April 17, 1998|By DAN RODRICKS
Maybe parenthood fosters a profound, insurmountable bias against anyone accused of harming children. And maybe it's unwise to declare any case the worst case because of the possibility of a worse case. But I'll go with memory and instinct on this: The Rita Fisher case is the worst in my experience, which is about 23 years in and out of Maryland courtrooms. It took less than an hour of courageous testimony by Rita's older sister, Georgia, to convince me.
I could cite dozens of other cases, all appalling and vicious and stupid, all resulting in the waste of human life, all causing thousands of hours of pain for hundreds of good people from Baltimore and across the state. But none would meet the standard for horror set by the long, slow death of Rita Fisher and the brutalization of Georgia.
The story unfolded yesterday morning, about 10 o'clock, when prosecutor Ann Brobst stood in a courtroom in Towson and said, "Your honor, the state calls Georgia Fisher to the stand. May I step back?"
The judge, Dana Levitz, nodded, and Brobst walked to the doors of the courtroom and brought forth a girl who appeared to be damaged.
Georgia Fisher, 16 years old, walked haltingly, as if she were afraid of tripping, as if she could not see well. She bowed her head as Brobst -- who might be the only grown-up in the world she trusts -- escorted her to the witness box right past the three adults accused of making her life a nightmare and of abusing and killing her little sister.
Georgia's brown hair had been cut into a short flip, with the thick bangs across her brow fringing her eyeglasses. She wore a pink culotte jumper and an oversized, black-and-pink nylon jacket with a swirling, Asian design.
When she spoke, she barely moved her lips and uttered the short, monotone sentences one associates with people who have been mentally broken, physically beaten or heavily medicated. There was no discernible emotion but an oddly strong and simple resolve, as Georgia answered Brobst's gentle questions about her grim life in a house on Old Milford Mill Road in Pikesville.
That's where she lived with her mother, Mary Utley, her older sister, Rose Mary "Rosie" Fisher, Rose Mary's boyfriend, Frank Scarpola, and -- until her death from starvation in June at the age of 9 and a weight of 47 pounds -- her little sister, Rita.
Her mother, her elder sister and the sister's husky boyfriend all sat at the defendants' tables a few feet from the witness box. Several times, Georgia's answer to a Brobst question was: "Frank, Rosie and my mom."
Who beat her? "Frank, Rosie and my mom." Who kicked her? "Frank, Rosie and my mom." Who locked her and Rita in a dark room in the basement? "Frank, Rosie and my mom." Who locked them in their bedroom? "Frank, Rosie and my mom." Who hit them with a yardstick? "Frank, Rosie and my mom."
Sometimes the answer was: "Frank and Rosie." Who told her mother not to give her food? "Frank and Rosie."
Frequently, the answer was just: "Frank."
Who punched Georgia and her little sister in the basement with boxing gloves? Who kicked them karate-style? Who punched them if they tried to take food from the refrigerator? Who tied Rita's hands, folded prayer-style, to the dresser with shoe strings? Who tried to rape Georgia in his bedroom? Who told her never to tell? Who taped Rita's mouth shut when she whimpered? Who hit Georgia on the head with a heavy flashlight? Who poured booze in the gash? Who stitched it up with a needle and string? "Frank . . . Frank . . . Frank . . . Frank . . Frank."
Georgia had other one-syllable answers.
"What would you do when Frank hit you?" Brobst asked.
"Cry."
"What would Rita do?"
"Cry."
Brobst asked how many times the elder sister, Rosie, had locked Georgia and Rita in the "hole," the small basement bathroom in which the girls were confined for punishment.
"Lots of times," Georgia said.
"How about Frank?"
"Every day."
"How long were you locked inside the hole?"
"Days."
"Did you miss school?"
"Yes."
Brobst asked Georgia what she and Rita would do while confined in the tiny bathroom.
"Talk about running away."
Another time, Georgia thought about killing herself to "get away from my family."
Another time, Georgia and her little sister were locked in their bedroom. They were allowed out every other hour for a trip to the bathroom. They would be watched while they were in the bathroom.
"If you couldn't go, would you be hit?"
"Yes."
"And who would hit you?"
"Frank, Rosie and my mom."
One night, Frank tied Rita to her bed and taped her mouth, Georgia said. During the night, Georgia untied Rita so she could play with her. Then she tied her up again.
"Why?"
"So I wouldn't get in trouble."
By the next morning, Rita had turned blue, Georgia said. She banged on the bedroom door until the adults came. The adults gave Rita a warm bath, then called an ambulance. As Rita lay on the wooden floor, dying, Georgia squeezed next to her and told her little sister to "hang in there."
Before the ambulance arrived, Georgia said, she was told to lie about what had happened.
"Who told you to lie?" Brobst asked.
"Frank, Rosie and my mom."
Yesterday morning, under oath, with Frank, Rosie and her mom watching, Georgia Fisher courageously disobeyed that order.
Pub Date: 4/17/98
