Janice Mowdy and Stephanie Bell
Four year old Austin James Watkins never stood a chance in hell of having a normal, happy childhood. 
Momma, Tammy Watkins, was a drug addict and daddy, Scott Watkins, was serving time for statutory rape. There really wasn’t anyone to give Austin and his three siblings the time and care they needed.
So the Mississippi Department of Human Services stepped up to the plate in 2005 and removed him from his mothers home and placed him in the care of his grandmother, Janice Mowdy, 43 and his Aunt, Stephanie Bell, 22.
What should have been a fresh start and a better life for Austin was anything but.
Mowdy took an instant dislike to Austin, claiming that she did not believe him to be her son’s child. And for this supposed crime, she set about destroying little Austin.
She starved him. If he ever got fed at all it was left over scraps from the other children, or whatever he could catch that was crawling across the floor of the trailer home he lived in.
He was caged in his room for days at a time, and it seems no one noticed that he was fading away.
On Sunday the 9th of November Mowdy called 911 claiming that her grandson had stopped breathing. Emergency services arrived to find a child who they have compared to the starving Jews of the Holocaust.
Little Austin weighed a mere 9lbs. He had not been fed, not a single scrap for two weeks causing his organs to shut down.
So how do you keep a starving child a secret? The answer to that is, you don’t.
The administrators at his former school raised concerns about the boy earlier in the year. When they started asking questions as to why he looked so unhealthy, Mowdy pulled him out of school.
Mabel Odam, who runs the school and failed to notify the authorities of possible abuse, has declined to comment, stating “I don’t want to get involved.”
Other family members are also being investigated after granting interviews with the media. After all, what good is a dead child if you can’t milk it for your 15 seconds of fame? These interviews suggest that many knew of the abuse and failed to act.
Mowdy’s sister, Brenda Patterson told WAPT-TV on Thursday that the child “didn’t even have a backside. He had to stand all the time. He couldn’t even sit down.” She said she knew of the abuse after being told by one of her nieces.
As for his mother, well she claims that Mowdy and Bell did not allow her to visit the children. “We weren’t allowed up there. She kept all of us from there. She didn’t like me.”
She says she is now turning her attention to regaining custody of her other children. “I’m looking for a job. I will do anything and once I get the job and can hold it, like, six months, I think DHS will be really interested.”
Yes, Tammy, I’m sure they will.
Mowdy and Bell have been remanded to Scott County Jail without bond, charged with murder and felony child abuse. The charges may be upgraded to capital murder.
Investigators are looking into an insurance policy for $10,000 taken out in the Childs name, found pinned to his bedroom wall, as a possible motive.
Ironically the insurance policy was a freebie from Gerber Baby Foods.
Pam Shaw, Children’s Defense Fund spokeswoman has said, “How many children must die before we have an agency that’s responsive to the children they take care of? One is too many.”
How many indeed?
Editor’s Notes: This story got to me, first off because by all reports neither Mowdy nor Bell have shown any remorse. They starved a four-year-old child to death, and the Sheriff who arrested them said they don’t seem to care in the least. Maybe if prosecutors carry out their threat to charge these two “ladies” with Capital Murder, Grammy and Auntie might reconsider the remorse thing, since Mississippi is a Death Penalty State. Secondly, the motive is just so weak; A ten thousand dollar life insurance policy? Although it’s probably going to be that motive that earns them a shot at a date with the needle. But what really bugs me, what really burns my ass, is the number of people who knew about the abuse well before little Austin passed away and did NOTHING! You know, there’s the kind of evil that starves a four year old child until he is dead, and then there’s the kind of evil that has multiple opportunities to prevent the death of that child but chooses instead to allow it to happen. Starting with good ol’ Mabel Odam, who “didn’t want to get involved” to each and every family member who had knowledge of that child being starved to death I have this to say to you: Look down at your hands. Do you see the blood? That’s Austin’s blood on your hands. You all had your part to play in killing that beautiful boy, and now you all have to live with the guilt. And I promise you all it will eat you up. It’s the kind of thing that gets worse as time goes by, because you’ll come to realize the it’s never going to go away. Janice and Stephanie will get their justice, and so will all of you.
