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A Victim of Poor Choices
July 15, 2004
This is getting played as a typical "spurned, abusive mate goes berserk" story, but I wonder if it's not just as much a "stay in school" morality play. Antigone "Mona" Allen, 18, of Pierce County, Washington, was burned to death along with her three young children after they were doused with gasoline and set afire by her boyfriend Genaro Garcia, 24. They were asleep in his car at the time. According to news accounts, Garcia, 24, who also killed himself, battered his wife and was excessively controlling. But by dropping out of school at age 15 to have three babies in the next three years, Allen set herself up for this relationship from Hell. She was still a child, as other episodes also indicate. Gleaned from the front-page story in today's Seattle Times (link above) are the following: Antigone Allen dropped out of school at age 15 to have Christine, and did not have a high-school diploma. She had pleaded guilty to a juvenile misdemeanor charge of assault after hitting a fellow middle-school student, according to court records. At the time of her death, Allen was facing misdemeanor charges for a fight at a swap meet in July 2003. Allen had left Garcia eight times, but always came back. The last time was hours before she and her children were murdered by him. ....Why did Allen go back the last time? Her sister says Allen, had few options. "She wanted to make things work for her family. It's hard to be 18 years old with no job, no resources and three kids." It sure is. And while there is no excuse for Garcia's monstrous actions, to sidestep the roles of Allen herself and her parents in this tragedy is dishonest. Why did she drop out and get pregnant at age 15? Where were her parents then? Was Garcia the father of all three of her children? What was the immigration status of this "roofing contractor who came into the U.S. from Mexico" and who - according to what Allen told police earlier - was involved in a "criminal proceeding" in California. What proceeding? And if true, was he a witness, or as an alleged perpetrator? What is his entire criminal record, if anything beyond one arrest related to a domestic dispute with Allen? Inquiring minds want to know. UPDATE I: The P-I reports that according to Allen's sister, Garcia was an illegal immigrant. The P-I claims Garcia was also the father of all three children whom he killed, though the Times (below) indicates that may not be true. Not only was Allen a teen mother, the P-I reports, so were her sister and mother. UPDATE II: This 7/17 Seattle Times story says it's not clear if Garcia fathered all three of the children he killed, that even (the 18-year-old mother) Allen's friends and family weren't sure. A friend is quoted saying one child was fathered by someone else, and one by Garcia. Unsure about the third. So far in both Seattle dailies, no in-depth story on Allen's parents. We do know her mother was a teenage mother herself. Which sadly, may explain a lot. Her mother's and father's tales need to be told. That's the real backstory here. Posted by Matt Rosenberg at July 15, 2004 08:47 AM Trackback Pings TrackBack URL for this entry: Listed below are links to weblogs that reference A Victim of Poor Choices:
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» Cum Fiesta from Cum Fiesta Tracked on September 6, 2005 05:46 PM Comments:
I was wondering the same things as I read that story in The Times this morning. Note to parents...Give a damn about your children! or don't have them! The only true "victims" here are the three young children. I also noticed that the immigration status of the "father" was not mentioned. Was he here illegally? Better not touch on that or might be considered RACIST! And where are the girls parents in all of this? (Oh wait...she was most likely born out of wedlock...brokenhome..."boyfriends"...stepdad/s...domestic violence...substance abuse...poverty...crime...and the cycle continues....) Of course I'm sure the Seattle Socialists and other loony lefties will say this family was a victim of our oppressive Capitalist culture! then they will find some way to blame Bush, Haliburton, and "George Bush's rich oil cronies!" These are the same people that say that defending traditional marriage is not important, and if you do...you are automatically branded a homophobic biggot (as witnessed at the Mayday for Marriage rally at Safeco Field.) Sadly...killing our babies and children has become all the rage in this country. There are stories on a daily basis about parents killing their kids or leaving them to die in dumpsters. The sad part is that we have become so used to these atrocities that there is little public outrage or reporting on this nationwide epidemic! And passing "safe haven" (baby dump) laws, while well intentioned, send the wrong message, that it's ok to abandon your children!! Gee! Isn't life wonderful when you are abdicated of all personal resposibility! Anyway...sorry to rant and ramble...I enjoy your column in The Times, as you are one of the few conservative voices in what is otherwise far left fishrap...but at least its less far left than the PI! Oh, and why is it that Jerry Large's column appears in the "Life" section?? If he feels compelled to continue to write his "pro-Socialist" drivel, they could at least put his column on the Op/Ed page where it belongs. --thematrix Posted by: thematrix at July 15, 2004 11:44 PMI can answer one question for you. At leas according to her sister, he waa an illegal immigrant. Through yesterday, the Seattle Times still hadn't mentioned that, though the PI did. Posted by: Jim Miller at July 16, 2004 04:06 AMmy sister's and my mother was married for 13 years. We didn't come from a broken home. At the time of the death, she was in school, all three of my deceased kin children were by Geno. She did have her kids when she was young and she took good care of them. Things happen. A parent can only do so much. Geno was illegally here but we never knew until after they started having children. We never knew about sex until I took her to the hospital to be told she was pregnant. We supported her and respected her decision. He tried drugs one time, and this is what happened. When it is your time to go, you go. Hopefully you are right with the Lord at that time. My mother doesn't speak too frequently, she still is mourning. Let the truth be told- no one is perfect. It isn't what happens to you, but how you accept and deal with it that tells the story of who you are. My sister was a good mother, a good sister and that's that. No one asked to be killed. No one deserves to be battered after the fact. What happened was tragic. I feel sorry for all involved, Geno too. I have to pray and push forward to try to save anyone else who may be in trouble. I don't think anyone had a completely perfect or normal childhood. We all fall short somewhere. God bless all of you. You will reep what you soe. Please thtink wisely before you spek, or attempt to place blame. You never know what you are going to get. I have read your stories, and some of you have been sympathetic and others not. But anyway, do you think that to prevent this would be to start preaching about contraceptives at a younger age since some of us teens started puberty at an earlier age?? Posted by: margaret Johnson at May 25, 2005 07:29 AMPost a comment
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