Dorothy Dixon: The Saddest Story You’ll Ever Read
We’re just sick about this one.
It seems like every few months a story comes out that leaves us shaking our collective heads at the depravity that inhabits the fringes of our world.
This story of real life evil takes the cake.
From the AP:
ALTON, Illinois (AP) — Banished to the basement, the 29-year-old mother with a childlike mind and another baby on the way had little more than a thin rug and a mattress to call her own on the chilly concrete floor.
Dorothy Dixon ate what she could forage from the refrigerator upstairs, where housemates used her for target practice with BBs, burned her with a glue gun and doused her with scalding liquid that peeled away her skin.
They torched what few clothes she had, so she walked around naked. They often pummeled her with an aluminum bat or metal handle.
Dixon — six months pregnant — died after weeks of abuse. Police have charged two adults, three teenagers and a 12-year-old boy with murder in the case that has repulsed many in this Mississippi River town.
“This is heartbreaking,” police Lt. David Hayes said. “It was almost as though they were making fun of the abuse they were administering. This woman was almost like living in a prison.”
Investigators put much of the blame on Michelle Riley, 35, who they said befriended Dixon but pocketed monthly Social Security checks she got because of her developmental delays.
Dixon saw little, if any, of the money, Hayes said. For months she weathered the torment to keep a roof over her head and that of her year-old son, who weighed just 15 pounds when taken into state custody after his mom’s death.
“I’ve never seen an almost conspiratorial effort by a group of people to continuously torture someone until she finally died, then not really show any remorse,” Hayes said. “It was just a slow, torturous, tragic way to die. I highly doubt Dorothy Dixon even knew she was dying.”
Riley, 43-year-old Judy Woods and three teenagers, including Riley’s 15-year-old daughter, LeShelle McBride, are charged with first-degree murder, aggravated and heinous battery, intentional homicide of an unborn child, and unlawful restraint. Riley’s 12-year-old son is charged as a juvenile.
Riley, her daughter, Woods and 16-year-old Benny Wilson have public defenders who did not immediately return messages for comment. An 18-year-old defendant, Michael Elliott, planned to get his own attorney, court records show.
All remain in jail on $1 million bond.
Messages left with a Chicago-area sister of Dixon went unreturned, but neighbors, Hayes and newspaper accounts offer a mosaic of the months leading to Dixon’s demise inside the small, white, blue-shuttered house.
Riley and Dixon, police said, had lived in Quincy, a Mississippi River town about 100 miles north of St. Louis, Mo. Quincy is where Riley worked as a coordinator for a regional center that helps the developmentally disabled with housing and other services. Dixon was a client.
For years, an impoverished Riley struggled raising her children. Her use of methamphetamine and cocaine brought drug convictions in 2002 and 2004. But with treatment and housing help from the Quincy YWCA, Riley put her life in order — so much that in February of last year, the Quincy Herald-Whig did a story on her comeback.
Last summer, Dixon and Riley moved into the $800-a-month, three-bedroom rental in Alton about 15 miles north of St. Louis. From the start, neighbors Chad Hudson and Terri Brandt considered Riley trouble.
“Michelle was evil, vindictive. Manipulative,” said Hudson, convinced the teenagers were Riley’s powerless minions.
“She was angry, vicious,” added Brandt.
Riley considered Dixon her slave, making her rub Riley’s feet until Riley fell asleep and forcing her to run naked around the house when she got in trouble, the neighbors said.
“Being in their house was like being in a prison day room,” Hudson said. “They just sat around the kitchen table and fought.”
There was little question that Riley ruled the roost.
While doing fix-ups on the home last fall, landlord Steve Atkins saw Riley “barking orders” at the children and everyone else. Atkins joked to her whether he needed to call the Army and see if they wanted their drill sergeant back.
“She didn’t laugh about it at all,” Atkins said. “Obviously, I hit a nerve.”
Atkins said Dixon generally kept to herself “but was always nice when she spoke to you.” He saw no hints she’d been suffering or tortured.
“I would have never, ever suspected something like this,” he said. “It’s definitely shocking.”
Police said Dixon was allowed out of the house but didn’t say under what conditions. Hayes didn’t know who the father of Dixon’s fetus is.
Hayes said things apparently came to a head Jan. 30, when investigators believe that Woods, during a dispute, beat Dixon on the head with an object Hayes wouldn’t identify. The next day Woods found her dead.
Hayes watched the autopsy and found her injuries disturbing. X-rays revealed roughly 30 BBs lodged in her. Deep-tissue burns covered about one-third of her body — her face, her chest, her arms and feet — and left her severely dehydrated. Her face and body showed signs of prolonged abuse. Many of her wounds were infected.
None of the injuries, Hayes said, proved singly fatal to Dixon. Her system already was taxed by her unborn baby.
“The autopsy sort of indicates her immune system just shut down,” he said. “It was not capable of fending off any more.”
In the rental home’s basement, Atkins said, he found spots of blood in a shower and tiny smears on the concrete floor, washer and dryer.
“It’s disgraceful the way this girl died, as kind and as sweet as this girl was,” he said. “She didn’t deserve to die the way she did. It’s just terrible, senseless. It’s just a total shame.”
March 21st, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Dear God! This is so barbaric, I dont’ even know what to say. Did anyone have guardianship over this woman since she had the developmental delays? I am not even sure what that means. I hope these 5 NEVER get out of prison.
March 21st, 2008 at 3:58 pm
My GOD, I just cant wrap my brain around this, that poor woman. Thank God she is at peace now.
And AGAIN, charging the kids as adults. I havent researched this case yet, but it sure sounds to me like they were as much victims of Michelle as well.
March 21st, 2008 at 4:16 pm
They [the minors] certainly are a product of their environment but how do you rehabilitate these kids? I still straddle the fence over this issue.
March 21st, 2008 at 4:43 pm
According to everyone interviewed, they were treated just as badly mentally as Dixon was, but for a far longer time.
They didnt have a chance to grow, which maturity wise, and the fact is that they just didnt KNOW it was wrong, becausee thats the way THEY were treated.
Just read the neighbors comments about how they were treated. And at THEIR age, really, where DID they have to go?
I will say this until the day I die, 15 is not an adult. If they were, they should be allowed to have sex with ANYONE they want, they should be able to drink, they should be able to vote, the list goes on. If you are under the spell since a small child. They are groomed.
This is a fiction work of Greggs, but if you read Gregg’s books, lets talk about Hannah Griffin, in todays world where they dont keep the kids kids, SHE would have been tried as an adult. She did help kill one by burying him alive after all.
March 21st, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Who knows, neighbors never saw injuries on Dixon, who is to say what she did to the kids.
The woman is a classic sociopath, she obviously only cares for herself only, and derives pleasure fromt he pain of others. Do you think this JUST started with Dixon? I am thinking no. She chose people weaker than her. Do you think her kids were exempt of that?
She gains control, then uses people in her life to humiliate them, and do her bidding. Just evil.
March 21st, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Yeah, but the kids are now a danger to society. They aren’t “kids” anymore. These kids threshold to cause grief has been significantly lowered, and they are old enough to know right from wrong–no matter what the case. They deserve to be punished, and are NO victims, not by any means, not by a longshot. Punish her to the highest order possible (murder), and show no mercy. And same with anyone and everyone involved. No mercy. That will prevent further cases.
March 21st, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Sorry, I disagree. A 15 year old is NOT an adult, and they were never TAUGHT right from wrong.
March 21st, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Exactly Kalika…they may be kids but they aren’t anymore. If there is even a chance that once they get out they will re-offend, rehabilitation and all,….they don’t deserve that chance. Society shouldn’t have to take that risk. I think I no longer straddle the fence on this issue.
March 21st, 2008 at 6:11 pm
did anyone catch that the 15 year old charged is her own daughter???
Reading up on this case it is just I can’t come up with the words!
March 21st, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Just when you think it can’t get any worse…. it does. This is just so sickening. I really can’t wrap my brain around it either. Sometimes.. I wonder what this world is really all about.
March 21st, 2008 at 6:28 pm
So the children dont get to be deprogrammed in juvie. They grew up in hell, with a mother who more than likely TOLD them what to do.
I will never understand the logic. This 15 year old is beyond redemption because she was living in the same hell as the victim.
And DONT tell me they werent threatened as well.
March 21st, 2008 at 6:32 pm
And what about the 13 year old who is going to juvie, do you think that 1 1/2 to 2 years is that much of a difference when it came to their programming?
March 21st, 2008 at 7:49 pm
This is so horrible! The poor woman. What depravity.
