The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan sent a delegation consisting of Attorney Abdul Arif Muhammad, editor-in-chief of The Final Call newspaper, Student in the Ministry Abdul Khadir Muhammad of Washington, D.C. and Final Call Contributing Writer Ashahed M. Muhammad to Charleston, West Virginia to determine the facts of the case, and also to minister unto the family of the young woman who was the victim of this heinous and barbaric attack.
What follows is an exclusive interview with Megan Williams and her adopted mother, Carmen Williams, conducted on Thursday, October 4, 2007, at their home. For the first time here you will see, in Megan Williams’ own words, the description of this repugnantly vicious assault.
The Final Call (FC): We know this was a difficult experience for you, but in order for the public to know the full truth of what happened, you have agreed to tell us in this interview. We want you to go as slow as you need and if you have any questions, or feel uncomfortable, just let us know. Tell us the story. Tell us what happened.
Megan Williams (MW): When I first went up there, a girl I knew named Christa, she took me up there, she said we were going to a party.
FC: When Christa took you there (the trailer home in Big Creek in Logan County) what did she do?
MW: She said she had to make a run and she would be right back. She didn’t come back.
FC: Do you believe Christa was involved in arranging this?
MW: (Nodding.)
Carmen Williams (CW): Yes, it was a setup, she left her there. When Megan was in the hospital, Christa called and I answered the phone. Christa was asking, ‘how is my friend?’ I told her that she wasn’t a friend of Megan’s because she left her. Christa then hung up the phone. We have not seen or heard from Christa since that time.
The police investigators say they are trying to locate her for an interview, but have not been able to find her.
FC: There were some news reports that you had a relationship with one of the defendants, Bobby Brewster. Is this accurate?
MW: We were just friends. It was nothing like that.
FC: No dating relationship between you and defendant Bobby Brewster?
MW: No. They kicked me in the head with steel toed boots, they hit me in the head with several objects, I remember seeing a knife, and they tried to cut my foot off. They told me that is what they did to Kunta Kinte when they cut his foot off so he couldn’t run and that is what they were going to do to me.
FC: When exactly was this?
MW: It was like in August. When she (Christa) dropped me off up there, that’s when they started beating on me, and calling me names. When they were hitting me and stabbing me, they called me n—-r, they said ‘this is what we do to n—-rs up here’ and they said they were going to kill me.
They didn’t feed me, didn’t give me no water, they said when they came back they were going to finish me off. They made me eat rat poop, dog poop and human feces. I had to do it to stay alive. They were taking my head and drowning me in a toilet, taking it back out and putting it back in (starting to cry). They were stabbing me in the leg, and I was screaming for my mom, and they would cover my mouth up.
They made me pick green beans out of the garden, they made these switches into a braid and they were whipping me as I was picking the greens. They made me pick weeds out of the garden and they were calling me n—-r and said they were going to take me out to a creek and cut my throat and throw me in a river. All I was saying is I wanted to get back to my mom, and they were like, ‘you ain’t ever going to see your mom ever, ever again, never.’ I wanted to get back home so bad.
FC: When they were forcing you to go out into an open field was this a secluded area where no one could see you?
MW: Nobody seen me, nobody knew where I was at; it was a wooded area.
FC: At any time did you try to scream for somebody to help you ?
MW: Yep, they kept kicking me and stuff and saying that if I screamed again they were going to cut me and all kinds of stuff.
FC: Describe what was going through your mind when you first realized that Christa might not be coming back?
MW: I was scared and frightened.
FC: Megan, you went with an associate to this place for a party, did you know where she was taking you?
MW: No.
FC: When you got there, did you know where you were, did you know the house?
MW: No.
FC: After you got to the “party,” how long was it before you realized that Christa was not coming back?
MW: A couple of days. She said ‘I’m going down to my friends house and I’ll be right back’ two days went by and she never came back up, I got worried and then they said she wasn’t going to come back and get me, and that no n—-rs were allowed up there, and they were going to kill me.
