Is He Dead? Page 6

  The next day Mrs. Stringer, Mona and Anne drove together to Westside School. Amanda was called to the office and when she walked in, Anne was not present. Mrs. Stringer asked her again if she had experienced any sexual or physical abuse at home. Amanda looked directly into her eyes and denied everything. Mrs. Stringer asked Mona and Anne to come into the office. When Amanda saw Anne her facial expression changed from defiant denial to that of a frightened child and she began to cry.

  “It’s true!” Amanda said bursting into tears. Mrs. Stringer handed her a napkin to wipe her tears. Amanda was unable to speak, she was crying so hard and whimpering, barely able to catch her breath.

  “My God,” Amanda said. “My God, he has been having sex with me for more than three years. He even forces us all to have sex together.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Mrs. Stringer said softly.

  Amanda started crying again. “My mother is afraid of him. He will kill her and Robert, too, if we talk. He has told me a hundred times if I talk to anyone like you that he will kill me and my little brother.” She attempted to gain her composure.

  Twenty-Two

  Mrs. Stringer explained to Amanda that she would have to make an appointment for her to have a medical examination. Amanda became frantic, declaring she did not want to see a doctor.

  It was explained that the exam was mandatory. Amanda finally agreed, but again tried to back out when she was told that her mother would have to be present.

  “Okay, I will take the physical and my mom can go, but don’t tell her why,” Amanda relented. Mrs. Stringer explained that her mother would have to be told everything and she had to be present during the examination.

  “Okay, I have to leave now to make the arrangements for you to see a doctor today,” Mrs. Stringer said. Amanda asked if Mona and Anne could stay with her for a while at the school until it was time for her to go home.

  Mrs. Stringer then called Melissa at work and made arrangements to meet with her during her lunch break.

  “Listen, Mrs. Jenkins, these are extremely serious allegations. I must have Amanda examined – I have made an appointment for her to see Dr. Snyder this afternoon.”

  “I tell you what, this is crazy and them allegations are plum ridiculous! She ain’t seeing no damn doctor unless both me and my husband are there with her! I think I know where Tom is. I’m going right now to get him, and I’ll be back here in a half hour,” said Melissa defiantly.

  After Melissa hung up, Mrs. Stringer called the Athens Police department to inquire about Tom’s criminal history.

  “Yes ma’am, he does have a history,” the records clerk responded.

  “He has a DUI, he’s been arrested for fighting, and he has one child abuse arrest.” Mrs. Stringer pressed her for more details about the child abuse case. The clerk explained that a sixteen-year-old boy was playing basketball in the street and he ran into the Jenkins children who were playing close by. Tom was watching the children from his house. When he saw the teenager approach the kids, he ran outside and beat him up. The clerk said Tom was charged with child abuse but the charges were later dropped for some reason.

  Mrs. Stringer called the school to speak with the principal, Mr. Fletcher, to make sure all was well at the school. Mr. Fletcher told her that Mrs. Jenkins had come to the school while he was at lunch and took Amanda out of the school.

  “Strange thing is, she left Robert here,” Mr. Fletcher said pensively.

  Mrs. Stringer called the regional office for advice as to what she should do in this situation. Her supervisor advised her that in view of the abuse she had uncovered, she should file a petition with the judge to seize the child.

  Mrs. Stringer had to wait almost an hour on Judge Vaughn. He was teaching a class at the community college. When she finally caught up with him, he immediately agreed to sign an emergency order to seize Amanda based on Mrs. Stringer’s account of events.

  Shortly after Mrs. Stringer had obtained Judge Vaughn’s agreement to sign the order, Melissa Jenkins called and told her she had picked up Amanda from school and she and her husband had to deliver a load of wood, but they were all home now. Mrs. Stringer sent an associate to the Jenkins residence and found they were not there. Mrs. Stringer couldn’t understand why they had lied about their location.

  Mrs. Stringer called Dr. Snyder to confirm Amanda’s appointment for later that day. While they were talking on the phone, Melissa called on another line to say they would not be taking Amanda to see Dr. Snyder. Mrs. Stringer put the doctor’s office on hold.