March 21st, 2008 at 8:41 pm
looking at the top middle picture, looks like she is already too hard, and showing no remorse. i’d say too far gone to be rehabilitated. It seems that abuse just keeps going around in a vicious circle. a horrible thought, but could they have deliberately gotten that poor woman pregnant to have received more money for welfare? I believe she will go down for two murders, as she was 6 months pregnant. prison is too good for such evil
March 21st, 2008 at 8:44 pm
This story sickens me! I say let them all spend the rest of there awful life in jail!!!
March 21st, 2008 at 9:12 pm
She is 15, I was an ass as 15, rehabilitation, from her cultish and sad life, seems best to me.
Give think girl who has been abused almost her entire life, and she DIDNT know right from wrong, her mom taught her that. Probably forces her to that.
Sorry, I will not give up on kids. And by the way, aside from witness, and more than likely victim as well. How does this make her an adult?
March 21st, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Niggers are the sickest people in the world. Bitch, argue, and complain all you want, but the black people in this country all feel like they are owed, have no morals, and most are just as bad as the Nazi’s. Here is proof. Want more? Read your local newspaper and see what group is committing the most crimes in your area. want even more proof? Blacks make up about 1/4 of our total population here in the US, but make up 90% of the population of inmates. Cant we just all get along? No. Not with animals that kill for fun we cant.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Melissa says:
“she DIDNT know right from wrong…”
I don’t buy this thinking, at all. I believe that we are all wired internally, with an innate sense of right and wrong.
I do think that this can be influenced, but that everyone has a point in which they can decipher good from evil, and not choose evil.
What a sad story…
March 21st, 2008 at 10:35 pm
You are kidding… right???
Do you not see in the Picture that the Woman is WHITE!!!
I am White and have an adopted biracial child that is a very loving,caring and will be a responsible adult. It is not a race thing. It is how you are raised and loved. Obviously you were not raised…or taughtt love. You must have been put here by 2 creatures breeding!
March 21st, 2008 at 10:43 pm
These people are sick! All of them! Including the kids, the kids could have at anytime called the cops but they didnt!
The kids know right from wrong! These kids are twisted freaks I hope the lot of them rot in prison~
March 21st, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Melissa, as to rehabilitating the daughter and the boy . . . that will be VERY difficult. Those children have to really WANT to change, with all their hearts and souls. I know–from my experience with my own selfish, greedy, selfcenteredness–that it takes a lot of determination and desire to improve from mediocrity. These children have been effectively RAISED to be cruel. If they’re as narcissistic as the girl’s mother, they WON’T see as they have the problem, no matter how much counseling and rehabilitation they receive.
I’m not saying don’t TRY to rehabilitate them. I’m saying THEY have to WANT rehabilitation, and that requires maturity.
Sadly, at this point, I doubt the daughter has that maturity, and she may never acquire it. So few people bother to try and acquire it these days.
March 21st, 2008 at 11:16 pm
CAINUSRISING,WHAT THE HELL R U SAYING? IT WAS A WHITE WOMAN DOING THIS TO A BLACK WOMAN. YOUR A SICK HATEFULL PERSON YOU WILL GET YOURS IN THE END. EVIL PEOPLE DON’T GET AWAY WITH KIND OF TALK. GO TO ANOTHER MESSAGE BOARD WITH YOUR KIND OF PEOPLE, THEN YOU PEOPLE CAN RAG ON EACH OTHER.
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:08 am
Judy!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TELLING (CAINUSRISING) TO GO TO ANOTHER MESSAGE BOARD WITH ALL THAT EVIL……SPREAD THAT EVIL TALK SOMEPLACE ELSE NOT ON THIS BOARD.
March 22nd, 2008 at 2:18 am
This is the result of a society that allows people to fall through the cracks. When we turn away from one another, this kind of depravity finds a place to take root.
March 22nd, 2008 at 6:12 am
I believe that everyone of those people should suffer the same pain as that poor woman did…They were all free to say no to continuing the abuse and trying to get Dorothy help…None of those who did the crime should be given any type of break..Not even the 12 year old.
March 22nd, 2008 at 6:35 am
This is just another story that is proving how sick and numb Americans are getting. Why don’t we realize why she had to live like this? We are supposed to be The richest country in the world remember? We know that things are happening all over the US like this. This is 3rd world standards people.
Vin4harmony
March 22nd, 2008 at 6:36 am
I don’t disagree that every aspect of this case is beyond comprehension. These people are twisted and evil in the sickest sense and deserve to be
held accountable to the highest level. However, the children perps in this case are more than likely going to be placed in a juvenile justice system for the crimes they committed, tried as adults or not. I cannot speak for any juvenile system beyond that of Texas but I pray for those children who were apparently already severely abused, that whatever juvenile system they are placed in, it isn’t like that of the Texas Youth Commission here in Texas. They will only continue to suffer gross abuses and neglect not unlike that they have obviously already suffered and there will be NO REHABILITATION or hope for them what-so-ever. This world is becoming the most vile and evil place.
March 22nd, 2008 at 6:59 am
My son is fifteen years old. He is mentally delayed as well, He has a mind of a 10 year old child and always will. When I here stories like this It makes me so sick, I will not sleep for days. I do not believe this was a issue of race but an issue of control and power. My son is adopted and has no siblings to watch after him when I am gone, who is going to help him. I am so scared he will slip through the cracks of our screwed up system that I will never be at peace, not in life or death. ( What will happen to this women’s little boy who only weighed 15 pounds at a year old? Who will care for him, and what will become of him?) God Bless you Miss Dixon and may you and your little one have a special place in heaven that will be all yours, where you can find peace.
March 22nd, 2008 at 7:28 am
That is really a typical answer from a racist. USA the most racist place on Earth!!!!! How can you make this a racist thing? Why do we have racist anyway???? I mean Europe went to Africa burned, raped, stoled… Then spread Africans all over the world. Africans should be mad. Maybe all the Africans should go back to Africa…? would that be nice? And while we’re at it. We can send all the whites back to Europe… give Indians and Mexicans there land back and go back to Europe….? would that be nice huh? We can’t forget Australia, New Zealand….etc, all the land the Europeans stold. Yeah send all Europeans back to Europe and then they would not be racist anymore…. The racist in the USA are stupid and have no idea about themselves there history or what they have really done to this world..
I live in Germany by the way and I can tell you after growing up in California and then going to Berlin. The Germans are far more intelligent on the world than the Americans will ever be. If anyone wants to say something about the Nazis go ahead. But there is definity not a problem with racism here in Germany. Of course you have your idiots. But the problem in the US is very bad and ugly. And that is SAD! You can compare it with South Africa.
March 22nd, 2008 at 7:49 am
these people should be tortured to death. they are lower than animals. what a bunch of trash. nice gene pool.
March 22nd, 2008 at 8:58 am
I hope they were at least kinder to her one year old baby than they were to her. But given that they had no compassion for her unborn child, I bet this little baby probably suffered at their hands, too.
Such a heartless and hate filled world we live in, with so many people who never seem to notice anything happening past the nose on their face. And those that do notice, how often do they really speak up? It’s easier to avert the eyes and pass on by, pretend not to see, maintain plausible ignorance.
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:27 am
It was almost like living in a prison? Almost? It was worse! This is one of the most horrible cases I’ve ever heard. I wish this could have been discovered and stopped. Why was this woman left uncared for to the point where she had to live with these people? Did she not have any relatives or social service people assigned to look after her and her child? As for the minors, they never stood a chance. Maybe they cannot be rehabilitated, but that remains to be seen. They are victims too. May Dorothy Dixon rest in peace.
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:38 am
If a society throws 15/16 year olds away it deserves everything it gets. Good luck USA!
March 22nd, 2008 at 10:00 am
It’s a horrible case – who was responsible for this woman? She obviously was too childlike to be responsible for herself.Vin4Harmony Says:
But there is definity not a problem with racism here in Germany – are you completely insane? We hear constantly in the UK of Turkish workers in Germany being murdered or maimed, their homes being torched – you must live in Cloud Cuckoo Land!
March 22nd, 2008 at 10:37 am
Enough about how the 15 year olds were used by this woman and didn’t know right from wrong. Chances are pretty good, probably near certain, that she herself was raised by an abusive parent and didn’t learn right from wrong either. That trumps having a manipulative neighbor, or a girlfriend’s mother, or whatever the exact relationship to her is, but I don’t think anyone’s going to say she should get out of prison for it. Culpability has to be assumed at some point in a person’s life, or everyone would have an excuse. Yes, nobody’s grown up at 15, but at 15, you most certainly know that locking a woman in a basement and torturing her to death is wrong. It doesn’t take all the nuances of an adult brain to realize that.
March 22nd, 2008 at 11:27 am
“Riley worked as a coordinator for a regional center that helps the developmentally disabled with housing and other services. ”
This one line is what sickened me the most. The predator fox in the proverbial chicken coop. This woman WORKED with the disabled. How many other sick people are there working in jobs like this so they can find the vulnerable to rape and pillage?