FC: What kind of party did you see?
MW: They were just up there doing drugs, it was not a party.
FC: What kind of drugs?
MW: They were making Meth. (Methamphetamines)
FC: Anything else besides Meth?
MW: Crack.
FC: They were actually doing these drugs, were they trying to make you do drugs?
MW: No. I wouldn’t.
FC: Did you start praying to God for help?
MW: Yes, I was asking Him to get me out of this. The only thing I was thinking about was my mom.
FC: Did you ever try fighting back?
MW: I did. I fought back when they would cut me, and they had me taped up with duct tape around my neck, my hands and feet, and when they left to get drugs and stuff, they said they were going to finish me off; they were going to take me down to a river, cut my throat and throw me in it, and I would never get to see my family ever again.
FC: There were several people involved. Who was the most vicious?
MW: All of them passed the knife around when they were stabbing me, all I remember is that when they were stabbing me, I passed out, and I guess that’s when they quit because I passed out, because I lost so much blood. I had noticed the stab wounds and they were this big and my meat was hanging out (shows the location on her left thigh). All I can remember was the knife, and I wake up every night now. That’s the only thing I see when I close my eyes is that knife.
FC: Ms. Williams (Megan’s mother), you told me since this happened, she has nightmares?
CW: I sleep with her actually, because if she doesn’t feel me near her, she’ll wake up and scream out in the middle of the night hollering ‘Mom! Mom!’
FC: At the point you realized after one or two days that you didn’t hear from your daughter—is it customary for her to be absent for long periods of time without checking in?
CW: Yes, she’s 20 years old, so she goes when she wants to and comes back when she wants to. At the time, she didn’t live with me. She would call me every now and then, but at the time, she was not living with me.
FC: How did you find out that something had happened to Megan?
CW: Logan Hospital called me and they asked me if I had a daughter named Megan Williams, and I said yes. Then they proceeded to tell me what happened to her, and they asked me how soon we could get up there.
FC: Megan, while you were being held there, can you tell us more about what happened?
MW: Yes. Bobby kicked me in my stomach a few times, kicked me in my back and my face and all I remember is that they hit me with several objects, a cedar stick, a fly swatter handle, a belt, a shoe, and you know the gloves with the lead in them, they were smacking me in the face with those. Both my eyes were black and every night, they made me sleep outside.
FC: While they were doing all of these drugs, what were you doing?
MW: I just wanted to get away. I asked one of them if they could let me go, they said no because ‘ain’t no n—-rs allowed up here,’ and they were going to kill me. One day, I was asleep in the room, one of them came in and was kicking me and said ‘hey n—-r, we got a noose out there for you, want to come look at it? We’re going to hang you, come on.’ I got really scared. I just wanted to get out of there. I was fighting for my life.
FC: You said that they cut your hair?
MW: As they would cut it, they were literally pulling my hair out, and pulling it out in patches. They were all sitting on the porch drinking beer, and they had that knife out. Bobby made me lick his mom’s bottom at knife point, and then he made me suck her toes. They were laughing and calling me names. One of them held me at gun point with a 9 mm.
FC: Now where did they have you sleeping?
MW: In the shed. They told me there were no n—-rs allowed in the trailer.
FC: What male members of the group raped you?
MW: Danny (Combs) and Bobby (Brewster).
FC: Do you know who made the anonymous tip to the police?
MW: Yep, it was a boy named Eddie that was up there. He lived a couple of houses down. He was walking and saw my hands out the window and went for help.
CW: He said he heard her holler for help, he ran back down the street and called police. I spoke to him on the phone and he said ‘ma’am, I’m the one that made the call.’
FC: Since this ordeal have you been harassed or received any threats?
CW: No. We haven’t been staying here. We just came home about a week ago.
FC: Have you received any support from the Religious Community?
