Missouri, St. Louis - Teenage girl critically injured after brutal fight with another female teen near Hazelwood East High School, 8 March 2024

[MollyDDD]

I think the Judge should take a good look at KG’s current medical situation and prognosis. Short term memory loss equates to no ability to learn new things. Granted, that might improve with time, but how much time? I hope the Judge takes this under great consideration.

I hope so too. IMO, brain damage is irreparable, and what ever strides she’s been making during her recovery process so far, at some point it will plateau and things will be what they’re gonna be. Personally, I don’t know if she’ll ever be returning to that school again. She’ll need a lifetime of care. Perhaps DeClue can dedicate her life to caring and providing for her many eventual needs.

 

[MollyDDD]

Is a civil lawsuit possible by KG's family against the family of MD? MD is a minor, so not sure how that would work. But KG will likely have high medical bills for treatment and equipment, etc. for the rest of her life. Is a lawsuit likely? I hope KG's parents have consulted with an attorney.

Ron Goldman couldn’t get a dime from OJ and he had millions.
You can’t get money from a stone, unfortunately.

 

[Cryptic]

Is a civil lawsuit possible by KG's family against the family of MD? MD is a minor, so not sure how that would work.

Yes, parents can be sued for the actions of their children.

But as @MollyDDD notes.... "One cant get blood from a stone". Hazelwood High seems to be in an area with very stony ground. Thus, a lawsuit may well be more towards the "in theory" side of an equation than actually being viable in practice.

 

[MollyDDD]

One wonders what will happen to M if Kaylee dies prematurely, and her death is determined to have been a result of this.

That’s a good question. Is there a medical malpractice lawyer in the house?

 

[falkenberg3132]

As i said, as with any decades later deaths a result of Columbine or Sandy Hook, who would you charge? innocent relatives of the perp(s)?

 

[Yuletide]

Probably nothing. It seems already to be determined by the recommendation from the Juvenile officer that MD continue to be tracked as a Juvenile, in Juvenile Court. In general, judges are likely to take recommendations by officers.

MD has no other history of violence, according to the officer. Or involvement with the court system prior to this incident.

True. She certainly appeared to me to be an experienced fighter based on what I saw on the recording of the fight. Just my opinion. But, no record with juvenile court or no record of fights at school may save her. Although, she did show up there to fight KG specifically, so there was intent.

 

[mickey2942]

True. She certainly appeared to me to be an experienced fighter based on what I saw on the recording of the fight. Just my opinion. But, no record with juvenile court or no record of fights at school may save her. Although, she did show up there to fight KG specifically, so there was intent.

I agree. And juveniles who are not in the court system, that really doesn't mean much. All it means, is that no one bothered to file charges and MD has never been formally arrested.

It is a tough call, so many times, violent kids get away with so much, because they just skate by, and so many people think it isn't worth doing the paperwork, or whatever. I knew one kid, he was a bully, always terrorizing other kids, but no one formally wrote him up for it. His behavior was always viewed through the lens of "one incident".

The fact that he had 20 or so "single" incidents in the last two years...but none were ever formally identified to juvenile authorities. So, he never had a "record".

 

[airportwoman]

As for Columbine, the two gunmen are dead -- would innocent relatives of those two have to be charged if a disabled victim of EH and DK died?

No, but the count would have to be altered.

 

[airportwoman]

Really good point.

In my opinion, Hazelwood's atmosphere is a huge factor in both girls' lives and attitudes. When children grow up in a high-crime area—whether or not they have families that try to shield them—they're exposed to things children who live in safer communities could never imagine.

I don't know what the answer is, but it's too bad some children have to grow up in places like Hazelwood, where the schools they're required to attend are little microcosms where hate brews and festers.

All MOO

Like I've said before and probably will again, this is an area where people don't choose to live unless living elsewhere is not, for whatever reasons, an option. The same can be said about many poverty- and meth-riddled rural areas.

 

[airportwoman]

Is a civil lawsuit possible by KG's family against the family of MD? MD is a minor, so not sure how that would work. But KG will likely have high medical bills for treatment and equipment, etc. for the rest of her life. Is a lawsuit likely? I hope KG's parents have consulted with an attorney.

There are several online fundraisers for KG, and TBH, a civil lawsuit would probably be like getting blood from a turnip.

 

[MollyDDD]

BBM. What 'new things' will she not be able to learn?

JMO

She’s only 15 years old and she’s suffered brain damage. It has not yet been revealed what’s skills she’s lost from the beating or what she is capable of re-learning. With short term memory loss, she may not be able to retain any new skills. It will take a miracle for her to ever be her old self again. IMO

 

[airportwoman]

I understand the need for FERPA, but like HIPAA, it's been detrimental when outsiders needed to know what happened to someone, and it's justified to pass on that information.

In short, FERPA guarantees confidentiality regarding issues that schoolchildren may have. Those of you who actually work in the field can go into more detail.

 

[Yuletide]

The Judge should be issuing a decision soon. In following this tragedy, I was struck by the grace and honesty that KG’s family demonstrated. They admitted their daughters mistakes, but pushed back in a classy manner when the other family made untrue statements, in an attempt to paint MD as the victim. All this grace and class while going through what I personally feel would be a parents worst nightmare. I wish them resolve and strength in dealing with this situation, moving forward. I hope they see meaningful justice for their daughter.

 

[GRT]

I think both families have behaved fairly well—certainly better than some families we've seen associated with events like this in the past. I liked that KG's family admitted she had some issues based on her early upbringing, and I liked that MD's family said they were praying for KG.