Do Janice Mowdy and Stephanie Bell deserve Hell?
- Yes (99%, 255 Votes)
- No (1%, 3 Votes)
Total Voters: 258
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66 Comments »
“When they started asking questions as to why he looked so unhealthy, Mowdy pulled him out of school.”
We always see this action taken. It’s the biggest red flag of them all. At this point the cops should have been notified.
the cops wernt told coz the people at the school are heartless bastards… they were more worried about not bothering the other kids learning than they were about trying to help Austin when he obviously needed their help. GIVE ALL OF THEM THE DEATH PENALTY!!
“Mabel Odam, who runs the school and failed to notify the authorities of possible abuse, has declined to comment, stating “I don’t want to get involved.”
Um why the hell is Mabel Odam even running a school.. I say can her ass.. If she can’t be fucked to notify the police about abuse on a child at her school, then she should not be working any where near them. Dumb cunt
took the words right out of my mouth. if you don’t give a shit about your students, why the hell do you run a school?
Most states have laws on the books that make schools and child care providers mandatory reporters. If they7 don’t report they can go to jail. I think in my state there may even be a good Samaritan type deal where almost anyone is required to report. The people that failed to act could possibly catch some charges. Let us pray.
Yeah I’m still hurt about the Jessica Lunsford case. I doubt I’ll ever get over it.
Yeah but see here’s the thing…. The law does not do any good when nobody follows through.. hell even if this woman was at the very least to say…. lose her job…(you know the one that she goes to every day to “watch,teach and protect children…”) anyway lets say she does lose her job… in a few months when this story is no longer in the news… she will get another one.. Teachers, Doctors and Licensed Caregivers are all required to notify law enforcement and child protective services when they suspect any sign of abuse… THEY ARE OBLIGATED… But that doesnt mean they do. Its the fat ass elephant in the middle of the room that everyone knows is there and everytime someone looks at it the damn thing takes another dump and they just turn their head thinking eventually someone else will clean it up. No one ever does.. they do not want to get their hands dirty… eventually what happens is the sh*t hits the fan and yeah they may get a little dirty… but it never really sticks to them. Eventually.. there is another dead kid… another town… another monster… and when you stop watching the elephant?? Well then ball gets dropped and everyone that stood there watching just walks away. Look at the freak and his family in Florida… The one that killed Jessica Lunsford… When it was released that his family knew what he had done… could have saved her… they did nothing… they swore there would be no mercy for any of them… they would all be punished…. what happened when the cameras turned off?….. My point is this… they need to make people accountable for what they do not do. I am all for making an example out of this woman and the relative as well… I just know it wont happen….
Stay Angry.. Get Involved… Remember the little face with the blonde hair…. and HUG your own children twice as much as you already do!
Everyone has a duty to report ‘suspected’ child abuse or neglect. It’s statutory. I hope prosecutors indict so many people on this one that it will look like a criminal class action!
Calling the Police Station…it should have gone like this:
AnyoneInMississippi: Hi Copper.
Cop: Hello. How can I help you?
AnyoneInMississippi: Well there’s this kid that looks neglected. …looks like he hasn’t been fed and then all of the sudden he’s out of school.
Cop: I see.
AnyoneInMississippi: You know this seems to be routine action of guardians of abused kids, taking the kid out of school to hide the abuse.
Cop: Oh. You seem to be pretty knowledgeable about these things.
AnyoneInMississippi: Yeah, I go to PYSIH dot com very often.
Cop: Wow.
AnyoneInMississippi: Anyhow, if you aren’t the person or organization that I should report this to, please direct me to the right person. But please make a note of my inquiry though, just in case something goes down.
Cop: No problem. Thank you for calling.
