Woman relates years of abuse by father; dad murdered mom while out on bail for kidnapping and assault (Enid, Oklahoma)

An appalling story, but what is not highlighted here is how the criminal justice system contributed to this mother's murder. Notice that Dad JERRY RUSHING was let out on bail after he was arrested for kidnapping his "estranged" wife. While out on bail, he assaulted his father-in-law. So he was arrested for assault, and they LET HIM OUT ON BAIL AGAIN. This time Daddy broke into the mother's home and shot her six times and killed her. This was in 1979.

So why is it in 2011, we continue to let batterers and abusers out on bail? We've known for many years what these guys are gonna do when they're not behind bars.

http://enidnews.com/localnews/x340277532/Local-woman-relates-years-of-abuse-by-father

May 5, 2011

Local woman relates years of abuse by father By Cass Rains, Staff Writer
Enid News and Eagle The Enid News and Eagle Thu May 05, 2011, 10:41 PM CDT

ENID — Windy Wellner, formerly Windy Rushing, didn’t have a typical childhood.

She and her two brothers grew up knowing abuse. They learned to accept their father’s lies as facts and accept his abuse toward them and their mother.

From July to August 1979, Debra Rushing, Windy’s mother, lived with her three children at a shelter for battered women in Enid, the first of its kind in the state.

Debra was kidnapped by her estranged husband, Jerry Rushing, and two women Aug. 8, 1979, and driven to Tulsa. One of the women drove the children. The other rode with the Rushings, while Debra was beaten with a pistol.

Debra eventually was able to get away and contact police. But the nightmare didn’t end there.

Debra Rushing was hospitalized for two weeks for injuries sustained in the ordeal, and Jerry Rushing and one of the other women were charged with kidnapping. While Jerry was on bail for the kidnapping charge, he attacked Debra’s father with a bottle.

While out on bail for the assault and prior kidnapping, he went to Debra’s home and shot her six times, killing her.

Wellner told her story to about 70 men and women Thursday during the first fundraising luncheon for Garfield County Child Advocacy Council.

“There really wasn’t any rhyme or reason,” Wellner said of the beatings she and her siblings received from her father. “I knew you got beat for two things: lying and getting bad grades.”

She said there were times she tried to help her brothers with their school work, sometimes even doing it for them. She noted the regret she felt for not teaching them better when report cards came home.

Right or wrong, the children knew to “assume the position” for the abuse to come. Wellner said although the beatings were painful, it was what her father would say that hurt worse.

“His voice and his verbalization was worse than the sting of the leather belt,” she said.

Following her father’s arrest and conviction, Wellner was able to get into foster care with Lynn and Judy Nelson.

“I came to know love. I came to know honesty,” she said. “Jesus came to me while living in foster care. I was blessed to have wonderful foster parents.”

Wellner’s father still is serving a life sentence for her mother’s death.

Garfield County Child Advocacy Council Chair Cathy Stocker, who introduced Wellner and prosecuted her father as district attorney, told those in attendance Thursday their support was greatly appreciated.

Stocker explained last year a decision by Oklahoma’s Supreme Court took away the council’s funding.

“There we were. Our major funding source was cut. We were scared,” she said.

United Way of Enid and Northwest Oklahoma helped the council with its budget and state legislators made appropriations to support the council and others like it in the state.

However, Stocker said the council never wanted to be in that position again.

“Our goal is going to be to create a reserve fund and have it build, and build and build,” she said. “It is intended to ensure us from having our agency devastated as it almost was last year.”

The council’s vision is to stop child abuse, neglect and exploitation and strengthen the community by advocating for children through prevention, education and intervention, using a collaborative, multi-disciplinary, child-friendly approach.

Garfield County Child Advocacy Center on the C.A.R.E. campus allows agencies to coordinate child-oriented procedures to protect abused children. The center provides a place for interviews that are sensitive to the child’s immediate and future needs while still promoting the flow of information needed to determine if prosecution of an adult is warranted.

Garfield County Child Advocacy Center director Carole Wade said she was “really overwhelmed and grateful” by the number of people who attended the event.

“The community’s response to this event is so reflective of how the community has supported and responded to the Garfield County Child Advocacy Council since we started,” she said. “I really appreciate it.”