Burned Dolls Left at Teen Victim's Sister's Home
Burned dolls thrown in pool at Michael Brewer's sister's house
By HANK TESTER, SHARON LAWSON and BRIAN HAMACHER
Updated 6:58 AM EST, Fri, Nov 6, 2009
The sister of the Deerfield Beach 15-year-old who was savagely burned by a pack of revenge-driven teens was shocked to discover a pair of burned dolls floating in her pool yesterday.
Malissa Durkee, sister of Michael Brewer, made the appalling discovery in her backyard pool just before 1 p.m. yesterday, according to a Broward Sheriff's Office police report.
Durkee told police the dolls, one male and one female, had been left out on the front lawn the night before by her two daughters. The dolls were found fused together at the hands and feet, according to the report.
The Brewer family was outraged at the latest incident.
"They're sick, you know, I don't think anybody finds it funny, if that's what they're trying to convey," said Patti Gendon, aunt to Durkee and Brewer. "And if they're trying to scare my niece, we'll have my niece removed from this house."
Durkee, 22, also told police she'd found her back gate open when she found the dolls, and that she'd heard dogs barking earlier that morning between 2:30 and 3 a.m.
Brewer was doused with rubbing alcohol and set on fire by five teens at an apartment complex on Oct. 12. He jumped into a nearby pool to extinguish the flames. Brewer had been staying with Durkee at the house before the incident.
Yesterday, the mother of two of the teens accused of helping to set Brewer on fire expressing her sorrow over the horrific attack.
"I don't have the words to express any more," said an emotional Shelly Jarvis, mother of Denver and Jeremy Jarvis.
Denver, 15 and Jeremy, 13, along with Matthew Bent, 15, Steven Shelton, 16 and Jesus Mendez, 16, have all been charged in the attack that left Brewer with burns over 65 percent of his body.
The teens are accused of setting him on fire over a dispute over a $40 video game.
The Jarvis brothers and Bent have been charged with aggravated assault. Mendez and Shelton have been charged with aggravated battery, with Mendez, who lit the fire, charged with attempted murder.
Shelly Jarvis, with her husband and two daughters at her side yesterday, spoke with regret over the attack.
"We'd like to express how horribly sorry we are, this is a horrible incident that should have never have occurred," a shaken Jarvis said.
Jarvis said her family is wishing Brewer, who is still in critical but stable condition in the burn unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital, a full recovery.
"We pray for Mikey's, Michael's recovery every day and he gets stronger, which we know in our hearts he will," she said.
The five teens are scheduled to appear in court next week. All are being held in a juvenile detention center as prosecutors work to determine whether they'll be tried as juveniles or adults.
First Published: Nov 5, 2009 7:01 AM EST
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