The Misery Machine - The Case of Tasha Hatcher

Starting point is 00:00:00 Tasha Shantelle Hatcher grew up in the town of Glen Rose, Texas, located about 53 miles southwest of the Dallas-Fourth area. She graduated from Glenrose High School and went on to study at the Texas Career Institute where she became a certified nursing assistant. At the time of our story, Tasha had been working as a maid at both the local quality and in suites and the Stonewater Church. The 35-year-old had two kids, a son named Landon and a daughter named Nevea. But according to official documents, she had a difficult path.

Starting point is 00:00:30 In 2005, she was investigated by CPS after a friend reported that she let her son leave the house without parental supervision. In 2006, while working as a dancer, she was investigated by CPS after leaving her son at a 24-hour daycare for more than 31 hours. In addition, the daycare employees told CPS workers that Tasha appeared to be drunk when she would pick up Landon from the facility. In 2008, Tasha was involved in an Amber Alert when she allegedly kidnapped. Nap to Landon, who was at this point in the care of his father. She also had a criminal history that included drug possession, driving while intoxicated, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. According to Tasha's friends, despite her troubled past, they said she had begun to turn her life around. Now, with cases that don't get a ton of publicity in the media, it's often

Starting point is 00:01:20 hard to substantiate claims like this, but after reviewing her social media, it would appear that Tasha had turned into a church-going mom who worked hard and loved her kids. However, all of that went out the window on the evening of March 17th, 2016. That evening, mental illness and substance use caught up with Tasha. Arturo Via lived next door to the brown bungalow-style home that Tasha shared with her now two-year-old daughter, Nevea. Although he normally observed the single mom and her toddler being playful with one another in the yard, that night, things seemed off. As the father-of-four mowed his lawn, he said he noticed last.

Starting point is 00:02:00 loud music, as well as the mother acting strangely. According to the neighbor, she was making strange gestures and signs with her hands. It's unclear if it was Arturo or another neighbor that was involved in the next portion of our story. The same evening, Tasha was behaving in a bizarre fashion. A neighbor heard Nevaea screaming. He ran over to the house and found Tasha completely nude. In her arms, she held her daughter who was also unclothed. Her small body was covered in fresh burn marks.

Starting point is 00:02:33 The neighbor contacted the Somerville County Sheriff's Department to report the incident, and deputies were dispatched to the scene. When the deputies arrived, Tasha made lewd advances towards a deputy and then began to pleasure herself. As a strange juxtaposition to her very forward behavior, Tasha began singing to God and giving praise to him. Little Nevea was taken to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth. She was ultimately transported via helicopter to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas,

Starting point is 00:03:07 where she was treated for numerous second degree and third degree burns. These covered 60% of her body, including her back, legs, torso, and backside. Now, third degree burns are serious, but many people underestimate that they are often fatal without proper medical attention. The World Health Organization estimates 180,000 deaths every year due to burns. Children are especially at risk, with burns being the most frequent cause of childhood death behind car accidents and drowning. But these weren't the burns or scalds that we see in many of the cases that we discuss on this channel. These were something much worse, something that we've discussed before in great detail.

Starting point is 00:03:52 The little girls' burns bore the familial. pattern of an oven grate, and deputies found hair inside of the family's oven that appeared to belong to Nevea. You've heard this correctly. Tasha tried to bake her young daughter in the oven alive. The mother was also taken to the emergency room for a medical evaluation where she continued to act out in a lewd manner. It was found that Tasha was under the influence of marijuana and possibly synthetic drugs such as K2 or spice. Other reports suggested that Tasha was under the influence of meth. Tasha did not ask how Navea was doing.

Starting point is 00:04:33 She didn't even ask what had happened. The incident in Glenn Rose was notable in part because its resemblance to a long-circulating urban legend. Roughly around the time that women began entering the workforce in large numbers during the 60s and drug culture rose to prominence, a popular. The popular tale began to spread of a hippie babysitter who, while tripping on acid, placed an infant left in her charge in an oven, believing it to be a turkey. The earliest versions of this legend didn't involve the use of mind-altering substances, but as the 1960s-era counterculture sparked increased concern over recreational drug use, the story evolved to serve as a warning about the dangers of unvetted caregivers and the irresponsible use of psychedelics. Tasha was arrested and charged with felonious cruelty to a minor in the first degree and was held in the county jail in lieu of a $300,000 bond.

Starting point is 00:05:28 In addition to placing her daughter in the oven, Tasha claimed that she shot a cat and placed its body inside the oven alongside Nevea. It should be noted that based on reports that are currently available, there is no mention of a cat being found anywhere in the home, dead or alive. However, it should be noted after reviewing Tasha's social media, she did post a picture of a stray gray tabby that she was trying to rehome in 2015. A CPS worker who met with Tasha the next day at the Somerville County Jail stated that the mother continued to be incoherent. When asked about her actions from the night before, Tasha replied, curiosity killed the cat. When asked what she meant by that, she countered, ask me questions, and I will lie to you. She then asked the CPS worker to pray with her and said that her daughter was healed. On June 14, 2017, Tasha Hatcher was found guilty of injury to a minor with substantial bodily harm

Starting point is 00:06:29 for which she received a 20-year prison sentence. Although a cat was never recovered from the scene of the crime, she was also found guilty of cruelty to a non-lifestock animal and was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison. She will become eligible for parole on March 17, 22nd. and is projected to be released from prison 10 years after that. She is currently being held in the Texas Department of Corrections William P. Hobby Unit. Nevea was treated for her wounds and thankfully she made a full recovery. She was released into the care of CPS.

Starting point is 00:07:04 A go-fund me was started by a man named Kevin Foreman as a means to defer any medical, cosmetic, and other ongoing expenses in the future that the little girl would accrue. Sadly, the fundraiser only collected $150 and has since been closed. Like many of the female prisoners that we cover, Tasha has a personal's ad on the prison pen pal site, writeaprisner.com. It is laced with misspellings in grammatical errors, so here's the legible version. It reads, hello, thank you for stopping by. I am very positive, kind-hearted, bubbly person that is out-eastern, that is out-evolved. and spontaneous.

Starting point is 00:07:46 I am a caretaker at heart. I'm hoping to meet new people who are positive and purpose-driven in living a good life also. I spend my days working, exercising, and reading. I also enjoy dancing and listening to music. I hope to make genuine connections that would be beneficial to both of us. I would like some people to correspond with

Starting point is 00:08:09 those who love to laugh and enjoy life and who are interesting and can keep a smile on my face. We can receive J-Pays but cannot respond to J-Pay or email. Send an address if you want me to contact you. In cases we've covered in the past, parents that have placed their children in cooking devices mainly did so either due to straight-up malice or medical reasons such as postpartum psychosis, schizophrenia, even epilepsy. We have a local case that we're still working on, and that's Evangelo.

Starting point is 00:08:42 Palmer, where her mother's boyfriend believed he was cleansing the little girl of her demons by placing her in the family's oven. Don't worry, we have heard you. That case is coming in 2023. However, this case of Nevea's is the first case we've ever come across that was fueled by drug-induced psychosis. So I think it's pretty easy to tell what the moral of the story is here. Parents, if you're going to do drugs, please stop. doing them around your kids.

The Misery Machine - The Case of Tasha Hatcher

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