(April 12) — The parents of the 15-year-old Florida boy accused of severely beating his middle school classmate over a text message issued their first public apology to the victim and her family today, denying their son is a bully and saying he must have snapped during the March 17 attack.
Donna Powers, mother of 15-year-old Wayne Treacy, appeared on the “Today” show today, apologizing to the family of the 15-year-old victim, Josie Ratley, who remains in a medically induced coma after Treacy allegedly knocked her to the ground, slammed her head against the concrete sidewalk and kicked her in the head with steel-toed boots outside Deerfield Beach Middle School in Broward County.
Ratley had allegedly sent Treacy a text message about his brother, Michael, who committed suicide last year.
“I am so sorry. My heart and prayers go out to you,” Powers said, referring to Ratley’s mother, Hilda Gotay. “I know the pain that you’re going through. I’m just sorry.”
Treacy’s stepfather, Carey Smith, added that Treacy, who is charged with premeditated attempted murder, has also expressed sorrow over the incident. He has been in a juvenile detention center since the alleged beating, as authorities decide whether to prosecute him as an adult or a minor.
“He would like to apologize to Josie and her family,” Smith told “Today.” “He’s real remorseful about it.”
Last week on “Today,” a tearful Gotay criticized Powers for failing to apologize to her and her daughter, who has undergone surgery to remove part of her skull to alleviate swelling in her brain.
“Do they have any feelings? Do they think about Josie?” Gotay said. “I have not heard anything from the family at all.”
Smith said he and Powers, accompanied by their lawyer, Russell Williams, made their appearance today to “get Wayne’s side of the story out.”
Williams said Treacy’s emotional trauma over his brother’s death went unrecognized by his parents and school officials.
“He had a lot on his plate for a 15-year-old,” Smith said. “How would you like to be 15 and find your only brother hanging from a tree?”
He added, “Evidently, [Ratley] must have said something very derogatory about his brother’s death.”
Ratley was allegedly upset over Treacy’s romantic relationship with 13-year-old Kayla Manson, a friend of Ratley’s. Detectives said that after Ratley alluded to Treacy’s brother’s death, he put on steel-toed boots and texted at least one friend, saying he planned to go to school and kill Ratley. Manson is charged as an accessory, accused of pointing out Ratley’s whereabouts before the alleged attack.
According to Powers, the beating was out of character for her son, who she believes snapped during the argument.
“That’s not Wayne’s nature,” she told “Today.” “He’s not a bully.”
Smith told NBC’s Matt Lauer his stepson is a “good kid” and a “normal 15-year-old boy” who is “well liked in the neighborhood” and had never lashed out at anybody before the beating.
Last week, Gotay told “Today” that Ratley is displaying some signs of recovery, opening her eyes and moving slightly.
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