CW: Yes, my pastor Bishop James Carter has been to every pretrial hearing that they have had, and he is going there today; and Allen Hill and Emanuel Heyliger.
FC: How are you feeling now Megan?
MW: I feel a lot better.
FC: If there was one thing you could get across to people who hear about this case, what would it be?
MW: There are dangerous people in the world and everybody needs to keep an eye on their kids so that their kids will be safe.
FC: What do you hope happens to the people who did this to you?
MW: I think they need to be put away and never get out again. They should never again see daylight.
CW: I just hope they get what they deserve. I hope they get life. I don’t wish nobody dead, because that’s not my belief, but they should be in prison for the rest of their lives.
[Source]
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LOGAN, West Virginia (FinalCall.com) – The physical scars, though healing, are still visible, but the psychological and emotional scars also remain for the victim of a race torture in the mountains of West Virginia.
When the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan read of the reported torture of this young Black woman, he sent a delegation to West Virginia to get a first hand account of Megan Williams’ ordeal. Minister Farrakhan sent Student in the Ministry Class Abdul Khadir Muhammad of the Mid-Atlantic Region, along with Attorney Abdul Arif Muhammad, Editor-In-Chief of The Final Call Newspaper, to minister unto the family on behalf of himself and the Nation of Islam.
Police say 20-year-old Megan Williams of Charleston, West Virginia was held captive in a chamber of horrors while six Caucasian perpetrators physically assaulted, raped and tortured her for five days.
“We received a tip that a subject was being held against their will at Big Creek,” said Logan County Deputy Jeffrey Robinette. “Typically this involves a welfare check to see if someone is in need or injured.”
Deputy Robinette testified during a preliminary hearing on Thursday, Oct. 4, against defendant Karen Burton, that when he arrived at the residence to investigate the “tip,” he saw Frankie Brewster another defendant and the owner of the house on the porch. When he questioned her, she stated that she was the only person in the house. It was at that time, Deputy Robinette stated during testimony that victim Megan Williams burst out of the doors with “her arms outstretched sayings ‘help me.’”
A bruised and battered Megan Williams appeared with swollen and blood-bruised eyes, lacerations around her neck and ankles, splotches in her head where her hair had been ripped out and multiple stab wounds on her left leg.
“Bobby kicked me in my stomach a few times, kicked me in my back and my face and all I remember is that they hit me with several objects, a cedar stick, a fly swatter handle, a belt, a shoe; and you know the gloves with the lead in them? They were smacking me in the face with those. Both my eyes were black and every night, they made me sleep outside,” Megan told The Final Call. “They made me take a bath in a trash can outside. They poured scalding hot water all over me and they poured candle wax on me and they told me if I screamed, they would kill me,” she added. (Click here for the exclusive One-on-One with The Final Call interview with Megan Williams.)
Deputy Robinette’s testimony under oath was consistent with Megan’s statement that had been given to police investigators about her five days of horror. At the preliminary hearing Deputy Robinette read the chilling account of the confessions of two of the male defendants detailing the heinous, barbaric and brutal hate crime carried out against victim Megan Williams.
Deputy Robinette said that in a search of the residence, a wooden handle stick with “brownish and reddish stains on the stick” was found, which corroborates anal sodomy. He also said they found a knife with “red stains and spots on it.” In addition investigators found fly swatters, rolls of duct tape, phone cords, all instruments of brutality used against Megan Williams during her captivity. Deputy Robinette testified that the house was in a state of “disarray” with garbage strewn about the premises. This was some of the physical evidence obtained at the scene supporting the claim of the many heinous acts of torture and violence Megan Williams had to endure, and was all consistent with Megan’s recollection of events and the signed written confessions of two other defendants.