I know you all seem to know each other and I am just a newbie but I gotta put my 3 cents in here… (inflation!) … Anyway I developed my opinion of CPS as a child that was left to rot for 11 years and now as a mother…. if CPS did its job the way it was supposed to I would be right there with all of you angry that they werent involved… Dont get me wrong it does anger me that they did not step in … But from my experience CPS never gets involved when they should …. What I want to know is WTF is wrong with people who see these monsters on a regular basis??? The relatives.. The teachers.. the ones that are always quoted afterward as.. “I knew something was not right”…. but yet they never say anything… they have looked in the eyes of the child… they sure as hell seem to be able to sit down and eat a meal all the while knowing there is a very real child that they know who is starving… but they never step up… they do not want to get involved? Is it fear? I know we can all agree these people are monsters… so what… the people who are aware of what is going on inside the house… Are you so scared of these monsters attacking you that you think its better to just not say or do anything… after all its much better for the child to defend itself right?? I guess it builds character or something… Oh wait… no it doesnt… all it does is fill cemeteries!
Amen, Stephanie. I have commented before that CPS gets involved in the cases where they are NOT needed instead of those where they are. Needless to say, poor kids get stuck in the middle.
Stephanie is also right when she says that its not just CPS who fail. Whenever you think,”hmmm, something is not right here.” then you need to act. Do a little digging. Ask questions. Call CPS. Call the police.
Be involved and stay involved. What is the child abuser going to do? As Steph said, are we scared of being attacked or confronted? Better us than some small child who does not atand a chance in hell. She is right. Its lack of action on the part of EVERYONE that is filling the cemetaries with babies.
Why is that the one’s that starve the babes are always OBESE?!?!?!?!?!
In my opinion they get all of their own pleasure out of food so they keep it all for themselves. Its all about keeping if for those that are worthy of eating. They do not see the children involved as children like a normal person would… the child becomes the enemy.. for this kid to have lasted 2 weeks in that condition with no food is amazing… and it probably pissed her off even more. But it made her feel very powerful.. I also guarantee you her fat ass wouldnt have lasted 2 weeks with no food.
What a wonderful granny… doesnt it just make you think of those nice milk and cookie moments we used to see on t.v. ???
I shouldn’t laugh…but how true.
We ain’t sayin…..were just sayin…….
I just dont get it. To me thats just as evil (if not worse) to know that kid is being neglected, molested, abused etc and do nothing. I just don’t understand how evil people can be sometimes. That just breaks my heart:’( For these obviously well-fed bitches to starve this baby over life-insuramce just pisses me off. Did they really think they could just get off scott-free. Like noone would question a Nine pound four-year-old! This poor child never had a chance! Why cant we punish people the way they commit there crimes. Punishment: Starvation until death in prison..
Also, the life insurance policy is barely enough to cover a standard funeral. We went the bare basics for my aunt that died last september and it was a little over 6K. She’d even already arranged her own tombstone and plot many years previously. These people besides being evil, are morons.
You know what gets me is these 2 FAT FUCKS sure look like they were stuffing there faces! I mean the double chins and the necks as thick as a mules ASS sure let me know they were well fed. They were probably well fed on the Austins DIME which should have been taking care of him! If she didn’t think the kid was her grandson then she should have NEVER taken him! OH WAIT then I guess she would not have been getting the money to take care of him….I mean herself! WTF! These stories IRATE ME EVERYTIME! I hope they do a DNA test and he turns out to be her grandkid. BUT LOW LIFES like this will probably not care or EVER have any sense of empathy or remorse for treating a HELPLESS BEAUTIFUL CHILD like that!
SERIOUSLY what is the world coming to? People are SO SELFISH and self serving it makes me SICK! That’s what it boils down to SELFISHNESS! Little Austin would have been better taken care of by his drug addict mom! At least she fed him! I hope someone SUES THE SHIT out of the School, agency, and ALL FAMILY members who contributed to killing this kid, By not reporting it you might as well have been condoning it then!
