GUILTY FL - Boy in a Box abuse trial - Parents, Timothy & Tracy Ferriter Arrested, Jupiter, Feb 2022

[Snoopster]

Excellent. I never in a million years would have thought of that. I traced his line back to 1700s Ireland and it is spelled with e's like he changed it to. As soon as they came to the US the new spelling of Farritor was adopted. During the trial, it was noted that Tim had been traveling to Ireland for work, so that may have been what prompted the action back in 05. Thx

Well if the spelling with the "a" goes back that far then the spelling change he made is definitely weird. It's not a recent spelling 'mistake'.

 

[RickshawFan]

@arielilane

Yes. Defense cited Wheeler v. State, 203 So. 3d 1007 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2016) and said charges should be thrown out altogether because state failed to meet it's burden as in Wheeler. This is what the Wheeler court said:

The state charged appellant with aggravated child abuse under two subsections of 827.03(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2014). Subsection (1)(a)2 applies when a person "[w]illfully tortures, maliciously punishes, or willfully and knowingly cages a child." Subsection (1)(a)3 is violated when a person "[k]nowingly or willfully abuses a child and in so doing causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to the child." The statute defines a "child" as "any person under the age of 18 years." § 827.01(2), Fla. Stat. (2014), (at 2009) ...

.. To establish great bodily harm, "[t]he state ‘must prove more than that the victim suffered some harm.’ " Smith v. State, 175 So.3d 906, 908 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015) (quoting T.W. v. State, 98 So.3d at 243); see also Nguyen v. State, 858 So.2d 1259, 1260 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003) (holding where "there was no testimony that the victim required medical treatment for her burns or that she had any lasting ill effects or scars ... there was insufficient testimony as a matter of law to support a charge of aggravated battery for causing great bodily harm."). (at 2010)

He tried to get all of them thrown out. Judge would not agree to throw out charge under § 827.03(1)(a)(2) - said jury should consider it. But, bc of the Appellate Court ruling in Wheeler on (1)(a)(3) requiring great bodily harm he had to toss that one.

Funny - but I got the sense that he was very reluctant to do this. He even hinted to the prosecutor "Hey, can you find a case where "maybe severe PTSD" could qualify under that category"? (my words, not his) They didn't have one so he had to throw it out. This is how I remember it.

Here's the statute (§ 827.03):

827.03 Abuse, aggravated abuse, and neglect of a child; penalties.—

(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
(a) “Aggravated child abuse” occurs when a person:
1. Commits aggravated battery on a child;
2. Willfully tortures, maliciously punishes, or willfully and unlawfully cages a child; or
3. Knowingly or willfully abuses a child and in so doing causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to the child.

Do you have a link to the charging document in this case or was it sealed? If it posted publicly. I'd be very interested to see it. TIA

ETA: Not Fla Supreme Court. 4th District Court of Appeal

Prosecution could have run with the idea that emotional abuse harms the brain, especially in young people whose brain is developing? This is definitely true if they're young (this is proved by many experiments on young children, including the "strange situation" and others. This would be permanent, physical, damage. Here's a succinct comment on the effects of abuse on teen's brains:

Researchers are learning more about the effects of child abuse on teenagers. In fact, one studyshows that child abuse results in harmful, physical changes to teens’ brains. Children who had been emotionally or physically abused had less gray matter in their brains than children who were not victims of abuse.

This is from:

How Child Abuse Affects Teens - Safe Families for Children

Researchers are learning more about the effects of child abuse on teenagers. In fact, one study shows that child abuse…Read More

safe-families.org

Here we go, a .gov" with a lot of info, expanding ^^^^

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubpdfs/brain_development.pdf

 

[megs1477]

Well if the spelling with the "a" goes back that far then the spelling change he made is definitely weird. It's not a recent spelling 'mistake'.

I'm really not sure what to think...

 

[RickshawFan]

But I'm guessing that his father is threatening to take away the mattress and the carpet...implying that they are luxuries and he should be happy being in the "box".

ETA: my adult son chooses to have no box spring in his apartment. Of course he has a great mattress.

I slept on a foam mattress on the floor for a long time. However, in this child's case, it was clearly punishment, because at one point he had a real bed. His siblings always had real beds.

 

[RickshawFan]

I stumbled down a rabbit hole I did not mean to, now I am completely baffled.
Tim's father's last name is Farritor....Tim and Tracy were married in 2003...their last name at the time was also FARRITOR not Ferriter.
It seems in 2005 they had their last names legally changed from Farritor to Ferriter....Why???

eCaseView

You will have to search by his name, Farritor to find the name change.

IMO, the change wasn't wise, since Ferriter sounds like "ferret". It's not a flattering association.

I found a Ferriter family source which might explain alternative spellings:

The Ferriter Family | Farritor

IMO not everyone was literate in the "olden days". This resulted in some variant spellings. E.g. my grandmother's name was variously spelled over the years, leading the FBI to become suspicious of the family when someone needed classification clearance.

That does seem odd, though for Tim and Tracy to change it.

