As our community continues with many fundraisers for the Ratley family as well as prayers of support, the family of the 15 year-old boy that is accused of bullying Josie Ratley nearly to death speaks for the first time.
The mother of Wayne Treacy, teen accused of this beating of Josie Ratley, Donna Powers, appeared on the "Today Show" today (Monday), along with Treacy's stepfather, Carey Smith and their lawyer. Donna Powers said they wanted to get their side of the story out.
Wayne Treacy suffered a devastating loss last year when his brother committed suicide and Wayne found him hanging in a tree, according to his mother. This was compounded by the loss of another friend during the same time period. Although this is not an excuse for the savage beating of Josie Ratley, it gives some background as to what Wayne Treacy had been going through emotionally over the past six months.
Matt Lauer asked Wayne Treacy's mother if she believed that he just snapped on that horrific day of March 17th. Her response was, "I believe so," Powers said. "That's not Wayne's nature, he's not a bully."
Donna Powers believes that Josie Ratley must have said something very derogatory about his brother's death that set him off. Again, this is not an excuse for his behavior and nearly killing Josie Ratley, this is his family sharing their beliefs.
Wayne Treacy has been charged with attempted murder, though prosecutors haven't said whether he'll be charged as a juvenile or adult on or about April 19th.
The Ratley family is without medical insurance. There are many fundraisers in South Florida taking place. Learn more by joining Pray for Josie Lou Ratley on Facebook.
Get Well Cards can be sent to:
Broward General Medical Center
Patient Josie Lou Ratley
1600 S. Andrews Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
954-355-4400
Donations can be made at any Wachovia Bank.
Wachovia Bank
2989 PGA Boulevard
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410.
Please make checks payable to "The Josie Lou Ratley Fund".
Watch video below of Today Show segment.
Comments
That interview was a disgrace. I don't care about this kid's side of the story. I have sympathy for a kid that sees his brother commit suicide, but that sympathy ran out with one of his numerous kicks to her head with his steel-toed boots. I'm not one of those "lock 'em up!" dittoheads but he's really done a very horrible thing. He needs to be charged as an adult and sent to prison because that's how bad what he did was. His worthless girlfriend that helped him track this girl down needs to be punished, too.
Y'know, there was only one question I wanted Matt Lauer to ask that he refused to ask...he should have just asked that family as they sat there making excuses for their monster of a son, "so what? Why should the viewers or that girl's family care about his problems? He tried to beat someone to death. Who cares what she said in her text?"
Fine, so that's two questions.
That is terrible for you to say that about this boy. He is a child not a monster and needs some help. People like you are what makes monsters.A lot of valuable lesson to be learned here.
Both children need to learn not to do and say terrible mean things to each other. I think I will pray for both families as well as you...you need to find some kindness in your heart,
Now granted that the beating she recieved was WAY OVERKILL..... she should have kept her mouth shut with the comments about his brother. He should have not beat her but she had to know what she was doing was outragiously messed up. Everybody gets what they deserve in some way shape or form... sometime its just a little to much.
To David: You don't know that she sent him texts, they have't proved that one yet.
And regardless if she did, he should have brought that to their principal's attention. There is NO excuse what so ever for this boy beating this girl almost to death. hat family should be so ashamed of their child. One child hangs himself and the other beats a girl near death with the help of his girlfriend. Any sign of an unstable household? I believe so.
And Dave, I agree with you. He should be charged as an adult because being charged as a teen will not do him good. His parents will bail him out and he'll go beat up the next girl that makes him mad. His girlfriend needs to be charged too, yes.
Its a shame what has happened to this beautiful young girl but has anyone stopped to think, if Wayne Treacy had gone home and taken his own life because of the texts that Josie had sent to him, we would now be charging this girl with bullying him. Also has anyone thought that this is a 15 year old BOY who found his brother hanging from a tree?? I could not imagine finding someone that I love, dead. This boy needs to be in a mental facility, where he can get HELP, not a prison cell, surrounded by MEN and murderers. I believe if he is charged as an adult, as well as his 13 year old girlfreind, then we have just lost 3 young lives, that all of which needed more guidance from their parents. Josie needed to be taught more compassion for other people and Wayne should have seen a psychiatrist following his brothers death. I do not believe Kayla Manson believed anything like this way going to happen, she is 13, how many of us had any real sense of danger at 13?
