Hi,
I wanted to come here to help explain some things regarding Melissa. I'm a single father of 3, and currently deployed in Kuwait (a moderator can check my IP and verify this).
I've known Melissa for a long time, we are very close friends. My children and I have spent a considerable amount of time with her and her children. I love those children like they were my own. If anything, she is an extremely good mother.
There was a question as to why a lot of people are defending her. I hope what I write will give a little insight as to why myself and many others have signed affidavits and helped her with her legal fees.
Melissa works for a small doctor's office, as noted in the article. She does not smoke or use any narcotics. She barely drinks.
I'll first talk about her DUI. She went to bed and the last thing she remembers is taking an Ambien (prescribed), setting the alarm, and turning over to go to sleep. She awoke in a jail cell in a panic, not knowing why she was there.
The only foreign substance in her was the Ambien. No drugs, no alcohol.
What has been pieced together was that her daughter had come into her room during the night after having a bad dream, and woke her up. For some reason she grabbed her keys, and put her daughter in the car and drove into town. She was pulled over and arrested after striking the curb a couple times. When the police stopped her she was barefoot, in her pajamas, and had no I.D.
Again, she was tested and had no drugs or alcohol. She had the correct dose of Ambien in her system that was prescribed. This is not the only case of this happening. Here is a New York Times article on this side affect:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/business/08ambien.html?_r=1
There is currently an ongoing class action lawsuit going on about this side effect.
So what happened the second time?
The article that was released was a standard police report. I have spoken to Mr. Epps several times on the phone with corrections and he has also interviewed Melissa. He is now following her case closely because of the incidents related to her arrest.
She put her daughter to bed, and last checked on her before going to bed around 9pm. This is where the article states she last saw her daughter. This was right after daylight saving's time. Her daughter woke up an hour earlier, and assumed she was late for school. Melissa was still asleep because she had set her clock to DST.
Her daughter, thinking that she was running late for school, got herself dressed, grabbed her bookbag and went next door to her neighbors to wait to catch the bus (the families are close friends and the children ride the bus together). The daughter had wanted to show off some money she had earned the day before. The neighbors of course were not awake yet and didn't answer the door, so the daughter went one house down. The neighbor there was awake and took her in. Now this part is still something strange that needs to be answered: The neighbor at that time should have taken the daughter back to her mother's home. Instead she fed her breakfast.
About a half hour later Melissa awoke, and went into her daughter's room. She wasn't there and her clothes she was supposed to wear were still on the bed. She spent several minutes frantically searching the house before going next door. He daughter of course wasn't there. She began to panic, and at the advice of friends she called the police, scared that something had happened to her daughter.
When the police arrived, The detective instructed her to allow a deputy to watch the younger child, and the deputy placed the child in a high chair while the detective interviewed her. At this time the neighbor in which the daughter was staying noticed the commotion and brought the daughter over.
The daughter was gone for about 15-45 minutes.
The police decided to arrest Melissa. She was released on bond and had custody of her daughter placed into the hands of family.
The prosecution from the first DUI case decided to hold a bail revocation hearing when learning of this incident. During the hearing Melissa had a public defender who was essentially worthless. The judge himself was struggling to hold back laughter at the ineptitude of this lawyer. Her bail was not revoked, however she ended up losing custody of her young son to family until the trials are over.
Melissa is the most kindhearted woman I know. She is a single mother and works 50-60 hours per week. She cares deeply for her patients, friends, employees, and most importantly her own children. She has spent her own free time to visit paitents who may have issues with insurance or getting coverage. She has given her employees rides to and from work, and although she has always struggled with money, has given those employees money to help with gas or rent. She never asks for anything in return. She does not take handouts, and does not ask for welfare or aid. She is an honest woman.
I have entrusted her with my children before, and would do so in a heartbeat. She is an incredible mother. I have learned so much from her as a single father. If it came down to her watching my children for, say, the entirety of my deployment I would have that same level of confidence. What has happened to her is, to put lightly, unfortunate. None of what happened is deserved.
How many times has your young child ran out of the house next door without asking first? I know I did it as a child, and my children have done it. Should all of us have been arrested?
Melissa is a fantastic person. Many of her patients have contributed to her defense. I know I have, and approximately 80 or so people have either filed an affidavit of support or have offered themselves as character witnesses for her.
Reading this forum there is a lot of evil brought against children in this world. It's horrible. Please, I ask everyone not to be so quick to judge. In some cases such as this one, a family is being torn apart just before Christmas and a mother is being dragged through hell.