Mother Calls Daughter Who Killed Abusive Husband, ‘My Hero!’
A 14-year-old Ohio girl who shot her father in the head as he slept on the couch, while his wife slept on the floor next to him, is being hailed a “hero” by her mother, who says the man abused them all.
But law enforcement doesn’t see it that way and the girl remains behind bars.
According to a report in the New York Daily News. Brandi Meadows told WJW-TV on Thursday that her daughter Bresha “helped us all” when she shot her father, Jonathan Meadows, 41, in the head with his own gun on July 28 at their home in Warren, 55 miles southeast of Cleveland. Meadows allegedly beat his wife and kids and threatened them with his .45-caliber handgun often, according to Bresha’s lawyer and her family.
Through tears, Bresha’s mother, 41-year-old Brandi, said, “I love her and she helped us all. She’s my hero, our hero. I wasn’t strong enough to get out and she helped me.”
But there are conflicting stories, as the dead man’s sister says there is no history of such abuse, and says that her niece needs help.
On Wednesday, Bresha pleaded not guilty to a charge of aggravated murder in juvenile court. And Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Stanley Elkins, who is still investigating the case, is asking for the public’s help. Elkins admits to hearing stories about the abuse “only on the news,” but adds, “I’m not finding any evidence of that.”And in a strange twist, Martina Latessa, who is a Cleveland police officer AND the girls aunt, admits SHE EVEN REPORTED THE ABUSE to county child welfare services when Bresha ran away from home to her house in May.“From day one, she was born into a nightmare,” Bresha’s aunt says on the first video below.”According to Cleveland defense attorney, Ian Friedman, who is representing the girl, “This was a classic situation of a battered woman as it relates to mom. The girl and her siblings witnessed this every day. It reached a point where it’s self-defense and defense of others,” the attorney said, adding, “In her mind, this was the only opportunity she had to defend her family and her mother.”In the video directly below, Brandi Meadows speaks through tears about why her daughter is her “hero” and attorney Ian Friedman sheds light on how he will proceed.
But Jonathan Meadows sister, Bresha’s aunt, seems to downplay the abuse as she speaks to the media in the video below.
“It’s not something that just happened, it was premeditated,” says Tina Cooper, Meadows sister.
Cooper, according to the report, did not deny that there had been abuse in the past. But apparently believes it stayed in the past and should be forgotten.
“There’s no hospital reports or medical records to show broken bones she or any of this stuff she is trying to…(cut off),” Cooper continues.
Though Cooper apparently admits to the child’s recent attempts to run away, as a red flag, she still seems to have trouble believing the abuse story.
“How can she be hailed a hero,” Cooper says to the reporter. “The child is sick. She needs help.”
Jonathan Meadows family buried their relative, and says it was “very difficult.” But they vow to not let his death be attacked and misrepresented.
Meanwhile, the judge in Bresha’s case has scheduled a pretrial hearing for Aug. 30, and Friedman has agreed to cooperate with the investigation though it has not been decided if the teen will be tried as a juvenile or adult.
