One Last Goodbye – In Simple Words Mom, I went out to a party tonight. I remembered what you always told me—not to drink alcohol. So I didn’t. I chose a Sprite instead. I felt proud because I made a smart, healthy choice. You were right. When the party ended, lots of people started driving even though they had been drinking. But I felt safe, Mom, because I hadn’t. I walked to my car, sure I’d make it home just fine. But then something happened that I never saw coming. Now I’m lying here on the road. I hear a police officer say, “The driver who caused the crash was drunk.” Your voice feels so far away, Mom. I’m covered in blood. I’m trying not to cry, but the pain is so bad. I hear the doctors say, “This girl is going to die.” That driver went out to party too, but he made the choice to drink and drive. And now… I have to die. Why do people do this, Mom? Don’t they know it can ruin lives? It feels like my body is being cut by a hundred knives. Please tell my sister not to be scared. Tell Dad to be strong. I love you so much, Mom. I wish I could get one last kiss. Someone should have told that boy how dangerous it is to drink and drive. Maybe if his parents had warned him, I would still be alive. My breathing is getting slower. I’m so scared. These are my last moments, and I feel so alone. I wish you could hug me, Mom, while I lie here dying. I want to tell you I love you… but I can’t feel anything anymore. Mama… I love you. Goodbye… — These were the last words of a young girl in 1997. A journalist from Telecinco was there and heard everything. He started a campaign to stop drunk driving. If you’re reading this, don’t ignore it. Share it. Talk about it. It could save lives—including your own. A small message like this can make a big difference.

Body Map for Self Defense This body map will help you understand the best areas to strike an attacker in self defense if you are being assaulted. Each of these areas is sensitive or vital, making them prime targets for self-defense. The goal is to quickly disable the attacker enough for you to escape. General Face The general face area is one of the best areas to target on an attacker in self defense because it contains a lot of vital and sensitive parts like the eyes, nose, cheeks, and mouth. Even if you are aiming for the attacker's nose and miss, you might still strike their eyes or mouth since they are all contained on the general face area. Striking the attacker's general face area can disorient and surprise them which will give you a moment to escape. Using your bare hands, a strong slap, palm strike, or fist punch to the face can cause enough pain or shock to create a window of opportunity for you to get away. If you have a self-defense weapon like a kubaton or cat ears, a direct strike to the general face areas can equally disorient and disable the attacker to give you time to escape. Eyes The eyes are one of the most vital and sensitive parts of the human body and therefore extreme caution should be used. Targeting the eyes is effective because it temporarily blinds and disorients the attacker. Even a quick jab with your fingers, a scratch, or a strike with a self defense weapon can cause extreme discomfort, forcing them to recoil and lose focus. Throat The throat is a highly sensitive and vulnerable area that connects the head to the rest of the body. A direct strike with the edge of your hand, fist, or elbow can cause difficulty breathing, pain, and immediate incapacitation, while a strike with a handheld stick or knuckle weapon can inflict even more damage. Solar Plexus The solar plexus is located in the center of the chest, just below the rib cage. A punch, elbow strike, or knee to this area can knock the wind out of your attacker, leaving them gasping for air and unable to continue their attack. Groin One of the most vulnerable areas on a male attacker is the groin area. A strike to the groin can cause intense pain and incapacitate an attacker. Use a knee, kick, or even your hand to deliver a quick, sharp strike. A benefit of targeting the groin of an attacker is that it's generally easier to reach, while the face or eyes of an attacker might be harder to reach if they're taller than you. Knees The knees are vulnerable joints, and a well-placed kick or stomp to the knee can cause the attacker to lose balance or collapse. Striking the knee can prevent them from being able to chase or pursue you. Feet Stomping on the attacker's foot can be surprisingly effective, especially when you're wearing shoes, boots or heels. A hard stomp on the top or side of the foot can cause sharp pain, making it difficult for the attacker to move or continue their assault. #armyourself

