying fractures to the back of the skull and ones that cross suture lines such as this one require a great deal of force, and this non-ambulatory child would not be capable of producing that degree of force on his own. It is also not the result of a short fall, such as a fall from a couch.

Starting point is 00:04:12 He has suffered a significant blow to the head. They also found that the boy had broken vertebrae in his back, noting fractures to his T8, T9, and T10 vertebrae likely caused by forcing him into a seated position. They said that type of injury is typically seen when a child is forced onto the buttocks, forcefully collapsing the vertebrae. The damage to the spine would never heal

Starting point is 00:04:34 and it caused a permanent loss of height that he'll have to deal with for the rest of his life. His right tibia or shin bone had also been broken and was in the process of healing. He could not bear weight on that leg and doctors thought that might have interfered with him learning to walk. In addition to the broken bones, doctors also found extensive bruising. He had multiple bruises on his face, including a pair of circular bruises on both sides of his jaw

Starting point is 00:04:58 that were consistent with the story the girlfriend told of witnessing John holding the baby up by the neck. He had bruises on both cheeks, the tip of his nose, under his bottom lip, and on his right ear. They found more bruises on his upper right arm, both shoulders, on his back and on his abdomen. He had a band of patiquia or broken blood vessels across his abdomen under his belly button to his hips. He also had a bruise on his adrenal gland, an organ deep within the body. This type of bruise was very unusual and normally only seen in children that had been in car accidents, according to the doctors. They said the adrenal bruise would have required force well outside that of normal play or parenting.

Starting point is 00:05:38 The report also mentioned that the toddler's feet all the way up to his ankles were bright red, that the doctors didn't have an explanation for that finding. They noted the boy had observed DV occurring in the home based on the report the girlfriend gave that John had hit and strangled her. But the injuries to the boy didn't happen accidentally while John was committing DV against his girlfriend. After observing the extent of his injuries, doctors concluded that the toddler appears to have been targeted for violence.

Starting point is 00:06:04 While investigating the situation, police enlisted the girlfriend to participate in a phone sting aimed at getting a confession out of John. During their tape phone call, John admitted he hit his son. He said, So fucking what? I smacked him in his fucking face because he ate dog food four fucking times. In 2014, John pled guilty to strangulation, neglect, and CA. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but get this.

Starting point is 00:06:32 With 12 years suspended for good behavior, which that's really stupid. We just put him right back on the street. Now, one of his conditions of his parole was, that he was to have no contact with minors. But we'll see about that. Counting the time he spent before his sentencing and his good behavior, by early 2016, John was already out on parole.

Starting point is 00:06:53 Instead of living at the approved address he listed with his probation officer, he was staying at a home where three children lived in direct violation of his parole conditions. But he didn't get in any trouble. Inexplicably, in May, a judge reaffirmed his probation through 2029 instead of sending him back to jail.

Starting point is 00:07:12 None of this makes any sense. He admitted he beat a 14-month-old toddler so badly that his skull was broken. His spine was permanently damaged, and he had to wear a neck brace for months while he recovered. But the system treated it as if it was a minor offense, releasing John less than three years later and not enforcing his parole conditions. By December of 2017, John had somehow convinced another woman to date him, but she broke up with him on December 22nd. The very next day, he came back to her home and she told him she was going to call the police if he didn't leave.

Starting point is 00:07:45 He insisted she needed to come out and talk to him, but she declined, and instead tried to close her front door. He pushed it open, shoved her, and grabbed her by the neck. She grabbed the door and tried to close it again. When she repeated that she was going to call the police, he said, call them. He again pushed the door open, smacking her in the face and the ear. Eventually, the police did arrive and she filed a complaint against him. That same month, December of 2017, John met Shelby. It's unclear whether he waited until after he was dumped or if he dated both women at the same time,

Starting point is 00:08:16 but in the early months of 2018, he and Shelby got closer. Two months after they first met in February of 2018, he moved in with Shelby and two-year-old Harley. Now, he had access to another child he could target for violence, and he often had unsupervised access to the toddler because Shelby frequently let him watch Harley by himself while she was at work. Two months after he moved in, on April 23rd, Shelby again left Harley alone with John while she went to work. Now, sometime during that afternoon,

Starting point is 00:08:47 something terrible happened in the apartment. At 4.29 p.m., John sent Shelby a text message that said, I'm going to prison. At 441, he texted again. This one said that she should hurry home. When she finally got home at 520, Shelby said he handed Harley to her, and said, please don't break up with me.

