Authorities Investigate Torture in West Virginia

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MICHEL MARTIN, host:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News.

Coming up: we're going to ask noted psychiatrist Dr. Alvin Poussaint for his take on what makes people brutalize others, whether race is a part of it. The reason we decided to have this conversation, obviously, is the horrific story out of West Virginia.

And I'd like to alert our listeners who may not be aware that some of the details are very disturbing. A woman named Megan Williams was held captive for a week in a West Virginia trailer by six people who, police say, raped, beat and tortured her - even forcing her to eat animal waste and drink from a toilet.

The developing case has drawn national attention, possibly because of the racial overtones: Williams is black and the accused are white. And she told police that the attacks included racial slurs.

I'm joined by Greg Collard, news director at West Virginia Public Broadcasting, to talk more about this. Welcome, Greg.

Mr. GREG COLLARD (News Director, West Virginia Public Broadcasting): Thank you.

MARTIN: And now Greg, first of all, we don't generally name victims of sexual assault, but the name of Megan Williams has been made public. Why is that?

Mr. COLLARD: Well, first of all, the Logan County Sheriff's Department issued a press release detailing aspects of the crime and named her in that press release, which was somewhat unusual. And then, also, Megan Williams' mother came out and started talking, first spoke to the newspaper - their local newspaper, The Charleston Gazette.

MARTIN: How was she discovered? Did she escape? How was she extricated from those circumstances?

Mr. COLLARD: The Sheriff's Department says that they acted on a tip that someone was being held against their will and went to the residents - the person who's called one of the ring leaders, Frankie Brewster. She was on the porch, said no one else was around. And while the police were there, Megan Williams limped forward and just reached out and said help me, and they learned some horrific details after that.

MARTIN: What condition was the young lady in when she was discovered?

Mr. COLLARD: Well, she was pretty beaten - beaten pretty brutally. She was just a, you know, but some of those details are still coming out, but she had obviously been tortured, hit throughout, raped. They said it was proof that she was sexually assaulted throughout the week - just really horrific things.

MARTIN: And stabbed several times, apparently.

Mr. COLLARD: Yes, yes.

MARTIN: And she reported, at least that it was reported by the authorities, that she - that the N-word was used quite a bit. And yet, that to this point, the federal prosecutors have decided against filing hate crime charges in this case. Do you know why?

Mr. COLLARD: Yes. I spoke to U.S. Attorney Charles Miller yesterday, and he said there's a couple of reasons. One, there are already serious state charges pending against these six defendants. Another reason is because it's emerged that Megan Williams apparently did have a previous relationship or - with one of the defendants, Brian Brewster. It was reported July 18th now that she - there were - she was at the residence, apparently, and domestic battery charges were filed against one of the defendants, Brian Brewster, where he had hit her several times.

And it's really - that criminal complaint, some aspects of it are similar to the most recent complaint filed last week. And that not - obviously, she wasn't raped then, but when police arrived, Bobby Ray Brewster at this time said no one was around. And then they found Megan Williams in the back of the residence, and she said she was hiding from Frankie Brewster and Bobby Ray Brewster. Frankie is, of course, the mother of Bobby Ray. So, a domestic charge - battery charges were subsequently filed against Bobby Ray. He's out on bail, and those charges are still pending.

MARTIN: A very - a complicated case. And, Greg, I hope you'll keep us updated on this.

Mr. COLLARD: Thank you.

MARTIN: Okay. Greg Collard is the news director at West Virginia Public Broadcasting. He joined us from WPVN in Charles Town, West Virginia. Greg, thanks so much for joining us, and please do keep us updated.

Mr. COLLARD: Thank you.

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