'They watched her die': Teen dies hours after arriving at juvenile detention center in front of employees who did nothing, lawsuit says. Elbert Shaw Regional Youth Detention Center in Dalton, Georgia . Alexis Marie Sluder. A 16-year-old runaway died after overdosing on methamphetamine in a youth detention center in Georgia hours after she was arrested, and authorities did nothing as they watched her convulse, writhe in pain and cry for help until it was too late, her family alleges in a lawsuit filed this week. Alexis Marie Sluder died in 2022 at the Elbert Shaw Regional Youth Detention Center in Dalton, according to the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in a federal court in Georgia. Dalton is about 90 miles north of Atlanta. “Instead of monitoring her health and safety, they watched her die,” said Sam Harton, the family’s lawyer, in a news conference . “No one even picked up the phone to call 911 until after Alexis stopped breathing.” Related Coverage: The lawsuit names five Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice employees as defendants, including an officer, a cadet, a sergeant, a nurse, and the facility’s director. It also names Augusta University, the medical and mental health services provider for juvenile detainees at the facility. In a statement , the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice said it “is committed to the well-being and safety of the individuals entrusted to our care. We remain deeply saddened by this tragic incident and continue to hold heartfelt thoughts and prayers for the family of the deceased.” A media representative for Augusta University did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The events leading to Sluder’s death began after her arrest for possession of methamphetamine and shoplifting on Aug. 26, 2022, court documents said. She was issued a ticket and jailed before being transferred to Elbert, where she was booked at 9 p.m. Upon booking, Gilmer County Sgt. Sharon Ellis “failed to note that methamphetamine or any other foreign substance was found on Alexis Sluder’s person,” even though she had noted she saw a white substance on the police vehicle seat next to Sluder earlier, the lawsuit said. Notes in her medical screening indicated Sluder had “medical problems,” had previously been hospitalized, and was taking medication. Sluder had depression, bipolar anxiety, and schizophrenia, the lawsuit said. In her mental health screening, when asked why she was at the facility, Sluder said, “because I ran away.” She also said she had attempted suicide, had recently been sexually abused, had been hospitalized for an overdose the previous month and “sometimes sees shadow people that are not there,” court documents said. Her answers warranted four “Warning” and four “Caution” notations. Sluder’s answers about drug and alcohol use were “explicitly excluded from the ‘Warning’ and ‘Caution’ totals,” court documents said. Sluder told authorities that just before she was about to be arrested before arriving at the facility, she “ate the meth she had on her when the cops came and she realized she might be going to jail” and “she had taken other unknown items earlier in the day as she felt suicidal over the last 3 weeks and currently feels this way,” court documents said. Ellis declined to take her to the hospital, saying she wasn’t permitted to because she had already released her into the custody of the state of Georgia, “so she no longer had jurisdiction to transport Alexis Sluder,” court documents said. Instead, Sluder was placed in a room equipped with a live video feed where she could be constantly monitored. In her cell, Sluder began to suffer a medical emergency. She convulsed, writhed in pain, thrashed about, sweated profusely, and breathed heavily. The overdose symptoms lasted over four hours, court documents said. Despite an employee, Rebecka Phillips, being with Sluder the entire time, a second employee, Maveis Brooks, being with her intermittently, and Cadet Russell Ballard watching via the video feed from a control room, no one did anything, the lawsuit alleges. During the final two hours of the medical emergency, Sluder lay on the ground, nearly motionless. At one point, Sluder even reached out and grasped toward the ankle of Phillips, who stood over her, watched, and did nothing to help her, court documents said. At another point, Sluder turned to the camera and said, “Someone please help me. I took something,” the lawsuit alleges. The defendants talked about the girl’s condition but didn’t act, saying they did not have enough officers on staff to take her to a hospital without violating a policy, court documents said. “There is no policy set forth by the State of Georgia, the Department of Justice, and the Dalton RYDC preventing State employees from calling 9-1-1 or another emergency medical services to transport juveniles to the hospital in a medical emergency,” the lawsuit said. “Alexis Sluder was not suspected of a violent crime. Alexis Sluder was not arrested for a violent crime. There was no legitimate penological interest in keeping Alexis Sluder from going to the hospital.” At 3:12 a.m. on Aug. 27, 2022, Phillips advised over the radio that Sluder “was not breathing properly,” the lawsuit said. Brooks went to the cell, assessed Sluder and advised Ballard in the control room to call 911. “Soon after Sergeant Maveis Brooks advised Defendant Cadet Ballard to call 9-1-1, Alexis Sluder stopped breathing,” court documents said. The 911 call was made, and Brooks and Phillips began lifesaving measures, but Sluder was pronounced dead from methamphetamine toxicity at 4:26 a.m. on Aug. 27, 2022, court documents said. The five employees were terminated from their jobs stemming from the death. They were indicted on charges of cruelty to children a year later, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement . Their cases are pending. The parents have shared their pain over the death of their daughter, who once won an award for “Prettiest Smile,” enjoyed playing softball and was set to graduate from Gilmer High School this year. Instead, her school reserved a seat for her at the ceremony on May 24, where she graduated posthumously. “I didn’t get to watch her pick out her first car, go to the prom, or graduate this past year with her friends,” her mother, Melanie Hogan Sluder, said in a statement . “I am lost without her, and not a minute goes by that I don’t think about her and what she would be doing.” #TrueCrime

Jeanette Maples, a 16-year-old girl residing in Eugene, Oregon, had a passion for reading during her time at Cascade Middle School from 2006. However, after completing eighth grade in 2008, she transitioned to being homeschooled under the registration of Lane Education Service District. Jeanette lived with her mother, Angela McAnulty, and Angela's husband, Richard McAnulty. On the evening of December 9, 2009, just before 8 PM, authorities received a distress call from the residence on Howard Avenue. Inside, they found Jeanette unconscious and injured in the bathtub. Angela claimed that Jeanette had been sleeping in the living room when she suddenly stopped breathing. Jeanette was swiftly taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield, but she was pronounced dead upon arrival. Upon initial examination, it became apparent that Jeanette had endured prolonged abuse and starvation. Dr. Daniel Davis, the pathologist who performed the autopsy, stated that Jeanette had suffered such extensive harm from various sources that he couldn't determine which specific injury had caused her death. Her body had wasted away, devoid of fat and with minimal muscle tissue. The effects of starvation alone could have been fatal, but Jeanette's body exhibited numerous injuries in different stages of healing. Over 200 injuries were observed, many resulting from blunt force inflicted by a manufactured object with a straight, machined edge. Dr. Davis discovered a hole at the back of Jeanette's head, causing bleeding in her brain. Furthermore, Jeanette had pneumonia in the form of an abscessed lung, which might have introduced bacteria into her bloodstream, leading to shock and eventual demise. #TrueCrime