  “Mrs. Jenkins, you don’t have a choice!” She yelled. “You need to take her there right now. I want to know why you picked her up from school.”

  “She is my child, and don’t you think for a minute that you’re going to dictate to me how to raise my kids!” Melissa exclaimed.

  “Let me …,” Melissa hung up before Mrs. Stringer could respond. She slammed the phone on to the counter. “That bitch!” Yelled Mrs. Stringer in frustration.

  She picked up the other line and the doctor’s receptionist was waiting. “Listen, I’m sorry but I have to cancel that appointment. Tell Dr. Snyder I said thank you.”

  Melissa Jenkins called back and told Mrs. Stringer that she and her husband were taking Amanda to a doctor of their choice. Mrs. Stringer was furious and screamed over the phone telling Melissa that her actions were totally unacceptable. Mrs. Stringer thought for a second then asked, “All right, who is the doctor?”

  “That ain’t none of your business and I want you to know we just hired us an attorney,” Melissa yelled. Mrs. Stringer could hear Tom Jenkins in the background saying things like, “Screw her, it ain’t none of her damn business! She needs to stop harassing us and our young‘uns.” Melissa hung up.

  Less than an hour passed and Melissa and Amanda entered the Human Services office. Mrs. Stringer greeted her in the lobby and Melissa handed her two statements from two different doctors. The first written by Dr. L.H. McMullen said, “I found no evidence of sexual intercourse.” The second statement written by Dr. Ellen Wells read, “This certifies that I found no evidence of sexual intercourse.”

  Mrs. Stringer immediately called Dr. Wells who stated she had conducted a pelvic exam but was unable to even insert her finger into Amanda’s vagina. Therefore, she stopped the examination at that point, stating, “I knew at that point this child hasn’t had any type of sexual activity.”

  “How the hell can you make a statement like that? How do you know there hasn’t been some other type of contact?” Mrs. Stringer challenged her.

  “Don’t question my integrity, Mrs. Stringer. I have been a doctor for a long time and I know what I’m doing.”

  Amanda was sitting in the lobby chair, looking dejectedly at the floor. She slowly stood up, her hands and legs shaking, and said, ”Mrs. Stringer, I lied about all that stuff. I just didn’t want Anne to think I was a liar.” Amanda never once raised her head as she made this statement. Then she turned and walked out.

  Melissa turned to Mrs. Stringer, “You need to stop harassing my children at school!”

  “Let me explain one thing to you, Mrs. Jenkins. I have all the authority in the world to talk to your children. All my actions have been supported by the District Attorney and the Juvenile Judge! Regardless of what your doctors reported, your children had severe and questionable bruises on them”.

  Melissa was completely silent for a few seconds before blurting out, “I’m so damn sick of this. These are my kids and me and their daddy will discipline them the way we see fit, and it ain't none of your business!”

  Just as Melissa was about to walk out, Mrs. Stringer yelled in a loud authoritative tone, “Mrs. Jenkins!”

  Melissa stopped and looked back.

  “How can you permit this man to beat and torture your children? He’s not even their father!”

  Melissa became extremely hostile at this outburst and began directing obscenities at Mrs. Stringer.

  Melissa slammed the door an
d marched out. Then, as an afterthought, she re-opened it, stuck her head out and said, “For your information, Amanda has had sex before with boys her own age.”

  Mrs. Stringer was quite shocked and responded, “If Amanda has had sex with boys her own age, then why did that doctor say there was no sign of sexual contact?”

  Mrs. Stringer stopped by Judge Vaughn’s chambers and asked if he had signed the petition. The Judge paused for a minute and said, with some reluctance, “Mrs. Stringer, my attorney just talked to Dr. Wells and due to the contents of her report, I can no longer sign this petition.”

  “You can’t cancel it now!” Mrs. Stringer exclaimed in despair.

  “This is ridiculous, Judge Vaughn. You have got to let me remove that child until we can positively determine there has been no sexual abuse. Judge, there is more than one way to sexually abuse a child other than actual intercourse!”

  “What the hell are you on here Mrs. Stringer, a witch hunt?” The judge asked accusingly.

