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Thread: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

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    3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    If this has already been posted, forgive me.  I couldn't find it.

    An extremely sad and shocking day in Westwego, LA, 3-month-old Natalie Hill died in her crib after being bitten over 100 times by rats. She was covered in hundreds of bites, and there was blood all over her crib, police said.

    The mother, Casey Laine and father, Robbie Hill were aware of a rat problem in the home. The father had placed rat traps and rat poison through out the house.  He said it was so bad, you could hear them in the walls.  The house is said to have holes in the floors as well as the walls.

    He said, "I did know they had a rat problem. I was doing what I had to do. I put out pellets, poison and traps," Hill said in the interview. "They should have trapped up that rat before it did what it did to my baby girl."

    The distraught father, 21-year-old Robbie Hill said Natalie and her 14-month-old brother were asleep in another room.  Robbie Hill nor his girlfriend had not heard crying coming from the other room, leaving many locals suspicious of the young couple.  Most are outraged, others feel sorrow for the parents.  Obvious, the 14-month old brother has been taken by Child Protective Services because of the conditions of his house.

    Westwego Police Chief Dwayne Munch said Thursday that they're trying to figure out the order of events. "We're unsure right now if the bites were the cause of death or if the baby expired before and the bites happened after," Much said. If the child died because of rat bites, both parents could face criminal charges.

    Personally, I know Westwego very well and have friends who live there.  It's a quaint little town on the bend of the Mississippi river about 20 miles outside of New Orleans. Most who live there are good hard working people who work at the local shipyard.  Many of the homes are well kept, but old. This house is about 3 blocks from the Mississippi river. Its no secret the city of Westwego had and has a rat problem.

    Westwego addresses the city's problem with rats...

    The city of Westwego is stepping in to help combat the area's rat problem.

    Workers went door-to-door on Friday, handing out rat poison.

    Westwego Mayor John Shaddinger said he wanted to do something to help people living in the city, so he and members of Code Enforcement handed out the rat poison. Shaddinger said he didn't realize the problem was so bad until the recent incident.

    "We're trying to assure neighbors and community they're safe," Shaddinger said.

    Neighbors like Lillian Endy are taking advantage and admitting to a neighborhood rat problem.

    "The rat pulled the covers off and was behind the bird cage," Endy said. "He jumped all the way to my kitchen."

    Neighbors near the family's Central Avenue home said Friday that they've noticed a rat problem on their street.

    Neighbor Alton St. Amant showed WDSU a huge rat hole in his front yard, one he's tried to fill in for years.

    "For a hole that size, it has to be a pretty good size rat," St. Amant said.

    Jefferson Parish treated the drains in the neighborhood for rats, and the rat poison is free to anyone who wants it.

    For local story:

    http://www.wdsu.com/news/20087925/detail.html

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    Riotous Defective snowfallsoon's Avatar
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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    This story doesn't make sense.....

    The parents said they fed her at 2:30AM and she was discovered 5 hours later. HUNDREDS of rat bites?
    Most of the bites were around the nose and one of her legs.

    There's got to be more to this story....

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    Riotous Defective snowfallsoon's Avatar
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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    and why didn't anyone hear the baby crying?

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    The parents SEEM genuine in their sadness and shock. 

    I just don't see how they didn't hear the baby cry, or know the rat problem was as bad as it was.

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    Poor Natalie. RIP.

    I wonder if the 14-month old had any rat bites?

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    I wonder if the baby died from something else first (like SIDS)?

    Another thing I was thinking, he said he had 'poison & pellets' everywhere....I know the baby was only 3 months old, but who
    knows what could have happened.

    Also what if the rats were living in the mattress? They love to make nests in places like that....

    Anyway, the police say it doesn't look like she had life threatening injuries....will be a while before they find out how she did die.

    Now they are also separated from their other child, who was not bitten.


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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    Neighbors said rodents have been a problem in the area for some time and that rats have gotten into several homes.

    Annette Stevens, who lives next door to the child's family, said the girl's parents always took good care of her and her siblings. She said the family was cordial and seemed happy.

    "They never neglected the children, they were always clean and well-fed," Stevens said.

    However, she said rodents were often seen running through the streets, and she had seen Natalie's father outside laying rat traps in the past. Other neighbors said the city of Westwego provides rat poison to them to deal with rodents in the street.

    http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/rat_bites_cover_baby_found_dea.html


    Alright so if there is a major rat problem in the city and in this neighborhood (IE other neighbors having issues with them, rats running around in the streets etc) then how in the hell can these people be charged with anything?  If anything the city should be responsible.