Just a little too much David?
Do me a favor and don't ever give advice to anyone ever..someone might be a big enough idiot to listen to you!
There is a huge difference between words and attacking people. We don't live in a society where fighting is common or necessary in any way so it's cowardly when these douches find people who don't like to fight (because they were smart enough to see what pathetic losers the people who spent all their time fighting grew up to be)and attack them like wild animals--let alone attacking a girl.
Everyone has said something horrible to someone else in the past..we sure don't all deserve to be beaten near to death.
God bless this girl! I pray she survives and recovers and lives a happy life!
Carey Smith is one sick @*&k. Makes me want to puke.
So the text is irrelevant? What if it was a text about your brother/sister/wife, etc's suicide? Something like, hey was he/she bug eyed hanging from a tree? Was he swaying in the wind? I'm happy he/she is f***ing dead and in hell! Adults are incited to anger and violence about much less provocation....
The boy needs counseling and incarceration...but at a juvenile facility where he can be treated. After all, in today's society we think we can rehabilitate everybody (bogus) like rapists, multiple killers, child molesters, etc.
Well if any of you on the girls side knew what its like to deal with a siblings suicide youd rather be in that girls shoes than in Waynes. Waynes very most likely had to deal extreme confusion and guilt for months, and will continue so for years to come. Theres uncontrolled anxiety involved which is the worst, not to mention he probably has low self esteem because he's 15. I know what its like to feel guilty about a close death and to see the dead body. You cant control this stuff, and what you can control is lost in confusion. Lets say that magically theres was no suicide but there was still the same mental stress for years, i would pay a million dollars to take it away. Wayne probably doesnt even have an enjoyable life right now. God is the only one who should be judging the situation upon the near death. dave nor anybody else should have the right to talk about Wayne that way. little dave even went as far to dis out the family who is going through a lot to. you have a lot to learn.
no tess, sending him to jail is just going to poop on him, the only reason all kids dont get quality treatment is becaus of money issues and the fact that some kids are just in too harsh of an environment to be permenantly changed. as for the 13 year old theyre probabally(or should probabally be) scaring her. really shes 13 years old and is under peer pressure from an older guy, shes going to budge regardless of her personality. i would consider it corrupt due to the opinionation if she was given serious charges. the judges would have to be like dave complaining with no meaning. heres a question to think about: how many worthless/pointless rules do we make up in our lives?
oh and yeah everybody study some psychology before you guess that people have totaly control over everything. being mental, like Wayne became, NEEDS treatment, Wayne cant just make it all go away by being tough. Even normal people have stupid problems with their mentality. many people(too many people at that) base their lives around defense mechanisms and such. the victim was unconsiously(and stupidly) defending herself in the arguement by saying whatever she could to win and be superior. Wayne stupidly and conciously (in his mental stress) defended himself by beating her almost to death. we all do these things to feel superior and comfortable, and we dont even realize it. i support Wayne simply because hes mental and i had very similar run ins with women grabbing for my heart to be superior. to think when i was 15 i thought it would be a good idea to beat up a girl in defense to her insulting me constantly over nothing(didnt actually do it). i know now its dumb.
Those meth looking parents look like they could care less that Josie lies in a coma with probable long term brain damage. I don't care what happened to this punk. He didn't snap. He chose to put on steel toe boots, pedal a few miles to this girl, have someone point her out and then repeatedly stomped her head in. Who gives a crap what she said or what he has been through? He is a violent, dangerous, evil person and needs to be locked away forever.
Matt Lauer is a simpleton.
Wayne Treacy is an unadulterated coward. Old enough to know what's right and what's wrong.
Wayne Treacy is an unadulterated coward. Old enough to know what's right and what's wrong.
she didn't get what she deserved. She got way more than she deserved. Yet she did cross the line when she texted him about his dead brother. Everybody knows that's hitting below the belt.
