Report: Alleged Maryville rape victim attempts suicide
Updated January 7, 2013 3:20 PM EST
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Daisy Coleman, an alleged teen rape victim in a case in Maryville, Mo. which garnered national attention late last year, was hospitalized Monday night after attempting to take her own life, the teen’s mother reportedly told Fox affiliate WDAF-TV.
Melinda Coleman reportedly told the station that her daughter had attended a party for about an hour Saturday night and was then attacked immediately afterward on a number of Twitter accounts.
Melinda Coleman said her daughter was in stable condition Monday night at a children’s psychiatric hospital in Kansas City, according to the station.
Daisy Coleman and her family allege Daisy was raped during a Jan. 2012 alcohol-fueled gathering, at the age of 14, by a 17-year-old football player who attended high school with her.
Authorities initially arrested and charged the 17-year-old, Matthew Barnett, in the case. However, months later, the charges were dropped due to what Nodaway County Prosecutor Robert Rice said was a lack of evidence and witnesses refusing to cooperate.
The case drew national attention following an Oct. 12 report in the Kansas City Star which questioned Rice’s motives in dropping the case and delved into the alleged harassment endured by Daisy and her family.
The paper reported at the time that after coming forward with her allegations, Daisy was in regular therapy, was admitted to a hospital four times and spent 90 days at a residential facility for struggling teens. She also reportedly tried committing suicide twice, the paper reported.
Prosecutor Rice denied any political motivation in dropping the charges in the case and maintains Daisy and her mother stopped cooperating and that there was not enough evidence to move forward with the case. Daisy's mother, Melinda Coleman, told Crimesider in October that her family never stopped cooperating. She said she only invoked her Fifth Amendment right after the felony charges were dropped in the case and after Rice and a rape advocate talked her into doing so.
On Oct. 16, Rice asked for a special prosecutor to take a new look at the case, and Jean Peters Baker was given that assignment.
When asked via telephone Tuesday on the status of the investigation into the alleged rape of Daisy Coleman, Mike Mansur, public information officer for the Jackson County prosecutor's office, said, "We're continuing to make progress."