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    this story reminds me of this story:

    http://mydeathspace.com/smf/index.php?topic=4424.0#msg166637

    fucking sad, man.
    "Since change is constant, you wonder if people crave death because it's the only way they can get anything really finished." -Chuck Palahniuk

    Quote Originally Posted by Nancy Drew View Post
    I love everyone except Amy.
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    Amy's taste > Tara's

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    [quote author=Karalicious link=topic=21176.msg1341027#msg1341027 date=1248228968]
    this story reminds me of this story:

    http://mydeathspace.com/smf/index.php?topic=4424.0#msg166637

    fucking sad, man.
    [/quote]

    Holy shit. 

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    Both of those stories are terrible.

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    [size=12pt][size=12pt]Blood loss from rat bites appears to be cause of child's death[/size][/size]

    03:08 PM CDT on Wednesday, July 22, 2009
    WWLTV.com

    WESTWEGO, La. – Blood loss due to the attack by a rat or rats appears to be the cause of death of the three-month-old girl who died last week in a Westwego home, according to a statement by Jefferson Parish Forensic Pathologist Susan M. Garcia.

    The official cause of death on the statement was "Exsanguination due to destruction of soft tissue secondary to murine activity."

    Authorities had been trying to determine whether bites occurred while the child was alive or dead.

    Natalie Hill was found in her crib by her parents covered with rat bites Thursday morning in the 700 block of Central Avenue.

    Also Online

    Photos of home

    The parents of Natalie, Robby Hill and Casey Lane, found her in the her crib after they fed her last, according to Westwego Police Chief Dwayne Munch, adding that emergency calls were placed to authorities between 7 and 7:30 a.m.

    When EMS and police arrived at the house, Munch said, they found Natalie, a large amount of blood and hundred’s bites on her body – including flesh being removed from her nose and the bottom of her leg. Bloody prints from the crib resembled a large rat.

    Child services took the older child of Hill and Lane into protective custody last week, and a judge held custody hearing for the child Wednesday.

    The curator for Audubon Zoo, Rick Dietz said rats can be very destructive and aggressive, but it would be very unusual for the rodents to attack a live baby.

    "The more likely scenario would be if the baby was dead already that the rats would bite on her," said Dietz. "If she was alive, they probably would not because of the screaming and kicking and all that the baby would do."

    Some neighbors acknowledged a neighborhood rodent problem, but said that Hill and Lane were good parents.

    “They are good parents,” Annette Stevens, a neighbor. “They would never put them in harm’s way. They kept them clean and fed. They were good parents.”

    Lane defended herself publically after the death of her daughter in a Times-Picayune video, saying, “It hurts, it feels like a piece of me is gone and it’ll never be back.”

    “I just wish people would stop and realize that I’m a good parent. My husband is a good parent. I never meant to put my child in any kind of danger. If I had known it was that bad, I would have never even lived there.”

    Munch said the home was cluttered, though not necessarily dirty, but he said the structure had several problems.

    “Holes in the wall, holes in the floor,” he said. “It’s an older home. It’s not something you would want to be raising a family in.”

    Westwego Mayor John Shaddinger said earlier, city code inspectors sent the couple a letter, instructing them to clean up their yard.

    "At the front of the house, there was some trash that needed to be removed," said Shaddinger. "They didn't comment that this house needed to be torn down, they never commented that they saw rats. They never commented it had holes in the side of the building or on the roof."


    http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stories/wwl072209tprwestwegoupdate.6733c015.html

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    Senior Member A Midnight Dreary's Avatar
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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    OMFG. Poor little baby. 

    RIP 

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    Poor baby. I hope the city does something to take care of the rat problem. There are a lot of other techiques to keeping rats of your house. I  have heard from a lot of people that having small cups filled with liquid laundry detergent in part of the house does keeps rodents away.

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    I have a fear of rats.
    If i just see one in person i start to cry and hyperventilate.
    Obviously i couldnt live in a house infested with rats.
    But even for the normal person i cant imagine having such an infestation.
    When asked why didnt he move Hill said
    I watched my mother die in that house
    that would be more of a cause for me to move

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    [quote author=HockeyGirl link=topic=21176.msg1343191#msg1343191 date=1248418597]
    I have a fear of rats.
    If i just see one in person i start to cry and hyperventilate.
    Obviously i couldnt live in a house infested with rats.
    But even for the normal person i cant imagine having such an infestation.
    When asked why didnt he move Hill said that would be more of a cause for me to move
    [/quote]

    My daughter has a pet rat.  A blue fancy rat to be exact. 

