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| Copyright © 2008 All rights reserved |
| Victim Impact Statement as Submitted by the Needhams on December, 18th |
Last Christmas Eve, the thing that we feared most happened – Holly and Tyler did not
return home from a scheduled visit with their birthmother, Allison Quets. For several long
days over the Christmas holiday, we had absolutely no idea where they were, if they were
safe, if they were suffering, if they were alive. You may recall that right around that time, a
South Carolina couple drove off the road and unknown to anyone laid dead in their car for
several days before being found. That image haunted us. It appeared that no one who
knew Ms. Quets was aware of her kidnapping plan, so we were left to imagine all of the
possible frightening outcomes. We didn't know if we would ever hold their little hands
again.
While we waited, our hearts stopped every time the phone rang. We watched the sadness
and frustration grow in our oldest daughter's eyes. We saw the double grief of
grandparents who were feeling the pain for both their children and their grandchildren. We
sat as our house filled with more and more friends and family who came to buoy us and
just be near.
Thank God, one of those heart-stopping calls was to tell us that Holly and Tyler were
located in Canada and they were safe. We are indescribably grateful to the local police,
FBI, Canadian authorities, social workers, foster family, everyone who sacrificed their
holidays and time with their families to help us bring our family back together. We could
not reach Holly and Tyler quickly enough. When we arrived, they threw themselves into
our arms and we all broke down. We could see the sheer exhaustion in their eyes. The
social workers told us that Holly and Tyler had been withdrawn and had not eaten well.
That evening, they clung to us and ate everything we could put our hands on. We curled
up in bed together and slept peacefully for the first time in a week.
We have a picture that will probably always cause our breath to catch in our throats. Holly
is curled up on Daddy's chest where she laid, not moving a muscle during the entire plane
ride home. After returning home, Tyler could not sleep for weeks without being in bed with
us. We set about trying to give them back a sense of security and normalcy. Our lives
were constantly disrupted by the media presence at our home and we struggled to insulate
them from the chaos.
The relief we felt when Holly and Tyler were found and returned home overshadowed
every other emotion. It took us some time to comprehend just how cruel this act had been.
For us, to have no indication of their safety was unjustifiable. For Holly and Tyler, the
whole experience was clearly frightening and we may never really know what impact the
experience had on them. At the very least, they will live their lives with the knowledge that
they were victims of kidnapping. We hope and pray the repercussions will be no more
than that.
There has been a tremendous amount of misinformation circulated about this case, and at
times it has been very difficult not to take one of the numerous opportunities to set the
record straight. However, when faced with a decision between correcting the
misinformation by violating Florida adoption statutes or respecting the law – there really
was no decision. We were pursued to adopt Holly and Tyler, and we were not the only
ones. From the moment Holly and Tyler were placed in our care, their futures were
entrusted to us. Given all that we experienced in getting to that point, there simply was no
way we could make the decision to return them. We had to let the courts consider the
facts and decide.
We fell more in love with Holly and Tyler with every passing moment, not knowing if they
would still be in our arms in a week, a month, a year. It has been excruciating. Ultimately,
the decision was clear to the trial and appellate courts. Ms. Quets' criminal trial would
likely have brought forward many of the facts that made those decisions clear. Instead,
this crime sadly provided a platform which advanced a self-serving, absolutely dishonest,
and already disproven story.
In this lengthy process, we were forced to sell our house, exhaust our savings, change our
lifestyle, but we have never, ever regretted it. What we have gained is priceless. We are
so proud of our oldest daughter for the strength she has shown and for loving her brother
and sister completely and unselfishly despite what it has cost her.
Our lives will always feel less secure now that we know Ms. Quets will do something as
extreme as kidnapping Holly and Tyler. She publicly says that "quitting and failing are not
options" which can only be viewed as threatening given the fact that she has exhausted
her legal options. We fear that we will always trust everyone we meet a little less because
we just don't know. We can only imagine that we will continue to be harassed and forced
to accumulate more legal bills as we address the multiple frivolous actions that Ms. Quets
has filed since her release. We are sad for everyone that Ms. Quets has made it
impossible to have the relationship that we had hoped for.
