CONCLUSION of the Misty Horner Case!
"Yesterday was the closing arguments in the wrongful death case.
When we got there "John the exorcist" the cult leader was on the stand. Dan, AKA "Our Hero" was questioning him.
He had the court file from John's custody battle from 2006 where his psych eval reported that he is a sociopath with a narcissistic personality.
John stated that he doesn't believe in psychologists. No surprise there, he doesn't believe in anything medical!!! Dan did an AMAZING job in his closing.
He made reference to Westboro Baptist Church and said how "The Horner cult" is more dangerous then Westboro. He called "John the exorcist" a modern day Jim Jones. He reminded the jury, that when Misty called a midwife after the death of Sydney and told her the problems she was having, and the midwife told her she needed to go to the hospital, that Misty replied " they won't let me" This was proof that they killed her!!!
The Cult had about 30 members there. Dan pointed it out to the jury and John lied and said he didn't know but 4 of those people. Such BS, I knew who half of them were and they were relatives of his. A look at their facebook pages shows pictures of all of them together.
When John gave his closing he had the audacity to look at Misty's parents and say " I have no hard feelings towards them, I love them, I love everyone in this courtroom".
He then looked directly at Misty's mother again and said " I love you Gail, I do".
Gail was shaking her head in disgust, so he said again " I love you", at that point Gail and Darrell got up and walked out of the courtroom.
We wanted to scream at him " your love kills John!"
Caleb during his closing statement, admitted that he cut Misty with a pair of kitchen shears but that may not have caused the infection that killed her. He said that "pushing" for 4 days could have caused it. Dan had asked for 80 million in actual and punitive damages for the loss of Misty.
During his closing he asked that Caleb be found liable for 35%. . John's to be 35, and Amber for 30. The cult asked for it to also be included what Misty's responsibility was. Dan asked the jury to find Misty at 0% as he had proven that Misty had been isolated and brainwashed. He told them that if any liability was placed on Misty then HE failed. The Horner cult kept objecting during Dan's closing.
Finally at about 1:20 it went to the jury. They were to have lunch and then begin deliberations. We went to eat and then went back to the courthouse to wait. Misty's dad and I sat alone for a while in a conference room and talked about Misty. What a sweet old man he is! Misty was his only child, so losing her was losing his future.
The jury came in at 3:30. They found Caleb's liability to be 45. John's to be 35, and Amber's 20. Misty's at 0.
This is exactly what we wanted!!!! They awarded 8 million in actual damages and 100 million in punitive damages. More then what Dan had asked for. I think they were sending a loud and clear message to the cult. By this time, all of us were crying. The cult sat with their heads bowed praying to whatever GOD it is they worship. Probably John himself.
The judge thanked the jury and excused them. He then asked the bailiff's to escort each family out separately. We all stood up to start walking out, all of us sobbing. Dan walked up to each of us and hugged us. He was crying too. When he came to me, he hugged me and said " I am so sorry I couldn't do more for Victory". I was a bawling mess as I hugged him back and I told him that he has done more for her then anyone, even her own parents and that I was so grateful to him". I adore this man. All five foot six of him. Quite a sight seeing this little guy standing up to the freakishly tall six foot ten Horner brothers calling them arrogant delusional murderers. Dan has more integrity then all of them combined.
When Misty's dad Darrell stood up he nearly fell over. He was so overcome with emotion, crying. They sat him down at a bench while he composed himself. We had walked on out of the courtroom right into the waiting view of the damn news reporters who were filming us coming out. We turned our backs to them and waited for Misty's parents. When Darrell walked out he walked right over to me and fell into my arms crying. Darrell and I have had many heart to heart talks and I am honored to call this gentle man, my friend. We all stood there,trying to compose ourselves. Finally we walked over to the conference room and shared more tears in private.
When we exited the room, making our way to the elevator, Misty's best friend Tina was in front of us when the cult leaders niece Hannah came up to Tina and said "Do you remember me, I just wanted to tell you what a wonderful friend I think you are". Tina went off on her. Telling her "Get the ____ away from me! I don't have a _________ thing to say to you! You people are _______ sick, you are in a ________ cult, you are the _______ devil, do you hear me, you and your people are the _______ devil!" The bailiffs just stood there and did nothing, Channel 4 news immediately came over to try to film it and Tina then turned to them and gave them a statement. Their report on the news was right after this verbal confrontation.