  “Judge, I can’t believe what I’m hearing here, what’s going on?

  Let’s just take the kids while we investigate these allegations. This man could kill these children,” Mrs. Stringer pleaded.

  The judge told her he had heard enough. “There isn’t enough evidence to support this petition, so I am canceling it. That’s my final decision.”

  “What do you need? Two dead children?”

  “I think you have said enough,” the Judge said and turned his attention to a document on his desk.

  “But Judge, what about the bruises and welts?” Mrs. Stringer continued. With that, the judge dismissed her from his office.

  Mrs. Stringer immediately called her supervisor in Knoxville and explained what just happened. “There ain’t no way that woman could have taken Amanda to those doctors,” she complained.

  “From the time we talked on the phone until she came in with those reports, only 45 minutes had lapsed. They’re lying! You want to know what I think? I think someone paid those doctors and that judge,” Mrs. Stringer declared.

  “You need to be very careful when making accusations like that,” advised the Supervisor. Mrs. Stringer asked what she should do. Her supervisor referred her back to the multi-disciplinary team.

  Twenty-Three

  When Amanda and her mother arrived home, Tom and Robert were already there.

  “You know he’s going to kill me, mom!” Amanda yelled at her mother.

  “Nah, he ain’t going to kill ya. That man loves you and Robert.”

  As soon as they walked in the front door, they heard Tom’s ear-splitting, belligerent voice booming out, “You think you are damn something, don’t you? You damn little bitch! You know I told you to keep your mother-fucking mouth shut. But you had to open your trap and embarrass me and your momma.”

  He looked over at Melissa and lowered his voice, suddenly sounding almost calm, “will you excuse us for a minute or two, Melissa? Me and Amanda need to have a father and daughter discussion.”

  Amanda was sitting on the sofa and Tom moved in closer to her. His nose was touching Amanda’s nose. He reached up and clutched her hair in his hand. He forced Amanda’s head to turn upward so she was facing the ceiling.

  “Now listen to me you little whore, there ain’t no social worker ever going to screw me over. And you better learn one mother-fucking thing, young lady. Nobody will ever testify against me in this town, or any other town. You have seriously messed up, Amanda Jenkins. You have really messed up!” Tom’s face was now beet-red and he was screaming so hard, Amanda couldn’t understand the words.

  He took the back side of his hand and struck Amanda on the head above the hair line. He continued holding on to her hair. He adjusted his grip, grabbing the hair on the back of her head above her neck. The pain he was inflicting on Amanda was excruciating. Amanda was trying not to cry out loud, but tears were streaming down her face. He slapped her again on the top of her head. He grabbed Amanda between her legs and squeezed his hand together almost inserting his fingers into her vagina through her pants. He was continuing to pull on her hair. He forced her to bend way backwards and then released her, causing her to drop to the floor.

  “I just don’t understand you. I love you and I take care of you, and I told you I would kill you and your little brother if you ever said anything.”

  He called out to Robert, “Robert, get in here.” As Robert entered the living room, Tom stood up and kneed him in the groin. Robert bent over and started crying. Poor Robert had no idea why he was just kneed. Robert fell onto the floor and Tom bellowed, “You know what I think? I think I’m going to have to kill you. And it’s your sister’s fault, son.”

  “You are making me kill my son! You bitch!” he screeched at Amanda.

  “It’s not my fault!” Amanda sobbed.

  Tom opened a drawer and removed a 38-caliber revolver. He turned away from Amanda and Robert and removed the bullets. “Now we are going to play a little game.” He pretended he just put a bullet into the gun and spun the cylinder with the palm of his hand.

  “Okay, who’s first?” Tom glared first at Amanda, then Robert.

  Amanda shrieked, “NO, NO, NO.” Tom grabbed Robert by his hair and pulled him close to him.

  “Watch this, Amanda. Watch close. Maybe you will get to see your brother’s brains splatter all over the wall.” Robert pulled away hysterically trying to break free. Tom pointed the revolver at Robert’s head and counted, “o ne, two …,” Amanda interrupted and shrieked, louder this time, “NO! NO! Do me, do me!” Tom began counting again, “one; two, three,” He pulled the trigger. The gun snapped and the hammer fell forward. Robert jerked as the hammer fell. Amanda let out a blood curdling scream.