What this poor woman endured was beyond sick, and the only good thing is that she is at peace in heaven.
While I hope the courts show no mercy on any adults who did this, I do agree that any and all opportunities to rehabilitate the children involved should be utilized.
March 22nd, 2008 at 11:42 am
“but at 15, you most certainly know that locking a woman in a basement and torturing her to death is wrong. It doesn’t take all the nuances of an adult brain to realize that”
Even if its ALL you have ever known? What makes the 13 year old who did the exact same thing deemed deprogramable, and the 15 year old not?
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:23 pm
It break my heart when anyone vurenable gets hurt, in any shape or form. For this to have happened to Dorothy is just gut wrenchingly horrible…
About the juveniles I’ll have to say that I second everything Melissa says. Treating minors as adults only when it’s convenient makes no sense to me.
March 22nd, 2008 at 2:19 pm
BTW – I cant say it enough, since this woman was obviously a predator of the HIGHEST level, what makes you think she didnt target her own children, the easiest of people that predators go after.
I can almost guarantee this same shit was being done to the chilren as well.
March 22nd, 2008 at 2:38 pm
What a terrible case! What a bunch of wuzzies talking about this 15 year old pert McBride instead of the victim and the plights of the unwanted human beings shunned by society.
The creepiest are those who claim to adopt kids and love them. Would you adopt Dixon? It is because of your pick and choose that she fell through the crack into this living hell. Your so called love is only reserved for the cute and cuddly.
All perts in this case should be punished to the fullest that the law allows. You loving people probably would not lose one night of sleep over Dixon.
March 22nd, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Look, the kids went to school. They knew that how they lived was not normal! They could have told a teacher, friend, or other parent. There is no excuse! Somebody in that sick family saw that a 1 year old baby weighed 15 lbs. Give me a break! Just because their Mother was a sicko, psycho, piece of s@#t doesn’t mean they had to stay there. Everyone out there has heard of DHR. They deserve no mercy! No mention was made if the others in that home had any signs of physical or sexual abuse. To me that says that there wasn’t any.
March 22nd, 2008 at 3:25 pm
“Everyone out there has heard of DHR”
What’s DHR?
March 22nd, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Whats DHR?
I assume from the last to posts that they have NO compassion whatsover, do not understand programming etc.
I am in NO way feeling less compassionate for the victim, but I feel that she was a victim of the MOTHER.
The MOTHER is the one who had children, and more than likely used them the same way she used Dixon.
Does going to school make them less of a victim? Would it make them talk about the abuse they received?
Keep on living in lala land.
BTW – pert 15 year old? What was that? Does that mean she wasnt an abused child who was taught nothing else but what her evil mom taught her?
March 22nd, 2008 at 3:43 pm
They were actors in the making if they did not display any kind of actions that showed they were from a home where abuse of every kind was condoned.
March 22nd, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Melissa you still haven’t mentioned the 1 year old or the fact that she was pregnant with a 2nd child when she died.
Compassion goes there as far as I’m concerned.
Also to A. I think that DHR is called a different name in each state, but it is an agency that checks on the state of children and their well fare. (not welfare)
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Give Michelle the death penalty or LWOP, the harshest punishment possible for this sickening crime. She was the ringleader in this while the teens ‘accomplices’ helpled in the torture and death of Dixon. The teens, while suffering under Michelle’s care did her bidding and fully participated in the gruesome torture and murder of Dixon should not go unpunished.
I agree with a poster who said that we are programed with an innate sense of right from wrong. I belive these ‘kids’ knew what they were doing was wrong. The 12 year old will be in the juvie system where he will get services that juveniles get and have a chance to be rehabilitated if he wants to be. This kid will likely re released from custody at 21. The other teens will be tried as adults. It is usually standard that teens 14 and older are tried as adults for particularly gruesome murders like this one regardless of upbringing or special circumstances. The teens may be looking at LWOP which seems harsh given their circumstances. I would say 25 yrs to life would be appropriate for the teen and Michelle and the other adult should never see the light of day.
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:15 pm
I belive that we shouldn’t focus so much on the teens that we lose sight of what has happened to Dixon and her unborn baby.
Dixon was taken advantage of because of her develpmental delays and that, too is despicable.
Michelle, the other adult, and the teens could be charged under Laci and Conner’s law for two homicides instead of just one.
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:49 pm
This is the worst thing I’ve heard in a very long time. I’ll keep up with this one.
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Nobody is losing focus on Dixon. The sub-human person who calls herself a mom, by WITNESS accounts, by all accounts had control over the children. They DIDNT know right from wrong, and I TOTALLY disagree with A that you are born with a sense of right and wrong.
If we were, then 6 year olds wouldnt be lifting their dresses to show off their underpants, they wouldnt rip a pair of glasses of a person just for the heck of it.
I TOTALLY disagree that the children should be charged, this woman is pure evil, god knows what these kids went through before she got her hooks into Dixon and her welfare check.
And if I have to say, that CHILDREN ARE NOT ADULTS, my head will explode.
If they were, then lets let them drive, drink, join the military, get into the workforce etc. Let them have sex with adults, because they know what they are doing, and all the repercussions.
March 22nd, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Seriously Melissa (about disagreeing with me)? Do you think babies are blank slates, ready to be filled up, according to their environment?
If so, let me just say that I’ve known some incredible people, whom have risen above their upbringings including parental abuse and neglect, and have become moral, successful, compassionate, generally great people.
What’s your theory there?
March 22nd, 2008 at 7:59 pm
I am not sure what to think about charging juveniles…my own children aren’t that far into adulthood and a couple of them did some really foolish things as teenagers (nothing felonious, but still…) I do know that you cannot assume that abused, neglected children are going to spill the beans about their plight at school or anywhere else! It has been shown that children often lie about their own abuse to protect their parents, as this is the only type of “love” they have ever known and are fearful of losing it. Each situation is probably unique, which makes it even harder to pass judgement in a situation like this. I would hope that the whole scenario is thoroughly investigated and the children given the chance for rehabilitation. It is so hard to imagine this kind of sick behavior, but I do fear it happens more than we know. How tragic.
March 22nd, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Melissa,
The EVIL MOM, was a child at one time. Think about that while you decide that the children are innocent slates.
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:52 pm
they was so wrong she did not deserve that.like kalika said they are no victims and should be punished to the highest and if MURDER it is then hey.they did it to her and her unborn child and on top of that they where not feeding her son so. i say do it to them {DON”T IT SAY DO ON TO OTHERS AS YOU WANT DONE TO YOU} i think it say something like that.
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:55 pm
This is just mind-bogglingly sick and horrible. I hope that this poor woman and her unborn child are in a better place and that these so-called “people” (if you can even call them that), including those who are underage, spend the rest of their lives suffering and paying for what they’ve done and hopefully if there is a God when they die they’ll face justice in the hereafter for their actions. These ghastly individuals aren’t even worthy of being called human beings. There is plenty of vermin in the world more deserving of life than they are.
March 22nd, 2008 at 10:04 pm
The person who says “I was an ass at 15″ must be joking! “Being an ass” is just a BIT different from helping to torture a pregnant woman to death! *smacks forehead* I can’t believe anyone would even make such an inappropriate comparison. Truly awful.
March 22nd, 2008 at 11:34 pm
This has me in tears. My mother was developmentally disabled. She was screwed by people since day one of her life. The only thing she lived for was her 3 kids.(my brothers and me).She is now at peace. My step mother went into a rage and threw boiling hot water on my brothers back that left 3rd deg. burns on his back.She is rotting in HELL by the way. These ass holes I hope they rot in HELL for what they did to poor woman.
March 23rd, 2008 at 2:31 am
i blame social service for not keepimg in touch with the young women knowing thr state of mind she was in but now not one murder but two have occured why do you have these jobs and care so little about them
March 23rd, 2008 at 2:48 am
A, I know that you were speaking to Melissa in your post, but I just want to say what I think…
I don’t believe we have an inate knowledge about what is right and what is wrong. A little child is very much primitive, and so the child’s actions -to me- are all about satisfying needs and wants and surviving. The parents’ role is to socialize the child so the child’s conduct when attempting to satisfy the needs and survive adhers to the “moral standards” that the society has, and so the child’s enviroment also plays a huge role in the child’s development. To me, if there are no inherit imbalances in the child’s physical or mental state, then the child is absolutely a product of the enviroment. But everyone is different, and it is very rare that someone might live in an enviroment which is absolute evil where nothing positive at all is there, so while someone who was abused all their life might get a moment of epiphany after meeting a positive figure, or hearing a positive message, others are not capable of that. We’re human beings, we’re different and we don’t all have the ability to be larger than life and transcend difficulties. Also, people who do transcend are not considered the norm, or else we wouldn’t be celebrating them and featuring their stories on television.
a lecture, I know, but that’s what I think.
