Carrie Pernula, 38, has a curious way of responding to what she considers pesky children and she is now the subject of an equally curious criminal case. The Minnesota woman reportedly confessed to send menacing notes to a family saying that she wanted to “taste” their children. She is now charged with stalking and disorderly conduct.
Police say that Pernula confessed to sending the notes out of anger with the children for making noise in the neighborhood and leaving things on her yard and porch. That would see ample reason to contact the parents, but not in the way that Pernula chose. She sent the first anonymous note by mail and said: “The children look delicious. May I have a taste?”
With two elementary school children, the family was alarmed and that alarm was then magnified when they received magazine subscriptions addressed to “tasty children.” It took little time to trace the magazines to Pernula.
The stalking provision would seem a fit: “”stalking” means to engage in conduct which the actor knows or has reason to know would cause the victim under the circumstances to feel frightened, threatened, oppressed, persecuted, or intimidated, and causes this reaction on the part of the victim regardless of the relationship between the actor and victim.”
Moreover, specific intent is expressly not required:
“No proof of specific intent required. In a prosecution under this section, the state is not required to prove that the actor intended to cause the victim to feel frightened, threatened, oppressed, persecuted, or intimidated, or except as otherwise provided in subdivision 3, paragraph (a), clause (4), or paragraph (b), that the actor intended to cause any other result.”
It is less clear why this was also charged as disorderly conduct, which seems like count stacking on the same underlying facts. Indeed, they hardly need the charge with the stalking count.
As for Pernula’s attorney, Debbie Lang seemed hard pressed in articulating a public defense. She is quoted as offering the wonderfully understated response of this being “an unfortunate and complicated situation for everyone involved.”
What do you think that appropriate sentence should be given Pernula’s confession for sending such notes?
PCS,
A point well taken.
Special all day today on children and dumplings.
Tyger – she only wants to taste them not eat them
So. Does this mean that the biscuits with butter are out?
“So. Does this mean that the biscuits with butter are out?”
So how does a child tasting work anyway?
Do the participants take a bite of child, move it around on the tongue, savoir the sensations, spit the child out, then clear the palette – or what?
bfm – I have never been to a child tasting, but I see men and women tasting children all the time. They see to just put their lips on them, open the mouth and lick. Small children seem very tasty since I see it a lot.
” They see to just put their lips on them, open the mouth and lick. Small children seem very tasty since I see it a lot.”
So that’s what that is! Who knew? As always an informative answer.
To Mr.Gilbert,
Ms Pernula cordially invites you over for dinner at 7PM sharp tommorow to partake in the harvest crop of the neighborhood nuisance children. Roast haunches of Bobby from down street and a lovely stew cooked to perfection of Susie from across the street. For dessert, a nice Brown Betty (from around the block) to complete the meal. Please bring your appetite.
Perhaps, Nick, but my comment is appropriate for the holiday season. And, representative of my actual attitudes toward rampant, rowdy children who annoy people with their noise and destructiveness. This young woman’s actions were unwise responses today, but I totally understand her motivations.
Tyger – she only wants to taste them not eat them 😉
Addendum – the state will be compelled to prove that Ms. Pernula was not simply filled with the Halloween spirit, but had actually “tasted,” planned to “taste” or attempted to “taste” children during previous episodes or, what most people would consider, psychological “breaks.” .
It is not credible that Ms. Pernula actually meant that she would literally “taste” the children. That would be proven immediately by her record, making a “confession” moot.
Proposing the “tasting” of children during the Halloween season may be considered appropriate by many, certainly all the “living dead” types that are in vogue.
This jury will be packed, like O.J. Simpson’s, only with members of the current
American Crypto-Zombie culture.
Tyger is the anti-Mr. Rogers.
“Police say that Pernula confessed to sending the notes out of anger with the children for making noise in the neighborhood and leaving things on her yard and porch.”
__________
This particular charge of “stalking” is a victimless crime. This particular charge involves not stalking, but retribution for trespass, harassment, disturbance of the peace and denial of enjoyment of property.
These charges would have never been brought, nothing like “stalking” would have occurred if the rowdy children would have been charged previously.
This case of un-“stalking” is preposterous.
The appropriate charge would be “misdemeanor retribution” or “misdemeanor vigilance” for previously uncharged crimes – a failure of police and code enforcement. Are these people paid extremely well to keep the peace or sit on their arses in a doughnut shop?
Let me guess. “Hansel and Gretel” was her favorite fairy tale.
The parents must have been horrified. And there are some serious QC issues with that magazine company for them to actually fulfill a subscription addressed like that.
There are more productive ways to deal with neighborhood problems. Talk to the neighbors. File a noise complaint. Put in new double pane windows to reduce noise.
If you can’t stand it, move.
When you live around neighbors, some are wonderful and some are dreadful. This is exponentially so if you live in an apartment complex or condo.
I could have saved this woman much time and trouble. There is no way to cook spoiled children so they taste good, and since they are totally rotten, they can’t be eaten raw, either. Catching them is a problem, too. The neighbors often object to putting bear traps on your property, and poison candy or apples is likely to bring the wrath of health food nuts who say the candy will rot the teeth of kids or religious fanatics who claim apples are forbidden fruit. Shotguns usually tear up the meat too much, and other methods of taking children for sport is just too much trouble. Using a crossbow on them can be fun, but unless you remove the carcasses and clean up the blood and other body parts quickly, the mess will attract rats and flies and it will all smell just awful. Even something as harmless as only threatening to eat marauding children in the first place will likely cause you problems in today’s over-reactive and absurdly litigious society.
bam, It certainly is not victimless. My wife was stalked by a crazy woman who sent threatening emails and bombed her Amazon book page w/ vile comments.
Stalking is not considered a victimless crime. Only a very short-sighted, foolish and naive individual is incapable of grasping that concept. Her strange and threatening behavior, which manifested itself in the form of anonymously written menacing notes and unsolicited magazines, was not part of any “seasonal” message.
Ms. Pernula eschews sweets, unless they are sweetmeats…..
Ms. Pernula’s actions were apropos of the season.
Soon, children generally will threaten innocent people with bodily harm and various other maladies as evil entities such as Jason (with machete) from Friday the Thirteenth and Vlad the Impaler to Frankenstein et al. in order to obtain unearned and confiscatory “treats” on Halloween.
Understanding that “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me,” her seasonal written messages were harmless and Ms. Pernulas is charged with innocuous and “victimless crimes.”
Without previous actual diagnoses or indications of psychosis and aggression apart from the Halloween season, the only rational course for the DA is to drop these frivolous charges.