Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Sorry. Not up to a great deal of commentary today. So far, thanks to the newspapers' rehashing of the Lakes' case file, I've learned that the man who used to repair my stove threatened to "do things to [his wife] that you wouldn't do to farm animals," had plans to kill most of Amy's family members because they had "wronged" him, and "last summer. . . told his 13-year-old son that a divorce from Amy would cost only 29 cents. 'Do you know what that means? That’s the price of a bullet,' Coty told his mother, according to the case file. 'That means he’s going to shoot you.'”

When Coty was very small, he had a doll named Baby. Baby was a handmade rag doll, and she used to be mine . . . a gift from my own babysitter, who had made it for me when I was a little girl. When I donated some of my old toys to the daycare that Coty's grandmother Linda ran, Coty fell in love with Baby. Initially this was hard on his father, who was not thrilled to see his son with a doll. But he came to terms with it. At least we thought he had.

Coty slept with Baby, hugged her, dragged her through the dust. Linda was constantly performing reconstructive surgery. All of Baby's clothes vanished, and her hair fell out.

I wonder where Baby is now.

6 comments:

Maureen said...

I read the NYT story; it reads much the same as an article in the Post a few years ago about a woman I knew whose husband murdered her and her two young children in the early morning. Her closest friend had no idea she was living in hell. None of us did. Protective orders work until they don't, and too often they don't.

The story of Baby in the context of Coty's death is heart-breaking.

I am so saddened by what you must be experiencing. The loss stuns.

Carol Willette Bachofner said...

This case is all the more sickening because it is not rare. I think we have become a lawless nation in large part. We have taken our freedom to bear arms to a putrid level. Women need to rise up and tell the truth about their abuse and men of power need to listen and take action to protect them.

Your story about Baby is sadder than sad. I'm sick to my stomach. Sorry, need to change gears now.

Ruth said...

The story of Baby is ever so sad. Yesterday in NH, a man murdered his wife and then took his own life while his children watched. I wonder where all those Babies are???

Julia Munroe Martin said...

I'm so sorry; this story just keeps getting sadder and harder to contemplate. I wish for you some peace....

Jenne' R. Andrews said...

Dawn-- give yourself a hug from all of us. This is on the people who failed to protect the family and keep Lake locked up. It reminds me of how the police dropped the ball in the New Haven situation.

But now, we're left with the people affected by this and how traumatic it is-- I hope, profoundly, you can nurture yourself through this and find comfort in your sons, your husband, your animals-- and of course, in your work. In the aftermath there will be lessons that save others..the other thing that helps me through trauma is to burn through it with tears, anger, let it all out in a safe way: I have screamed at the sky when in acute pain, like someone possessed-- but it was cathartic. xxxj

Herself said...

I have been reading about this with a heavy heart. It is the unique situation of a small town, that when something as grievous as this happens, it affects the whole community. There is not the insulation,or the buffers in small communities that protect those in suburbs or cities; everyone is losing something. I am so sorry for your loss, Dawn, as well as the communities of your area. She sounds like she was a wonderful person. My deepest condolences.