Samaritan's Gift (eBook)
305 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-6678-9230-6 (ISBN)
An abused seven-year-old boy is caught up in the CPS system and shuffled from family to family, until he is finally adopted by a loving veterinarian and his wife. Barely surviving his childhood trauma, the boy is caught outside in the middle of a terrible thunderstorm, and young Walter Meyer is suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning and pays a tragic price - he suffers cardiac arrest. While he is unconscious, he has an out-of-body experience and encounters spiritual beings (he calls them angels) and experiences the loving presence that some call the Holy Spirit. Walter is given the gift of life and a special message. Miraculously, he is brought back to life and survives solely due to his parent's performing CPR and paramedic's efforts. When he awakens back in his own body, his experience did not feel like a dream or a hallucination, but was "e;more real than real life."e; He doesn't tell many people what exactly happened to him when he died, but when he does, they don't believe itso he only shares his story with those he trusts. His near death experience leaves him profoundly changed and he is blessed with incredible new abilities. He's become a better version of himself, however, he has trouble fitting back into everyday life. As he grows into manhood, his quest to fulfill God's message takes him from the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, to the lush serenity of Duke University, to his wildest adventure near Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, finally to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Driven by his new-found relationship with God, Meyer is on a singular-focused mission that enables him to overcome evil with good. He becomes a man of great wealth, finds his true love, and saves enumerable liveswith a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save the life of a future president.
PROLOGUE
A TOTAL OF 29 INDIVIDUALS were being arraigned in West Virginia’s Randolph County Circuit Courtroom in Elkins, West Virginia on the final day of June, after being indicted by a grand jury. Charges against the first 28 accused perpetrators took all morning and most of the afternoon. Most of the alleged criminals were men, but a few were women. Their crimes ranged the full gamut of offenses – from use or presentation of a firearm during commission of a felony, burglary, sexual assault and child abuse, delivery and possession of controlled drugs, shoplifting, conspiracy, and incest.
It was late afternoon nearing dinnertime by the time Randolph County Circuit Court Judge John Williams came to his last arraignment, number 29. The courtroom had nearly emptied, the only ones in attendance were the defendant, Robert Baker and his court-assigned defense attorney, the county prosecutor along with his assistant, the sheriff and several deputies, the court bailiff and reporter.
The old white-haired judge breathed a deep sigh. His six-four-inch frame ached from sitting in his chair all day. It was getting late and he promised his wife he wouldn’t be late for their 50th anniversary dinner. He glanced impatiently at his watch, then took a minute to scan the indictment paperwork, sat up and blanched at the charges.
He stared with steely blue eyes at the defendant, Robert Baker. He was stunned by the man’s appearance as he stood in an orange jumpsuit in handcuffs, next to his attorney.
The guy instantly reminded him of the main character in the Helter Skelter movie, centered around the investigation and trial of the horrific Tate-LaBianca mass murders orchestrated by a famous psychotic California pseudo-hippie cult leader.
The diminutive Baker stood at just five-foot-four inches. He was thin, of slight build, a shade hunchbacked, wore his black hair very long, almost to his shoulders, and had a heavy beard. Though handcuffed, his poise was casual, not stiff, as though he was completely at ease in the courtroom.
He could not believe that this little guy had done all the things the grand jury and Sheriff’s Office said he had. The defendant and his lawyer were given copies of the indictment when they entered the courtroom and were given plenty of time to discuss the charges, before being called upon to plead.
Robert Baker looked anything like a heavyweight criminal. He had dark penetrating eyes. The judge immediately noted how widely his upper eyelids were opened – his right eye more so than his left. His eyebrows were also elevated. His nostrils were peculiarly flared.
What made his face so devilish was that while his eyes were opened so large – the rest of his face – except for his nostrils – was relaxed. The judge knew from forty years’ experience in a courtroom how difficult it was to make such an expression without practicing – yet Baker did it effortlessly. It didn’t make sense.
Yet, the judge knew that to underrate him would be the biggest mistake he could make in his career.
This was the face of a crazed killer. A psychopath. The judge sensed it. Baker’s possessed expression gave the judge the chills. Judge Williams knew the three primary emotions which involved widely opened eyelids were: rage, fear, and violence, and this guy had hit the trifecta.
The judge cleared his throat and stated, “Robert Baker, you are being charged with one count of murder, two counts of felonious abuse to a child resulting in serious bodily injury; one count of malicious assault, a felony; three counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, second offense, a felony; one count of conspiracy to sell dangerous drugs, a felony; and one count of possession by a prohibited person of a firearm, a felony. How do you plead to these charges…guilty, or not guilty?”
Baker responded, “Definitely not guilty, judge. It was my girlfriend who tortured the little boy. When I confronted her about it, she attacked me with a kitchen knife, and I had to defend myself – we ended up in a struggle and it was an accident. I didn’t mean to kill her, but she was an extremely aggressive person and lacked maternal experience and parenting skills.”