Now, just to make a point about proscuting the juveniles as adults, Shawn Hornbeck, the teen who was found years after being abducted by the sick pervert Devlin, helped in the abduction of Ben. Why don’t we all scream for him to be prosecuted tried as an adult and be thrown in jail and never see the light of day again? I mean, he was free to move around and had access to the internet and television, so he had plenty of chances to ask for help, and he wasn’t abducted as a baby, he was eleven, so he must’ve known that abducting anyone is a crime….
Right???
People, a minor is a minor is a minor, and it really is incredible that so many of you would no doubt have some sort of understanding for a kid abducted by a sociopath, but very little for kids whose mother and guardian (who has control over them since they were born) happens to BE the sociopath.
March 23rd, 2008 at 3:16 am
Elanda… You should blame your government instead!
First of.. I think there’s a lot of caring people working in social service, they just don’t have the ressources(Time & Money) or the necessary education to prevent these tragic incidents from happening.
The people who did this to Dorothy Dixon, have been headed towards doing this for a long time and MAYBE they could have been stopped if:
-They had been removed from their own parents(who properbly weren’t good ones)
-They had had a decent chance of getting an education.
-The gun/weapon culture in America(U.S.A), was different… Like less brutal and mediaval.
-America spend as much money on solving social problems as on military equipment.
The people who did this ARE horrible – But they weren’t born that way… And they SHOULD have been intercepted!
March 23rd, 2008 at 3:49 am
Talking punishment and REVENGE won’t bring back Dorothy Dixon…
Talking bigger budgets for social service and EDUCATION (For everyone) might prevent something like this happening to others…
Yeah I know.. Sounds like socialism, but hey.. It’s what needs to be done!
March 23rd, 2008 at 8:15 am
Sera–Thanks for such in depth thought about nature vs. nurture. I completely get what you’re saying, though I still completely disagree with the theory you’re talking about.
I thought very much the same way, before I had kids (even while my first was a baby). I tried to shield my child from every “negative” influence, believing that without influence, he would be pure and innocent. But he starting misbehaving and doing things that I had never “taught” him, and that he hadn’t had the experience to pick up anywhere in his (very controlled) environment. And I realized that he came wired a certain way, and that he really did have two opposing forces within him.
Much of the view points on this subject will stem from which point people believe that others are capable of making their own decisions wrt right and wrong (good and evil).
I agree that environment has an influence. But people can overcome environment…it happens all the time.
March 23rd, 2008 at 10:29 am
A – Sera had a good point about the Hornbeck case, so in your thinking you think that he should be prosecuted for kidnapping and rape?
I know I am simplifying what she said, but it was a very good point.
March 23rd, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Sean Hornbeck suffered from Stockholm syndrome. His actions were presumably based on a fear for his own life.
Melissa– I have not speculated who should be tried for what or under what terms. I am merely saying that one (even a child) can break free from an abusive cycle.
Did Sean protect Ben or do anything kind for him while Ben was held captive? I think he did.
Did any of these minors (in this story) protect or do anything care-taking or kind for Dorothy Dixon?
This is an unknown. But if they did, I hope it comes out in court and it should be a mitigating factor.
March 23rd, 2008 at 12:22 pm
A – Do you think these CHILDREN do not suffer the same thing? That THEY didnt fear for THEIR own lives? Did you read the comments made by the neighbors? Have you considered that they too may have been subjected to the same thing?
This woman is EVIL, and used people that she can control. Do you not think that children fall under that category? The ones that have depended on her for their entire lives?
Ok, gotta get showerd and changed for dinner.
In the meantime, do not think that you are going to change my mind that children ARE influenced by the most important people in their lives, their parents, the ones who have the control. And MOST of all, that children are not adults.
March 23rd, 2008 at 12:24 pm
BTW, if the 15 year old is found not guilty, she wont be going to juvie, she will be free, with no people helping her to understand what has been ingrained since an infant, that this is wrong. This is what is wrong with charging as an adult.
Yes, she should be punished, but as a CHILD.
March 23rd, 2008 at 12:29 pm
The reason minors are remanded to adult court is to preserve jurisdiction, not inflict punishments. Should a 15 year old receive an adult sentence for a conviction of the crime of murder? We don’t know. It’s not up to the police. It’s not up the prosecutor, the judge, or the public.
This is something that can only be decided by a jury. The jurisdiction of juvenile court ends at age 18. If the perpetrator is 15 years and 6 months old, that means there is only 2-1/2 years left for juvenile jurisdiction. Two and a half years is not enough time to address the crime of murder.
Guilt and punishment can only be decided by a jury. 15 year olds accused of murder are automatically remanded to adult court in order to preserve the court’s jurisdiction, in case the jury finds the defendant guilty and worthy of a sentence going beyond his/her 18th birthday.
Let’s suppose the law required that all those under 18 be tried and sentenced in juvenile court, no matter what their crimes. A guy could go on a crime spree and kill and rob and rape all he wants in the week before he turns 18, and then on his 18th birthday, walk out of jail with a clean slate.
March 23rd, 2008 at 1:39 pm
That is SO not true, the jurisdiction ends at 21 in some states, and 23 in others.
March 23rd, 2008 at 2:05 pm
“Riley and Dixon, police said, had lived in Quincy, a Mississippi River town about 100 miles north of St. Louis, Mo. Quincy is where Riley worked as a coordinator for a regional center that helps the developmentally disabled with housing and other services. Dixon was a client.
For years, an impoverished Riley struggled raising her children. Her use of methamphetamine and cocaine brought drug convictions in 2002 and 2004. But with treatment and housing help from the Quincy YWCA, Riley put her life in order – so much that in February of last year, the Quincy Herald-Whig did a story on her comeback.”
Someone explain to me how Riley was given this job that gave her access to Dixon? She sounds like a very poor choice to service people incapable of helping themselves. I bet Riley got all sorts of praise at work for taking in Dixon while all the time she was being an absolute brute.
The children in this situation were indeed victims to some sort. If you are raised in an abusive atmosphere, you don’t have a well defined moral compass. How does anyone know if the children are as broken as the mom? I am not sure if it is fair to compare Shawn Hornbeck to this situation. Shawn was a prisoner of different sort, and he did have a background of being loved and nurtured. He stayed silent not just becuase of the isolation and physical abuse but also because of the humiliation and manipulation from his sexual abuse.
If this woman was as much a bully as depicted and was in social work, I do wonder how those children could have spoken against her. I worry they think this kind of behavior is normal.
We have become far too dependent on some system to solve all the problems of the world. We are a part of the system. The neighbors saw this family was very dysfunctional, that Riley was a bully, but they were still surprised when Dixon died. If we think the system can work without our involvement, we are wrong. How many cases do we read about where people ignored or justified situations they knew were wrong? Evil is a powerful bully.
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Jurisdiction of Juvenile Court ends at 18 in Ohio…
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Mike, that is wrong in ALL accounts. If a child is CHARGED as an adult, the jury has no say as to the punishment. They are, in all legality ADULTS.
And in NO way is a child an adult.
There are VERY few cases where I can agree that they should be tried as such. And it should be considered LONG and HARD before they are.
Duncan? Yes, there are reasons that I believe he should and was. But they DID consider LONG AND HARD. Still he got out after his time was served.
But to blanket all children with the INTITIAL charge? Totally wrong.
The way I see it in this case (and yes, it should be taken as a case by case basis), the minors should be taken into consideration, what they did, what they went through, whether they were programmed etc.
You cant say that for all the cases. This child, may well and probably was a victim as well, and acting only on what she was told to do, or else the same or worse would happen to her.
I dont know why you think it cant be compared to Hornbeck, who acted in the defense of self.
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Gam, jurisdiction ends at 18 in ALL states. The end of punishment and/or rehabilitation if convicted as a minor ends at 21 or 23.
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I agree Compassrose. This case reminds me of the Sylvia Likens case. That was the first thought I had. The juveniles in that case were the children of the woman ringleader/monster, and also some other children who she was supposed to be boarding at the time. http://tinyurl.com/mft26
I think the children need to be individually accessed by a psychologist before I could have a hard and fast answer. I do believe children can be cruel and commit heinous crimes all on their own, but have no idea if that was the case here. It seems as if we need a completely different sector in our prison system to deal with juveniles like these. Since they have been under this woman’s control they have a very warped psyche at this point. It might likely be dangerous to release these children back into society even after serving a couple of years, so I wish we had a better answer that actually equated to deprogramming their minds and truly working to rehabilitate them. It’s a sad state of affairs when we even can say that we have a need for this type of place. I would liken it to a detox place, except it would have school along with psychotherapy, group therapy, ect. Locking them up with adults with three hots, a cot and a few psyche sessions a month is not going to help anyone.
