CHAPTER 10

 

Baltimore, Maryland

The small apartment had only one bedroom. Marie and the men she brought home from the bars would have sex on the bed while John slept peacefully alongside them in his crib. In the beginning, most of the men were halfway decent and tried their best not to wake the sleeping child. Marie could not have cared less. One night she actually shook the infant awake so her lover could make believe he was being watched while they did it. The idea appealed to both of them so much that, from then on, they made sure to have sex only when little John was awake and watching.

At first, the baby would just lie quietly in his crib, too preoccupied with his bottle to pay attention to the couple on the bed. Then, when the bottle would run dry or he would become bored, he would stand up on his wobbly legs and watch as his mother allowed herself to be violated in front of him. If he dared to make a sound, Marie would explode in a rage, screaming at him to be quiet. If he continued, she would hurl a pillow or other object at him to silence his crying. But, on other occasions, she would urge him to cry, especially if it excited her male visitor. If her lover wanted to slap the baby or pull his hair, she had no objection.

By the time he was two Marie grew tired of having him watch. She began shutting him up in the narrow clothes closet outside the bedroom. Once, during a two-day drunk, she left him there, while his pathetic cries went unanswered. When she finally staggered off to work, she entirely forgot about her son. When she returned home that afternoon, sober, she found the crib empty and went into a panic. She searched frantically throughout the apartment until, finally, she found him asleep in the closet, his pajamas soaked with urine.

Marie was sure he had hidden there to anger her. As punishment, she dragged him out and spanked him with a wooden spoon until the handle actually broke from the force of her blows. She made certain to inflict pain on his genitals.

“That’ll teach ya to wet your fuckin’ pants!” she screamed hysterically.

When he tried to cover himself, she tied his hands behind his back and continued the punishment. At last, tired from the exertion, she threw the little boy into his crib. His small hands were still tied.

 

At two-and-a-half, when other toddlers were beginning to talk, John was still mumbling unintelligibly. At three, when he finally did begin to speak, it was with great difficulty. Marie got so tired of hearing him say, “M-m-m-m-mom-m-y” that she began covering his mouth with tape.

“Shut up, ya fuckin’ idiot!” she would shout.

She began tying him up and stuffing a stocking in his little mouth. Hours would pass until finally, she would say to him, “Ya promise not to open your mouth? Huh? DO YA?” The little three-year old would nod his head sadly up and down. Only then would his loving mother remove the saliva-covered sock from his mouth.

Eventually, little John not only stopped stuttering, but also ceased talking altogether. He would only grunt when he wanted to eat or go to the bathroom. When Marie’s sexual partners commented on his strange behavior, she told them he was part chimpanzee. Everyone would have a good laugh, even little John. Then, her mood suddenly darkening, Marie would beat the boy unmercifully, stopping only when she grew too weary to continue. Occasionally, the beatings left the boy unconscious.