Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

October 23, 2008 By Fausta

McCain volunteer mugged and mutilated – or is it a hoax? UPDATE: From the looks of it, it’s not a hoax…. but….

Drudge

‘B’ CARVED INTO 20-YEAR OLD WOMAN’S FACE… DEVELOPING…
SHOCK: MCCAIN VOLUNTEER ATTACKED AND MUTILATED IN PITTSBURGH

Verified:
Woman Attacked At ATM, Assailant Carves Letter Into Her Face
Woman Robbed, Attacked With Knife At Bloomfield ATM

Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Diane Richard tells Channel 4 Action News that the victim was robbed at knifepoint on Wednesday night outside of a Citizens Bank near Liberty Avenue and Pearl Street just before 9 p.m.

Richard said the robber took $60 from the woman, then became angry when he saw a McCain bumper sticker on the victim’s car. The attacker then punched and kicked the victim, before using the knife to scratch the letter “B” into her face, Richard said.

Rage.

UPDATE
Ace has his doubts.

Is it a hoax?

Clarification:
A couple of people have asked why am I asking if it’s a hoax?
Last year a Princeton U student self-inflicted a concussion after receiving some threatening emails. I am not saying that the Pittsburgh incident is a hoax; I’m asking if it is.

UPDATE 2: Ed posted the photo, and from the looks of it, it’s not self-inflicted.

If it’s not a hoax, it’s a despicable act of violence.

5:45PM
Erick has a screenshot of the first Memeorandum link, omitting a small detail:

6:45PM:
Via Newsbusters, video.

8PM
I’m not the only skeptic:

The “B” is far to shallow and clean to be taken seriously.

I remain unconvinced: until there’s word on what was caught the ATM video camera, I’ll continue to have serious doubts.

10:50PM
A final coment for the evening – I remain unconvinced, and by now the only thing that would convince me that it’s not a hoax would be the video from the ATM camera.

Friday, 24 October
Follow-up post: Police to do lie-detector test to alleged mugging victim

Police: Campaign Volunteer Lied, Injured Self.

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Filed Under: Election2008, John McCain, politics, Republicans Tagged With: Fausta's blog

Comments

  1. Republican says

    October 23, 2008 at 5:23 pm

    Hmm, I wonder what the race was of the guy who mugged her. Hmm, gee, was he BLACK?

  2. T-Steel says

    October 23, 2008 at 6:02 pm

    Yes he was black and….???

  3. Fausta says

    October 23, 2008 at 6:25 pm

    Republican, so what? Just recently a Caucasian beat up an Obama supporter. No matter what, it’s wrong.

  4. T-Steel says

    October 23, 2008 at 6:31 pm

    Exactly Fausta. Thugs come in all colors. I hate this stuff. I don’t care if it’s a McCain, Obama, Barr, Spongebob Squarepants, etc supporter it happens to, this absolutely disgusts me.

  5. Kilo says

    October 23, 2008 at 7:42 pm

    “Ed posted the photo, and from the looks of it, it’s not self-inflicted.”

    Wow. So you heard a girl got her face carved up by a street thief who was beating her, and when you saw a picture of someone who’s neatly scratched a backwards B using a mirror you said: “I’m sold” ?

    I guess it was lucky the guy beating her in a frenzy of hatred on the street was thoughtful enough to stop and go get a toothpick so it wouldn’t be too serious. And a mirror.

    Maybe if only she wasn’t updating her Twitter page with unconvincing details she might have been more aware of her surroundings.

    If you can buy this, I’ve got a WTC7 to sell you.

  6. T-Steel says

    October 23, 2008 at 8:03 pm

    I just saw the Twitter page. This is looking more and more like a hoax.

  7. Fausta says

    October 23, 2008 at 8:14 pm

    I agree, T.
    Until there’s word on the ATM video camera, it’s looking more and more like the Princeton U student hoax from last year.

  8. Samuel Cohen says

    October 23, 2008 at 9:17 pm

    I cannot believe you morons would fall for such a stupid hoax. Look at this idoit woman, she carved the “B” backwards! Oops. Forgot about that mirror image stuff.

    Republicans, I have two words to say to you all: BEND OVER.

    Have a nice November 5th.