March 24th, 2008 at 12:34 am
It is so scary how our wonderful state considered Michelle Riley, an untrained sociopath with years of abuse of types of drugs that permanently alter one’s brain, as a good choice to work with developmentally disabled people – - and be put in a position of control over them and their money.
She and the other adults should either be executed or locked up forever with no chance of parole, and the other inmates should be told exactly what they did to this poor woman and her baby.
Her kids were probably terrified of her, and even the older woman and the 16 yr old boy may also be developmentally disabled. But none were abused anywhere near what Dorothy was. A report i saw said there were no signs of abuse on the other people involved. But it is almost certain there was psychological abuse. Unfortunately, no matter how sorry one may feel that they had such a terrible mother, it does not mean it will be safe to just put them in the juvenile system to be released in a few years. After being so programmed for evil that they would participate in torture of a disabled woman and a helpless baby, it will be extremely difficult and maybe impossible to rehabilitate them to where they can ever be trusted to be let loose. I think what Emerson wrote makes sense. it is like a deprograamming that is needed and it should be tried with a 15 yr old. I dont know if anything will ever make her OK to be out and I would hope they would be very conservative about such a decision. I know just regular juvie hall – -or regular adult prison- -is not going to work.
March 24th, 2008 at 7:46 am
THEY SHOULD KILL ALL OF THEM, EVEN THE 12 YEAR OLD
March 24th, 2008 at 8:05 am
“Dorothy Dixon ate what she could forage from the refrigerator upstairs, where housemates used her for target practice with BBs, burned her with a glue gun and doused her with scalding liquid that peeled away her skin.They torched what few clothes she had, so she walked around naked. They often pummeled her with an aluminum bat or metal handle.”
They should all be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Looking at the pictures, the kids have the same smug look the mother does. Sorry, but in this case, it’s ok for minors to be punished, severely, for crimes of this nature. I don’t doubt they were abused as well, but in many abusive households there is usually one main target who takes the brunt of the abuse, and these kids were making sport of torturing this poor woman. To say the kids didn’t know right from wrong because THEY were abused is ludicrous. Can they be rehabilitated? I really don’t know. Should they be punished to the fullest extent of the law? Absofreakinlutely.
March 24th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Has it even been reported to what extent the minors were involved in the abuse?
March 24th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Not extensively. I am going by the charges that have been brought against them and the comments made by Lt. Hayes about the case. I’m going to assume Lt. Hayes knows more about this case than we do. Please re-read his comments regarding the nature of the crime and the charges that have been brought against the perpetrators (not victims). Generally there has to be pretty darn good evidence for charges of such a serious nature to be brought against minors. We do not know the whole story yet and no doubt that will be brought out in court, but if these kids wilfully participated in the abuse, torture, and murder of this woman, they should be punished for it. BTW I do know many people who were subjected to horrible abuse and manipulations by adults when they were children and they grew up knowing the difference between right and wrong, regardless.
March 24th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Mike S. says: The jurisdiction of juvenile court ends at age 18.
Melissa Says:
March 23rd, 2008 at 1:39 pm
That is SO not true, the jurisdiction ends at 21 in some states, and 23 in others.
gam Says:
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Jurisdiction of Juvenile Court ends at 18 in Ohio…
Melissa Says:
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Gam, jurisdiction ends at 18 in ALL states. The end of punishment and/or rehabilitation if convicted as a minor ends at 21 or 23
Melissa, I see your point now, but was just responding to your response to Mike S.!
March 24th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
There are more articles at http://www.thetelegraph.com... Just do a search on Dorothy Dixon. It’s a local newspaper and you can get a little more information there that is different than this AP article. I would post links to the articles but they are long and I can’t get into tiny.url right now.
March 24th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
I checked out some of those articles, thank you. It’s just a bad, sad story. I’m sure everyone involved is going to have an interesting version of how this happened.
March 24th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
I agree that the kids are the way they are because of their upbringing, but they didn’t learn right from wrong when they were developing. That’s not something you can get back. The things that they have been taught will scar them for the rest of their life. Nobody can tell for sure if they will be able to be rehabilitated. They took part in not just killing a person, but torturing a pregnant woman for weeks. I would not want that teenager going to school with my kids nor living in my neighborhood.
March 24th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
I dont understand why y’all keep saying that, when NONE of you know what each of them did.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:14 am
Melissa, hypocrites don’t need facts.
March 25th, 2008 at 7:21 am
They have been charged with first degree murder among other things. I am sure we will all learn more about this case as it continues to develop. My opinion is simply that, as I said before, IF it comes out that these teenagers participated in the torture and death of this woman, then they should be punished.
March 25th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Of course they should be punished. I don’t think anyone has disputed that.
March 25th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Yes, they should be punished, but not as adults because they are NOT adults. Anybody who thinks differently is a total hypocrite.
March 25th, 2008 at 10:15 am
“Anybody who thinks differently is a total hypocrite.”
So in other words, anyone who disagrees with you is a hypocrite. I have a hard time subscribing to that way of thinking. I’m not sure yet HOW they should be tried, waiting to get more facts before making that decision.
March 25th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Is there a desserted island where these monsters
can be dropped off?
Why anyone should be involved in their inprisonment or execution is beyond me.
March 25th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I can’t help but wonder how many such incidents have to be reported before the powers that be steps in and spends money on answers and programs to help. I liked Emersons comment on individual assessments before legal steps go any further.
Also, G.J. it does sort of read like maybe the kids participated to keep the focus off of them. They may have been the brunt of all of the abuse before Dorothy came to live.
Ariane, you are right. How did she get a job working with people with developmental disturbances?
Brian Rhodes, wow that’s a tough opinion but it’s one that a lot of people have. In a way our judicial system seems to be too hard on some crimes and not tough enough on others. I know I’m tired of reading about children being molested and killed by someone that got out of prison the month before after spending a year or two in there for the same thing.
We have a prison full of people with non-violent crimes and it seems like the violent criminals are the only ones being paroled.
Also without looking back I think that Compassrose said that children tend to think what goes on in their homes are normal. That is true to an extent. It is only when we get old enough to visit other homes that we see that people live differently than we do.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Sophie wrote:
“Did anyone have guardianship over this woman since she had the developmental delays?”
Ever since reading the story, I’ve wondered if Riley was Dixon’s representative payee. That would explain why she had easy access to the money Dixon received for her disability.
A representative payee is the person designated to handle disability payments for someone who is incapable of managing their own money; it is not legal guardianship, although many legal guardians are also representative payees. My mother used to be the rep payee for a young woman who was high functioning developmentally disabled (with an IQ about 65), but not responsible enough to handle her own money. I am also the rep payee for my own son, who is developmentally disabled, and we are in the process of pursuing guardianship now that he is of legal age. This is my worst nightmare of what can happen to a DD person left alone in the world. I hope the adults get the harshest punishment possible. (Still not sure how I feel about the teens, who are obviously being raised by a lunatic.)
I can totally see some case manager being willing to appoint someone who works with the DD population as a rep payee on the ASSUMPTION that they can be trusted with special needs clients, although I think this Riley woman’s background should have removed her from consideration if that is the actual situation.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Jacque, I think I read in one of the articles that Riley was her representative payee. Go to http://www.thetelegraph.com and search Dorothy Dixon.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I WILL PRAY FOR THE LADY THAT LOSTED HER LIFE. ITS A SHAME THE NEIGHBORS ARE TALKING NOW.THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN TALKING A LONG TIME AGO,THEY KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THAT HOUSE. NOW THEY WANT TO TALK TO REPORTERS.THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES.HOW CAN THEY LOOK IN THE MIRROR AT THEMSELVES? THEY ARE JUST AS GULITY. HOW CAN THEY SLEEP AT NIGHT.IF THEY HAD SAID SOMETHING THAT LADY WOULD STILL BE ALIVE. IF I WERE THE NEIGHBORS I WOULD SHUT MY MOUTH AND GO SOME WHERE AND SIT DOWN. THEY JUST WANT THEIR NAME IN THE PAPER. GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOULS….
March 25th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
The neighbors did say something to the police, according to one of the articles that I read.
March 25th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
YES THEY DID SAY SOMETHING TO THE POLICE AFTER THE FACT, AFTER THE LADY WAS ALREADY DEAD
March 25th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
No, before. I think the day before there was a disturbance and the police were called out.
Do you have to type in all caps? It’s like yelling.