According to the signed confession by one of the defendants, Bobby Brewster, Megan was forced to “eat human sh-t out of the toilet and rat turds,” and to “lick mom’s a– crack.” According to the confession read in court, Megan vomited and then was forced to lick her own vomit off of the floor. The entire time, she was beaten and called names such as “slut, whore, b—h and n—-r.” Brewster’s statement also corroborated the stories of Megan being forced to perform oral sex on Frankie Brewster, as well as Megan being “choked until purple in the face.”
Megan’s adopted mother, Carmen Williams, sobbed as the graphically detailed account of Megan’s torture were read for the court. At a certain point, she could no longer endure the testimony and left the courtroom in tears. Others were visibly shaken and uncomfortable hearing the lurid details of the events emerging from the case.
Logan County Magistrate Jeffrey Lane found sufficient probable cause to send the case against the sixth defendant, Karen Burton, to a Grand Jury for indictment in the alleged rape, torture and assault of Megan Williams. The charges against Burton and the remaining five defendants are to be presented to the Grand Jury in January 2008, according to Logan County Prosecutor Brian Abraham.
The defendants charged with involvement in these inhuman hate crimes are:
Frankie Brewster, the 49-year-old woman who owns the home where the charged assaults occurred. She is charged with sexual assault, kidnapping, malicious wounding and giving false statements to an officer. Bobby R. Brewster, Frankie Brewster’s 24-year-old son, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and assault during the commission of a felony. Alisha Burton, 23, is charged with kidnapping, assault during the commission of a felony and battery. Karen Burton, 46, is charged with kidnapping, malicious wounding, battery and assault during the commission of a felony. Danny J. Combs, 20, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault and malicious wounding. George A. Messer, 27, is charged with kidnapping, assault during the commission of a felony and battery.
During Deputy Robinette’s cross examination by defendant Karen Burton’s defense attorney Betty Gregory, Atty. Gregory seemed very uncomfortable and uncertain of exactly what to ask Deputy Robinette. It appeared that the shocking details of the torture had her as bewildered as the others listening to the testimony in the courtroom. She constantly rambled, asking unrelated questions, and repeatedly shuffled through papers even saying at one time, “I’m getting confused myself.” In a remarkable courtroom moment, the lawyer leaned over to her client ordering her to “shut-up.”
At a news conference held on the steps of the Logan County courthouse immediately following the final pretrial hearing, Megan Williams’ family members and supporters gathered to show support for the family and reiterated their desire for this case to be brought before the U.S. Department of Justice as a federal hate crime.
“It is obvious that this is one of the most sick, horrendous, sadistic and evil hate crimes that has ever occurred in American history,” said Attorney Malik Zulu Shabazz, representing Black Lawyers for Justice (BLJ) as legal advisor to the Williams family. Atty. Shabazz is also Chairman of the New Black Panther Party. “It’s one thing to read about these charges, and when you read it, you almost say in your mind that this can’t be true. It’s just too horrific, too outrageous to be true. After this preliminary hearing with just one of the defendants, Karen Burton, and hearing the evidence, hearing the statements and confessions and the graphic details of the stabbings, the beatings and forced sexual activity and the word nigger being used repeatedly throughout these crimes leaves one with the inescapable conclusion that this is a hate crime of the worst magnitude.”
Atty. Shabazz, announced that his group, Black Lawyers for Justice, will be working with other civil rights groups and religious leaders for a march against hate crimes on November 3, 2007 in Charleston, West Virginia. “We also will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of Congress. There are hate crimes occurring against Blacks across the country. This case must be brought before the U.S. Justice Department.” Atty. Shabazz also mentioned the family will be traveling with him to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Bishop James Carter of the Rehoboth Cathedral of Christ, in Charleston, West Virginia, is the spiritual advisor for the Williams family. He described the perpetrators of the alleged crimes in this case as “dangerous,” and said that he, along with many others, are thankful that Megan is still alive.
“I’d like to just thank God that Megan was found in time,” said Bishop Carter. “Though her fleshly wounds are healing, it is going to take some time for her emotional wounds to heal. I don’t think that closure will come until justice is done.”
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