  9. griefer says

    October 23, 2008 at 10:08 pm

    hoax.
    that isn’t a shiner, its makeup.
    No swelling, no subcutaneous hematoma.
    why is the B backwards? was the mugger dyslexic….or ….did she do herself while looking in a mirror?
    Of course she wouldn’t go to the hospital.
    You guyz been scammed.
    Why does republican have to mean the party of teh Stupid?

    Oh, I forgot……..Palin.

  10. merge divide says

    October 23, 2008 at 10:39 pm

    Call me a cynic… but if I’m going to rob a woman at knife-point in front of an ATM on the busiest street in Bloomfield (which happens to be the almost-entirely-white Little Italy section of town), I’m not going to stick around afterwards to see what bumper stickers she has on her car, and then double-back to carefully scratch (it was certainly not “carved” as some would have it) a very neat backwards (or upside-down) “B” into her cheek (therefore making a political statement), and tell her I’m “teaching her a lesson”. Especially if I know that Sean Hannity just happens to be in town the next day.
    I guess it’s within the realm of possibility…

  11. Ernesto says

    October 23, 2008 at 10:44 pm

    Please consider posting this video and passing it along, it’s amazing. It’s great at showing the distinction between MaCain and Obama in regards to the abortion issue. Please pass this along to everyone you know. We have to get McCain elected… E

    http://americaschoicenow.com/

    “Abortion is advocated only by persons who have themselves been born.”
    Ronald Reagan

  12. Fausta says

    October 23, 2008 at 10:51 pm

    Again, this is looking a lot like the hoax from the Princeton U student.

    At this point the only thing that would convince me that it’s not a hoax would be the actual video from the ATM camera.

  13. Rachel says

    October 23, 2008 at 11:28 pm

    for all you so-called experts over black eyes and knife cuts, who the *&^% are you? CSI? Did you perpetrate the crime?

    Get a grip.

    How would you like it if YOUR daughter, sister, or wife was attacked and people doubted her? Innocent before proven Guilty. For BOTH parties.

  14. thlib says

    October 24, 2008 at 12:00 am

    THANK YOU merge divide!! This street is in an almost entirely white area of town and is busy at that hour. So, someone mugs her (gets her money) then either sticks around or doubles back to scratch a perfect “B” on her cheek backwards? AND after the mugger scratches her she doesn’t go to the hospital within blocks of this ATM? AND what’s with the “B”? Was her bumper sticker a “J”

  15. Anthony Look says

    October 24, 2008 at 12:28 am

    A backward carved “B” is ample reason to question the validity of the charge this woman is making; additionally, her refusal for medical attention begs the question. If this woman is indeed lying about some self inflicted wounds being done by a black man; she should be 5150’d and afforded the medical attention she so desperately needs. If someone believes that by chance she was attacked by a dyslexic cross eyed illiterate black man, that spells backwards; then I got a bridge to “know what” to sell you.

  16. Obi's Sister says

    October 24, 2008 at 8:34 am

    I just don’t know. I want to believe this poor girl but…

    As others have noted, the B is too perfect for me. It’s the other eye that bothers me the most.

    When someone gets socked in the eye, blood pools below it with a black/purple/red color, the socket swells (sometimes shut), usually the nose swells as well and sometimes there is visible blood in the eyeball. (How do I know? I’m the mom of a very active teenage boy who plays contact sports. There’s at least one black eye on that team every week!). As the swelling goes down, the coloration changes, fading from the vivid colors to an ugly mish-mash of green/yellow/black/brown.

    Her eye and nose are not notably swollen and the markings below look like gray eyeshadow.

    I’d like to see another picture of her now, 24-28 hours out from the incident. If the “black eye” hasn’t changed, it is a hoax.

  17. Paul says

    October 24, 2008 at 12:25 pm

    Re: Your comments, and others, about the backwards B carved into the gal in Pittsburgh.
    A Little Forensics, but first a A Historical Note:

    *****

    Doing your own research, check the common action in marking ‘working gals’ who stray into another Pimp’s territory, often that WG may be beaten or cut. If the gang is particularly vicious they with scribe the face, generally with a gang symbol or a ‘W’ for whore or another similar letter.

    The objective is to reduce her value to the competition pimps and keep the rest of the WG’s in line.

    New Orleans and New York Pimps historically used the old straight edge razor, irrespective of skin color.

