A man saw a pale, thin face in the window of his neighbor’s house. The police find something tragic inside.
Policeman Mark Holste from Florida, USA will never forgot the call he received on July 13th, 2005. A man reported seeing a mysterious, pale little girl in the window of his neighbor's house.
The dilapidated house had been lived in for the past three years, but there was no sign of children living there - not in the yard or anywhere else.
The neighbor was worried that it may be a case of child abuse, so the officer immediately set out to investigate.
Officer Holste knocked on the door, but nothing could've prepared him for what he found inside the house: animal waste all over the floor, old chewed-up food, trash, spiderwebs, and reportedly thousands of cockroaches.
But worst of all, said Holste, was the child he found inside: A 6-year-old little girl, half starved and naked except for a dirty diaper, was sitting surrounded by trash.
"When I entered the room, her eyes widened. She opened her mouth and then crawled sideways, like a crab, to the corner, pulled her knees to her chin, and wrapped her arms around them. Then she started making grunting noises," reported the shaken policeman.
The little girl is named Danielle. She was immediately taken to the hospital in a miserable state. Her speech and mannerisms were similar to those of a 6-month-old. She had received no love and no compassion from her mother.
Danielle's mother was sent to jail for 26 hours, was given 2 years of house arrest, and 3 years probation. Danielle was immediately taken away from her.
Danielle, the little girl who had known loneliness her entire life, finally struck a bit of luck. Instead of being sent to an orphanage, a loving couple, Diane and Bernie Lierows, adopted her. They already had four sons, but always wanted a little girl. When they saw Danielle, they knew immediately that they wanted to take care of her and that she was meant to be a member of their family.
Danielle was adopted a few days before her 8th birthday. But life wasn't easy for Danielle or her new family, seeing as she was, and still is, dealing with deep psychological wounds from her past.
"She has 7 or 8 fits everyday," said Bernie, her new dad. "And she's very concerned with food. She often eats until she has to throw up."
That's the reason that their refrigerator is locked with a chain. Otherwise, Danielle empties the whole thing. Of course, the reason for this is her terrible past - her mother almost let her starve.
But despite her awful childhood, Danielle is doing better in her new home. She is now 15 years old, enjoys going to school, and has a close relationship with her adoptive father. She has become a daddy's girl after the neglect of her biological mother. He says, "She's a 2-year-old in the body of a 15-year-old girl."
Everyday she makes small steps in the direction of adulthood. Her parents hope that one day she will be independent, and maybe even marry. "Having Dani in our lives is like a roller coaster. One that we don't want to get off of," said her parents.
Here is a video of Dani's story:
We wish all the best for Danielle and her loving family. We hope she will be able to lead a normal, happy life sometime soon and are glad that she has landed in such a loving home.
