Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Natasha McShane Came to Chicago from Northern Ireland to Attend Grad School, but Now Cannot Walk, Talk, or Go to the Bathroom by Herself, Courtesy of

Two Racist, Hispanic Gangsters

Two years after attack, Bucktown beating victim cannot speak or walk
By Colleen Mastony
April 18, 2012
Chicago Tribune

Her world — once filled with possibility — has shrunk to the size of her parents' living room, where, in the afternoons, she sits in a chair by the window.

On a good day, she might point to what she wants or offer her parents a smile. But she cannot speak, dress herself or go to the bathroom without assistance. And so there are days when, her father says, "she just cries."

Then, her parents cradle her and whisper: "You're OK. You're OK."

Natasha McShane is back home in Northern Ireland. She is safe and protected and doted on by her loving parents. But she is not OK.

The last year has offered no respite from the surgeries and struggles that have plagued her since a brutal mugging in Bucktown, which occurred two years ago this coming Monday.

"You think she is going to get better, but it actually gets worse," said McShane's father, Liam, speaking by phone from the family's house in Siverbridge, County Armagh, and describing what his daughter's life is like now. "You think, 'In six months she'll be doing this or be doing that.' But the months pass and there is no progress."

Two years ago, Natasha McShane was an exuberant 23-year-old exchange student, working on her master's degree and out for a night to celebrate an internship that would allow her to extend her stay in Chicago.

She and a friend, Stacy Jurich, were walking home from a bar at 3:30 a.m. in the 1800 block of North Damen Avenue when, according to police, they were struck from behind by a bat-wielding mugger.

McShane, who stands less than 5 feet tall, took the brunt of the beating and was left bleeding and unconscious on the sidewalk. Hospitalized for months, she initially made small but steady steps toward recovery. In July 2010, when she left Chicago by air ambulance, she had begun to eat again, walk with assistance and speak a few words, family members say.

But, in Northern Ireland, a surgery to replace a section of her skull resulted in a serious infection. Then came a bout of seizures, followed by fluid building up around her brain. She regressed quickly, and soon, she could no longer walk or speak.

The last 12 months have been particularly difficult, family members say. In the summer, McShane underwent surgery to insert a metal plate in her head. And in October, doctors discovered her hip was broken; it may have been broken during the attack and later reinjured during a seizure, her father said. A hip replacement surgery led to yet another stay in the hospital, this one lasting two months.

"No speech, no walking, the hip broken, in the hospital and laid up on medication," said Liam McShane. "It's very hard to watch her like that."

In Chicago, police arrested Heriberto Viramontes, 33, a reputed gang member, who, according to prosecutors, had seen the two women as "easy targets." Marcy Cruz, 27, had driven him to the area, waited in a van and smoked a marijuana-stuffed cigar during the attack, according to prosecutors. Held at Cook County Jail, Viramontes and Cruz each face 25 felony counts, including attempted murder and armed robbery. No trial date has been set.

Back in Northern Ireland, Natasha McShane has just enough movement on her left side to hold a teacup. The only word that she can say is "shin," but no one knows what it means. "Shin could mean a hundred things," said Liam McShane.

He and his wife use flash cards to communicate with their daughter, who will sometimes point to what she wants. But the flashcards don't always provide answers. No one is sure if she remembers her old life or understands what has happened to her. "I'd love if she could talk or tell us," Liam McShane said.

And so, family members come to visit the young woman who can no longer speak. A sister styles her hair. An aunt paints her fingernails. A grandmother provides company and conversation. "There's not much you can do except spend time with her," said the grandmother, Bernadette McShane.

Family members say they can still see glimmers of the Natasha McShane they once knew. She still has an independent streak and likes to do things for herself. When a niece and nephew — both toddlers — come for a visit, McShane holds out her arm for a hug. "She was always a very affectionate person," Bernadette McShane said.

In September, the family celebrated Natasha's 25th birthday with cake and presents. "We sang happy birthday, and she enjoyed it. She smiled," Bernadette McShane said.

Months pass, and the possibility of a recovery slips away.

Still, the family refuses to give up hope.

"You have to have some hope that she will get better," said Liam McShane.

Because without hope, he said, "you wouldn't get through it."

cmastony@tribune.com
[Thanks to reader-researcher “W” for this story.

From WEJB/NSU’s Chicago Files:

“Illinois Sentencing Guideline for Robbery + Assault + Attempted Murder by a Black on a White: One Year;

“Chicago: 21-Year-Old Shoots 84-Year-Old for ‘Disrespecting’ Him (with a Surprise Ending!)”;

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“Shooting at Whitey: Running the Gauntlet in Chicago Public Transportation”;

“Amish Gone Wild: Chicago Police Brace for ‘Flash Mob’ Attacks”;

“Walter Williams: America's new racists”;

“Chicago: Fifty-Strong, Black Robbery Mob Hits Walgreens on the Magnificent Mile”;

“The Great Chicago Memorial Day Gang Attack Cover-Up”;

“Convicted Murderer to Chicago Tribune’s Dawn Turner Trice: ‘I’m Not a Murderer’”;

“One Act of Memorial Day Weekend Violence That Neither the Chicago Police Department Nor the New York Times Tried to Cover Up”;

“Cognitive Dissonance in Chicago: Last Weekend, 20 People were Shot and 5 Killed of All Ages and in All Situations, Yet Crime is Dropping Like a Rock!”;

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“Speaking Truth to Black Power in Chicago”;

“Edward Vincent Hanrahan (1921-2009): He Helped Kill Fred Hampton”;

“Air Conditioner Attacks Chicago Sister, Causing a Brother’s Murder”;