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    [quote author=Nocturnity link=topic=21176.msg1343208#msg1343208 date=1248421722]
    My daughter has a pet rat.  A blue fancy rat to be exact. 
    [/quote]

    im sorry i cant come over and hang out now  :2sad:


    unless.. you wanna watch me pass out for your amusement??

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    [quote author=HockeyGirl link=topic=21176.msg1343446#msg1343446 date=1248455974]
    im sorry i cant come over and hang out now  :2sad:


    unless.. you wanna watch me pass out for your amusement??
    [/quote]

    Haha.  Hes the furthest thing from scary though.  Hes like 6 yrs old, which is ancient for a rat.  All he does is waddle is fat ass over to his water bottle and occasionally eat, but sleeps like 16 hours a day.

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

      The parents of Natalie Hill, the 3-month-old Westwego girl who died July 16 from rat bites, are back in juvenile court today to hear a judge's decision on who will have custody of Natalie's older brother.

    The infant was found covered with "hundreds" of rat bites and lying in a pool of blood in her crib in the family's Central Avenue home.

    In a one-sentence press release on Wednesday, Jefferson Parish Coroner Robert Treuting listed the cause of Natalie's death as "exsanguination due to destruction of soft tissue secondary to murine activity," meaning that the baby died of blood loss because of the rat bites.

    Treuting's announcement came on the same day that the girl's parents, Robby Hill and Casey Laine, were waiting at the Jefferson Parish Juvenile Justice Center in Harvey to find out whether their 14-month-old son would be released from state custody. The juvenile court decision was delayed until today.

    Hill and Lane arrived at juvenile court about 12:40 p.m. today. The hearing is closed to anyone not directly involved in the case, including the news media.

    Hearing officer Salvador Mule decided to delay the decision on whether the boy should be placed with the couple or with their relatives or somewhere else. The boy remains in state custody while officials visit relatives' homes to determine whether they are suitable.

    Laine and Hill lost custody of the boy after Natalie died. The couple has said they were aware of rat problems around the home and heard rats scratching in the walls of the house but never saw the rats inside the building.

    A family friend said the judge intimated that he would consider the coroner's report when he decided whether to return the boy to his parents.             

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    Riotous Defective snowfallsoon's Avatar
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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    [quote author=HockeyGirl link=topic=21176.msg1343446#msg1343446 date=1248455974]
    im sorry i cant come over and hang out now  :2sad:


    unless.. you wanna watch me pass out for your amusement??
    [/quote]

    I hate them too. I think it's the tails, and the stories my dad used to tell me about the huge rats he'd see at dump fires. I don't
    find anything remotely cute about rodents.

  20. #20
    Senior Member Bama Star's Avatar
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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    [quote author=Nocturnity link=topic=21176.msg1343887#msg1343887 date=1248485346]
    Haha.  Hes the furthest thing from scary though.  Hes like 6 yrs old, which is ancient for a rat.  All he does is waddle is fat ass over to his water bottle and occasionally eat, but sleeps like 16 hours a day.[/quote]

    Sounds like my dog.  :lol:
    ask me questions damnit<br />http://www.formspring.me/bama

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    [quote author=Bama Star link=topic=21176.msg1355507#msg1355507 date=1249633555]
    Sounds like my dog.&nbsp; :lol:
    [/quote]

    LOL mine too.

    The rat died today however.

    RIP Rogue&nbsp;

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    [quote author=Nocturnity link=topic=21176.msg1355508#msg1355508 date=1249633811]
    LOL mine too.

    The rat died today however.

    RIP Rogue&nbsp;
    [/quote]

    I'm sorry. RIP Rogue.

    &amp; RIP Natalie.
    ask me questions damnit<br />http://www.formspring.me/bama

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    Re: 3-Month Old Natalie Hill Dies from Rat Bites

    [quote author=Nocturnity link=topic=21176.msg1355508#msg1355508 date=1249633811]
    LOL mine too.

    The rat died today however.

    RIP Rogue&nbsp;
    [/quote]

    im really sorry for anything bad i said about rats now.
    RIP little buddy

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