“You know what gets me is these 2 FAT FUCKS sure look like they were stuffing there faces! I mean the double chins and the necks as thick as a mules ASS sure let me know they were well fed.”
you will find that that is the case more often than not, sickened.
Was Mable Fired??? She sooo shouldbe…. I think everyone needs spend their lives in cell for this one and let it eat away at them… what a terribe tragedy.
I just have so much to say about this. It is so wrong that this child went through so much! I went through an abusive childhood. CPS came and they went. Nothing happened. You might think that I turned out OK. But it resonates through your life, being starved and beaten. Thank God I didn’t die or suffer like this little guy.
But many times it was close and Foster Care ha ha wasn’t much better. What is the answer I don’t know. I am Catholic and I argue with my friends about abortion. There are times when it is the better action.
Really? I don’t know WHY I keep coming to this site, but I just can’t help myself. (Gluttony, i s it called?)
Anyway, WTF?? NINE POUNDS??? The poor baby weighed NINE POUNDS at death. My youngest son weighed 7 when he was born.
I cannot grasp how or why or WHAT these bastards think when they hurt other people, especially our babies, our future!
Am I the only one that feels so helpless, that feels like we gotta do SOMETHING?
HOW can we do something?!
No, you’re not the only one who feels helpless Amanda (nice name, Amanda is. It’s my oldest daughter’s name. In the world of migraine headaches, she’s a carrier.). I don’t think any of us are going to change the world….I’m not going to, anyway. But I think I can change my little part of it, if only in a small way. Just being alert for situations similar to what happens in some of the stories posted here can save a kid’s life. Be willing to get involved, and don’t just make a call to social services and then pat yourself on the back. Follow up, make sure they do their jobs. Austin James Watkins death was not meaningless; it taught a whole lot of people that apathy kills. “I don’t want to get involved” kills. “It’s not my problem” kills. Protecting abusive family members kills. Kills ‘em dead, as dead as a shotgun blast to the head. I may have been helpless to prevent what happened to little Austin, but I’ll be God damned before it will happen when I CAN do something about it. I guess that’s the best anyone can offer.
jesus christ. my son weighed more at birth than austin did at death.
janice and stephanie need to be starved.
Yeah, they look really well fed.
Over fed in fact.
Disgusting pigs!
I wonder if Little Austin happen to live in a slum neighborhood, where such a thing is usual sight. Maybe, I mean, look at his parents. They are failures. Grandma and aunt and every-fucking-relatives (who jump at 15 minuted fame chance?)…..they also smell like failures. The school’s headmaster? She probably represent the whole people around this kid…….indifferent, because that’s how their life is, just MYOB.
Sad, but this kid is unfortunate enough to be borned in that kind of environment. Maybe that’s why he was taken back by whoever up there. Maybe, in a sad way, it’s a good thing that he won’t grow up into what his horrible role models were. It’s sad to think because maybe he can be different kind of person, maybe he can lead a better kind of life, if only he was given even the slightest chance.
He lived in a trailer home. There are pics of it on the net and i gotta say, it looks like a dump. His birth mum looks like trash and the whole family seem to think that child abuse is the norm….
They give inbred hillbillies a bad name. Workers at the jail say that the only person who showed any remorse over the boys death, was his father who was in jail for a parole violation. ( he served time for stat rape)
If only we could choose our parents before we’re born.
By this pair of sexy mullets and way too many chins for two people, these ladies openly indicate to the public that are ready and eager to begin the dyke fest that will consume the rest of their lives.
I grew up in a poorer area and uh, it never was normal to starve your kids to death. This isn’t normal anywhere. These people are just scumbags.
Here is the thing that bothers me the most about all this. As humans, when you get down to the fact that we are just animals, need only two things to survive. Nourishment (food/water) and shelter. Two basic needs, which people in third world countries manage to provide for themselves. These cunts had the ability to provide the very basic need of nourishment, and they chose not to. Also, if you think a little deeper, it’s obvious that most mother (and fathers) brains are hard-wired by instinct to provide nourishment to not only their own babies, but babies in general.
