Childhood of abuse, neglect led to murder
Defense lawyers and prosecutors agree -- Leo Boatman's upbringing was
'uniquely awful.'
Stephen Hudak
Sentinel Staff Writer
August 4, 2007
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-leo0407aug04,0,1489992.story
OCALA
Born in a psychiatric hospital. Orphaned at age 8 by a mother who
drowned drunk in a ditch. Abused by a grandmother. Molested in foster care.
"I have never in my life seen someone who was forced to fend more for
himself from almost literally the time he came into the world than Leo
Boatman," Chief Assistant Public Defender Bill Miller said, recounting
the childhood of the dishwasher who pleaded guilty Monday to killing two
campers in the Ocala National Forest. "His life started off bad and only
got worse."
Boatman's heartbreaking life does not excuse his senseless crimes, but
it may help explain what made him a killer, Assistant State Attorney
Rock Hooker said.
He, too, described Boatman's wretched boyhood, chronicled in court
documents, as "uniquely awful" among killers he has prosecuted during
the past 21 years.
Boatman, 21, was spared the death penalty because the families of his
victims, Amber Peck and John Parker, signed off on a plea agreement that
was negotiated by prosecutors and defense lawyers. The accord
substituted two life terms in prison without parole for lethal injection.
The families were permitted to review a 14-page appeal for "mitigation"
-- or mercy -- drafted by defense lawyers who researched Boatman's life.
"Where was the village raising this soul who decided John's and my
fate," asked Glenda Peck, 62, reading from a letter that she had written
in the voice of her slain daughter, Amber.
After Boatman's plea, prosecutors released the mitigation document and
other previously sealed materials that detailed the slaying of the two
Santa Fe Community College students. Peck and Parker, both 26, were shot
to death Jan. 4, 2006, at Hidden Pond, a remote camp site near the
Juniper Springs Recreation Area in the forest.
'Abused, neglected'
Lawyers for killers facing the death penalty often cite a shabby
childhood, abusive or absent parents, and drug addiction as contributing
forces in their clients' capital crimes.
"But Leo's case goes far beyond that," Miller said. "He would have been
better off if he had been raised by wolves. Wolves would have been more
nurturing."
The mitigation document, which refers to confidential records of the
Florida Department of Children and Families, said Boatman's mother
"abused, neglected and abandoned him repeatedly until her death." His
father's identity is unknown, though family members think Sheila Boatman
became pregnant with her son while she was a patient in the psychiatric
hospital.
The burden of raising the boy often fell upon his grandmother in
Pinellas County, Ethel Lucille Boatman, who officially adopted him and
his older sister, Rosezilla, in 1991. The grandmother, who had six
children with six different fathers, preferred her granddaughter to her
grandson and often returned the toddler boy to his derelict mother,
Miller said.
Anonymous complaints to DCF said the toddler roamed in traffic and he
seldom was dressed in anything but underwear, according to investigators
who frequently found his mother drunk or high.
Boatman was 8 when his mother, Sheila, died in 1995, falling into a
ditch in Jefferson City, Mo., where she drowned. She was hitchhiking
home to Clearwater.
He then lived in a series of foster homes where the 4-foot-8, 80-pound
boy was deemed impossible to handle.
'Don't go underneath'
An uncle told authorities, "Oh, he's such a cute kid, you know, like
Home Alone, like cute on the surface, but don't go underneath."
He was described as a delinquent at age 9, and by 12, he was committed
to a juvenile prison.
Juvenile records show he was incarcerated for breaking into a city
utilities office in St. Petersburg where he discharged fire
extinguishers and dumped ink on the carpet; vandalizing a church-school
bus; and stealing from his grandmother.
He spent the next seven years in the custody of the Department of
Juvenile Justice, steadily climbing the security-risk ladder.
Records show that while Boatman was in Sago Palm Academy, a youth
facility, he head-butted a teacher in a dispute over a test grade; tried
to slug a pregnant case manager in the belly; and was caught having sex
with another boy.
Miller said Boatman acted up in custody because he didn't want to go
"home" -- wherever DCF would decide that to be.
His lone visitor while locked up was his grandmother, who suddenly
stopped coming in 2002. She had died of cancer, but no one told Boatman,
Miller said.
He was released from Omega Juvenile Prison, a maximum-security facility
in Manatee County, in August 2005, less than five months before the murders.
"Youth Boatman has always been very intelligent which he used in a
negative way through manipulation of rules and the program in general,"
an exit summary noted. "Youth has shown over the last six months that he
can do better if he puts his mind to it."
He moved in with his uncle Victor Boatman, 40, a convicted sex offender
who helped him get a job as a dishwasher at Hooters.
An aunt, Regina Arledge, 48, a real-estate broker in Colorado, said the
family did what they could for her nephew but that he seemed lost from
the start.
"I hate to say he hasn't any moral compass, but obviously he doesn't,"
she said.
Boatman could not be interviewed for this story. He is a temporary
inmate at the state's Reception and Medical Center in Lake Butler and
cannot consent to an interview until he is assigned and moved to a
permanent facility.
Stephen Hudak can be reached at or 352-742-5930.
Copyright © 2007, Orlando Sentinel
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....
CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.
every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com
Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS
*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*
Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5
CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...
BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...
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