    ******

    I would say that there is nothing in the physical evidence that would indicate any discrepancy. The black eyes are consistent with a slap that hit her nose or a glancing blow to the nose. I’ve seen dozens of athletes [mostly hockey players] with similar black eyes after a glancing blow to the nose.

    The backwards scribed ‘B’ would be equally consistent with an attacker holding the victim with the right hand (generally by the hair}, and marking her with the left hand. The perpetrator having a dull knife is merely consistent with sloppy choice in weapons, which is also a trait of many perps.

    Try it yourself with a butter knife and you will see how the left hand would move to create such a scratched marking. The fact that the ‘B’ is backward is completely irrelevant, although it is easier to scribe a ‘B’ backwards with the blade in the left hand. Merely a matter of human physiology.

    I hope this is helpful to those of you who are forensically challenged, which unfortunately seems to be the case with many of those making comments.

  18. Ego Nemo says

    October 24, 2008 at 1:04 pm

    >>>”How would you like it if YOUR daughter, sister, or wife was attacked and people doubted her? Innocent before proven Guilty. For BOTH parties.”

    You haven’t got it right. The rule in this case is:

    THE BURDEN OF PROOF FALLS TO THE ACCUSER.

    She is making an accusation. She must prove it. And until she does, RESPECTFUL skepticism is allowed.

  19. Addie says

    October 24, 2008 at 1:45 pm

    She’s admitted to making it all up. Party’s over.

    http://kdka.com/local/attack.McCain.Bloomfield.2.847628.html

  20. Patrick says

    October 24, 2008 at 1:57 pm

    http://kdka.com/local/attack.McCain.Bloomfield.2.847628.html

    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Police sources tell KDKA that a campaign worker has now confessed to making up a story that a mugger attacked her and cut the letter “B” in her face after seeing her McCain bumper sticker.

    Ashley Todd, 20, of Texas, initially told police that she was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield and that the suspect became enraged and started beating her after seeing her GOP sticker on her car.

    Police investigating the alleged attack, however, began to notice some inconsistencies in her story and administered a polygraph test.

    Authorities, however, declined to release the results of that test.

    Investigators did say that they received photos from the ATM machine and “the photographs were verified as not being the victim making the transaction.”

    This afternoon, a Pittsburgh police commander told KDKA Investigator Marty Griffin that Todd confessed to making up the story.

    The commander added that Todd will face charges; but police have not commented on what those charges will be.

    According to police, investigators working on the interview process detected several inconsistencies in Todd’s story that differed from statements made in the original police report.

    Pittsburgh Police Public Information Officer Diane Richard released a statement earlier today, saying: “Because of the inconsistencies in her statements, Ms. Todd was asked to submit to a polygraph examination which she agreed to do.”

    No photos of Todd are being released by Pittsburgh Police at this time.

    The investigation is continuing as officials determine what charges will be filed.

  21. ZBill says

    October 24, 2008 at 2:14 pm

    She has just admitted it was a hoax.
    May she have dozens of 6’4″ black men service her in hell for this.
    Probably a reversed desire……

  22. peavy says

    October 24, 2008 at 2:53 pm

    Paul:

    You call other people “forensically challenged?” You doofus! Knock off the ankle-deep blather about what is “consistent” with an attack, and face the obvious: The “victim” mutilated herself while looking into a mirror. It’s the Morton Downey Jr. hoax all over again.

  23. Calling a spade a spade says

    October 24, 2008 at 4:23 pm

    Hum, gee, “Republican” you are quick to show your racial bias. At least your baseless bigotry was exposed for all of us reading these comments.

    Republican Says:
    October 23rd, 2008 at 5:23 pm
    Hmm, I wonder what the race was of the guy who mugged her. Hmm, gee, was he BLACK?

  24. Fausta says

    October 24, 2008 at 4:56 pm

    Thank you Addie & Patrick. I posted the link in a separate post.

  25. steff says

    October 24, 2008 at 10:58 pm

    I suspect things will become more and more strange as we get closer to the Obama win on 11/4. GOP is simply dizzy from circling in the drain.

  26. Alex says

    October 25, 2008 at 2:40 pm

    Eat your words, racist republican idiots. You are so pathetic, including this Fausta who is not so mysterieuse. I can’t wait to read you on Nov. 5.

  27. proddecobbida says

    November 4, 2008 at 11:16 am

    I don’t even know,fellow!) continued to write in the same vein, it is interesting people!

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