Wendi Nield another sister of the cult leader settled last week for 300 grand and her attorney delivered a check to Dan's law firm yesterday. Chances are they will never collect the judgment but that isn't what this was about.. This was to find them LIABLE for the deaths. It wasn't only a LIABLE verdict in Misty's and Syndey's death but in Victory's and the other 8 deaths as well.
It was such an emotional day with many tears shed.
Bless Darrell's (Misty's dad) heart, he kept telling me "I hope this verdict helps you to heal and brings you some closure". And it did. Dan was up there speaking on behalf of all the other victims. Dan is the only person who has tried to stop this cult.Here is the second account of the case:
"A Jackson County jury awarded $108 million Friday in a civil trial stemming from a Lee’s Summit woman’s infection-related death in 2007 following a failed home delivery that lasted four days.
Gail and Darrell Mansfield of Kingsville, Mo. brought the wrongful death lawsuit, alleging that members of a religious group botched the delivery of their daughter’s stillborn child, allegedly used unsterilized scissors in an attempt to deliver the infant, and then kept her from receiving medical attention over the following month.
The child, Sydney, died Dec. 6, 2006. The Mansfields’ daughter, Misty Mansfield, died 31 days later when blood poisoning and infection reached her heart and uterus, according to the death certificate.
The Jackson County prosecutor at the time (Jim Kanatzar) investigated Mansfield’s death and found insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that anyone had prevented Mansfield from seeking medical help.
The civil suit alleged that defendants told Mansfield it was normal for delivery to last for four or five days, ignored “clear physical signs” that her infant was breech, and at one point cut Mansfield’s vagina with unsterilized household scissors.
Danny Thomas, representing the Mansfields, described the defendants as cult leaders who isolated and brainwashed their members, including Misty Mansfield. “I’ve never seen a case where the liability is so clear,” Thomas said during his closing statements. “I have never seen people so delusional, so arrogant.” The defendants, Thomas added, “cut her with a pair of ditry household scissors…Who in the world are these people?”
While he conceded that the defendants’ financial resources remained unclear, Thomas added that he wanted to “send a message” that the defendants needed to be held accountable. Thomas also said that John Horner, a defendant he identified as the group’s leader, needed to be stopped.
“What an absolute sociopath,” Thomas said, later urging the jury to “Put him out of business.”
John Horner, like the other defendants, represented himself during the trial.
His brother, Caleb Horner, was married to the victim, though her family claimed it was not a legal marriage.
On Friday John Horner told jury members that he had discovered a personal manner of living, involving natural foods as well as a fervent Christian faith, that had kept him free of illness for more than 12 years. He felt compelled, he added, to share this discovery with others.
“That’s all I ever did,” he said. “I said ‘Here is what I found...’”
A jury verdict that would find him negligent, he added, could result in a chilling effect on religious Americans who want to share their faith with others.
“Do we want America to be that way?” Horner asked. “Will people in this country still have the right to believe what they want to believe?”
Horner also told jury members that the plaintiffs’ lawyers had failed to establish a direct link from him and the other defendants to the infection that killed Misty Mansfield. He denied, Horner added, that he prevented Mansfield “from making a fully informed decision.”
Horner’s brother, Caleb, described in the lawsuit as having married Misty Mansfield in a religious ceremony, told jury members that he had cut Mansfield’s vagina in an effort to expedite the delivery of the child.
“Did I cut Misty?’ asked Caleb Horner. ”Yes.“ But, he added, ”I did what I believe what had to be done to save the life of my child.“
Caleb Horner also stood up for the preservation of individual religious rights. During a 10-year career as a police officer, he said, he often had seen individuals decline treatment or transport to a hospital. ”I knew they had that right,“ he said. In that same way, he added, ”Misty made choices. Some didn’t line up with those that her friends and family believe.“
Caleb Horner is a former Lee’s Summit police officer later fired by the department."
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