Baker’s defense attorney stood up immediately and added, “Your honor, if anything, her death is attributable to his undiagnosed mental problems, his own experiences of being abused as a child. In view of these extenuating circumstance and his financial situation, we ask the court to consider lowering his bail amount to zero.”
Judge Williams pondered for a moment, then responded, “I’ll take that under consideration, but I’d like to hear first-hand testimony from the arresting officers and the county prosecutor, that is – what exact evidence do they have which supports the charges against your client.”
Randolph County Sheriff stood, walked up to the bench and responded, “Your honor, myself and two deputies went to the three-bedroom mobile home in response to a young boy’s plea for help. Officers found the little seven-year-old youngster walking alongside the road. The boy was first discovered along a country road by a passerby following his escape from being held against his will.”
“Where is the boy now?”
“The child is now safe in the custody of state welfare officials. His teeth were damaged from chewing the nylon ropes; and marks on his wrists, arms and legs clearly indicated he’d been tied up,” the sheriff said. “I’d like to add that our detectives couldn’t find anything to indicate where he was born. No shots – no medical records, period. Nothing for those first seven years. For all intents and purposes, he didn’t exist until we found him, and my understanding is that he’s been turned over to Child Protective Services”.
“Hmm. What exactly did the boy tell you happened to him?” he asked, as he meticulously jotted down notes.
“When questioned, the boy identified himself as Walter Adams and gave the officers the location where he lived. He said he’d been tied up for several weeks in his bedroom. He said out of desperation, he gnawed through the ropes with his teeth to escape from the residence while his mother’s boyfriend was away. The boys eyes were bruised to the point of being nearly swollen shut. He also told us that he thought his mother’s live-in boyfriend, Robert Baker, had killed his mother. This information in itself gave me and my deputies probable cause to go conduct an immediate emergency search of the home.”
“And what did you and your officers find when you arrived at the mobile home?” the judge asked.
“Nobody was at home, so we broke into the home. A search of the residence revealed a body inside of a large chest-type freezer. At first we thought it was the carcass of a butchered deer, but later the coroner determined it was a woman.”
“The boy’s mother?” he queried.
“Yes, your honor, her name was Sandra Adams,” he stated. “Before he killed her, we have evidence that Baker pimped her out to a heroin dealer in exchange for drugs and money.”
“Did you see where the boy had been held captive in the mobile home to substantiate his story?”
“Yes, your honor, we took photos and kept the ropes as evidence,” the burly sheriff replied. “The bedroom where he was held captive and beaten immediately brought tears to my eyes. It’s the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen done to a human being,” he told the judge. He quickly added, “Ain’t none of us in the entire sheriff’s office never seen anything like it in the years that we’ve been doing this as law enforcement officers,” he added. “And we’ve seen a lot – but not like we saw that day.”
The sheriff suddenly broke down, prompting Judge Williams to call for a 10-minute break, to allow the lawman time to regain his composure. When he returned to the courtroom, he continued his testimony.
He said, “Robert Baker starved the seven-year-old, to the point where he only weighed 30 pounds when we found him. He was nothing but skin and bone. It’s the most horrifying case of child abuse our investigators have ever seen. Baker would lock the boy in a closet or tie him to a bed for weeks at a time.”
Baker jumped up from his seat and insisted he had nothing to do with the alleged tying and starvation of the boy. “His momma did it, I tried to stop her! I had nuthin’ to do with it,” he yelled.
“Sit down and shut up, or I’ll have you muzzled, shackled, and removed from my courtroom,” the judge warned him.
The prosecuting attorney showed the judge disturbing pictures of the skeletal condition of the young boy. Judge Williams strained to hear a poor-quality recording made by a state caseworker interviewing the child. He was visibly disturbed at what he heard, including a conversation the boy recalled with his mother’s boyfriend. “Sometimes Robert Baker would laugh at me and say I looked like an Eth-i-op-i-an, then beat me and slap me with his hands. He usually tied me to a bed for many days at a time. He’d tie my right hand to my left leg, and my left hand was tied to my right leg – so I couldn’t escape.”
“What did he give you to eat while you were tied up?” the caseworker asked the boy.
“He gave me a tube of toothpaste, some banana peels and dogfood,” the boy answered simply. “That’s what I ate to keep alive.”
Upon hearing the boys voice on the recording, Robert Baker giggled to himself, and smiled often.
“Shut up Mr. Baker!” the judge barked and pounded his gavel loudly. “This is the last time I’m going to admonish you.”
After the recording ended, the...
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 21.2.2023 |
|---|---|
| Sprache | englisch |
| Themenwelt | Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen |
| ISBN-10 | 1-6678-9230-4 / 1667892304 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-6678-9230-6 / 9781667892306 |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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