Folks, I’m a morbid person and I can admit that. But these women, God willing, should not be given the chance of rehabilitation or counseling or any of that other shit. They should be killed. If they can’t be killed, sterilization would be the next best thing. I would prefer that these people not be allowed to even influence other human beings, but at the very least they should not be allowed to influence the gene pool, as they show a clear lack of productive human instinct.
I’d like anyone who agrees or disagrees with my following statement to sound off. Should there be laws that require a person who commits a certain kind of crime (such as child abuse, murdering a child, being really fucking ugly (just kidding)) to be rendered sterile? Let’s hear it.
i agree with it. if you ruined one child’s life, why the hell do you deserve the right to possibly do it again?
I think castration (both male and female) with no anesthetic would be appropriate.
You would think their appearance would be enough to prevent procreation.
Double paper bag job.
OMG that is so funny and true! Those are some nasty looking bitches.
Granny is 43 – do the math – looks like this “family” lives in the welfare hammock!
I made my mother a grandmother when she was 55….. and my grandparents had their first grandchildren when they were in their late 40′s or early 50s!
I am 41 and I just can not see my peers being grandparents, although some are.
These fat bitches must live in a triple wide!
Can’t blame poverty.. they are too fucking fat!
Starves these two to death and free up some food for really starving people!
Granny did not like the child because it might not be her son’s child…. maybe her son needs to be more accountable with regards to where he leaves his sperm!
Also, so what if the child is not biologically yours? If you are collecting the welfare, tax credits, etc… you are claiming it’s yours, so take care of it as if it’s yours!
Oh well, we know whose side the ACLU will be on
Atheists
Criminals
Lawyers
United
I used to have a Min Pin that weighed more than that baby did. I hope those cunts fry in prison.
I hope they FRY those evil ass bitches.
” Mabel Odam, who runs the school and failed to notify the authorities of possible abuse, has declined to comment, stating “I don’t want to get involved. ” – She’s a school administrator? If she hasn’t been fired, then whomever owns the school or oversees the school board should be fired and charged, along with that miserable piece of work.
First in hell, the child’s mother, second in hell, the child’s grandmother and third in hell, the child’s aunt. They all deserve a great deal more than they will get in this lifetime. But, there is still “Vengance is mine says the Lord”!!
They can all rot in Hell for eternity with other sick monsters like Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, and 9/11 Terrorists. They are the epitome of evil right there!
fat, greasy pieces of shit need to be exterminated. And the teacher needs to be in a cell next to these two beauty queens… she is not any better. I bet she is out of control on her eating too… maybe they all shared a cheese cake.
These ugly bitches are beyond evil.
Evil = Charles Manson
Beyond Evil = These Two PISSMOPS!
Lol he would probably still be alive if they had just left him with his drug useing mother, atleast with her he survived until he was four.
A 9 lb 4 year old?!
That’s terrible!
Teachers and social service workers are mandated by LAW to report suspicions of child abuse to the county’s child line agency. I don’t know if the law applies to day care workers, but I think it might. In the very least, goddam odam should lose her child care license, and every single parent should remove their children from her facility, and she should go out of the child care business permanently.
That is disgusting. That poor child, I hope those women get what’s coming to them in jail..
omg- i am freaking out. WTF is up with these ppl – ok…no they are not ppl = Monsters. I am seriously shaking i am so pissed off! I love kids and i can-not understand these pieces of mutilated shit.
:(
They should starve those two fat pieces of fucking shit to death. God I hate people so much.
Austin didn’t deserve this world.
Correction: This world doesn’t deserve Austin. Hell on Earth I tell ya.
This is no place for angels.
Tailertrash of the high order.
I agree with you 110% darkman.
