loracs | It's been on all the local news now. (Reply)

A rather long ramble about my former co-worker's daughter.

My former coworker is Danita King and it was her daughter Nadawn (or NaNa as she was called) Brown who was murdered. Arrested is a 17 year old boy who is a neighbor and schoolmate. He has been described at "mentally challenged", but after questioning by the police they have charged him as an adult. They say he went to the home with the intent to murder her, brutally beat her and understood the charges against him. He is 5 months away from his 18th birthday. Because of all this, he qualifies for an adult trial and sentencing.

What made this young man go to her house with the intent to kill? Was sex or physical attraction involved? Did she scorn him as a potential boyfriend? The house was tore up, you can see she struggled.

I watched Danita's tv interview. I saw her struggling to define her daughter and explain NaNa's friendship with this boy. He didn't have many friends, NaNa befriended him and helped him with homework sometimes. She said he sometimes got a little too physical and NaNa had to tell him to stop. Passion, NaNa's older sister said she met the boy a few times when she was home for a visit. He was a little strange, but quiet and polite is how Passion remembered him. Then we saw a few of her friends interviewed. Tears. Disbelief. Large sheets of paper taped to the garage door, filled with notes from friends, neighbors or anyone who wanted to leave a message for NaNa's family.

I have seen thousands of interviews and shots just like this over my years of watching local news. It happens. I shake my head, think how sad for the family and go back to my life. Thousands of times it happens in my community, my country, my world. Thousands of times one member of my species chooses to do this kind of violence to another member of my species. And all I can ever do is shake my head and think how sad.

Now it's someone I know. Someone who has been to my home. Not a family member or a really close friend even, but I know her - knew her. She was maybe 3 or 4 years old when Danita became a co-worker. I heard stories of NaNa being teased by her sister Passion. I'd sometimes get the call from Danita saying she wouldn't be in to work today because NaNa was sick.

Danita worked late afternoons/early evenings. Passion was old enough to babysit NaNa until Danita got home. And by this time NaNa was old enough to use the phone, so when she thought Passion was overstepping her big sister boundaries, she would call Mom for back-up. Sometimes I would overhear Danita patiently explaining to a 5 year old why she couldn't do something. I could tell NaNa was arguing back with all the 5 year old reasoning she could muster. There's only so many times you can answer "why" with a re-wording of the same reasons before you go a different route. I've seen some parents yell or threaten the child to stop it or shut up. I never heard Danita use either of those. She would end it with a very firm version of "I've told you why and the answer is No. I'm at work now and I will talk to you when I get home."

Occasionally a family member would drop NaNa and/or Passion off for the last hour or so of Danita's shift. As an art center, we always had some paper, crayons, pencils etc. for kids to play with, so Danita would just set them at a table and let them draw or do homework. Danita worked as a receptionist and the table was in the lobby in full view from her desk, not to mention all of staff walking though who stopped to chat with them.

I guess some of this is so fresh in my memory because most of my co-workers either didn't have children or their children were grown. What few there were, were always doted on when they hung around or took classes with us.

This got so much longer than I'd planned. It was just suppose to be an up-date, esp. for non-local folks who wouldn't have seen/heard any more about this. I'll write a letter and send a condolence card. Maybe I'll print out some of this post and send it. I never know what to say after "I'm so sorry".

I am so very sorry.