Starting point is 00:09:09 John told her Harley had been accidentally burned by hot bath water. He said he was getting her ready for a bath and stepped away for just a few seconds, and that the injury occurred during that short amount of time. According to John, Shelby didn't think the burns were significant, so the couple decided to treat her at home. She sent John to the drug store to pick up medical supplies, and he left her there with Harley while he went to the store. The couple soaked rags and apple cider vinegar and applied

Starting point is 00:09:36 it to her burns. They also gave the toddler Tylenol and pedolyte and applied vaseline and burn creams that contained lydicane. Shelby told a different story. She said she realized Harley had severe burns when she saw her daughter and that she wanted to call 911, but John was afraid he would be arrested. She said he took her cell phone and wouldn't let her call. She was so afraid of him, and that's why she had to treat Harley's injuries at home. Sometime that evening, two texts were sent from Shelby's cell phone, but it is unclear who wrote them. Both went to one of Shelby's friends. One, the friend was told Harley had been scalded by hot water, but the burns had been examined by a doctor, which wasn't true. In the second text, the friend was told the injuries occurred

Starting point is 00:10:20 at a DV shelter and not at the apartment. At around 3.30 in the morning, about 11 hours after the first text to Shelby, John said he noticed Harley was shaking, struggling to breathe, and unable to wake up. He called 911 and police and paramedics quickly arrived. When they got there, Harley was having a seizure and was unresponsive. They could see right away that she was burned all over. They estimated between 30% and 50% of her body had been scalded. They noted that her injuries were so bad that her skin had begun sloughing off. In body cam footage of one of the responding officers, paramedics discuss the skin falling off her feet.

Starting point is 00:11:03 She also had other injuries including a large bruise on the back of her head, injuries that couldn't be explained by hot bathwater. They rushed her to the children's hospital of the King's Daughters, but she was too far gone. Shortly after she arrived at the emergency room, Harley was pronounced dead. John continued to insist it was an accident and blamed a faulty water heater.

Starting point is 00:11:29 Shelby's mother, Lois Love, was notified about Harley's death, and she was granted next of kin rights in early May. Harley's father, Ivan, who hadn't seen his daughter since Shelby had left the state with her, didn't find out until a week after the hearing. No one called to tell him. Instead, he found out through an acquaintance who had heard what happened from Lois. John and Shelby were both arrested the day Harley died.

Starting point is 00:11:57 At their first bond hearing, the judge said she was at a loss for words. after looking at pictures of the burns to the toddler's back, legs, arms, bottom, and feet. She said the incident was horrific and denied their request for Bond. They were both in Norfolk City Jail, though within a month or so, John was moved by the sheriff to Hampton Road's regional jail where he was held on behalf of the city. John and Shelby were both initially charged with felony CA and neglect, and their charges were upgraded in November of 2018 to include felony murder for both of them, because experts thought Harley could have survived if she had,

Starting point is 00:12:31 had gotten prompt medical treatment. John was also charged with second-degree murder and two counts of malicious wounding. In February of 2019, Shelby's attorneys filed a motion saying they planned to argue that she suffered from battered woman syndrome, and her fear of John kept her from getting help for her daughter's injuries. They said he was so dangerous that she feared for her life. In their motion, they said she suffered several traumas in her past, including two essays and previous DV. They claimed those incidents informed her decision to be in a physically and mentally abusive relationship with Hardy. However, her case never reached the trial stage because she pled guilty to felony murder and child neglect on October 28th, 2020. She agreed to testify against John at his trial. In 2021, John filed a

Starting point is 00:13:16 complaint against the city of Norfolk, the sheriff, the Commonwealth attorneys, and basically anyone else he could think of because he was moved to the Hampton Roads jail. Among his complaints, he listed that he had contracted the virus that was so prevalent in 2020, and he thought he would not have gotten sick if he had been left at the Norfolk City Jail. The court found that he had no constitutional right to be housed in the facility of his choosing and dismissed his case as frivolous. Later, he filed another complaint claiming some of his mail had been opened inappropriately, but that case was also dismissed.