 

[Dhighsmith]

I stumbled down a rabbit hole I did not mean to, now I am completely baffled.
Tim's father's last name is Farritor....Tim and Tracy were married in 2003...their last name at the time was also FARRITOR not Ferriter.
It seems in 2005 they had their last names legally changed from Farritor to Ferriter....Why???

eCaseView

You will have to search by his name, Farritor to find the name change.

What are they hiding from or who?

 

[Teche]

Excellent. I never in a million years would have thought of that. I traced his line back to 1700s Ireland and it is spelled with e's like he changed it to. As soon as they came to the US the new spelling of Farritor was adopted. During the trial, it was noted that Tim had been traveling to Ireland for work, so that may have been what prompted the action back in 05. Thx

Many of the Cajun French surnames were misspelled generations ago. It happens.

 

[RickshawFan]

What do you want to bet that the name change was so that Tim could ingratiate folks in Ireland, who would recognize the Ferriter name? For business purposes?

Does the word "farritor" have a meaning, on the analogy of smith, miller, shoemaker....? I'm thinking maybe a version of "farrier" that the way-back family wanted to disown for snooty reasons? Some branches of Ferriters seem to have worked with metals.

I speculate there's something snooty about the name change for Tracy and Timothy.

 

[squareandrabbet]

Sorry, defense (not sorry) anything done by minor child, does not justify parents' behavior toward the child. Seek professional assistance, if he's supposedly uncontrollable, or you're in fear, which I never heard anyone state being in fear of child, thus far. Instead of teaching child bad behavior. Child is a reflection of parents' behavior and parents taught child to act out. I suspect this child wasn't given much love early on in his life - no bonding (after the adoption), not going to comment on what may have happened to child prior to the first 17 months of child's life.
Speculation. Moo

Agreed.

I mean, you simply cannot lock people up in cages or boxes "for their own good"; and this is incontrovertible; no matter how many parents might have secretly wished for ceiling-high crib bars to restrain their lively toddlers.

IMO, the only reason we might not find the defendant in prison at the end of this, might be because/if the jury takes the young man's plea to be lenient upon the father into account.

 

[arielilane]

I rewatched 1st 2 days of trial by skipping around through it. Did they ever call the contractor? I don't remember seeing him. If not, did the judge not allow it as prejudicial?

Thank you, @Jurisprudence for posting video. Not sure why contractor did not testify for the State, imo, it would have been an important testimony.

Video: He (contractor) knew exactly what he wanted … an 8X8 box, no windows. Contractor gave an estimate of $3k. TF asked when can you start, roughly end of Dec.

Contractor asked if TF would like a window installed, and TF said no.
He asked contractor to build a sealed room, top of structure closed, no opening and to seal it.

At completion of job, contractor became suspicious. TF wanted a hole in order to install a camera.

TF asked constructor to go to hardware store to get a door, and reverse the bolt locks. So the keyhole of the lock will be facing the interior of the room and the no blocks will be facing the outside.

You could lock it from the outside - but if you’re inside of the room if it's locked you can’t get out.

That’s what got his attention.

And there’s more….

 

[arielilane]

@arielilane

Yes. Defense cited Wheeler v. State, 203 So. 3d 1007 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2016) and said charges should be thrown out altogether because state failed to meet it's burden as in Wheeler. This is what the Wheeler court said:



Funny - but I got the sense that he was very reluctant to do this. He even hinted to the prosecutor "Hey, can you find a case where "maybe severe PTSD" could qualify under that category"? (my words, not his) They didn't have one so he had to throw it out. This is how I remember it.

Here's the statute (§ 827.03):

827.03 Abuse, aggravated abuse, and neglect of a child; penalties.—

(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
(a) “Aggravated child abuse” occurs when a person:
1. Commits aggravated battery on a child;
2. Willfully tortures, maliciously punishes, or willfully and unlawfully cages a child; or
3. Knowingly or willfully abuses a child and in so doing causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to the child.

Do you have a link to the charging document in this case or was it sealed? If it posted publicly. I'd be very interested to see it. TIA

ETA: Not Fla Supreme Court. 4th District Court of Appeal

rsbm

I rewatched the trial portion when defense asked for a judgment of acquittal.

Agree, with your comment about judge being reluctant to throw out the charge. I like Judge Coates Jr., who (moo) is fair and very detailed with his explanations. A layperson can understand because he is clear and precise. moo

 

[arielilane]

Prosecutors rest in Tim Ferriter child abuse trial; defense denied judgment of acquittal

Prosecutors have rested their case in the trial of a Jupiter father accused of locking his adopted son in a box-like structure in the garage.

www.wptv.com

last updated 10:34 PM, Oct 06, 2023

 

[ifindedout]

Well if the spelling with the "a" goes back that far then the spelling change he made is definitely weird. It's not a recent spelling 'mistake'.

He may have wanted to be true to his heritage, and marriage was the perfect time to do it in that way. Guy Fieri (born Ferry) did the same thing.

