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The Straight Story

(48,121 posts)
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 11:54 AM Jan 2012

Trenton Girl Taunted By Neighbor’s ‘Death Machine’ Has Died

Trenton Girl Taunted By Neighbor’s ‘Death Machine’ Has Died

TRENTON (WWJ) - The Downriver girl who attracted worldwide attention for a neighbor’s taunting during her battle with Huntington’s Disease has died.

Nine-year-old Kathleen Edward, of Trenton, died Wednesday night after a long bout with pneumonia, which is especially tough for Huntington’s patients to beat.

“Kathleen far exceeded our expectations of survival. She’s the strongest little girl I ever met in my entire life, and she didn’t quit fighting. Now she gets to go into the arms of her mother, Laura,” said family friend Michelle Yerigian.

Kathleen was diagnosed with the disease when she was about 3 years old. She was just 6 years old when her mother died of Huntington’s disease at the age of 24.

Kathleen attracted attention from around the world when they learned she was the subject of online taunting by her neighbor, Jennifer Petkov. Petkov published a photo of the terminally ill schoolgirl on Facebook above a set of skull and crossed bones. Petkov also allegedly attached a coffin to her truck, labeled it ”Death Machine” and drove it down the street honking the horn.

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http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/01/12/trenton-girl-taunted-by-neighbor-dies/

40 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Trenton Girl Taunted By Neighbor’s ‘Death Machine’ Has Died (Original Post) The Straight Story Jan 2012 OP
What the FUCK is wrong with some people???? HopeHoops Jan 2012 #1
They become republicans. ChairmanAgnostic Jan 2012 #2
I'm thinking of some other words, but they aren't allowed on DU. HopeHoops Jan 2012 #3
Not just republicans - self-styled "teabaggers" Hugabear Jan 2012 #29
i don't know. barbtries Jan 2012 #6
I wonder about the same people Proud Liberal Dem Jan 2012 #17
Would love to meet the.....woman hang a left Jan 2012 #10
I agree - how barbaric of that woman. Initech Jan 2012 #15
I've got one thing to say about that death truck guy... Zalatix Jan 2012 #4
'Jennifer' is a man's name now? n/t Lance_Boyle Jan 2012 #27
Neither man nor woman, but rather, a rabid animal. Zalatix Jan 2012 #30
She is charged Gormy Cuss Jan 2012 #31
Ah yes, because it (I refuse to call it a "she") nearly ran someone over Zalatix Jan 2012 #37
He was in on it, too ... marble falls Dec 2019 #40
9 years old...sucks... joeybee12 Jan 2012 #5
I refuse to focus on the cruel bastard... This child is deserving of whatever peace and kindness can hlthe2b Jan 2012 #7
she was a fighter.. frylock Jan 2012 #8
RIP, young lady! Odin2005 Jan 2012 #9
Rest in peace, sweet girl. AtomicKitten Jan 2012 #11
May Kathleen find the peace in death that she didn't have during life. nt MrScorpio Jan 2012 #12
Well, that's a sad follow-up. I was just thinking about this story lately. TwilightGardener Jan 2012 #13
Poor little kid had the bad fortune of living next to a sociopath. nt Javaman Jan 2012 #14
I can't imagine how sad and scared she must have been seeing that truck drive back and forth. polly7 Jan 2012 #16
worst neighbor ever Enrique Jan 2012 #18
IMO that sounds like a form of stalking and hate speech. snagglepuss Jan 2012 #19
Wonder what ever happened to that barbarian of a woman?? Broderick Jan 2012 #20
This message was self-deleted by its author Bunny Jan 2012 #23
I wondered too. She didn't become a kinder person. LiberalAndProud Jan 2012 #24
one good thing to have come of her actions is that her kids aren't with her renate Jan 2012 #35
OMG! Wind Dancer Jan 2012 #21
wait what? negativenihil Jan 2012 #22
Very sad, such beautiful sufrommich Jan 2012 #25
Here's hoping her last days were filled with peace and love. That smile just lights her face up! riderinthestorm Jan 2012 #26
Rest in peace, little angel. Beacool Jan 2012 #28
She is at peace now, and I think they're in hell already renate Jan 2012 #32
I remember this story when it first aired. Beacool Jan 2012 #38
WTF is wrong with people? ddeclue Jan 2012 #33
I hope there is a special place in hell for that neighbor bitch WI_DEM Jan 2012 #34
Westboro baptist church members are the only people I could see doing shit like this. IcyPeas Jan 2012 #36
Petkov=Typical GOP DonCoquixote Jan 2012 #39

Hugabear

(10,340 posts)
29. Not just republicans - self-styled "teabaggers"
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 02:32 PM
Jan 2012

I've yet to meet a rational teabagger. In fact, most I've met seem to delight in violent fantasies involving "liberals" and others they deem unworthy.

barbtries

(28,702 posts)
6. i don't know.
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 12:20 PM
Jan 2012

i think it was this story, the woman was interviewed on TV. she was remorseless. not an empathetic or sympathetic bone in her body. but even then, how can that be your idea of how to spend your time? i don't get it and i hope i never do.

Proud Liberal Dem

(24,355 posts)
17. I wonder about the same people
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 01:54 PM
Jan 2012

whose sole purpose in life seems to be ensuring that women & families don't control their own reproductive lives and that men and women aren't allowed to control their own sexuality and/or gender identity.

