 Fl. Teen Beating Suspect In Court - Faces Life Sentence
from Most Discussed
April 11, 2008
Eight teenagers have been arrested after filming the brutal beating of another teen while threatening to put the video on the Web sites YouTube and MySpace. The Internet played a central role in the motive behind the crime, two parents said. The mother of one of the suspects said the victim, Victoria Lindsay, had provoked the teens by threatening and insulting them on MySpace, while Lindsay's father said the teens had been motivated by their desire to create a popular Internet video. According to a Sheriff's Office report, Lindsay was attacked about 8:30 p.m. on March 30 by six teenage girls - April Cooper, Cara Murphy, Britney Mayes, Brittini Hardcastle, Kayla Hassell and Mercades Nichols - when she arrived at friend Nichols' home on Calender Court in Lakeland. Nichols, 17, and Hardcastle were the first to confront Lindsay when she walked in, yelling and threatening her, according to the report. Lindsay continued to her bedroom, where she met a similarly incensed Cooper. Cooper struck Lindsay in the head several times then slammed Lindsay's head into the bedroom wall, knocking her unconscious. When Lindsay woke up, she was on the couch in the living room surrounded by the six girls. The teens blocked the door, held Lindsay down and began beating her, the report said. Zachary Ashley and Stephen Schumaker, 18, stood outside the house as lookouts during the beating, the report said, and knocked on the front door to tell the teens they were making too much noise. In the midst of the violence, Schumaker's arrest report said, the teens repeatedly threatened to post the video on MySpace, a social networking site popular with teenagers, and YouTube. Lindsay was taken to the hospital by ambulance and treated for a concussion, damage to her left eye and left ear, and numerous bruises. Garcia said Lindsay may now be blind in one eye. Lindsay's father said his daughter told him the suspects used five cameras to film the incident, though the Sheriff's Office report mentions one. All eight were charged with battery and false imprisonment, third-degree felonies, according to the report. Both Garcia and Lindsay's father, who declined to give his name, speculated that the Internet influenced the teens' behavior leading up to the crime. Lindsay's father said the teens' motivation was to produce the best shock video, rivaling those readily available on sites such as YouTube or popular TV shows such as MTV's Jackass. A quick search of YouTube reveals about three fight videos from Polk County, including one that took place in Eloise. A search for fight on the site turns up more than 1 million results. I want stiffer punishments for these shock Web sites that entice kids to make these videos so they can be famous on the Internet, he said. That is the motive, I am sure of it. It's crazy and it's terrible and they're gonna pay. Garcia said the teens beat up Lindsay because she had been harassing and threatening them on MySpace. After their arrests, Garcia said she checked Lindsay's MySpace page and saw the message: hahaha all in jail. A lot of people think, 'I can say whatever I want on here and nobody's gonna say anything,' Garcia said. A fight is a fight, but this was a beatdown. She did not deserve what she got, but I don't know how she's that messed up and able to get on the computer and talk about that. The video and a transcript of the incident will be released early this week, sheriff's spokesman Scott Wilder said. We are aware of the incident, but we're not yet prepared to discuss it at length, Wilder said. It's a terrible situation. Sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Rodgers said the State Attorney's Office is still determining the formal charges for some of the suspects. Garcia said she had been told the teens would all be charged as adults. Being charged as an adult carries with it much stiffer penalties, possibly including up to life in prison on the kidnapping charges. Facing charges of battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping are Mercades Nichols, 17, Brittini Hardcastle, 17, April Cooper, 14, Cara Murphy, 16, Britney Mayes, 17, Kayla Hassell, 15, Zachary Ashley, 17, and Stephen Schumaker, 18. The two boys are accused of acting as lookouts outside the house in which the beating took place on March 30.
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