GUILTY CA - Leila Fowler, 8, murdered, 12yo charged, Valley Springs, 27 Apr 2013 - #2

[katydid23]

Yes, that does sound critical...
I don't know how or why Priscilla was kept from her own daughter's funeral, but it's a shame that she wasn't present to say goodbye to her child.
There's no way to make that right after the fact. I hope Barney didn't instruct her not to come.

However, with hearing this news, I think the posters here are taking their frustration out on the wrong person. We don't know the reason that Priscilla didn't have custody of the kids she had with Barney. We do know that Barney and his GIRLFRIEND are raising the kids together. Speaking from experience, being JUST the girlfriend doesn't lessen the parental responsibilities when your partner's child is living in the home with you. Crystal has had all the responsibilities a MOTHER has. Today, my boyfriend's son, of whom he has 50/50 custody, got hurt in school. He called ME from the nurse's office. Not his REAL mom. I get no pleasure out of saying that because I'd rather his mother be a reliable, dependable parent but she has shown numerous times not to be.

To the mothers reading here, I assure you, I do everything you do as a parent. Parent/teacher conferences, trips to the ER, colds, flus, tummy aches in the middle of the night. School projects, Little League...All of it. And I'm just the girlfriend.

Give Crystal some credit for raising these kids as her own. Don't bash her because she is not married to Barney.

I believe Crystal's name was before Priscilla's name because Barney and Crystal are a couple. Crystal is now an extension of Barney so they were listed together, then Priscilla was listed as the other parent.

And the reason I am still JUST the girlfriend is that my boyfriend's ex is doing everything in her power to delay their divorce (that she filed for 3 yrs ago). Meanwhile I am happily performing the duties of a loving (step)parent.

I understand what you are saying. It makes total sense. But I think the criticism was coming from the original statement to the press, which was something like [paraphrasing] " I want to be considered Leila's mother." I doubt that you would say that about yourself in discussing the sudden violent death of your boyfriend's child. JMO

 

[CNNAnh]

Nobody here know how long Crystal (Barney girlfriend) raised Leila, please don't act like Leila's been raise by her since an infant, nobody know that.
Nobody here know if Leila's bio mom, Priscilla was irresponsible toward Leila, so please don't act like Priscilla did something wrong and that is why she out of Leila life.

But here is what we know.
That Barney might have full custody of Leila.
Leila bio mother was Not allowed to attend the funeral.
Crystal (Barney gf) on national television claim Want to "be know" as Leila's mother.

We all have opinion on this case. But in my opinion, I feel that Crystal is little bit Fake! Just from the ways she break down and cry and during her interview, I get that impression. I'm sure she is hurts that Leila died, but I also feel she went overboard, overly express it, not very natural.

The real bio mother Priscilla seem more real, the emotions she show was more naturally.
She deserved to be at Leila's funeral, overall she is the one that carried Leila in her womb for 9 months, not Crystal.

Hope the killer get arrest soon, it been 2 weeks already. DNA test should be back by now, isn't it?

 

[TheDuchess]

After thinking about this, it woud seem that perhaps Priscilla being forced out of the funeral may have something to do with her 12 year old son. Is she not meant to have any contact with him or something?

I think that the thing with the obit is that obits are meant to be legal notices that document the life of a person. There are specific protocols involved in an obituary that should be followed. There are allowances for mentioning people with a special relationship with the deceased, but that would still be within the context of the formal protocol. The obit should have read something along the lines of: Leila is survived by her father, Barney Fowler (Crystal Walters) and her mother, Pricilla (husband's name?) The obit didn't even mention any of their last names, which seems odd to me. An obituary is meant to be read years down the line by ancestors who may have never met the family and should give a clear understanding of the actual legal family tree. I say legal because there are specific legal definitions of a parent that are already in place. It would seem to me that they used the term "parent" in this situation in a way that allowed some level of respect to both Crystal and Priscilla, but it is not a legal representation of the family situation for a legal document, such as an obit. JMO>

 

[SCHMAE]

Ok weird stuff about mom not being able to go the baby's funeral. Could the dynamic of these 3 parents' relationship somehow play in ? Or is just coincidentally a very bad situation? I've got a family member who's lost rights to her kids. The dad has them and has full custody and there is no visitation. He's attempting to permanently remove her rights,,,,,,,and sadly, it's probably a good thing . Here nor there, if one died and there was a funeral , I cannot imagine that the rest of US , the family, could not convince him to let her attend the funeral. Do you know what I mean? It seems not just cruel but bizarre as well. I cannot understand. Something is amiss !!! mooo

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

After thinking about this, it woud seem that perhaps Priscilla being forced out of the funeral may have something to do with her 12 year old son. Is she not meant to have any contact with him or something?

