Official charges were filed against Michael Plumadore today, the man who was supposed to be babysitting 9-year-old Indiana girl Aliahna Lemmon but instead confessed to police that he bludgeoned the child to death and dismembered her body. But even while members of the Fort Wayne community breathe a sigh of relief that a psychopath is off of the streets, the troubling confession from Aliahna's dad will make it hard for parents to sleep at night. Even in his grief, Dawayne Maroney is backing up Tarah Souders' decision to send their daughter to Plumadore's house, along with her two younger siblings, while Souders fought off the flu.
And that's as scary as it is sad to hear Maroney talking about his grief over the death over his daughter. If you're like me, you believe strongly in a parent's intuition.
The news that neither parent saw this man as a threat leaves me cold. And yet, like Souders, Maroney says he never saw anything in Plumadore's character that would make him think he'd hurt his daughter.
Looking at Plumadore's mugshot, I find Maroney's claim hard to believe. Just looking at the man gives me chills. But then again, I have to admit I'm probably biased. He's confessed to killing an innocent child and spreading her body parts between his trailer and a nearby business. It's impossible to look at him without shuddering.
But as they always say, hindsight is 20/20, isn't it? How often do people on the news stand outside the home of a psychopath, their jaws wide open, stuttering to the local TV crew, "But, but, he was always such a nice guy! He mowed his lawn every single Saturday. He helped the Grannies cross the street!"
We've already heard over and over that Souders lived in an area that was crawling with registered sex offenders, and in comparison, Plumadore must have sounded like a peach. Sure, he had a criminal record, but it was for stuff like forgery, trespassing, assault, not crimes against kids. Not to mention, he'd helped care for Aliahna's dying grandfather. He'd evidently shown empathy and a concern for human life. Can you really blame these parents?
I'm glad to hear Maroney is backing up Souder because this mom can't possibly feel any worse right now -- the last thing she needs is her ex mouthing off about her in the media. But while he's making her feel better, he can't help but make the rest of us feel worse. That he also trusted the man accused of killing his baby girl is just another reminder that trusting people in this world is a massive leap of faith. Trusting them with our kids is even harder.
Do you have a hard time trusting people with your kids? Do you believe your intuition serves you the best?