Starting point is 00:13:48 Finally, in July of 2022, his trial for Harley's murder began. He chose a bench trial instead of a jury trial. so Judge John R. Doyle III alone would decide whether he was guilty. One of the prosecutors, Commonwealth attorney Rahman Fatehi, told the judge, the crime that the defendant committed against this little girl is one of the worst I have ever seen. My heart breaks for that little girl. As she agreed to in her plea agreement, Shelby testified at the trial. She said that she and John had been living together for about two months,

Starting point is 00:14:21 and she told the judge she regularly allowed John to watch Harley while she was at work. She said he was along with Harley when she got burns. Deputy Commonwealth attorney Jill Harris revealed the details surrounding his 2014 conviction for CA and told the judge John was still on probation for that offense, saying he wasn't supposed to be around children. And at no point does he take responsibility. Prosecutors also brought in experts to explain Harley's autopsy report. In addition to the severe burns covering large sections of her body, the autopsy also showed

Starting point is 00:14:54 she suffered multiple blunt force injuries. She wasn't just burned, she had also been beaten. She had a seven-inch contusion or large bruise on the back of her head and serious bruising on her chest and ear. She also had a big bruise on her abdomen and an internal injury to her small intestine. Experts testified that the bruising was consistent with CA, and the prosecutor pointed out that many of Harley's injuries

Starting point is 00:15:17 were similar to the injuries John's son suffered when he was beaten and punched in the head at the hands of his own father. He also had bruising to the back of his head and ear, as well as abdominal injuries and internal bleeding. Doctors explained that toxic amounts of lytocaine were found in Harley's blood from the medicine applied to her extensive open wounds. She only weighed 26 pounds, and her tiny body was ravaged by burns, serious burns covering about 42% of her skin, including burns to her legs, back, arms, bottom, feet, and left ear. A pediatrician who specializes in identifying CA testified that her burns were, consistent with immersion burn injuries, meaning the type of burns that happened to skin submerged

Starting point is 00:16:00 in scalding hot water. Chillingly, he also noticed the absence of splash marks, which would be expected if she was moving around in the hot water. Overall, her injuries were consistent with lying immobile in a bathtub. That does not match the story John told, which she was the one who turned on the hot water. Coupled with the bruising on her body makes it seem likely that she was unconscious in the tub or held down with enough force to keep her from moving. Though this wasn't mentioned in the testimony, it makes us wonder if he had hit her so hard in the head that she was unconscious when he put her in the bathtub. Her cause of death was complications of scalding, with several bruises on her body, and a large

Starting point is 00:16:40 contusion on her scalp. After causing these severe injuries, John waited hours before calling 911. Deputy CA Harris pointed out that John and Shelby covered her wounds with vinegar-soaked rags, which would have been incredibly painful. They waited so long to call for help that by the time first responders showed up her severely burned skin was peeling off and she was suffering from seizures.

Starting point is 00:17:03 In his closing statements, Commonwealth Attorney Fetahi called this one of the worst cases he had ever seen. He said, and I quote, the violence John Hardy inflicted on Little Harley, the burns he forced her to suffer in the treatment of her injuries that was worse than torture

Starting point is 00:17:19 is one of the most depraved I have seen in my career. Little Harley lived her last hours in agony. Had she gotten medical help, she might have lived. Instead, she suffered and she died. Mr. Hardy has earned his sentence. We will remember Harley. On July 13th, Judge Doyle found John guilty of CA, malicious wounding, and second-degree murder. He was prepared to sentence him soon after the verdict, but John filed a motion requesting a new attorney because he claimed his attorney did not adequately defend him. In particular, he said his attorney didn't call it expert to testify about the broken water heater in the apartment. His attorney was replaced and would need additional time to get up to speed so the sentencing was delayed. On October 28th, John agreed to do a jailhouse interview with a local Virginia television station 13 News Now and ABC affiliate.