I think that the thing with the obit is that obits are meant to be legal notices that document the life of a person. There are specific protocols involved in an obituary that should be followed. There are allowances for mentioning people with a special relationship with the deceased, but that would still be within the context of the formal protocol. The obit should have read something along the lines of: Leila is survived by her father, Barney Fowler (Crystal Walters) and her mother, Pricilla (husband's name?) The obit didn't even mention any of their last names, which seems odd to me. An obituary is meant to be read years down the line by ancestors who may have never met the family and should give a clear understanding of the actual legal family tree. I say legal because there are specific legal definitions of a parent that are already in place. It would seem to me that they used the term "parent" in this situation in a way that allowed some level of respect to both Crystal and Priscilla, but it is not a legal representation of the family situation for a legal document, such as an obit. JMO>

I, too, was puzzled as to why the last names of the parents were left out of the obituary?

:waitasec:

JMO

 

[Theforeigner]

FWIW... here is a comment posted by somone who claim to by Leila's biological mother, and I belive it IS her:

http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/155148/8yearold_leila_fowlers_murder_case?next=31#comments

Quote:

Nonmember comment from Priscilla Monday at 7:16 PM
"Iam Leilas mother...yes crystal has been there for her for the past few years"

More in the link...there are ca 57 comments, some with interesting info, however noone knows if any of it is the truth.

 

[TheDuchess]

FWIW... here is a comment posted by somone who claim to by Leila's biological mother, and I belive it IS her:

http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/155148/8yearold_leila_fowlers_murder_case?next=31#comments

Quote:


More in the link...there are ca 57 comments, some with interesting info, however noone knows if any of it is the truth.

Edit: Removed quote from site.

I have read through some of the comments and I just can't believe how cruel some people can be! It just makes me so sad. Not only is this a horrible tragedy, but the devastation leaves in its wake just seems unbearable.

 

[marycarney]

After thinking about this, it woud seem that perhaps Priscilla being forced out of the funeral may have something to do with her 12 year old son. Is she not meant to have any contact with him or something?

I think that the thing with the obit is that obits are meant to be legal notices that document the life of a person. There are specific protocols involved in an obituary that should be followed. There are allowances for mentioning people with a special relationship with the deceased, but that would still be within the context of the formal protocol. The obit should have read something along the lines of: Leila is survived by her father, Barney Fowler (Crystal Walters) and her mother, Pricilla (husband's name?) The obit didn't even mention any of their last names, which seems odd to me. An obituary is meant to be read years down the line by ancestors who may have never met the family and should give a clear understanding of the actual legal family tree. I say legal because there are specific legal definitions of a parent that are already in place. It would seem to me that they used the term "parent" in this situation in a way that allowed some level of respect to both Crystal and Priscilla, but it is not a legal representation of the family situation for a legal document, such as an obit. JMO>

I respectfully disagree with your assessment of an obituary as a 'legal' document, with any type of 'formal protocol' whatsoever. Those days are long gone - the days when a form (containing names, dates and places) was submitted to the newspaper by the funeral home to the obituary writer, who then composed to obit.
Today, the family writes the obituary. So you get some really tasteful ones (primarily older folks, traditional families) and you get some really strange ones. (I read obituaries, they fascinate me.)
All this is to say that some anonymous writer did not judge Crystal a 'parent' - someone in the family did. I see obits all the time that list every step-parent, half-brother and cousin-in-law -- very carefully delineating these relationships.

To digress just a little: Best obituary EVER in Indiana: 89 year old lady, very 'traditional' obit until the last line. "She was a life-long fan of Indiana University basketball; however, she was NOT a fan of Bob Knight."
To digress just a little more: I was raised by a founding member of the grammar police, and so was highly amused by the obituary of a local English professor - as a final tribute from her loving children, it was formatted with in-text citations to the various events in the lady's life.

 

[Linda7NJ]

Well, after much thinking ... I regret what I posted earlier. I have no idea what the dynamic is, why what happened happened and honestly..... Im not sure that it did happen.