This girl definitely didn't deserve this, but she should have kept her mouth shut. Who would talk about some kid's dead brother? She deserved a slap in the face, not a near fatal beating. But hey, some kids react different than others. I think it would have been a sadder story if Wayne Treacy would have killed himself because of deep depression, loneliness, and this girl making fun of the whole situation. This kid has issues with his brother killing himself and the texting was the straw that broke the camels back and made this kid snap. This is why you don't make fun of people, especially about a dead brother, because sometimes you get a beating of a lifetime.
I hope Josie gets better. I'll pray for her recovery, but this wouldn't had happen if she had shut up. Even though what she did was wrong, she didn't deserve to be beaten to death. She deserves getting sent home from school or a little slap, but not kicked in the head a lot. I think Wanye does need to be charge as an adult, because what Josie did doesn't justify his actions.
Only good thing I can say about Muslim law is eye for an eye. That "boy" needs to be beaten but equally but kept conscious. Just what was the text message? The ONLY ONE that knows and CAN TALK is the lil redneck that was mad because his 13 year old girlfriend dumped him and Ratley didn't approve of him. Finding his brother had nothing to do with this. He isn't the first or only person to find a loved one after committing suicide. Anyone know what mess a 12 gauge can leave you to find? I do. Just an excuse, he knows right from wrong. I'm willing to bet if they were older and he was married to Kayla he would be one to kill her and any kids they have because she leaves him. The parents of Treacy and Manson are especially to blame by being absentee parents and should have been/be rendered sterile. Shame that young girls life is ruined because of controlling never do wrong trash. I'm sure he has never been in trouble or done anything wrong before because he hasn't been caught ... until now.
Bad things happen to every family. People die, kill themselves, contract AIDS, etc. So his cruth is basically" Well, she texted something insulting about my dead brother." All I can say is good luck with that excuse in court young man. The point is, that this boy wrode three miles with deadly weapons, searched her out and proceeded to try to kill her in a premeditated fashion. The prosecution is going to have a mountain of pictures showing the monsterous destruction he inflicted on what was a very pretty young girl. He's going to get the book thrown at him. Worse still, imagine how hardened criminals in the big house are going to treat him when he turns 18 and is placed in general population. Sadly, some people actually have the nerve to blame the girl for provoking his anger. You're tougher then I am I guess, because I am morally sickened by what that bully did to Josie Ratley.
Let's be clear. Josie was not bullied. This is not bullying. This is assault, battery, attempted murder, etc. We must stop calling the abuse kids dole out on each other "bullying." When we call this abuse bullying, we rob the victim of true justice, true help; and we prevent the abusor from getting proper punishment and help with his or her abusive personalities. Kids like Wayne who abuse so easily will grow to be adults who beat their spouses and children. Call the abuse what it is so everyon can get the help he or she needs.
I only found out about this case yesterday morning in the laudromat. Today at work I made $39 in tips at the coffee house I work in, and then cut a check for the same amount which I sent to the Josie Lou Ratley Fund along with a card to her family hospital room. I am moved enough by this event that I don't mind losing a days tips to help. I only hope she can regain enough of her lost abilities to live a somewhat normal life Someday. Before you try to side with this monster who tried to kill her because of an insult, think of what he reduced her to. The steel toed shoes should clue you in on his mentality. He obviously fantisized about kicking in a skull for a long time. Well, he got his wish didn't he?! It only cost him his good name and the rest of his life. It's just too bad that it cost Josie Lou Ratley and her family so much of their lives. How dare anyone try to rationalize his actions.
Don't kid yourselves... this kid will be put in a special wing of a minimum security prison until he's 21 at the max, even if he is tried as an adult. That's the deal when you cut through the rhetoric.
That may be Pedro, but Treacy is up for life in prison for his stupid desire to be a tough guy who sucker punches and stomps on the head of a defenseless girl with steel toed shoes. He took away Josie's ability to live a normal life. She will be fortunate to even walk again. Let that sink in. Josie Ratley is forever horribly handicapped thanks to Wayne Treacy's disgusting actions. She was only 15, all her life was ahead of her, and he took her entire future and reduced it down to being nearly helpless. Why? Oh cause he snapped, she upset him, she hurt his feelings. The courts are going to do the same thing to him that he did to Josie. Wayne Treacy will be wadded up and flushed right down the toilet, and ulike Josie, very few people are going to feel empathy for him. Bottom line, if you behave like a blood thirsty monster in society, you have to be removed. Wayne Treacy is about to be kicked where it counts by the steel toed boots of justice.