March 26th, 2008 at 4:24 am
GJ, treating children as adults when it’s CONVENIENT is the highest form of hypocrisy. It’s just a matter of people admitting it or not. Unfortunately nobody here has been honest enough to do that.
This hypocrisy has even made it in American Law and American society will get punished for it, I’m convinced of that.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:34 am
I don’t think it makes people “dishonest” or “hypocrites” just because they do not share your opinions on the matter. I think the punishment should match the crime. We don’t know yet to what extent these “kids” participated in her death, but if they tortured and helped kill this woman, a slap on the wrist will not suffice as punishment. And really, it wouldn’t be doing them any favors anyway. I have read some cases that made me believe that it was necessary to try juveniles as adults because of the horrendous nature of the crime. Age is not always an excuse for depravity.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:58 am
GJ, it’s sad you are so blind. Everything you say is irrelevant. It’s still hypocrisy. This is not a matter of opinion but of morals. You apparently don’t have them. You just believe what’s convenient: if it’s convenient to believe they are children you believe that and if it’s convenient to believe they are adults you believe that. Your belief system is completely bankrupt and you don’t even see it.
March 26th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
As a mother of three children with developmental disabilities, this whole thing makes me ill. This is the fault of the goverment and society. We turn out backs on people with DD. We do not have enough services and supports in Illinois. Illinois ranks 50th for it services to people with DD. Society has continued to turn it’s back on what it does not understand and care about. It is a matter of people caring for one another and speaking up when they suspect something is not right. Our Goverment needs to care more for it’s citizens. We are the Goverment, we need to speak up more.
This entire state should be ashamed.
March 26th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
GWJ–Your posts are so finitely opinionated, without much regard for the specifics of an individual circumstance. Your use of the word “hypocrisy” has about run it’s course, don’t you think?
I tend to agree with GJ. And I wonder, for all the people that say “treat kids as kids…” and that these things should be taken on a case by case basis–at which point is a crime actually bad enough that you think kids should be charged as adults?
I assume that the people doing the actual “charging” have much more info than we do. That they have an educated and experienced basis for making such judgements.
March 26th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
GWJ thank you for sharing your opinion regarding my morals and the relevancy of my thoughts on this matter. I got a good laugh out of your post. A, thank you for your input as well and lending..errr..relevance to my point. LOL.
March 26th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Oh and BTW…GWJ…here’s a little quote from this guy named Aristotle said that you should give some thought to:
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
Now, I have considered your point of view on the matter and I do see where you’re coming from. I am not so threatened by your opinion that I find it necessary to get personal and insult your morals and intelligence. Perhaps you should chill out a little bit and acknowledge other people’s rights to have their own thoughts on a matter that do not necessarily agree with your own.
March 26th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
I just don’t understand the point about it being convenient to charge minors as adults. It is not a matter of convenience. It is a matter of looking at the case and making the best decision depending upon the seriousness of the crime. Locking somebody up is more than just punishment, it is protection of society from those who are likely to reoffend. That is what has to be determined. I guess you can call protecting society “convenient”.
March 26th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
The thing about it is (and I am one that stands by a case by case basis) that they seem to charge them WAY to quickly as an adult lately. They havent had the TIME to fully investigate this case, so to charge them as an adult so quickly is weird, and its happening all too often. We dont even know which one of these people actually KILLED her.
Get all the facts together, then if THEN its deemed that the 15 year old was a major player in this, and that SHE was the one who murdered her, then yes, she should be charged as such. Because that IS that depraved.
If it turns out that she was just a bystander, who was glad that it wasnt happening to her anymore, than not so much.
March 26th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
And yes, it IS convenient for them actually. Because once they are in the juvenile system, getting them into the adult system is that much harder, but it works both ways. Once they charge as an adult, they have a hard time getting them out of THAT system, so he does have a point.
Holding on a lesser charge until the investigation is complete would be the prudent way to go about this.
March 26th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Terri, Melissa yes I do agree with where you both are coming from. I had the advantage of a pretty decent childhood so of course I couldn’t imagine growing up with abuse and manipulation being a way of life. I’ve read books about crimes by juveniles that have made me want to strangle them myself, and then I’ve read other books where you can see how kids turn out the way they do. The ones that baffle me are the ones where kids have come from good, solid homes and still done unspeakable things but that’s not the case here, obviously.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:28 am
Vin4Harmony: Slaves were humans stolen from Africa. Sailed to US. Sold to US cotton-farm-owners, cloth of cotton was made in England, and then sold back.
1806: English people recognized that slave-trade is wrong. England goes in with war-ships to prevent further trade. Liberia is the country made as refugee for freed slaves.
This is my top of the head memory from what I learned in school.
If you want to know more, I’ll remember more.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:45 am
WTF?
March 27th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Kirsti, Blacks were sold by blacks to come to USA and be slaves.
March 27th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
And what that has to do with this thread is anyone’s guess.
March 27th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
You are right as usual, Melissa.
March 27th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
i just wanted to add that dorothy had family that love her she just wanted to stay and hava a family when i last spoke with her it just seem that what she thought she had with someone it really wasnt. for the record she knew who both of her kids father was.them KIDS as you say were as bad as them seem she told me about things that they did and michelle and her would get into it about it .my last call from her was about the stuff they were doing and she say she was moving with her boyfriend then she say i got to go cause she had sneak to use the phone. her family tried calling back many of times but the male would say you got the wrong number.we thought she had move. then getting that call and have to look at her remains was the worse thing that could of happen. all i could think is why? why did you stay? why didnt you let somebody knew? at the end we still love you always have and always will.
March 27th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Well, somebody mentioned Europe’s role in the colonization of Africa.
Well, it started when English warships went in to protect slaves from being traded to US. That’s the first time warships ever went to Africa. And that was the start of Europeans colonizing Africa.
What is so difficult to understand?
PS: Kat Louise: Melissa is never right.
By the way: What does WTF mean. Please spell it out.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Kirsti,
It means What the Fuck!
Anywho.
Destiny,
I am sorry that you lost your friend. This is a horrible crime. Her poor babies. I hope you may find some peace in your life.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Actually it started with Spanish ships KK.
And Dorothy, I am sorry that Kirsti the troll disrespects your pain and your family.
I pray for your family.
March 28th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Kat Louise: You are right. European ships came to West Africa. Picked up slaves, took them to US. Same ships went back to England with cotton. Cotton was made into fabric by little
English child-workers. Fabric was taken to Africa, and traded for slaves, who was taken to the US. Triangle-trade it was called, or something like that.
The trade of humans was opposed by English missionaries. In 18o6 English warships went in to protect Africans from being sold to US-farmers.
Most of the slaves was caught and sold by other Africans.
East-coast of Africa most of the slave-trade was done by Arabians.
March 28th, 2008 at 12:51 am
No slaves went to Europe. Europeans didn’t keep slaves. They already had some human rights there.
Who could ever imagine how Africans would be
treated in “the land of the free?” Beaten, raped and lynched? Denied all human rights?
Who could ever have imagined..the evil.. the stupidity.. the lack of soul of white Americans at the time? Still unbelievable.
And when did Rosa sit on that bus? 50 years ago?
What went wrong in the US? Why no sense of human right come naturally here? People have to fight for every inch, so : How come?
March 28th, 2008 at 12:51 am
I just want to say that I knew Dorothy Dixon,she lived in La Belle,mo before she was murdered.I seen her son Zion the day she brought that beautiful little boy home from the hospital.The lady Michelle Riley was Zion’s aunt.Her children were his cousins.There is some belief that they abused Dorothy’s son as well.To the people who feel that Michelle rileys children aren’t to blame,I have this to ask you,would you let them stay in your home?Around your children?
The papers never really told how Michelle knew Dorothy except that Dorothy was a client where Michelle worked.What I have stated here about Michelle being Dorothy’s sons aunt is true.Michelle and everyone else in that house knew what they were doing was wrong!Yet NO ONE did anything to stop it,so I feel that every single one of them should treated the way they treated Dorothy.They do not deserve a free ride in prison at taxpayers expense.To those who may say that you would let Michelle Riley’s children into your home.I’d call you a liar.You’d constantly keep wondering if the people you loved dearly was safe around them.I would like to ask everyone to please remember Dorothy’s son Zion in their prayers,and may god bless you all.
March 28th, 2008 at 6:48 am
Kirsti, this thread is about a woman who was tortured and murdered, not about the EU’s participation in slave trade.
March 28th, 2008 at 6:59 am
Alex..thank you…my heart goes out to Ms. Dorothy and her unborn child. I hope they are at peace. I also hope her surviving child gets a chance to have a safe and happy home.
March 28th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Yes I pray that her son does well too. I have to say for all these neighbors who knew what was going on and did nothing though, I would be embarrassed to come here and admit it.