Starting point is 00:18:09 During the interview, he repeatedly insisted he was innocent. He told the reporter, it is horrible that Harley is gone. There was no getting her back, but I can't go away for the rest of my life for something I'm I didn't do. He also denied mistreating or intimidating Shelby. He said, I did not murder Harley. This was not my intent. No one held her down. No one stopped her mother from taking her to the hospital. None of that. Norfolk man convicted of killing a child is speaking out for the first time. And we want to warn you, some of the details in this story are disturbing. John Hardy was found guilty of murder over the summer for the death of two-year-old Harley-Williams in

Starting point is 00:18:46 2018. Today a judge delayed Hardy's sentencing after he asked for a new lawyer. Hardy maintained his innocence when he spoke to Alison Basil from behind bars. It just, it was a horrible accident. In July, a judge convicted John Hardy of felony murder, felony child neglect and malicious wounding for the death of Harley Williams. Prosecutor said Hardy scolded the two-year-old girl with hot water and it happened in April 2018. But Hardy says he sat the child in the bathtub and walked away briefly. I checked the temperature and this was literally about 60 to 70 seconds that I was away from her before hearing her yell. That's when Hardy says he grabbed the girl from the tub, noticed Burns and immediately texted her mother. And I said, oh my God, I'm going to prison and hurry

Starting point is 00:19:32 home. Prosecutor said Hardy and the child's mother Shelby Love failed to get the child proper care for several hours following the incident. They say the child's skin was coming off. Love pleaded guilty to felony murder and child neglect in 2020. The night of the The incident, Hardy says Love sent him to the drug store to get medical supplies. Investigators say the couple called 911 around 3.30 in the morning when the child had a seizure. She later died at the hospital. I did not murder Harley. That this was not my intent. Hardy says his apartment had a faulty hot water heater.

Starting point is 00:20:03 He says his attorneys didn't call any witnesses during trial, including an expert who would testify about the heater. So he asked for a new lawyer. In court today, a Norfolk judge granted Hardy's request. Hardy hopes the new lawyer can help his case. I mean, it's horrible that Harley's gone. There's no getting her back, but I can't go away for the rest of my life for something that I didn't do. However, he did seem to make one mistake. According to the original story, he told Shelby. He was getting ready to run a bath for the toddler, but stepped out of the room to make a quick call.

Starting point is 00:20:34 This version of events, it seems he was saying the water wasn't running, and Harley turned it on herself when he was out of the room. When he talked the reporter, though, he said he checked the temperature, and this was literally about 60 to 70 seconds I was away from her before hearing her yell. This version, he seems to admit he turned the water on. Not a huge mistake, but the kind of mistake that seems much more likely if he was telling a made-up story instead of remembering the truth. Finally, on May 26 of 2023, Judge Doyle sentenced John to what amounts to 35 years in prison. He was given 10 years for the charge of malicious wounding, 10 years for CA, and 25 years for second-degree murder, with 10 years

Starting point is 00:21:15 suspended. The sentence handed down was six years longer than the sentencing guidelines suggested for second-degree murder, but it still doesn't seem long enough. After release, he has to spend 10 years on supervised probation, during which he must have no contact with minors. That almost feels like a sick joke, since that was the same, the exact same probation condition he was blatantly disregarding when he murdered Harley. He was 38 at the time of his sentencing, which means he will be 73 years old when he is eligible for release. If he gets to him, he was blatantly disregarding, he was out. Hopefully his next parole officer will make sure he stays far away from vulnerable children. On June 23, 2023, Shelby was sentenced to 15 years in prison for her role in her daughter's murder.

Starting point is 00:21:57 Harley's father Ivan and his family were grief-stricken after they learned of her death. Ivan's sister, also named Shelby, said, we are devastated. My brother, can't eat, cannot sleep, and is heartbroken. He loved his daughter very much. We all love Harley. The grief was made even greater because Ivan disagreed with the maternal grandmother Lois in regards to how Harley should be buried. After Lois was appointed next of kin, Ivan emailed the following message to the judge, explaining how no one even told him about Harley's death. He wrote, Shelby never contacted us about it, nor claimed Harley. As soon as we were told about it from an acquaintance of Lois, I called the medical examiner's office to claim my daughter and set up arrangements and paid for. Also, three separate times Lois has intervened with a paper stating she had custody of Harley.