I can't understand how legally she could have been prevented,

I'm a huge supporter of a child's "psychological" parents. If a child calls another person mom, loves that child as a good mother would then that person IMO deserves the title "mom"

Blood does not a mother make. IMO

The above doesn't diminish the role or title of biological mother.

I just do not have enough information
And in no longer comfortable judging other then to say its incredibly sad.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wwc02]

I have no idea what the dynamic is, why what happened happened and honestly..... Im not sure that it did happen. <snip>

When MSM prefaces an incredilby serious report with "only on CBS 13," the credibility/spin of the MSM source goes out the window. Thus far, did the 6:00PM bone get thrown?

 

[tlcya]

I understand what you are saying. It makes total sense. But I think the criticism was coming from the original statement to the press, which was something like [paraphrasing] " I want to be considered Leila's mother." I doubt that you would say that about yourself in discussing the sudden violent death of your boyfriend's child. JMO

is there a link to Crystal saying that? I have heard the LEO who gave the original presser where Crystal and Barney stood behind and thought they would speak then decided not to. A reporter asked the LEO if Crystal was Leila's BIO mother and the LEO said that Crystal wants to be described as her mother. That info came from the LEO, not Crystal if I recall correctly. It may have been the LEO's choice of wording, not Crystal's. Perhaps the LEO was trying not to go into the custody issues and confirm that Crystal was not.

Had the LEO confirmed that Crystal was not BIO mom then the press would have made certain assumptions, that this horrific crime was somehow related to the custody battle and the press would further have begun doing a lot of digging into that custody matter and who knows what sort of unflattering things would have come out about the parents or GF.

Remember, that presser took place in the infancy of this case. LE was still trying to discern themselves probably if the custody and parent situation was in any way related. I doubt they wanted the press all up in that angle til they had sussed it out themselves.

MY heart hurts for Priscilla, she has suffered the loss of her daughter and is worried for her son. That is obvious.

I am not prepared to vilify anyone in this situation. Whatever was the reason for her not having custody of her kids is not known and probably not relevant to what happened to Leila.

I have hurt enough and empathy enough for ALL the adults involved in Leila's upbringing and care.

 

[menmo]

I can't even remember how quickly the funeral happened. How many days after she passed away? Wouldn't the mom have to get an attorney that she may not be able to afford, and wouldn't the funeral have to be placed on hold perhaps to have it put before a Judge to declare the mom could attend? I seriously have no idea how that would work. Then when the mom is granted the right to attend her daughters funeral what would have happened? Would there have been some blow up? Would she have been treated badly? Would it have made it worse on the other children?
All I've got to say is after almost 30 years of being divorced from my ex who was very abusive to my kid and myself, I still can't stand to even breathe in the same area he is. If my child who is single, God forbid passed away right now and I were in charge of the funeral arrangements I would allow his whole rotten family in. People need closure and peace regardless of what the ex thinks about them.
I would however like more details about this family and yes, I know we can't sleuth them. It's like pieces to a puzzle though and for me I need all the pieces to understand the logic. Sometimes it really is all about control and being an *advertiser censored* and sometimes it's about feeling protective of and paybacks for past hurts and bad choices that hurt someone that's loved.

dinaslala, can you tell me if Priscilla still has her parental rights? (That is the only way I can understand where BF is coming from right now)

MOO

 

[tlcya]

The intricacies family dynamic is not known to us and probably won't be. I don't even know that it SHOULD be. This family Barney, Crystal, Pricsilla and all the children his her and theirs have suffered a horrific loss and their lives are upside down right now in the middle of an active murder investigation.

No one is at their best under those circumstances. Period.

I hope this thread stays devoted to Leila and the crime and doesn't get side tracked in endless speculation about the family and custody situation. While it is sad that there are problems between the adults who loved Leila, I think we can all agree that all three adults loved this child.

I am struck by how some of our victims have never had even one. Leila had at least three parents who loved her. In that way I am happy for her. She got to experience that when so many victims don't in their short lives.

 

[tlcya]

BTW dinaslala, did you ever get through verification? I know the mods and admins have been swamped with the Jodi Arias trial and with the Ohio women so I hope they were able to get back to you.

 

[mom2four717]

I think Priscilla intends to share why she felt blocked from Leila's funeral. At least that's what the news "teaser" lead me to believe.

