A week ago, I posted a diary on the sickest people in Michigan: Jennifer and Scott Petkov, the scumbags who taunted and tormented a dying little girl and her dead mother...because they felt snubbed over a party 2 years earlier.
Most of you have probably heard about this by now; if not, read the whole story at the link, 'cus it'll make your jaw drop and your teeth clench in anger.
The next day, I posted the follow-up, after the story had gone viral.
Today, I'm very, very heartened to post what is likely my final update on this saga, a heartwarming (if bittersweet) coda...plus an additional twist.
From Friday's Ann Arbor News, the headline pretty much says it all...really not much for me to add:
Dying little girl cyber-bullied by neighbors gets toy shopping spree of a lifetime in Ann Arbor
Since the neighbors' actions, the story has generated attention around the world. In comments and online forums, again and again, people asked: “How could they?”
Ann Arbor toy store owners Hans and Tricia Masing of Tree Town Toys wondered that, too. Hearing of the incident made him cry, Hans admitted. They began to construct a fundraising campaign and then a day of a lifetime for Kathleen and her family. The idea took off.
“This exceeds our wildest expectations,” Hans Masing said.
“Anything you want is yours,” Simone, the toy store owners' 8-year-old daughter, told Kathleen Thursday morning shortly after she walked through the door.
Simone took the little girl’s hand, and together they walked toward the shelves and shelves of toys.
What did Kathleen think of it?
Her answer: more big smiles and a shy giggle. She put on a toy fireman's hat. Wide-eyed, she made her way around the store, stopping to play with toys along the way.
A slideshow that will melt your heart
I know it's sappy.
I don't care.
It's beautiful.
MEANWHILE, let's take a look at what's happened to her tormenter, Jennifer Petkov, who grinned as she boasted about the "personal satisfaction" that she took in taunting and mocking a dying 7-year old girl and her dead mother:
Woman that taunted 7-year-old girl arraigned for reckless driving
WOODHAVEN — A woman who has gained worldwide notoriety for tormenting a 7-year-old girl dying of Huntington’s disease and her family was arraigned Friday afternoon in 33rd District Court on charges of felonious assault and reckless driving.
If convicted of felonious assault, Jennifer Petkov, 33, of Trenton could face up to four years in prison. The charge of reckless driving is a misdemeanor and carries a sentence of up to 93 days in jail.
Petkov is accused of trying to run over a neighbor at about 4:25 p.m. Wednesday as the woman was crossing the street in the 200 block of Detroit.
...
The squabble gained international attention after Petkov posted pictures on the Internet of Rose’s 24-year-old daughter, Laura Edward, who died last year of Huntington’s disease, and Rose’s granddaughter, 7-year-old Kathleen Edward, who also has Huntington’s. Her grandfather also died of the disease...
According to police, the woman crossing the street was going to visit Rose.
Note: I have no clue why the article's headline emphasizes the "reckless driving" (a misdemeanor) part instead of the "felonious assault" part (up to 4 years in prison), but whatever.
Let me be the first to simply say:
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!