Mom & Boyfriend Scald Son in Tub, then smoke crack
There’s so much that’s wrong about this I don’t even know where to begin. To wit:
–Stephanie Williams’s live-in beau forced her seven-year-old son into a tub of water so hot the skin on his feet and legs peeled off.
–She and the boyfriend, Byron McFarlin, looked in the Encyclopedia of Bad Parenting and the entry under “scalding with skin loss” indicated they should not take the child to the hosptial nor give him any food to eat.
–Somebody had to pay the bills, and I suspect McFarlin wasn’t going to be that person. So Williams still went to her job as a teacher’s aide at Perry Child Development Center. No, I couldn’t make that up if I wanted to.
–The boy was punished for wetting his bed. Just because there’s no skin on your feet doesn’t mean you can’t walk to the bathroom and use the potty like a big boy.
–Williams struck her son with a belt because her boyfriend told her to, presumably because hitting the skin encourages it to grow back at a faster rate.
–She also smoked crack cocaine with her boyfriend during the time in question.
As if all of this weren’t depressing enough, Williams was sentenced for a time period of up to four years on two counts of second-degree child abuse and up to 14 years on eight counts of check forgery. Yes, she will spend more time in prison for writing bad checks than for what she did to her son. If this is second-degree child abuse, I’d hate to see what first-degree child abuse is.
Thanks, or something like that, go to Misti for the tip.
Tags: Abuse, boyfriend, michigan, mother, parents+behaving+badly, son, Ypsilanti
19 opinions for Mom & Boyfriend Scald Son in Tub, then smoke crack
thordora
Oct 24, 2005 at 2:17 pm
They have to decide if her parental rights are terminated? Suddenly, the rights of the accused exceed the rights of the victim…sounds familier…
Ann Adams
Oct 24, 2005 at 4:48 pm
Nicole, I’ve run out of ways to describe what I feel at reading about pure evil. I can’t even comprehend that kind of abuse. I know the story is factual but it won’t sink in. Maybe because there are so many almost like it? What a tragic commentary.
Nicole
Oct 25, 2005 at 7:43 am
The sad part is that when I read this the first thing I thought was, “Oh, another mother scalding her child.” I still can’t believe she blames it on her boyfriend. I’m not sure there’s any excuse for everything that happened to this boy.
me
Oct 26, 2005 at 5:52 pm
There are alot of issues going on with this. This goes beyond what you know from the article. I have actually seen her with her children in the past and know she and her family personally through school, church, and social circles. We just need to hope and pray that she is truly remorseful and is rehabilitated during her incarceration. She became caught up with the wrong type of person and let him bring her down to his level. Trust, she was definitely not brought up to do somethign like that. Her mother is the sweetest lady you could ever meet. SOmetimes people get caught up with the wrong people and get sucked into their negative lifestyle thinking that it can take away their already existing troubles. I just saw the children a month ago while visiting the town where she and I both happen to be from. They seemed to be adjusting well and were happy and playing.
a former coworker
Dec 14, 2005 at 3:37 pm
I too know Stephanie Williams. I am a former coworker of hers. We worked together to make sure that kids were safe, teaching them about neglect and abuse. When I first heard the story, I was appauled and couldn’t believe that she would allow her children to be in such a situation. She certainly isn’t a beast. I personally think that she just got into a bad situation with people who weren’t the best for her. And I know how much she loves her children. I am not defending her actions, or excusing them. I am saying that until you’ve walked a mile in her shoes, you have no right to say anything.
me
Dec 16, 2005 at 12:24 pm
Poor Stephanie! What a crock of shit. Walk a mile in her shoes…? I could walk 1000 miles in her shoes and still not hurt my children.
LH
Dec 16, 2005 at 8:38 pm
I have to agree with Me. It does not matter what kind of people she got mixed up with. She obviously cared more about her boyfriend and smoking crack than she did for her own son! How much she loves her children?? She obviously didn’t love them enough to not allow her child to totured. I hope she never, ever gets her children back… or even gets to see them again! In my mind she lost that right when she chose to ignore her wounded suffering child and smoke crack!
no name given
Dec 18, 2005 at 9:59 pm
Stepahnie obviously does NOT love her children at all. You don’t allow someone to scald the skin off your child’s feet and legs, or beat them afterward because they can’t go to the bathroom, or wait two weeks with skin falling off.
SHE DOES NOT LOVE HER CHILDREN, SHE ONLY LOVES HERSELF. I couldn’t do this to an insect, much less my own kids. She should get the death penalty.
Who is this person who says we should feel bad for poor Stephanie? They should sterilize Stephanie so she can’t torture any more of her kids.
beth
Jan 17, 2006 at 3:55 pm
Now, when I was deciding to get remarried, I talked to my children about it. IF my boyfriend/husband hurt my child, Id hurt HIM! I have no sadness for Stephanie, hey, people make mistakes, but when a human being is hurt, and I mean ANY human being, we take care of them, stop the hurt. But, no, not Stephanie, she was more interested in getting high. Im glad she isnt a teachers aide around my home! Gimme a break!