 

[eileenhawkeye]

is there a link to Crystal saying that? I have heard the LEO who gave the original presser where Crystal and Barney stood behind and thought they would speak then decided not to. A reporter asked the LEO if Crystal was Leila's BIO mother and the LEO said that Crystal wants to be described as her mother. That info came from the LEO, not Crystal if I recall correctly. It may have been the LEO's choice of wording, not Crystal's. Perhaps the LEO was trying not to go into the custody issues and confirm that Crystal was not.

Had the LEO confirmed that Crystal was not BIO mom then the press would have made certain assumptions, that this horrific crime was somehow related to the custody battle and the press would further have begun doing a lot of digging into that custody matter and who knows what sort of unflattering things would have come out about the parents or GF.

Remember, that presser took place in the infancy of this case. LE was still trying to discern themselves probably if the custody and parent situation was in any way related. I doubt they wanted the press all up in that angle til they had sussed it out themselves.

MY heart hurts for Priscilla, she has suffered the loss of her daughter and is worried for her son. That is obvious.

I am not prepared to vilify anyone in this situation. Whatever was the reason for her not having custody of her kids is not known and probably not relevant to what happened to Leila.

I have hurt enough and empathy enough for ALL the adults involved in Leila's upbringing and care.

IDK. I can't really understand telling the public and the media that the father's girlfriend wants to be considered the mother just so the media won't dig into the family's background. How would Priscilla feel if she was watching that press conference? Also, hearing Krystal say she wants to be considered Leila's mother could have made the media even more likely to do some investigating: What happened to Leila's biological mother? You have to wonder if she contacted CBS 13 or if they tracked her down. I don't really know why LE would care that much if the media started looking into the custody angle and the family's background?

 

[alp1981]

is there a link to Crystal saying that? I have heard the LEO who gave the original presser where Crystal and Barney stood behind and thought they would speak then decided not to. A reporter asked the LEO if Crystal was Leila's BIO mother and the LEO said that Crystal wants to be described as her mother. That info came from the LEO, not Crystal if I recall correctly. It may have been the LEO's choice of wording, not Crystal's. Perhaps the LEO was trying not to go into the custody issues and confirm that Crystal was not.

It was in the first press conference about this case. The Sheriff Macedo was there, both barney and crystal fowler were standing to the left in the back behind the podium area.
They would not speak however it was stated in between the barney/crystal party to Sheriff Macedo on mic that crystal wanted to be known as Leila's mother.
Here is a link:
[video=youtube;uEWndBDRsbc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEWndBDRsbc&list=UUZdj-ugjab2U3xm25tT-IpA&index=34[/video]

Very 1st presser

4:08 minutes into the video, Macedo will go over to barney/crystal

 

[tlcya]

I was thinking more along the lines of LE may have been being protective of Priscilla and the assumptions that may be made by a not so very nice public sometimes in regards to mothers who do not have custody of their bio children.

Regardless, I will say again, I don't know the specifics of the dynamic. I just worry that we may get caught up in that aspect of the adults and their complicated relationships to the exclusion of Leila Fowler, a beautiful little girl who was murdered and a 12 year old brother who according to Priscilla was devoted to his little sister.

THEY (the two children) are the victims here and some unknown individual is the perp.

The person who our anger should be reserved for is the person who killed Leila. Anything other is misdirected IMO

 

[tlcya]

It was in the first press conference about this case. The Sheriff Macedo was there, both barney and crystal fowler were standing to the left in the back behind the podium area.
They would not speak however it was stated in between the barney/crystal party to Sheriff Macedo on mic that crystal wanted to be known as Leila's mother.
I am looking for a link for that first presser

thanks for looking for the link but don't trouble yourself. I have seen it several times. Again, Crystal did not say those words at that presser. The LEO giving the statement did. Telephone. In other words HIS interpretation of whatever was said to him by Barney and Crystal.

ETA and he seems to stumble a bit with his description, as if trying to figure out exactly how to word his comment about it. MOO

I am going to lurk a bit as I have no interest in continuing to discuss the custodial arrangements or the funeral. It feels wrong for me to participate in. '

As I said, I have empathy for all the parent and caregivers who loved Leila and prefer to excuse myself from any further conversation that feels like deciding that there is a wrong or bad side and right or good side.

 

[Dee10]

I am assuming if it's true that they have fingerprints & DNA, it is someone not in the system. Not sure about DNA but certainly the fingerprints would have been run & results back by now right? This makes me wonder if there are any known stats on a murder that has no previous record of any kind; no assault, theft, etc.? I wonder if that is common?