caides_mom
04-28-2004, 01:01 PM
April 28, 2004 http://www.wgnx.com/Global/story.asp?S=1816793
CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) -- A 12-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday in the strangulation of an 8-year-old girl who disappeared during a bike ride to a neighboring friend's home.
The boy was charged with murder in the slaying of Amy Michelle Yates, whose body was found Monday night in tall weeds about 100 feet outside her trailer park. Her bike was found between two abandoned trailers within view of her home.
Carroll County Sheriff Terry Langley told reporters that preliminary autopsy results indicated that the girl was strangled by hand. He said investigators believe the boy acted alone. "This investigation is continuing, and there still is a great deal of work to be done," Langley told The Times-Georgian newspaper of Carrollton.
"We are awaiting additional crime reports and continuing to work around the clock to seal up this case." He and Chief Deputy Sheriff Brad Robinson would not disclose what led investigators to the boy, whose name was withheld because he is a juvenile.
They would say only that he was a resident of Carroll County. Robinson said the boy was arrested about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday -- almost 24 hours after the girl disappeared -- and was transported to the Paulding County Youth Detention Center in Dallas, Ga.
The juvenile courts and District Attorney Pete Skandalakis would determine how to proceed with charges, Robinson said. Many of the girl's neighbors helped her parents search the area late Monday after they learned she never arrived at her friend's home.
Officers told the searchers to go indoors at around 9:30 p.m. Monday -- about two hours into the search -- so a helicopter could scan the area using infrared technology. The girl's body was found soon after, Robinson said.
Some of the neighbors had said they suspected the killer lived among them. "In my heart, I believe it was someone in this trailer park," said Shelly Bowman, whose sons regularly played with Amy. "I don't see how a stranger could've snatched her without a scream, a holler or anything. I just don't see it."
Bowman lives next to the trailer where the bike was found, about 80 yards from her home. Most of the Twin Oaks Mobile Home Park is wedged between low, dense woods and Smyrna Church Road, right off U.S. Highway 27 north of Carrollton.
The park is made up of three street stubs with nine to 11 trailers each and another road winding behind the woods where Amy was found. Most of the trailers are about 15 to 20 yards apart.
Children in the trailer park don't typically play in the area where the girl was found, said Bill Vallandingham, 39, a neighbor who helped search for her Monday, including where she was found. "It's so thick back there. It's hard to find anybody," he said. Bowman and her sister, Ansley Cherry, 21, were returning from the grocery store Monday evening when they heard Amy was missing.
The girl's father, Thomas, "ran to the car and asked 'Have you seen Amy? Is she with you?' I said we hadn't seen her all day," Cherry said. Cherry said she last saw Amy on Saturday when the youngster came looking for Cherry's little sister, Brieanna, 13.
Neighborhood children, including Amy, were often found playing in Bowman's half-acre lot about 50 yards from the unkempt trail that led to the body. The trail goes through a wooded area behind the park to a dried-up lake and railroad tracks.
The head of the trail is about 100 yards from the the girl's trailer. Cherry held her 2-year-old daughter, Teonna, close as she recalled her emotions as police posted crime-scene tape along the perimeter of her sister's property. "I was hoping and praying it was accidental because they say she has asthma," Cherry said.
Many in the park didn't want to talk. They sat on their porches watching police mill around, but would abruptly step inside their trailers when approached by reporters. Amy's parents had four cars parked outside their home, and a Carroll County policewoman stood guard on the street, turning reporters away and saying the Yates family didn't want to talk.
The Yates' listed telephone number was disconnected. Bowman and Cherry described Amy as a bright, energetic girl who made friends easily, even with older kids like Brieanna. Her classmates at Central Elementary School were having trouble dealing with her death, said Carroll County Schools spokesman Brian Doss.
Teachers informed students of her death Tuesday morning on a room-by-room basis, and counselors from throughout the school system will be on hand this week to help the children, Doss said. Back at the trailer park, residents were trying to cope themselves. Bowman said she is considering moving out. Even though the park has never had crime problems, she fears for her two sons' safety.
Vallandingham's 14-year-old daughter doesn't live with him, but he said that won't stop him from maintaining a paternal lookout over the park. "I'm going to keep my eye on these kids all the time when I'm home," he said.
CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) -- A 12-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday in the strangulation of an 8-year-old girl who disappeared during a bike ride to a neighboring friend's home.
The boy was charged with murder in the slaying of Amy Michelle Yates, whose body was found Monday night in tall weeds about 100 feet outside her trailer park. Her bike was found between two abandoned trailers within view of her home.
Carroll County Sheriff Terry Langley told reporters that preliminary autopsy results indicated that the girl was strangled by hand. He said investigators believe the boy acted alone. "This investigation is continuing, and there still is a great deal of work to be done," Langley told The Times-Georgian newspaper of Carrollton.
"We are awaiting additional crime reports and continuing to work around the clock to seal up this case." He and Chief Deputy Sheriff Brad Robinson would not disclose what led investigators to the boy, whose name was withheld because he is a juvenile.
They would say only that he was a resident of Carroll County. Robinson said the boy was arrested about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday -- almost 24 hours after the girl disappeared -- and was transported to the Paulding County Youth Detention Center in Dallas, Ga.
The juvenile courts and District Attorney Pete Skandalakis would determine how to proceed with charges, Robinson said. Many of the girl's neighbors helped her parents search the area late Monday after they learned she never arrived at her friend's home.
Officers told the searchers to go indoors at around 9:30 p.m. Monday -- about two hours into the search -- so a helicopter could scan the area using infrared technology. The girl's body was found soon after, Robinson said.
Some of the neighbors had said they suspected the killer lived among them. "In my heart, I believe it was someone in this trailer park," said Shelly Bowman, whose sons regularly played with Amy. "I don't see how a stranger could've snatched her without a scream, a holler or anything. I just don't see it."
Bowman lives next to the trailer where the bike was found, about 80 yards from her home. Most of the Twin Oaks Mobile Home Park is wedged between low, dense woods and Smyrna Church Road, right off U.S. Highway 27 north of Carrollton.
The park is made up of three street stubs with nine to 11 trailers each and another road winding behind the woods where Amy was found. Most of the trailers are about 15 to 20 yards apart.
Children in the trailer park don't typically play in the area where the girl was found, said Bill Vallandingham, 39, a neighbor who helped search for her Monday, including where she was found. "It's so thick back there. It's hard to find anybody," he said. Bowman and her sister, Ansley Cherry, 21, were returning from the grocery store Monday evening when they heard Amy was missing.
The girl's father, Thomas, "ran to the car and asked 'Have you seen Amy? Is she with you?' I said we hadn't seen her all day," Cherry said. Cherry said she last saw Amy on Saturday when the youngster came looking for Cherry's little sister, Brieanna, 13.
Neighborhood children, including Amy, were often found playing in Bowman's half-acre lot about 50 yards from the unkempt trail that led to the body. The trail goes through a wooded area behind the park to a dried-up lake and railroad tracks.
The head of the trail is about 100 yards from the the girl's trailer. Cherry held her 2-year-old daughter, Teonna, close as she recalled her emotions as police posted crime-scene tape along the perimeter of her sister's property. "I was hoping and praying it was accidental because they say she has asthma," Cherry said.
Many in the park didn't want to talk. They sat on their porches watching police mill around, but would abruptly step inside their trailers when approached by reporters. Amy's parents had four cars parked outside their home, and a Carroll County policewoman stood guard on the street, turning reporters away and saying the Yates family didn't want to talk.
The Yates' listed telephone number was disconnected. Bowman and Cherry described Amy as a bright, energetic girl who made friends easily, even with older kids like Brieanna. Her classmates at Central Elementary School were having trouble dealing with her death, said Carroll County Schools spokesman Brian Doss.
Teachers informed students of her death Tuesday morning on a room-by-room basis, and counselors from throughout the school system will be on hand this week to help the children, Doss said. Back at the trailer park, residents were trying to cope themselves. Bowman said she is considering moving out. Even though the park has never had crime problems, she fears for her two sons' safety.
Vallandingham's 14-year-old daughter doesn't live with him, but he said that won't stop him from maintaining a paternal lookout over the park. "I'm going to keep my eye on these kids all the time when I'm home," he said.