A man in his early 30's had been at a pub with his brother having a beer and watching the presidential debate. A girl at the pub was flirting with one of the brothers. Another guy who had been drinking a LOT didn't like that the girl was not flirting with him, so he and his drunk friend started antagonizing the brothers. This led to one of the brothers being sucker punched in the head and knocked out. To show off for his friend, he started kicking the unconscious guy on the head. Over and over and over. He then began stomping on the guys head. Again, and again, and again--five times total. He then kicked him in the head one more time and then walked away very proud of what he had done.
While that was happening, the other drunk guy had been punching and beating up the other brother. He had no idea what had just happened to his brother until the two drunk guys walked away.
911 was called and the severely injured brother was taken to Harborview in a coma and is not expected to survive his severe brain/head injuries.
The case came into our office and was assigned to a different advocate. The victim's father was a VERY angry man, who was very difficult to work with. The advocate really struggled to work with him, so she asked if I would be willing to take the case, and I didn't hesitate. I found the victim's father to be quite understandably angry--not with our office, but with the drunk dude who did this to his son. I let him vent and cry and yell when he needed to, and told him that I really did understand. He has never been difficult at all with me.
The case is gearing up to go to trial, and I had an idea. I suggested to the prosecutor that we go down to the facility where the victim is, and film him in the condition he is in. Because he is in a coma, he would not be able to be in the courtroom during the trial, but I think the jury should get to see the damage that was done to him. The prosecutor thought it was a great idea, so we planned a trip to get video.
When we got to the care facility, I knew the victim's father was going to be there and was looking forward to seeing him. We walked in and as we walked down the hallway toward the victim's room, I could hear sobbing. It was coming from the victim's room, and I knew his Dad was there and was most likely in with him. As I walked into the victim's room, I realized the sobbing was coming from the victim. He was weeping, and his Dad was quietly crying.
I asked the nurse about what I was seeing, and he said that the victim can tell when his Dad is there and every time he is, he sobs.
The victim has a trach, a stomach tube for feeding, and can't move anything but his eyes. He weighs less than 100lbs now, (he had weighed 180 lbs) and his feet and arms are curled inward. He has a lot of pain and cries out frequently.
We got our video, and as we were leaving, I went into his room and told him who I was and that I was working to help get the guy who did this to him. I also told him how much his Dad loves him.
When we got back to the office, I had a voicemail from the victim's Dad saying, "I want to thank you so much for caring about my son. It means so much to me and my family."
Just this week they have brought hospice in, as he is not expected to live much longer.
All because of a girl.