 

[Jurisprudence]

Did he say in his testimony where he was over those 3 days (Fri, Sat, Sun) after he ran away before showing back up at school Monday morning?

 

[Jurisprudence]

rsbm

I rewatched the trial portion when defense asked for a judgment of acquittal.

Agree, with your comment about judge being reluctant to throw out the charge. I like Judge Coates Jr., who (moo) is fair and very detailed with his explanations. A layperson can understand because he is clear and precise. moo

I hope the state is still doing research to see if they can come up with anything for him to reconsider. Problem is if you look at the wheeler case you'll see in the right margin where subsequent to the case pattern jury instructions were drafted for this problem. it doesn't mean this is impossible, but it makes it harder.

jmo

 

[Teche]

The judge will allow for the media to show the videos as long as the minor’s face can be blurred.

 

[arielilane]

@arielilane




Do you have a link to the charging document in this case or was it sealed? If it posted publicly. I'd be very interested to see it. TIA

ETA: Not Fla Supreme Court. 4th District Court of Appeal

rsbm. Forgot to address your question about docs. Not all docs are available.

CASE NUMBER: 50-2022-CF-001136-BXXX-MB​

CASE STYLE: FERRITER, TIMOTHY DUNNE​

Charges

Count	Statute	Description	Disposition	Disposition Date	Offense Date	Citation Number	Plea	Plea Date
1	827.03(1A2A)	AGGRAVATED CHILD ABUSE			12/15/2021		NOT GUILTY	03/23/2022
2	787.02(2)	FALSE IMPRISONMENT			12/15/2021		NOT GUILTY	03/23/2022
3	827.03(1E2D)	NEGLECT OF A CHILD			12/15/2021		NOT GUILTY	09/29/2023

CASE NUMBER: 50-2022-CF-001136-AXXX-MB​

CASE STYLE: FERRITER, TRACY CHRISTINE​

Charges

Count	Statute	Description	Disposition	Disposition Date	Offense Date	Citation Number	Plea	Plea Date
1	827.03(1A2A)	AGGRAVATED CHILD ABUSE			12/15/2021		NOT GUILTY	03/23/2022
2	787.02(2)	FALSE IMPRISONMENT			12/15/2021		NOT GUILTY	03/23/2022
3	827.03(1E2D)	NEGLECT OF A CHILD			12/15/2021

Courts | Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Palm Beach County

 

[arielilane]

I am going to say in my amateur opinion that TF comes across as narcissist behavior, this is based on watching him during trial only. His mannerisms come across as superior and/or better than others and justified in his actions- not embarrassed at all. He does not appear sensitive or empathetic toward his adoptive child, RF.

Rules don’t apply to TF. His needs come first. Imo, I believe the Mrs would give in often and early on decided it’s easier to allow TF the control. She is submissive and on board with allowing him to exploit others - clearly aware of his need for validation, or she knows she will experience the abuse too. Keeping “peace” in the household, if you will. Imo, the children in this dysfunctional “family” all suffered.

Speculation and no facts. Amateur post.

Justice for RF!

 

[texaslb218]

I am going to say in my amateur opinion that TF comes across as narcissist behavior, this is based on watching him during trial only. His mannerisms come across as superior and/or better than others and justified in his actions- not embarrassed at all. He does not appear sensitive or empathetic toward his adoptive child, RF.

Rules don’t apply to TF. His needs come first. Imo, I believe the Mrs would give in often and early on decided it’s easier to allow TF the control. She is submissive and on board with allowing him to exploit others - clearly aware of his need for validation, or she knows she will experience the abuse too. Keeping “peace” in the household, if you will. Imo, the children in this dysfunctional “family” all suffered.

Speculation and no facts. Amateur post.

Justice for RF!

I agree. Looks like a situation of needing total control without any need to consider anyone else. His facial set is certainly offputting with the pain shown in the cctv evidence,

 

[Jurisprudence]

This makes what we heard yesterday a little more clear, I think. So the amended information (similar to a superseding indictment) filed on 9/28/2023 added additional charges (counts). It's still difficult to follow what existed and what was added and what the exact nature of the claims are because most of the documents are not accessible. The amended information is available, but it has to be downloaded to be viewed.

eCaseView

ETA: This link is not translating. It's on page 23 of the docket. Screenshot of the count attached

According to this document, Count 1 makes a claim under 827.03(1)(a) which has 3 parts, example, "You commit the offense of x if you do 1, 2, OR 3."

Defense wanted whole Count thrown out which we know the judge did not do. He did throw out the "3"rd prong. However, this doesn't really change anything imo now that we see it. The other 2 prongs are enough. This might be what the state meant when it told the judge they weren't looking for that little subpart, but the lesser included offenses. (Moo I don't think prongs 1 and 2 are lesser included offenses. I think the statute is clear that you commit the crime if you do a, b, or c. That doesn't make them lesser included really. They are stand alone. jmo.) And the sentencing appears to be the same regardless. It looks like commission of this crime against a child might subject the defendant if convicted to being sentenced as if he were a repeat offender. Not sure. I have to look at that again.

All jmo