Scribblings

About Carlie Brucia

We have an Amber Alert ticker on our homepage. It's a great idea and most of the time the results are positive. A missing child is found within hours. The Amber Alert can spread across the Internet in a flash. The alert is flashed on signs along many highways. This time, though, the end wasn't a happy one.

Carlie Brucia was 11 years old. She was on her way home from her friend's house and took a shortcut behind a car wash. That is when she was taken by a man and the only good thing about it was that there was a surveillance camera. The images were shown everywhere and it wasn't too long after that a man was arrested. But it was already too late for Carlie.

When I was 11 years old, I would walk around the neighborhood to a friend's house without thinking twice about it. I walked through alleys and through partially wooded areas. I would walk 2 miles to junior high and part of the way was through another wooded area. That's all ancient history.

There's no way my kids would do that alone. Times have changed so much that a parent would be foolish to allow that. So, yeah, I guess that means our kids need to be driven to their friends' house. I don't fault Carlie's parents. You want to think that your neighborhood is safe. You want to think a pervert killer wouldn't show up and grab your kid. I'm sure there are still some places where it's safe for kids to walk home alone. But those places are becoming fewer and more far between.

Saturday 8:

since i live in FL, i've been inundated with the coverage this week of the missing (now murdered) girl, carlie brucia.

1. have you ever been kidnapped/held against your will, or know someone who has?

Thank God, no … the closest I came to being held against my will was when I was in high school and one of our custodians had a breakdown. He ran through the school with a machete and grabbed a sophomore, holding her in an office right next door to my psychology class. There was a lockdown that lasted for hours. It was very scary!

2. the guy (joseph p. smith) who allegedly murdered carlie, in addition to a loooooooong rap sheet, was acquitted of kidnapping in the past. the parties who were responsible for supervising this criminal are now pointing fingers at each other ... what do you think should happen to them, if anything?

The killer should be put to death or kept in prison for the rest of his life without parole. As for the other idiots … they should all be fired. There’s not a whole lot else that can be done to them. Hopefully they’ll all think about Carlie the rest of their lives.

3. many of my friends, especially mothers, are complaining that carlie's parents should have been more aware of where she was. she was 11 years old - what do you think?

It’s really sad to think that a kid can’t walk home from a friend’s house alone … but this is the way the world is today. I would not let my kid walk home alone, not in this day and age. But I don’t fault the parents. Maybe this is a good neighborhood … it’s easy to be lulled by thinking your area is safe.

4. carlie's abduction was caught on surveillance tape, leading to the capture of the man responsible. do you think that more areas should have survelliance cameras, or do you think that is too 'big brother?'

It is very ‘big brother-ish’ but ya know what? If there’d been no camera no one would have seen the man take off with Carlie. I would say, yes, more areas should have surveillance cameras.

5. even though carlie was 11 yrs. old, pictures - and the survelliance tape - show her to look around 15. do you think if she truly looked like a pre-teen, she would have been abducted? (PLEASE NOTE: the sat-8 is NOT suggesting that carlie's looks, clothing style or actions contributed to her murder in ANY WAY)

I think that man would have grabbed her regardless. She was alone and in what he probably thought was a ‘safe’ place for him to take her. He wouldn’t figure there’d be a camera in back of the car wash.

6. there has been talk of joseph p. smith getting the death penalty. do you believe in the death penalty, especially if it's due to the murder of a child?

Absolutely!

7. if you are a parent, what have you warned your children about when it comes to strangers or abductions? if you're not a parent, do you think there should be a mandatory school/community workshop about 'stranger danger?'

Well, they haven’t been able to go walking around on their own. When we’ve talked about it, I’ve stressed that they shouldn’t walk anywhere alone. If they’re approached by a stranger, they should run. If they are pursued or grabbed, they should begin screaming, “This isn’t my father! (or mother)”. They should also fight, scream, claw and try anything to get away.

8. on an unrelated note - a dominican baby born with a 2nd head fused to the top of her own cranium (a result of a parasitic twin) died after an attempt to separate the 2nd head from her body. do you feel that the 2nd head should have been just 'left alone,' or should the surgery been performed despite the risk of death?

This is very sad. The news says that the second head was growing faster than the first and that there was a risk of the child becoming brain damaged from the stress. I would say yes, the surgery should have been performed.