  “Okay you lucked out that time, Robert. It’s your turn now Amanda,” Tom whispered threateningly. Amanda tried to stand up and run but Tom tackled her. He held her down on her back and straddled her chest.

  “Okay, here goes. Will you be as lucky as your little brother?” Robert turned away crying but Tom grabbed his head and forced him to watch. Tom put the barrel of the gun in Amanda’s mouth and said,

  “one, two …,” He pulled the hammer back and then yelled, “three!” The hammer slammed forward. Amanda jerked and blinked her eyes.

  Tom stood up and put Robert next to Amanda. “Now you listen to me! I’m not going to kill you. Hell, I love you two very much, but other people won’t understand our situation!

  If anyone ever comes again and tells me we got problems in our family, I won’t be so nice next time. You both know now that there ain’t nothing going to happen when you talk to those people. Do you believe that now?”

  Tom glared into their eyes with a cruel, terrifying gaze. “Do you believe I am more powerful than those people?” Both Robert and Amanda meekly muttered, “Yes.” Tom quickly came back with, “Yes, Sir!”

  Amanda and Robert repeated in tandem, “Yes, Sir!”

  Tom sent them to their room. Robert and Amanda were both gasping for air the way one does after a hard cry. Robert’s nose was running.

  Robert said, “Amanda, Con…!”

  “Shh …” Amanda said, cutting him off. “Just calm down” as she attempted to comfort her little brother.

  “Amanda, I don’t want to live no more. I don’t want to. I just want to die.”

  “Robert, it won’t be forever, I promise. We are going to grow up and it will all be over then.”

  Robert looked up sadly at Amanda, “what if we don’t grow up? What if he doesn’t let us? I am afraid, I am real scared.”

  They both lay in the room crying until they fell asleep.

  Mrs. Stringer wrote up her report and submitted it to the multi-disciplinary team, a group of Human Services professionals that reviewed these types of cases and made recommendations for further action to the State.

  The team recommended that the parents (Tom and Melissa) be told what actions had been taken to this point by the department, with a full explanation why these proce
dures must be followed. Additionally, the team recommended that Amanda be provided professional help.

  “When a child makes up these kinds of stories, it indicates there is a serious problem,” the team stated in its report. “I think it’s necessary to have the parents take courses focused on effective discipline and understanding of juvenile problems,” one team member suggested.

  A new investigator Mrs. Croft was assigned to the case.

  Mrs. Croft called the Jenkins’ residence and spoke with Melissa. She heard Tom cursing in the background. Suddenly, Tom grabbed the phone and screamed, “You know you have a lot of nerve calling this house again!” Mrs. Croft explained that this was just a follow-up visit and she would not take too much of their time. Tom reluctantly agreed to an appointment and she set a date and time to visit their home.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, I think you should consider some counseling for Amanda,” Mrs. Croft gently advised them during her visit.

  “Mrs. Croft,” Melissa said, “both my husband and I have spoken to Amanda about this whole mess. She told us she was just upset because she was not allowed to spend the night at Anne’s house.”

  “Well, if you don’t think she would benefit from counseling, I will let the team know you’re not interested.”

  “Good,” Tom responded. “Then we can all rest easier knowing this whole thing is behind us.”

  Mrs. Croft turned in her report to the multi-disciplinary team and the team recommended closing the investigation.

  Twenty-Four

  It was the fall of 1979 and the mountains were once again ablaze with yellow, orange and gold. Tom and Gene Cawthorn were chatting at work.

  “I am so sick and tired of working in this wood yard,” Tom complained. Both were working for a wood mill in Southern Tennessee.

  “I work my ass off for nothing,” Tom said.

  “I second that,” agreed Gene.

  “Why don’t we start our own damn outfit?” Tom suggested.

  “Cost too much Tom. Hell, it would run perty near $20,000 to get started, and we ain’t got nothing.”