DebraH

I know and you can't even imagine how their sick and evil little minds must work to that to another human being.

Anastasia Beaverhausen

Its a credit to the CPS that this case was tied up so quickly. Less than a year after the event, which isnt bad. My brother witnessed an attempted murder 2 years ago, and has only just got a court summons to give evidence!

I've lived in Reading for 7 years and am very wary about going in to some areas, especially now I have a child. I dont think its any worse than any town in the UK or Australia. If you ask someone who lives in any town in the world, there will always be part of the town that are considered dodgy.

A lot of people here in Reading are only a few degrees of seperation from the family of Mary Ann Leneghan and the rumours flying around about what the torture consisted off will turn your stomach, To think that a human being can have that much evil in them is frightening.

One thing that really bothers me about this though is that there was a girl with the two girls when they were taken, she begged them not to take her too by saying she was pregnant, they left her alone and she didnt think to call the police or take the boys car reg. I wonder how she lives with that.

The boys will be sentence next month, and I hope they get substantial sentences, and are never allowed to walk the streets again.

I feel more for the girl who survived, it must be an awful memory to have to live with.

I dont think Reading is an unsafe town though, I'm happy to take my son to the park, and walk home in the dark, but I am also aware of who is around me and wouldnt go to any secluded alone. I think it pays to be aware of your own personal safety.

lostpom

It could have been worse - she could have been battered !

sorry

worzel

I know what you mean. An 11 year old girl was raped in our old Sainsbury druing the day a couple of weeks ago.

Our HR manager went back to the UK on Friday - I couldn't even talk to her I was so petrified it might be catching.

Clippy

Hi Tracey, that churchyard thing was really horrible.

I hadn't heard the car thief one, but to be honest that sound pretty mild to most that goes on, I'm suprised that story made it over to Oz! Poor woman though.

I think the worst story I've read lately is the one where the two girls were drugged and raped in a park by 5 men I think. One of them was killed, stabbed something like 45 times while her friend was made to watch, all the time being told she was going to die. They shot her in the head, they left her for dead, she survived - I don't know how she'll ever get over that. I think only one of the attackers has showed any remorse.

Two babysitters raped a 12 week old baby - sick sick sick - they were a 19 year old woman and a 40 year old man. 6 years I hear is what they got.

I've never been to Australia and I don't know what the crime is like there, but whenever I read anything about crime on here people seem to say it's the same. I'm hoping it's not, I want to be somewhere safer so I don't constantly worry about my son's future. Sometimes it's such a horrible world we live in, I despair. There are some very sick people about.

sj oldfield

My home town was always a bit rough.........I came from wandsworth, south london.

TraceyW

It really turns my stomach when I hear things like this are happening.

I just cannot, for the life of me, understand what can possibly possess someone to commit such awful acts of cruelty against another human being.
How could anyone inflict such terrible pain on someone and take great pleasure from it? There must be something mentally deficient about them. They cannot be totally sane.

Capital punishment should be brought back in for cases like these. I would push the switch, no problems. There would probably be a queue of folk wanting to do the job.

My old home town was Bromsgrove and it used to be a really nice place to live, a real old country market town. When I talk to family and friends back there I cannot believe how much it has changed even in the couple of years since we left.

I feel very sad. It really upsets me to think it's all gone now, that lovely old simple town. Oh well, at least it's a bit safer over here. Well, it is in Little Britain anyway!

Clippy

Yes I know what you mean, it's horrible - I stopped watching Crimewatch months ago, it's just too depressing!

Well I might head to Little Britain if it is safer

mark 'n' joe

It makes my blood boil when I hear of these scumbags getting off with lightest of sentences. The criminals are laughing at the judicial system.

Clippy

Disgusting isn't it - I was listening to something the other day and they were saying kids try and get an ASBO - it's the thing to have!

Vash the Stampede

That was the Mary-Ann Leneghan case. They were tortured in a private residence, but the murder and attempted murder took place in a park.

Mary-Ann was stabbed about 40 times. Her friend (who remainds unnamed for legal reasons) was shot in the head with an improvised "home-made" gun, but survived.

Details of the case are available here. They are graphic, and unpleasant to read.

Four of the killers were "under supervision in the community" (uh... how much supervision, exactly?) and were not considered dangerous.

This extraordinary case of legal incompetence will, of course, come as no surprise to the friends and familes of John Monckton, Robert Symons and Marian Bates.

Vash the Stampede

And they're starting younger, too...

Craigy

There is an almost similar thread going on here:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...=1#post3381974

Danny B

What happened to those two killers in the end? did they get released and sent to OZ with a new identity?

Vash the Stampede

No.

They were released with new identities, but were not sent to Australia.
Wikipedia.