Teh One Who Knocks
07-16-2014, 11:29 AM
By Snejana Farberov - The Daily Mail
A 13-year-old Texas girl has been arrested for allegedly posting messages on Facebook threatening to kill everyone in her town and terrorizing a young cancer survivor.
The underage Splendora resident was picked up by police Sunday and charged with a third-degree felony in connection to online death threats posted on a fake social media account.
As of Monday, the 13-year-old suspect was being held in a juvenile detention center pending a court-ordered mental evaluation.
Police in Montgomery County launched an investigation last Friday after getting reports from several concerned citizens in the town of 1,700 who had received disturbing messages from a Facebook account belonging to a Melissa Johnson.
One of the online missives read: 'I am going to kill everyone in Splendora on July 13, 2014.'
Using the bogus moniker, police say the 13-year-old suspect singled out Cristian Beasley, a 12-year-old classmate who suffers from leukemia.
'[You] should have died,' one of the messages sent to Cristian read.
The boy's mother, Amy Gaskamp, told the New York Daily News that before long, Cristian's friends were inundated with vile messages posted on his Facebook wall telling them to hang themselves.
'Go die with Cristian,' one post said.
The threats made against the young cancer patient eventually led him to go into hiding with his father.
Cristian, who is now cancer-free, made national headlines last year after Texas defensive player J.J. Watts paid him a surprise visit.
http://i.imgur.com/HXCDnGd.png
The football star learned from a news report that the boy had named a small robot he has been using in school ‘Watts’ and came to his house to spend a few hours with Cristian playing games.
As news of the alarming cyber-bullying targeting the young cancer survivor and the rest of Splendora spread around town Friday, officials with Precinct 4 Constable's Office contacted Facebook requesting the company to reveal the true identity of the user behind the fake 'Melissa Johnson’ account, Click2Houston reported.
At first, Facebook refused to comply, claiming that the menacing messages did not rise to the level of an urgent threat.
Following the release of a statement by the Texas law enforcement agency chastising Facebook for its 'incomprehensible lack of cooperation,' the site relented.
Armed with information about the suspect’s identity and whereabouts, police officers tracked her down to the home of a family member in Harris County
According to police, the teen lives in Splendora and attends school in town. On Facebook, she pretended to be a 14-year-old model for the clothing store chain Hollister.
Investigators have not named the girl due to her age, and there is no word on a possible motive.
However, a message allegedly sent to Cristian Beasley's classmate suggested that the threats may have been made in retaliation for a slight the 13-year-old had suffered in the second grade.
The 13-year-old's computers and electronic devices have been seized as evidence, but police have found no weapons in her possession.
‘There was no indication that she was actually making any preparations to carry out those threats,' the girl's attorney, Bill Pattillo, told Houston Chronicle.
The lawyer described his young client as a good student who comes from a loving family. According to Pattillo, the teen has no history of drug use or criminal activity.
A 13-year-old Texas girl has been arrested for allegedly posting messages on Facebook threatening to kill everyone in her town and terrorizing a young cancer survivor.
The underage Splendora resident was picked up by police Sunday and charged with a third-degree felony in connection to online death threats posted on a fake social media account.
As of Monday, the 13-year-old suspect was being held in a juvenile detention center pending a court-ordered mental evaluation.
Police in Montgomery County launched an investigation last Friday after getting reports from several concerned citizens in the town of 1,700 who had received disturbing messages from a Facebook account belonging to a Melissa Johnson.
One of the online missives read: 'I am going to kill everyone in Splendora on July 13, 2014.'
Using the bogus moniker, police say the 13-year-old suspect singled out Cristian Beasley, a 12-year-old classmate who suffers from leukemia.
'[You] should have died,' one of the messages sent to Cristian read.
The boy's mother, Amy Gaskamp, told the New York Daily News that before long, Cristian's friends were inundated with vile messages posted on his Facebook wall telling them to hang themselves.
'Go die with Cristian,' one post said.
The threats made against the young cancer patient eventually led him to go into hiding with his father.
Cristian, who is now cancer-free, made national headlines last year after Texas defensive player J.J. Watts paid him a surprise visit.
http://i.imgur.com/HXCDnGd.png
The football star learned from a news report that the boy had named a small robot he has been using in school ‘Watts’ and came to his house to spend a few hours with Cristian playing games.
As news of the alarming cyber-bullying targeting the young cancer survivor and the rest of Splendora spread around town Friday, officials with Precinct 4 Constable's Office contacted Facebook requesting the company to reveal the true identity of the user behind the fake 'Melissa Johnson’ account, Click2Houston reported.
At first, Facebook refused to comply, claiming that the menacing messages did not rise to the level of an urgent threat.
Following the release of a statement by the Texas law enforcement agency chastising Facebook for its 'incomprehensible lack of cooperation,' the site relented.
Armed with information about the suspect’s identity and whereabouts, police officers tracked her down to the home of a family member in Harris County
According to police, the teen lives in Splendora and attends school in town. On Facebook, she pretended to be a 14-year-old model for the clothing store chain Hollister.
Investigators have not named the girl due to her age, and there is no word on a possible motive.
However, a message allegedly sent to Cristian Beasley's classmate suggested that the threats may have been made in retaliation for a slight the 13-year-old had suffered in the second grade.
The 13-year-old's computers and electronic devices have been seized as evidence, but police have found no weapons in her possession.
‘There was no indication that she was actually making any preparations to carry out those threats,' the girl's attorney, Bill Pattillo, told Houston Chronicle.
The lawyer described his young client as a good student who comes from a loving family. According to Pattillo, the teen has no history of drug use or criminal activity.