March 28th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Me too. I guess people avoid doing anything because they want to be minding their own business, but there is a fine line.
March 28th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
There is a time for minding your own business, and there is a time for not.
Verbal fights will happen in any household.
Just today I was in the C-Store and there were two little kids running around, no parents around, the littler one opened the front door and started yelling for his dad, so I stood by the door and watched while the kid went into the liquor store to get his dad, when the dad finally came I very sarcastically said, dont worry, I have been keeping an eye on your 6 year old, you are lucky it was me.
Mr. Clueless smiled and said thank you. Moron.
March 28th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
So in other words to Alex. YOU DID NOTHING EITHER!
March 28th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
She didn’t say that she knew. She just said that they were related.
You didn’t do anything about the two little boys except say something to their daddy.
March 28th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
She did say that there was all this talk, so I assume she knows something. And knew something.
There are neighbors coming out of the woodwork saying they knew something was wrong (Alex claims to be a neighbor), but nobody did anything.
I think saying something to the daddy was about all I could do personally. He didnt do anything illegal except be a moron. Plus it all happened within 5 minutes.
March 28th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I’m not getting that these posters were actual neighbors.
A lot can happen behind closed doors, and, if I recall this story correctly, there a basement involved. Dorothy didn’t have much freedom, so I doubt she was crying out for help to the neighbors.
I hate to see the blame deflected away from the actual perpetrators of the torture and murder here.
March 28th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Thats how I read it, if I am wrong I apologize, and you are right A. The perps are ultimately the ones responsible. I just think its sad that so many people are coming out of the woodwork saying that they knew something was wrong, that people recognized Michelle Riley as being abusive and vile, but nobody contacted anyone.
March 30th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Yeah! Melissa, you finally admitted that you do not know all and see all! Good for you A. You did it!
No, truthfully I enjoyed all the debating and opinions. I love somebody that has convictions and sticks by them. Hey, our presidential competitors can’t even do that.
Thanks so much for the retoric.
March 30th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
LOL, when I say I know all I expect people to know I am joking Kat.
I do however have a hard head when I do have an opinion however.
If you have known me over time you will have seen me saying I am wrong many many times.
I have never ever said that I know all and see all however.
March 30th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
No you didn’t. I guess it just reads like you do. But, heh I do not think there is anything wrong with it. I’d rather “talk” to someone with an opinion than someone with no opinion at all.
Hi Kirsti! I absolutely loved that I was right about something! Yeah!!!!!
March 30th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Melissa, Kirsti, Y’all must be like me. (?) I get up and work around the house or my flower garden for a while and then I get on line and read the comments. I’m sorry to say that this is the closest I’ve come to socialization in some time. I don’t count family.
Anyway I guess this is just for the forum.
March 30th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Melissa here. I get up and work in a professonal office, I dont make crazy assumptions, I dont accuse people of trying to kill me.
So I am not like Kirsti by any means. I work on my education for at least 2 hours every day as required by my work.
If you really equate me to Kirsti, I may want to change my ways.
March 30th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Oh, no. I was giving her a separate message. Stop jumping first and read it again.
The reference you were making is just the comment I made about me just checking the blogs periodically.
March 30th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
ooh boy. Now I have Krazy Kirsti pretending to be me.
March 31st, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Lucky you. Yeah… ugh.
March 31st, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Yeah, pretty much. Have you EVER seen me preface a post with “Melissa Here”?
March 31st, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Wow, I leave for a day and look at what happens. LOL!
What’s going on in the case lately? I haven’t heard any more since the day after it all happened. Somebody keep me posted please or tell me where to go to read more. I’m interested to know what will evently happen to all envolved.
I’m in the deep South and it hasn’t been in the papers here anymore.
Thanks.
Hey Melissa. What’s up?
March 31st, 2008 at 10:33 pm
I just took another look at the pics at the top of the page. Riley and Elliot are the only ones that look like they know what day it is. I’m not being facitious. Look at their facial expressions.
April 1st, 2008 at 8:29 am
I agree. They look kind of sedated and out of it.
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:21 am
Crimes involving the meek and defenceless upset me.
I am pleased to see that the validity of Dorothy’s pregnancy is reflected in the charges. Being with Dixon for more than six months, what’s the bet the father was one of her torturers?
God forgive me but right now I’m feeling the death penalty is the only solution for these five parasites.
May they serve ten years on death row first.
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:38 am
I thought at first too that her pregnancy could be the result of a rape, but later I read an article that said she had a boyfriend. If she did, and if he was aware of the abuse (seems he should have been), then why didn’t he do something to help her?
April 4th, 2008 at 8:47 am
If anyone thinks that we are born with an inate sense of right & wrong, look to the works of the Marquis de Sade. In his book Incest the antagonist takes his daughter away from her mother at birth & teaches her to read & to be ‘pleasant in attitude’ ONLY. After the child reaches the age of 7 & is introduced to additional subjects (but no religion or moral teachings/philosophies) she is then seduced by her father. This child (granted it’s supposed to be fiction, though semi-autobiographical) was completely in the dark as to what society of the time & the world thought was right & wrong. She knew no difference in loving her father & loving a lover, they were one & the same as she had no MORAL foundation to tell her different.
Think about that while discussing our inate sense of right & wrong.
April 4th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
The debate of charging children as adults is difficult, but in this case I think these kids have been taught for too long to truly be any good to society as is. What they did and their general disregard for human life has gone far beyond a line that we can ignore. Yes they had a bad mother but many people in jail have far worse family histories, we don’t let murders go free just because they had a bad childhood. If they are old enough to understand what they are doing and that they took a life than they can pay the price. I feel that mentally it will be very difficult to undo the damage. I am not saying that the 12 year old does not deserve another chance but not for a long time, and after extensive psychological help. The teenagers on the other hand are old enough that I feel there life is forfeit. I know that is cold but I would rather take their lives for what they did than allow them a chance to hurt or even kill another person.
April 5th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Really Holly? What do you know about the part that the children played in this death?
Has there been more news about it?
April 8th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Terri, I think I read about her having a boyfriend. I wonder how he neglected to see the physical abuse? Maybe the abuse was just mental and it escalated. Maybe her pregnancy itself was the antagonist??
Maybe we’ll find out when the movie comes out.
April 13th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
SLRinNJ says:
“If anyone thinks that we are born with an inate sense of right & wrong, look to the works of the Marquis de Sade.”
I’m believe I’m the one that said we are born with an innate sense of right and wrong, and I’m standing by my statement.
I would never use a fictional work by the Marquis de Sade (which is where the word sadism/sadistic come from, btw) as a reference point for my convictions.
April 14th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
well just to clarify
the mother aka “the psycho” is of mixed race.
i went to school with the 15 year old and i saw her mother in the office once.
she’s not white.
not black.
but most likely something in between. same with her daughter
not that any of this matters though. people of every race commit ridiculous crimes.
April 14th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
well just to clarify
the mother aka “the psycho” is of mixed race.
i went to school with the 15 year old and she was always quite nice to me.
and i saw her mother in the office once.
she’s not white.
not black.
but most likely something in between. same with her daughter
not that any of this matters though. people of every race commit ridiculous crimes.
May 5th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I come from Dorothy Dixons hometown, I worked with the developmentally disabled, and met dorthy a few times. How someone could do this to her is unreal. I also had a chance to meet michelle and she was “quite nice” to me. Who knew what a monster hid beneath. I have known people who have been horribly abused by evil parents and would never do this to another living thing. I’m sorry I have no compassion for these little monsters. And what about the woods woman? Was that fat ugly beast also conditioned by Riley? The developmentally disabled are some of the sweetest, most loving people, and I am grateful I had the chance to work with them, they brought a ray of sunshine into my life. This just sickens me, and what about the baby? One year old and only 15 pounds! Not much bigger than a newborn! He would have soon been their next victim.
May 15th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
To Melissa,The reason I didn’t do anything about Dorothy’s situation,is because I didn’t even know Dorothy had died until a mutual friend of ours had contacted me to tell me.As to doing something about how Dorthy was being treated,I had no clue until I looked online at the stories.No amount of finger pointing is going to undo what those sick individuals have done,all we can do right now is pray that first that Dorothy’s son will be well cared for and loved like his mother will never get the chance to love him,in her own special way.Secondly we can pray that the monsters who did this to Dorothy will get what they deserve.
May 15th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
To Melissa-If you had read my post correctly I had stated that I was a neighbor of hers in La Belle,Mo BEFORE she moved to Quincy IL.I wasn’t claiming to be a neighbor of hers in Alton.But like I stated in my earlier post no amount of finger pointing is going to undo what has already been done.Melissa I’m not mad at you personally,I just don’t like for what I stated to be taken and twisted without being read properly,Also has anyone read about or heard if the monsters have been sentenced yet?