Not that this makes it any better, but little Austin was 19 pounds at death not 9. Talk about feeling helpless! I live about 30-40 miles from where this occurred and have a 4 yr old son. I seriously cannot understand what type of monster it takes to do this to an innocent child. They are evil incarnate and TRUE trailer trash. These animals should be thrown in a cell and starved until they try to eat each other. There’s plenty of fat to sustain them for quite some time and drag out the suffering!
The part about the school I will never be able to understand.
We (my wife and I) are constantly having to remind our 9 year old’s school that she was 12 weeks premature, and no matter how much food we cram down her throat, (she can have all the fat her little heart desires), she grows taller, not heavier. In fact, she lost a pound, not gained, over the past year.
The school nurses call at least every other month about her weight, and we have had one visit by DFS solely because of her weight…
she is almost 4 foot tall and weights all of 45 pounds, and can eat like a horse.
One day she may gain it!
My niece was premature and she weighed 3 lbs and 3 ounces and she was a tall but very skinny child. She would (and still could ) eat a big mac meal plus another big mac and we wondered how!
She will be 14 June and is gaining some weight. She is taller and heavier than me (and I am 41). It has caught up with her :-)
Every child is different. My second eldest is tiny compared to all his brothers and sisters. His two younger sisters are both taller than him and the older of them is heavier than him.
A lot of things come into play when it comes to a childs build, including genetics. I wouldnt stress too much. As long as she is a healthy eater and is active she will be fine.
Out of six kids I was the second and a twin and I am the shortest of all. Two brothers are 6’1 and 6’3 and one is 5’11 and both sister are 5’11 but I had to be the shortest one (besides mommy) but it doesn’t bother me like it used to. I feel special now lol just kidding
Amy
I read what you write all the time and it amazes me how you were rasied and how totally different you raise your children. I have a lot of respect for you girl.
Thanks Lovanna. I have always lived by the words, ( and actions) of, “i may not have been tought how to be a good parent. But i was tought how not to be a bad one.”
It disgusts me when poeple use the excuse, “But i was abused as a child.” It is no excuse. We all make our on choices in life,and i choose to be a better parent than mine were.
“You all had your part to play in killing that beautiful boy, and now you all have to live with the guilt. And I promise you all it will eat you up.”
Since they (the gruesome twosome) have shown no remorse so far, after starving and killing a little boy, I highly doubt that sociopaths like them will waste a moment of their highly sad nutjob lives in feeling any guilt at all for their crime. I would much prefer to say “Say Hello to my little friend” my little friend being a rather sharp knife which I would gouge into their eyeballs.
This is just so awful! I can’t believe that you would starve a 4 year old because you believe that he is not really your grandson. So what? There are other kids at our house a lot and I feed them. They’re not mine but yet I still take care of them. This is truly disgusting all of the way around.
9 lbs! Thats a very healthy newborn weight! At age 4! It just amkes me ill. Has there been any update on this and their sentences. Probably still too early for that.
I swear, the two ignorant idiot “caregivers” definately deserve hell and I can’t imagine an ounce of remorse coming from these two sub humans but I do have to hold the mother to the hell standard as well. You have a child it is your responsibility to make sure that child has every opportunity to survive. You don’t put drugs, laziness, men, anything in front of your duty to raising the child. Mom should go to hell as well. I am sick of these women who don’t raise their children or at least make sure the child is adopted or in a safe environment. Hell, what happened to a sense of duty, responsibility, doing the right thing in the world? I am tired of the excuses, tired of the lazy selfish people who kill these helpless kids
Have you thought of adding some videos to your posts to keep the visitors more entertained?
UPDATE:
Janice Mowdy and Stephanie Bell pled guilty to Capital Murder.
In a way this is poetic justice. They pled guilty in order to avoid the death penalty. They ended up with life in prison without parole.
The interesting part about this is that Mississippi has had a fiscal crisis (who hasn’t lately?) and has cut back on death penalty sentences. It’s entirely possible that had the case ended up that way, their lawyer could have gotten them a more lenient sentence with the DP off the table.
In the end, rather than a quick and painless death.. they’ll rot for the rest of their years… tortured the same way little Austin was.