Homeless Women who slept on bench 10 years set on fire in LA

[shintao]

This is the society of sickos we live among. Dennis Petillo, 24, was arrested shortly after the attack when a witness called 911.

The woman made the bench her home [For 10 years] and often could be found sleeping there after sundown. He said he saw her Christmas Eve, getting ready to eat some soup.

"I told her, `Merry Christmas and happy New Year,' and she said she was doing good," Deol said. "She was so kind. She was happy to have someone talk to her."

Robert Wyneken, 75, who volunteers at a nearby church, called her the "sweetest lady on the street" who supported herself by recycling cans and didn't like to panhandle. He said there were efforts to get her housing and in contact with family, but she wouldn't have it.

"I just think she had something in her life where she wanted to be alone," he said. "She didn't want to be a burden to anybody."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57561079-504083/homeless-woman-set-on-fire-while-sleeping-on-bench-california-police-say/

[Deep13]

1. "rec" for posting. Appalled by the story.

The set on fire part is too symbolic of the hatred America has for the poor.

Also appalling: she slept on a bench for a decade.

[haele]

2. According to the article, the woman was 87 years old -

and currently in critical condition in a local hospital.

Poor old woman - somebody's daughter at the very least, who survived through a long life and was just making due the best she could with what she had left to her.
In thirty years, that could be me - I have no children, and my only family that I might have left when I'm in my 80's would be a brother with his own family who lives over a thousand miles away, my husband and his stepdaughter who doesn't like me very much anyway. If something happened to Laz, with my health issues and the way the economy is heading...

I doubt she'll recover. All because some person felt the need to hurt someone else badly just to make themselves feel better or more in control of the world around them.



Haele

[Skittles]

5. plenty of people sleeping in the streets have children

sad but true

[Recovered Repug]

6. For the record, she's 67. nt

[Fire Walk With Me]

3. Awful, very difficult to imagine :(

[Lone_Star_Dem]

4. There are no words I can think of to do justice to this atrocity.

I hope they catch the person responsible.

[undergroundpanther]

7. Don't blame mental illness

and keep fostering the idea mentally ill people are violent.

Blame it on a type of personalirty,called sociopathy!! Sociopaths are born that way and do not change they have NO true mental illness,because mental illness responds to treatment, sociopathy does NOT.