Newsclipping summary:

FEAR-List Bulletin posted by Brenda Grantland 11/18/95

Today I called the Avery household to see how things were going. Kathy Bergman had told me that Michelle Avery and her sister recently turned themselves in to start serving their prison sentences. Their mother, Edde Avery, was in pretty bad shape. She started crying immediately, and told me she just didn't know how she was going to manage alone. Her whole family is in prison now, except for their young kids, which Edde is having to care for.

Edde is probably in her 50's. She said that Sherry's kid (who seems to be about 3 or 4) is taking it the hardest. He keeps gathering up his shoes and coat and going to the door and saying "when's momma coming? I want to go home." She told me that she wished she could just die and get it over with. I talked to her for a long time, and I was afraid to get off the phone because she was in really bad shape. I asked her if she needed someone to talk to, and she said yes. So I pulled up the database to see who was in Kentucky that I could hook her up with. And of course I found the perfect person -- Lois Wimsett. I put her on hold and called Lois, who said she would be glad to be Edde's phone buddy. I hooked up the conference call and was amazed at what a great pep talk Lois gave this stranger. Among other touching things, she told Edde that she was in the same shape about four years ago, when their case first started. She thought she was all alone in the world, then someone sent her an Orlando Sentinel article by Jeff Brazil.

She called Jeff Brazil and he referred her to John Paff. She said that she must have driven John Paff totally crazy over the years bending his ear with her story. She also thanked me for the calls she made to me in 1992. She said that, thanks to FEAR, she learned how to fight back, and how to maintain her dignity and sense of self-worth. She said she could not have made it through the madness without us. What Lois was saying brought tears to my eyes, but amazingly, Edde quit crying and started agreeing with Lois about things. They swapped phone numbers and promised to resume the phone call without me as soon as I got off the phone. They said they would be each other's support system through this ordeal.

Lois says her case goes to trial next week. She's quite a spunky lady. I remember liking her a lot when I talked to her back in 1992, but I certainly didn't sense that she would turn out to be this strong powerful warrior that she has turned into through this ordeal. I sure hope they win.

Edde is going to send me photos of the family for the website, and I asked her to write up what she told me about how this is affecting the young kids. She said she would.