It's just too bad these families didn't figure out what was going on and intervene before the fight could take place.

 

[Yuletide]

I think both families have behaved fairly well—certainly better than some families we've seen associated with events like this in the past. I liked that KG's family admitted she had some issues based on her early upbringing, and I liked that MD's family said they were praying for KG.

It's just too bad these families didn't figure out what was going on and intervene before the fight could take place.

It would have been wonderful if they could have figured out what was brewing, and prevented it. I felt like MD’s family gave misleading statements “MD was waiting for bus to come home from school when fight happened, MD was defending herself”. That didn’t set well with me. But I also appreciated them saying they said prayers for KG

 

[Allabouttrial]

I find Kaylee's family's statement very telling. Many seem to want MD hung, drawn and quartered yet Kaylee's own family who, in all likelihood, know far more than the general public as to what preceded the fight, do not. Should we not take their thoughts into consideration, I wonder.

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we pray that the juvenile shows remorse and takes accountability for her actions so that no one else’s lives are so irreversibly changed in the future. A terrible choice made by two teen girls to solve their issues through violence caused one to go too far with her bare hands and a concrete road.

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[Yuletide]

I find Kaylee's family's statement very telling. Many seem to want MD hung, drawn and quartered yet Kaylee's own family who, in all likelihood, know far more than the general public as to what preceded the fight, do not. Should we not take their thoughts into consideration, I wonder.

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we pray that the juvenile shows remorse and takes accountability for her actions so that no one else’s lives are so irreversibly changed in the future. A terrible choice made by two teen girls to solve their issues through violence caused one to go too far with her bare hands and a concrete road.

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They want MD tried as an adult. They have openly stated that multiple times

 

[Yuletide]

In other words, they want her tried as an adult because she met there that day to inflict harm on their daughter and succeeded in a big way. Nearly killed her. She may never recover fully. They also, gracefully, want said person to feel remorse and back off the “self defense” mantra. As long as she continues with “self defense” she is not committed to remorse. MY OPINION

 

[Rolypolyoly]

In other words, they want her tried as an adult because she met there that day to inflict harm on their daughter and succeeded in a big way. Nearly killed her. She may never recover fully. They also, gracefully, want said person to feel remorse and back off the “self defense” mantra. As long as she continues with “self defense” she is not committed to remorse. MY OPINION

It seems pretty evident to me that both girls met there that day with the intent of inflicting harm on the other. MD absolutely went too far in the moment, but that's what I believe it was, adrenaline in the moment and the determination to get things over with ASAP, and ensure that MD was the victor and Kaylee didn't gain the upperhand. I don't believe MD intended to cause Kaylee such harm, and by watching the video (which I have done more than once) I don't feel that MD even them realised the damage she had done and the seriousness of Kaylee's condition. She wasn't looking at Kaylee as she stepped over her.

I believe MD is remorseful. Explaining her reasons for being there and involved in the fight in the first place doesn't mean she isn't sorry for the outcome.

I don't think it's fair to paint MD as an out of control violent monster because of one horrific incident. As far as we know, and I wholeheartedly believe the press would've found and published any violent history or any trouble making behaviour rumours by now, MD has no questionable history, and everyone appears shocked that she was capable of such violence, and I'm willing to bet that MD herself could be included in that.

MOO.

 

[GRT]

It seems pretty evident to me that both girls met there that day with the intent of inflicting harm on the other. MD absolutely went too far in the moment, but that's what I believe it was, adrenaline in the moment and the determination to get things over with ASAP, and ensure that MD was the victor and Kaylee didn't gain the upperhand. I don't believe MD intended to cause Kaylee such harm, and by watching the video (which I have done more than once) I don't feel that MD even them realised the damage she had done and the seriousness of Kaylee's condition. She wasn't looking at Kaylee as she stepped over her.

I believe MD is remorseful. Explaining her reasons for being there and involved in the fight in the first place doesn't mean she isn't sorry for the outcome.

I don't think it's fair to paint MD as an out of control violent monster because of one horrific incident. As far as we know, and I wholeheartedly believe the press would've found and published any violent history or any trouble making behaviour rumours by now, MD has no questionable history, and everyone appears shocked that she was capable of such violence, and I'm willing to bet that MD herself could be included in that.

MOO.

This is perhaps the best summary of what I feel happened as well. Thanks for putting it in words.

The Juvenile Officer said much the same thing and then recommended MD be tried as a juvenile.

At first, I wanted MD tried as an adult, but that was when I only had that horrific video to go on. After I read that MD was actually a star pupil and that she'd felt bullied for the past few months, I started to see her more as a child (despite her large size) who felt backed into a corner.

Then, when I learned that KG had a history of similar conflicts, I started to wonder if I'd been hasty in immediately thinking MD was the sole aggressor and KG the only victim.

Now, I see both girls as victims of one sort or another.

Since MD didn't have a record or history of violence before this incident, I don't think locking her up can be considered the best solution. I think she needs to work on controlling her anger, and I'd prefer to see her sentenced to her sentenced to a few years of working with victims of abuse and violence.

I hope KG makes a full recovery, and it sounds as though she might, but I don't want to see her charged with anything. If this incident doesn't change her mindset, I fear nothing will. This was a hefty price to pay for foolhardy choices.

I hope this is also a wake-up call for those living in Hazelwood and similar high-crime communities. Parents -- teach your children well.