Starting point is 00:22:51 The Metropolitan Funeral Homes said it looked fishy. We learned Lois petitioned for an emergency hearing for custody of poor Harley's remains. Is there any way of possibly stopping this order? We have been looking for her for over a year when her mother fled with her. This makes the whole situation even more disgusting and sickening. I just want to lay my daughter to rest. Both families wanted Harley to be brought back to Oklahoma where most of her family lives, but they disagreed about what should happen once she got there.

Starting point is 00:23:22 Ivan wanted a lock of his daughter's hair and then wanted to have her cremated her ashes and her turret in a nearby cemetery so her half-sisters and family could visit her. Her grandmother wanted her to have a proper burial. Though the family didn't have a public service, Harley was buried at Farallon Cemetery in Chickasaw, Oklahoma, and the two families seem to have come to a compromise. Her headstone reads, Harley Ray Love Williams, deeply loved daughter, sister, and granddaughter.

Starting point is 00:23:52 Images of flowers, seashells, and a wave hitting a beach are engraved on the plaque in remembrance of the things that little Harley loved. About a week after Harley's death, residents from her Ocean View neighborhood gathered to honor her memory and offer comfort to her family, even though they live far away in Oklahoma. organizer Shannon Hawkins hoped the vigil would help her family members know that Norfolk, Virginia is not just a place of sadness for them.

Starting point is 00:24:18 They'll know we came together as a community and did something. We want to let them know we care. At the vigil, attendees looked at pictures of Harley, blue bubbles, wrote messages on rocks and set up a cross with her name on it. He had a moment of silence in the toddler's honor. Aaron Ferguson, who knew both John and Shelby, wrote, fly high beautiful on her rock. Faith Gons, who knew John, said, it's hard to think anybody you know could do something like this, and we all have children.

Starting point is 00:24:47 So if it was one of our children, we would want the same support. In Ocean View, some call a person's heart stone cold if they ever harm a child. It's an unnecessary, heinous crime. I just couldn't see you having to do that to any of my kids. It's why tonight, neighbors are choosing to write uplifting thoughts on these stones. Just wishing your family all the love and prayers, loving Aaron. To remember a two-year-old girl whose smile they never saw in person.

Starting point is 00:25:17 But just through the pictures I felt, just this little connection, you know. To let her extended family know, this community cares. Harley Ray, gone but not forgotten. Organizers say Harley Williams' father and extended family are in Oklahoma. They say these stones will eventually be sent to them, but they say they aren't going to stop writing until something changes. hopefully implement a new law. A law that Shannon Hawkins says would bring more awareness to people who cause abuse. She's disgusted that one of those charged, in this case John Hardy, is accused of doing harm

Starting point is 00:25:53 to another child. That they will have to register so that we will know when a child is in our neighborhood. So that no other face like Harleys has to be remembered with bubbles and grief. It has to stop. Organizer Hawkins also asked attendees to sign a petition asking government officials to create a national CA registry, like the one that already exists for people who commit essay, saying it is up to us to speak up for Harley the way she could not. If this part sounds familiar to you, particularly the discussion of a national registry, it might be because we covered this same topic in our video about Heaven Walkins,

Starting point is 00:26:31 another girl who was murdered by her mother's boyfriend in the same city, Norfolk, Virginia on May 18, 2018, less than a month after Harley's murder. I do regret to inform you that if you haven't seen Heaven's episode, that the proposal for a registry was shot down by politicians and did not go anywhere whatsoever. Two Norfolk children killed in just two months. Heaven Watkins and Harley Ray Williams lives ended far too soon, allegedly by those who were supposed to take care of them.

Starting point is 00:27:02 13 News now investigative reporter Laura Geller sits down with advocates to examine the problems and solutions that could prevent child abuse in our community. For weeks now, we've been investigating tragic issues within the child protection system. A system, Heavens and Harley's loved ones say did not protect them. And Child Prevention advocates agree the system failed these children. Heaven Watkins was just an 11-year-old, a child who would become an innocent victim. Our investigation showed Heaven's family had a history with child protection in Minnesota. When the family moved to Norfolk, CPS here got involved in February, but kept the little girl in her home.