In the end, our job is to make sure that Holly and Tyler have wonderful lives -- that they
grow up confident in the fact that they are wanted and loved unconditionally, that they
know their story as they are old enough to understand it, and that they don't pay the price
of Ms. Quets' actions.
return home from a scheduled visit with their birthmother, Allison Quets. For several long
days over the Christmas holiday, we had absolutely no idea where they were, if they were
safe, if they were suffering, if they were alive. You may recall that right around that time, a
South Carolina couple drove off the road and unknown to anyone laid dead in their car for
several days before being found. That image haunted us. It appeared that no one who
knew Ms. Quets was aware of her kidnapping plan, so we were left to imagine all of the
possible frightening outcomes. We didn't know if we would ever hold their little hands
again.
While we waited, our hearts stopped every time the phone rang. We watched the sadness
and frustration grow in our oldest daughter's eyes. We saw the double grief of
grandparents who were feeling the pain for both their children and their grandchildren. We
sat as our house filled with more and more friends and family who came to buoy us and
just be near.
Thank God, one of those heart-stopping calls was to tell us that Holly and Tyler were
located in Canada and they were safe. We are indescribably grateful to the local police,
FBI, Canadian authorities, social workers, foster family, everyone who sacrificed their
holidays and time with their families to help us bring our family back together. We could
not reach Holly and Tyler quickly enough. When we arrived, they threw themselves into
our arms and we all broke down. We could see the sheer exhaustion in their eyes. The
social workers told us that Holly and Tyler had been withdrawn and had not eaten well.
That evening, they clung to us and ate everything we could put our hands on. We curled
up in bed together and slept peacefully for the first time in a week.
We have a picture that will probably always cause our breath to catch in our throats. Holly
is curled up on Daddy's chest where she laid, not moving a muscle during the entire plane
ride home. After returning home, Tyler could not sleep for weeks without being in bed with
us. We set about trying to give them back a sense of security and normalcy. Our lives
were constantly disrupted by the media presence at our home and we struggled to insulate
them from the chaos.
The relief we felt when Holly and Tyler were found and returned home overshadowed
every other emotion. It took us some time to comprehend just how cruel this act had been.
For us, to have no indication of their safety was unjustifiable. For Holly and Tyler, the
whole experience was clearly frightening and we may never really know what impact the
experience had on them. At the very least, they will live their lives with the knowledge that
they were victims of kidnapping. We hope and pray the repercussions will be no more
than that.
There has been a tremendous amount of misinformation circulated about this case, and at
times it has been very difficult not to take one of the numerous opportunities to set the
record straight. However, when faced with a decision between correcting the
misinformation by violating Florida adoption statutes or respecting the law – there really
was no decision. We were pursued to adopt Holly and Tyler, and we were not the only
ones. From the moment Holly and Tyler were placed in our care, their futures were
entrusted to us. Given all that we experienced in getting to that point, there simply was no
way we could make the decision to return them. We had to let the courts consider the
facts and decide.
We fell more in love with Holly and Tyler with every passing moment, not knowing if they
would still be in our arms in a week, a month, a year. It has been excruciating. Ultimately,
the decision was clear to the trial and appellate courts. Ms. Quets' criminal trial would
likely have brought forward many of the facts that made those decisions clear. Instead,
this crime sadly provided a platform which advanced a self-serving, absolutely dishonest,
and already disproven story.
In this lengthy process, we were forced to sell our house, exhaust our savings, change our
lifestyle, but we have never, ever regretted it. What we have gained is priceless. We are
so proud of our oldest daughter for the strength she has shown and for loving her brother
and sister completely and unselfishly despite what it has cost her.
Our lives will always feel less secure now that we know Ms. Quets will do something as
extreme as kidnapping Holly and Tyler. She publicly says that "quitting and failing are not
options" which can only be viewed as threatening given the fact that she has exhausted
her legal options. We fear that we will always trust everyone we meet a little less because
we just don't know. We can only imagine that we will continue to be harassed and forced
to accumulate more legal bills as we address the multiple frivolous actions that Ms. Quets
has filed since her release. We are sad for everyone that Ms. Quets has made it
impossible to have the relationship that we had hoped for.
In the end, our job is to make sure that Holly and Tyler have wonderful lives -- that they
grow up confident in the fact that they are wanted and loved unconditionally, that they
know their story as they are old enough to understand it, and that they don't pay the price
of Ms. Quets' actions.