May 28th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
I agree with Melissa when it comes to the children possibly not being responsible for their own actions. In circumstances like these, you never know what is going on with the kids. Like in the movie The American Crime, the children were threatened if they did not partake in the beatings of Sylvia, how could anyone possibly know what circumstances these kids were dealing with? The problem with juvie is that more abuse usually occurs in these detention centers from other children that are more pyshologically screwed up. This is a lose/lose situation.I know someone whos child was put in juvie and this child suffered sexual abuse from the older children that had run ins with the law due to the fact that they were abused at one time.
It is like taking a dog that has been beaten and expecting it to have a good temperment, when in all reality, there is a good chance that dog will never recover or could turn at any time. God Bless Dorothy Dixon, she is at a peaceful place now, where she can feel no more pain. What I cannot understand and truly outrages me is that they take this woman, who used to be a meth addict and place another life in her hands?? Sure, maybe she turned her life around, but is that enough to put her responsible for someone else and give her that trust of never turning back? Its just like foster care, more children get abused in foster care, yet the state is happy that these children have a home. It is a proven fact that most children are better off being left with their parent, because most foster care parents mistreat them and look at them as paycheck. They rarely ever receive the love that a real mother will give, fit or unfit. It is just a messed up world we live in and while we can go on and on about what should or should not take place, we all know that it needs to start with us. We all need to work on making this world a anti prejudice world, whether it be blacks hating whites or vice versa. We all need to watch who our children associate with and the good people need to stick together. Just like it started with the Likens family, leaving their daughters with a woman they knew for a day or two, just like the agency placing Dorothy Dixon with a ex meth addict. Simple common logic could have prevented alot of this. Its sick, it really is. It is unreal how the people responsible for these other lives, literally put them to death in the end.
December 29th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
[...] Sources: [1] Dorothy Dixon – Mahalo [2] Crimerant ” Blog Archive ” Dorothy Dixon: The Saddest Story You’ll Ever … [3] FRIDA Dorothy Dixon Trip – a set on Flickr [4] Dorothy Dixon [5] TheCabin.net ?? Dorothy Dixon 03/19/08 [6] Dorothy Dixon [...]
January 17th, 2009 at 10:27 am
..
January 28th, 2009 at 11:12 am
This are all excuses for these teenagers..they know right from wrong! these hillbilly countries need more education! this is America this should not be happening here! Ridiculous!
March 4th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
MELISSA-
I know this is late, but seriously, someone needs to knock you off your high horse.
I bet if a “child” took part in the murder of a disabled family member of yours, you wouldn’t come to their rescue quite so vehemently. And another thing, 15-years old is hardly a “child” anymore. If that’s the case, I’m terrified to be on the road with all the 16 year olds that just get their drivers license, because they’re still babies apparently.
I DO agree with you in the sense that children can completely be a product of their environments. We are a product of many things. Genetics, environment, experiences, etc. And if the mother (who we’ve all established is an evil, vicious tramp) forced this girl to do the things she may have done, it’s not like she’s going to say no and run out of the house. Some kids might have sense enough to do just that, but odds are, being raised by this kind of psycho, clearly she wouldn’t.
Sad story all around.
April 2nd, 2009 at 7:56 am
Death penalty to all of them.
April 6th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
The adult defendants in the Dorothy Dixon torture case are to go on trial April 13 and 16. The jury trial for Michelle Riley will begin at 1 pm on April 13 in Madison County court in Illinois. The jury trial for Judy Woods (who reportedly has a developmental disability) will begin at
9 am on April 16. We will see what happens.
It is shocking and horrifying that people with disabilities are not protected under Hate Crime legislation.
April 28th, 2009 at 9:01 am
This is probably one of the most disgusting things I have ever read! I am in shock that there are people in the world who would treat someone like this. In response to some of the comments on this website, I understand that some of the defendants might have been treated this way growing up, but that is no excuse to treat another human being in that manor. I personally believe in the idea to treat others the way you want to be treated. The minors in this case should be sent to a mental institution, however, the adults should spend a very long time in prison. I think the thing that really annoys me is the fact that this woman was pregnant, so theoretically they killed two people, not one.
May 3rd, 2009 at 2:54 am
Karma uh bytch. -.-;
May 10th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
They all need to be abused the same way they abused Dorthy! It’s f*cking sick the way some parents teach their children. And if the kids didn’t have sense enough to feel sorry for the woman, and help her…they have ALL the right to be abused or jailed as well. Put em all on death row so they can die and go TO HELL.
May 29th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
[...] Crimerant ” Blog Archive ” Dorothy Dixon: The Saddest Story Youll Ever … [...]
June 26th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
I hope every one of these sick fucks burns in hell forver. Or better yet maybe they can be tortured in prision for 50 years before go fucking rots in hell.
July 4th, 2009 at 9:34 am
You really are not reading what others are saying clearly. The one poster that said she lived by Dorthy lived by her in ANOTHER CITY before she moved in with the evil twisted monster….called Riley.
I see your point of view about the “children”, however they are old enough to pay for their “crimes”. Take for instance a child that was sexually abused and/or physically abused. Grows up and does the samething. Do we not punish them or do we let them off stock free because, it was done to them too?
YEAH…I’m talking about the BIGOT cainusrising. The VICTIM here is BLACK…You are a complete ASSHOLE.
Another poster said the trial was in April. Does anyone know anything further? What was the verdict?
God Bless Dorthy, her unborn child and may God please find a safe and happy home for her son Zion.
Amen!
August 12th, 2009 at 11:49 am
I am a strong believer in justice. What each and everyone of these individuals did to Ms. Dixon, her son and her unborn baby is nothing less than pure evil. While some us focus on the teens; in efforts to rationalize their participation in such a horrible act of inhumanity, we must not excuse their involvement, rather we should hold them accountable for their actions. At their respective ages, they were able to differeniate right from wrong; even the 12 yr old, would know the difference. None the less, all the defendants should be tried and hopefully convicted and sentenced under the law. Perferrably, the adults should die in prison; teens once they reach age 21, should be transferred to a correctional facility where they would live the remainder of the lives until their deaths behind bars. That’s more than Dorothy ever had. I pray for a conviction in this case anything less than life in prison would not be justice. The trail is calendared for August 17, 2009. R.I.P. Dorothy
August 19th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
August 17th has come and gone. I am having difficulty finding the outcome. Let us hope that justice was done.
August 29th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Melissa, thanks for providing spoilers concerning Gregg’s book A Wicked Snow. I haven’t read any of his books, but after I found this site I ordered A Wicked Snow. Then I read the comments here, and you spout off with an important fact at the center of the mystery. Gee, thanks. In the future, please be careful and LABEL and SPOILERS. All you have to do is say, “Spoilers ahead for the novel A Wicked Snow”. Not hard… right?
September 4th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
the next court date is October 13, 2009
September 26th, 2009 at 1:25 am
After reading through the article and everyone’s postings… I’m trying very hard to keep an open mind to the whole ordeal and all I can boil it down to (for my own reasons really) is: evil begets evil.
The teens involved probably had an inkling as to what was happening to Ms. Dixon. I would hope one could see if someone were dying of torture through burning, target practice, humiliation and malnourishment… Even through the eyes of a child.
However, I’m reminded of the book “A Child Called It” by David Pelzer. In the book he is tourtured nearly to death by his own mother and the catch is he has siblings near his age. They choose the passive path so they won’t be ‘punished’ like their brother. A younger sibling is born some time after and is brought up taunting and abusing David. The point being that the siblings knew what was happening to their brother and did nothing to save their own skins. Was it right? I don’t think so. Was it right for them? Absolutely.
I’m unsure as to whether the teens acted in this brutality along with the adults… but their -not- reacting needs to be looked at harder so they can be punished or treated accordingly. Regardless of how one is raised wrong-doings have to be righted in one way or another. A person’s inaction has killed many people.
What’s been done can’t be undone for everyone involved. Two beautiful lives can’t be brought back from the dead. An orphan child can’t be reunited with their mother unless brought to the cemetery. Lost teens will never be the same. Friends of the families have lost loved ones on both sides…
And all because of one woman’s greed and lust for power over others. I want justice served on a cold dish for those who can’t speak for themselves anymore– and in this case, it’s Dorothy and her unborn baby.
I’m still on the fence as to how this should be done seeing as how evil begets evil.
I wonder if the jury will think the same way too?
November 19th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
That is so sad, that someone would take advantage of someone with that type of disability, did anybody in her family have any type of guardian ship or even know what was going on, someone should have gotten her & the child out. I hope that little is placed in a good home.