Starting point is 00:27:47 Just three months later, Heaven would wind up dead. Her mom, Latoya Smith and Smith's boyfriend, DeMont Harris, are charged in her death. To me, Latoya and Demand is not the only ones that killed Heaven. Child protection had a big part of that. Two-year-old Harley Ray Williams, another innocent victim in Norfolk. Harley was allegedly killed by her mother's boyfriend, John Tucker Hardy. She was scalded so badly, her skin started to come off. We've uncovered at the time Hardy was on probation for beating his own son.

Starting point is 00:28:24 Prosecutors say he never should have been living in the home with Harley. It's a lot. It's a lot because she had her whole life ahead of. her. And it all could have been prevented. In both cases, the mothers and mothers' boyfriends sit in jail accused in the children's death. Heaven and Harley are not alone. The most recent data reveals in 86% of the founded child abuse deaths in our area. The children died in the care of their parents. Did the system fail these children? I think in this case, I don't think there is any question. The system did fail. Melinda Sakati is the executive director of Champions for Children in Hampton Roads.

Starting point is 00:29:08 You go, oh no, not again. And then I look and I listen and I think, okay, how long is it going to take before something changes? Sakati explains there is a resource issue within the Department of Social Services. It's a system that's overburdened and really is stretched to its, it's Sources say there is consistent pressure for caseworkers to keep families together and not remove children from their homes in most cases. And Sakati feels the reactive system needs to change its perspective. If we are to stop abuse, we must stop reacting to this and get out in front of a bus. Instead of caseworkers coming into a home when something bad happens, social services should be part of the family dynamic. before a be ever starts.

Starting point is 00:30:05 We should be doing more of home visiting. What does it take for home visiting programs? It takes funding and it takes parameters that are established by legislators. Sakati believes everyone needs to step up. What's at stake here? The lives of our children and the safety of our children. The aftermath of Harley's death, neighbor Vanity Hurt was filled with regret because she heard the toddler screaming and crying and felt like something was wrong,

Starting point is 00:30:32 but she didn't call and let anyone know. After hearing from that neighbor, a local reporter asked Johanna Shusher, the director of Preventia, what the woman should have done. If you hear a child screaming and crying, is it a tantrum or could it be something more? This is a question that just seems to be plaguing many people

Starting point is 00:30:51 who knew the two-year-old girl who was killed earlier this week. News 3 is Allison Mechanic, spoke to a child abuse expert today and shares what you should do if you find yourself in this situation. I didn't quite know what to do. And I think at hindsight, of course, I think thinking back, I should have done something. Neighbors and caretakers of the two-year-old girl killed this week are second-guessing themselves. That's what hurts us the most. It's because we didn't see any signs.

Starting point is 00:31:22 And then now it's like we sit back and we like, was it something that we missed? Were we overlooking things? Wondering if they missed an important warning sign about trouble inside the Ocean View home, where she was found covered in burns, an unresponsive Tuesday morning. Was she quiet at times? Was she trying to tell us something? I felt like something was wrong, and I did nothing. Advocates for preventing child abuse say these questions are normal after the tragic death of a child. This is something that the public grapples with in this country all the time. Should I get involved?

Starting point is 00:31:58 If so, what should I do? If these questions cross your mind, advocates say the best thing to do is to act now instead of later. The simplest thing that you can do is pick up your phone and call the child a hotline. Our phrase is, if you see something, say something. Even if you're not sure about what you're seeing. They can call and say, you know, this is what I'm seeing. This is what I'm observing. Is this something that is reportable?

Starting point is 00:32:24 Reports can be made anonymously, so if what a caller sees is just a man, sees is just a misunderstanding, there will be no consequences. But if the incident turns out to be abused, a simple phone call could become a life-saving action. For more information about how to get help, visit our website, WTKR.com. I'm Allison Mechanic, News 3. Does this sound familiar to you? Please say something. If you don't know the number in your area, we'll post a link below in our show notes to find

Starting point is 00:32:52 the number for your state, or you can simply dial 911. In Harley's case, a phone call might have gotten her help before it was too late.

The Misery Machine - The Case of Harley Rae Williams

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