I am praying for her and her family!
I knew Wayne from school... real surprise
by the way, does anyone know what the IB program is? Because that is an extremely rigorous educational program that he was in, so that adds to his stress.
yeah he really did "snap out of nowhere" - riding his bike 3 MILES, texting other people that he wanted to hurt her, and typing a document up on his computer titled his "Will". This was premeditated, no doubt about it. He had plenty of time in those three miles that he rode to change his mind, to do something else, or to talk to his parents/counselor/friends/someone who could help. No doubt about it, he deserves what he gets.
The "step dad" seems to have a few anger issues of his own or perhaps it's simply ignorance. Either way this boy deserves everything that is coming to him. The 13 that led him to Josie needs to be taught a lesson as well.
Ryan you are another coward.No matter what this girl said you deal with it.You don't beat up a girl that can't defend herself.You are as big a punk as this guy is.Words never deserve this outcome.Your not babies having tantrums,you're suppose to be a man.Unfortunately today I see more males than I do real men.PUNK
There is more to this story coming out. First off, in the taped interview he was asked if Josie said something offensive and he responded "kind of". Oh really? Someone said something that Kind of Ticked you off and you don't remember what it was but I was enough for this creep to beat her to death. AND there is text messages from other kids that SHOW earlier HE SAID I'm going to KILL her. This was premeditated. He didn't just go off. I want to know why this family has violent kids, one so miserable he had to commit suicide and there SO full of rage he does this. There is something very wrong with the parents of these boys.
*sigh* kids this days.. they do not know what would happen to their future if they almost beat some one to death. if only the retard would feel 1/4 of the pain that he gave to the one who he beat, he would be begging for life. this kind of kids should never be meant to exist, and their parents should be living in shame for that they did not have proper family manner teachings.
Let's make a few more excuses for a 15 year old thug who almost killed a 15 year old girl. That's the problem with kids these days, their parents will not allow them to take responsibility for their actions and always end up trying to make it the victim's fault. Parents, GROW UP. I would not let them anywhere near my daughter....
Hold the PARENTS responsible for not teaching proper RESTRAINT! No excuses are acceptable except parental NEGLEGANCE!! Yes the kid needs to pay for this.....but the PARENTS need to be held accountable as well!!
Correction, Josie Ratley 15 NOT 13
To Anon: I believe they meant Kayla Manson is 13 years old - and Josie is 15 - you are correct.
THIS BOY IS A MONSTER AND i'M GLAD TO SEE HIM CHARGED AS AN ADULT. i DON'T CARE WHAT THAT GIRL SAID TO HIM ... SHE DID NOT DESERVE WHAT SHE GOT. hiS STEPFATHER IS A JOKE AND i FEEL SORRY FOR HIS MOTHER AND JOSIE AND HER MOTHER. BUT FOR HIM THEY WILL HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL. IN THE PUNK SECTION ALONG WITH HIS STEP Daddy !!
Americans hate freedom. This area is where Michael Brewer was set on fire. A secret service agent attacked me with a baseball bat while I had my 18 month old son on the bike with me in 1995. The police told me to move and that they planted a listening device in my child.
The Tribune and McClatchy group needs to be destroyed for not reporting all the news. The executive branch is ruining our freedom by destroying the moral of our youth.
I am not allowed my 1st amendment. BSO does nothing until it turns into a capital crime
God is a piece of feces
This is a horrible, tragic crime. But this is a 15-year-old boy. Traumatized to boot. He's going to be spending years in an adult FLORIDA prison, easily the worst place on earth.
This boy needs help. It isn't ok that he did this, but he obviously snapped over a horrible tragedy. Very sad.
get him a rope and let the worthless piece of shit join his brother...what he did no excuse..delete him.
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