Kacie's computer was in the living room. Her father, Rick, knew she chatted in chat rooms. Rick felt the internet was harmless. He was afraid of what might happen outside the house not inside it. Rick would even look over Kacie's chat conversations. Nothing was out of line.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Meet Kacie Rene Woody.......
Posted by amy at 4:28 PM Tuesday, October 12, 2010
She might be a girl just like you or she might be just be like your 13 yr old daughter.
Kacie's computer was in the living room. Her father, Rick, knew she chatted in chat rooms. Rick felt the internet was harmless. He was afraid of what might happen outside the house not inside it. Rick would even look over Kacie's chat conversations. Nothing was out of line.
Except she was killed on December 3, 2002 by a man she met online who was posing as a teenage boy.
Kacie Rene Woody lived with her single father & her older brothers in Arkansas. She met lots of people online in Christian chat rooms & talked to them online. Sometimes she even gave them her phone number & chatted with them on the telephone as well.
Kacie met the wrong person online & it ended up costing her her life.
Kacie's computer was in the living room. Her father, Rick, knew she chatted in chat rooms. Rick felt the internet was harmless. He was afraid of what might happen outside the house not inside it. Rick would even look over Kacie's chat conversations. Nothing was out of line.
Kacie met 47 yr old Dave Fuller from San Diego in a yahoo chat room. He claimed he was a 17 yr old boy. Not only did Kacie chat with him, but so did her friend. They both spoke with him over the telephone too. It was stated that he did not sound 47.
Dave lied his way into Kacie's sympathetic heart. He said his aunt was in Arkansas dying. Kacie had lost her mom & was extremely sympathetic to this.
Dave never asked to meet Kacie. He never talked sexually to her. They just chatted about everyday things. School, parents, messy rooms, etc. Except these things weren't really normal for Dave since he was 47 & a child predator grooming Kacie.
On December 3, 2002, Dave showed up at Kacie's house & kidnapped her. She was home alone. Her father was at work at the police station.
Police later found Dave in a storage unit he'd rented a month before in Arkansas. They found Kacie naked, chained to the floor in the back of his van. She had been raped & shot in the head.
Dave Fuller shot himself before police could get inside the storage unit to arrest him.
Police believe that Dave traveled to Arkansas twice before actually kidnapping & killing Kacie based on credit card receipts. He was a true predator. He waited her out for the perfect timing in his head.
Now keep telling yourself this doesn't happen.
Keep thinking this won't happen in my small town, not to my little girl. Because that is exactly what Rick Woody thought.
The internet does not discriminate. It doesn't know small town from big town. Online predators are everywhere.
The only answer is education.
your_girl_amy@yahoo.com
Labels: kacie rene woody, online predators
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18 comments:
This is just sad beyond belief. I constantly worry about this, because my sons have all the social networking accounts and chat with friends on there. You just really can't be too careful.
And I hope this so-called man rots in hell.
He killed himself so that he wouldn't have to face prosecution. But I didn't include the fact that he was chatting up at least 3 other girls in 3 other states at the same time. He had been talking to 1 for 2 years. That is what makes him a true predator. He was willing to wait them out.
I have done tons of research & worked with victims. Sometimes you just never know.
Education is key for parents & children both.
Awesome article! Many times people think with all the social media and more awareness that this kind of thing doesn't happen anymore. As you have shown - it does! I have 2 sons and 2 daughters, a lot to keep up with but I do! We also talk about web safety and the possible scenarios that could happen. Thanks for keeping folks aware of this danger!
@Amart62
Drew
Thank you, Drew. Communication is the 1st thing I tell parents they should work on. They should always keep lines of communication open with their children.
Computers are going to be part of our children's lives. It is up to us to check the history, make sure our children aren't chatting in any application, and teach them about stories like this one.
It is extremely sad that this happened to the family!
Especially since her father did all those things. How about teach our children not to add strangers to their social networking sites & absolutely do not give out your phone number online. Do not post your address either, which Kacie did not do, but after he had her full name & phone number, it was a cinch to get the addy. O and no chat rooms or web cams.
As a mother of a daughter, the thought of online predators freaks me out. The more education parents can get, the better. How do we save our kids from these psychopaths and keep them safe in a world where we're all exposed? Thank you for raising awareness and helping us confused parents.
You are extremely welcome. Would love to talk to you further about how you can educate yourself & your children. Please feel free to email me.
your_girl_amy@yahoo.com
Education is the key to prevention. Open eyes & ears as well.
I have three daughters, 10, 8 and 6 and I've told them already that I will be monitoring everything they do. I have set up email and a blog for my 10 yr old but it's through MY password and I have access to everything she does. I know we can't always keep track of every single thing but I think starting the talk early with them and letting them know that talking with strangers (even ones that claim to be their own age) is not okay.
Well writter and very interseting article. I think social networking accounts are out of the question for mine for a long time!
The scary thing is, the more you say NO, they more they want it. The best thing in most cases is to allow the profiles. Just moniter them closely. Teach them what to post & what not to post. Like I've stated before no personal info-address, phone number.Set the account to private so strangers can't see it or their photos without being their friend. Do not add strangers period. No im with strangers period. No webcam, period.
Then keep communication open. The #1 thing kids are afraid of is that mom & dad are going to take the computer away so just don't overreact. Keep a level head & it will all be ok.
I have lists in my coaching & my workshops that teach parents what to look for & then helps parents to deal with what they see.
Keep your eyes & ears open.
Thanks Amy. I'm going to share this with my kids. They're pretty careful but it doesn't hurt to be even more aware.
Awesome idea! If nothing else, scare them a little. This does happen. It can happen to you. Do not ever think otherwise. Be careful online, bottom line. That's all we, as parents, want them to do.
Your blog is fantastic Amy. Keeping people aware of things that can happen could potentially save someone's life. Thanks for following your caring heart! Ginger
awww...Thank you Ginger! Everyone, That is my hero, Miss Ginger! Maybe one of the reasons I do what I do in the 1st place.
great!
These times are getting more innovated nowadays because of the new innovations and new technologies that we see and use. And indeed, computers have become powerful in terms of communicating with other people. But certain companies still rely on the use of the telephone because it's more accessible than email. Phones in the companies have greater features like hosted pbx provider, hosted pbx service and hosted pbx solution that are used to communicate efficiently with their customers.
I actually went to school with Kacie and grew up with her. It is scary when it actually happens in your little town. I lived there my whole life. Kacie was a wonderful young lady and a good christian. It was a huge tragic shock to all of us. I remember being in the counselors office with all of our friends talking about where we thought she could be and asking if we knew anything when she was missing. Thanks for this article! It can happen anywhere.
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