“Lynch Mob of Seven Blacks Rob, and Try to Stomp to Death Raceless 18-Year-Old in Chicago’s Chinatown”;

“DADT/Due Diligence, Diversity-Style: For Years, Illinois State Program Did No Background Checks, and Paid Black Convicted Rapists to be Baby-Sitters”;

“The Black Wall of Silence: Harvey, IL, Police Department Conspired for at Least 14 Years to Protect Black Rapists; County Prosecutor’s Office Had to Raid Local PD, in Order to Rescue Stashed Rape Kits”;

“Video: In Racist Attack in Chicago, Two Huge, Fat, Black Sisters, 17 and 18, Jump Skinny Spanish Girl, 14, in Bio Class, Beat Her for 6-7 Minutes, Leaving Her with a Concussion and Internal Injuries; Frightened, Helpless,White Teacher Does Nothing”;

“12 Shot in 11.5 Hours, as Violent Crime Continues to Plummet in Chicago”;

“In Chicago: Happy Birthday … You’re Dead!”;

“7 Dead, 3 Injured Out of Ecuadorean Extended Family in Minivan; Van Hit Deer, was Hit by Semi; No One Wore Seatbelts”;

“The Kelli O'Laughlin Slaying: The Crazy Card, Again”;

“Media Alchemy: Sun-Times, Fox News Staffers Transform a Robbery into “a Fight over a Cell Phone”;

“Federal Judges Thwart Justice, on Behalf of Cop-Killers… Again”;

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“The Gouger II: Exulam I. Holman Allegedly Gouged Out Uncle’s Eyes Over TV Remote”;

“Chicago Cops Release Photos of Negro Execution-Killers Celebrating Christmas”;

“Here’s a Mass Murder That Not Only the Nat'l MSM, but Even the Local Chicago Tribune Doesn’t Want Known: Cedric Anderson Murdered 4 Yesterday”;

“Chicago: Spree-Killer Dante Simmons Murders Troy Cameron, 22, Anton Sanders, 15, Shoots Up Chicago Walgreen’s, City Bus, Then Does Taxpayers a Favor”;

“Chicago: Rogers Park Gang Hit at Traffic Light Claims Lives of Dion Miller and Jonathan Bell; Killings Follow Pair the Previous Night.”;

“Six Shot Saturday Night on Chicago’s South Side; One Dead, as Crime Continues to Drop!”;

“Chicago: Murders Exploded in January, While Overall Crime Died”;

“Rub-Out by Hispanic Gang in Chicago Suburb of North Lake Claims James Romero, 18”;

“Chicago: 8 Shot, 2 Dead, in 7.3 Hours Saturday Night, as Crime Continues to Drop”;

“Chicago: 13 Hours, 17 Shot, 1 Dead, as Crime Continues Its Brutal Decline”;

“In Chicago’s Vibrant Little Village Section, 2 Latin Kings are Accused of Killing Girl, 6, from a ‘Two Six’ Gang Family; Police Cover for One Suspect; Chicago Tribune Turns Hispanic Gangbangers into ‘Teens’;5 Shot within 1 Hour”;

“34 Shot in Chicago Over Weekend: 1/16 Friday Night, 5/12 Saturday Night; as Crime Continues to Plummet”;

“Chicago’s Ultra-Violent Racist Derrick King, Again: Prosecutors Magically Transform Felonies Attempted Robbery and Making Terroristic Threats into ‘Misdemeanor Assault,’ While AOL’s Huffington Post Transforms Two Violent Felony Convictions into ‘Accusations’”;

“More Derrick King News, Out of Chicago!”;

“Trayvon Martin: Racist Terrorist Rep. Bobby Rush (Race-Chicago/Black Panthers), is Thrown Off House Floor for Donning a Hoodie, and Denouncing ‘Racial Profiling’; CBS ‘News’ Soldiers on with Race Hoax”;

“Chicago Shooters Don’t Wait for Weekend: 13 Shot, 2 Dead in 6 hours Thursday Night, as Crime Continues to Fall!”; and

“Only 3 Shot on a Thursday Night in Chicago: Light Night, or Poor Shooting?”

“Chicago: Homicides Up 60%, Non-Fatal Shootings Up 37%, and Overall… Crime is Down 10%, and Rape is Down 15%?!”;

“Chicago Shooters Get the Weekend Started Early, Shooting 8 on Thursday Night, Including a 7-Year-Old Girl, Killing 1, While Crime Continues to Drop”;

“Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel: Screw the Stupid, Phony Crime Stats, I Care about Individual Sob Stories! Besides, Crime is Dropping; Why Didn't Anyone Impose My Worthless Policies Sooner?”;

“Chicago’s Friday Night Shooting Scorecard: 10 Shot, 3 Dead, as Crime Continues Its Fall”; and

“Chicago: Nickeas’ Saturday Night Hit Parade: 2 dead, 7 wounded.”]
 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Chicago Tribune is a BIG supporter of illegal aliens and Gun Control. They publish the free "Hoy!" birdcage liner in Espanol for the Mexican invasion force and the Trib's editorial board once declared gun bans to be "reasonable." The Tribune cannot see the relationship between what they advocate and the carnage in the streets from criminals, illegal aliens and anchor babies. They are whistling pass the graveyard expecting fed up citizens not to notice.

Anonymous said...

I remember this case. Interestingly, Heriberto Viramontes is white (or at least a high castizo). No matter, he is a punk. The is a blog dedicated to opposing him at heribertosux.blogspot.com

Warlord1958 said...

These pieces of shit deserve a slow and especially painful death.