A brunch of freakin' sociopaths.

Gormy Cuss

(30,884 posts)
31. She is charged
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 04:53 PM
Jan 2012

but her husband helped with the construction and use of the coffin car. From the older article:

More recently, neighbors in Trenton, told the local news station that Petkov and her husband decorated their pickup to look like a hearse, strapped a homemade coffin on top, and drove it back and forth in front of the home Kathleen shares with her father and step mother. Petkov said it was just a Halloween prank.


 

Zalatix

(8,994 posts)
37. Ah yes, because it (I refuse to call it a "she") nearly ran someone over
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 05:22 PM
Jan 2012

the mockery thing wasn't illegal, but confessing to attempted vehicular manslaughter is.

marble falls

(56,358 posts)
40. He was in on it, too ...
Fri Dec 27, 2019, 06:02 PM
Dec 2019

Kathleen has it too. But the disease is not her only nemesis.

Kathleen is also the victim of a horrifying cyberbullying attack and the perpetrator is a 33-year-old neighbor, Jennifer Petkov.

Petkov admitted that she had posted ghoulish art work of the child on her Facebook page. The picture showed the Kathleen’s face – eyes closed and tongue lolling out – with a pair of crossed bones beneath it.

Petkov also admitted to posting a Photoshopped image of Kathleen’s mother cradled by the Grim Reaper.

https://detroit.cbslocal.com/2010/10/14/overwhelming-support-for-terminally-ill-girl/

When asked why she did it, Petkov sounded a lot like a high school mean girl. “Personal satisfaction,” she told local TV station WJBK. “Because it rubs their a** raw.”

Police said they visited the two homes on several occasions, as the families had been feuding for years.

More recently, neighbors in Trenton, told the local news station that Petkov and her husband decorated their pickup to look like a hearse, strapped a homemade coffin on top, and drove it back and forth in front of the home Kathleen shares with her father and step mother. Petkov said it was just a Halloween prank.

The Edward family now has a restraining order against the Petkovs, and the neighborhood has banded together in support of the little girl. A Facebook group, “We Love You Kathleen,” has almost 4,000 members.

Petkov and her husband have made a public apology and dismantled the coffin on top of the “hearse.”

hlthe2b

(101,720 posts)
7. I refuse to focus on the cruel bastard... This child is deserving of whatever peace and kindness can
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 12:23 PM
Jan 2012

be offered in the "next realm"..... RIP, you beautiful little girl. May you find the kindness you so overwhelmingly deserve.

polly7

(20,582 posts)
16. I can't imagine how sad and scared she must have been seeing that truck drive back and forth.
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 01:48 PM
Jan 2012

Huntington’s is such a terrible desease. I hope she's at peace with her Mom.

snagglepuss

(12,704 posts)
19. IMO that sounds like a form of stalking and hate speech.
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 02:00 PM
Jan 2012

It's unreal that the nieghbor was allowed to do this.

Response to Broderick (Reply #20)

renate

(13,776 posts)
35. one good thing to have come of her actions is that her kids aren't with her
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 05:07 PM
Jan 2012

Or at least as of October 2010 (and I can't imagine that a judge would give custody back to her).

And Kathleen got love and support from so many more people than she would have otherwise. I'm not saying it was worth what she had to endure from her neighbor... I'm just glad it worked out that way and that some good came out of a doubly horrible situation.

Wind Dancer

(3,618 posts)
21. OMG!
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 02:09 PM
Jan 2012

What a horrific thing to do! WTF is wrong with people? I swear there are more sociopaths /psychopaths in this country now and they rear their ugly faces via facebook and the like. This just makes me physically sick.

RIP, little one.

negativenihil

(795 posts)
22. wait what?
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 02:10 PM
Jan 2012

a 33 year old adult woman at some point decided it would be ok to go after a 9 year old *girl*... with a disease like this... “Because it rubs their ass raw”?

Words escape me.

Rest in peace Kathleen.

 

riderinthestorm

(23,272 posts)
26. Here's hoping her last days were filled with peace and love. That smile just lights her face up!
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 02:17 PM
Jan 2012

What a beautiful and brave girl who hopefully got some peace in her last days without that hateful bitch in her life or anywhere near her.

Beacool

(30,244 posts)
28. Rest in peace, little angel.
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 02:23 PM
Jan 2012

As for the rotten bastards who taunted her, may they rot in hell when their time comes.

renate

(13,776 posts)
32. She is at peace now, and I think they're in hell already
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 05:02 PM
Jan 2012

Living every minute of every day with that rank stew of vileness and hatefulness inside them... I don't think they've had a moment of peace in their lives. I think that they are literally living in hell already.

Beacool

(30,244 posts)
38. I remember this story when it first aired.
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 10:09 PM
Jan 2012

It is beyond comprehension how a feud between neighbors could escalate to the point where a woman would make fun of a dying little girl and her dead mother. How vile can someone be????

Sometimes human beings make me sick.

DonCoquixote

(13,615 posts)
39. Petkov=Typical GOP
Fri Jan 13, 2012, 01:47 AM
Jan 2012

People who insist they have a god given right to hurt people as much as they want, and then get angry when you dare challenge them.

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