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Teens' Interviews Shed More Light on Beating Case

Prosecutors' recordings suggest video camera added to fuel when group attacked girl.

By Jason Geary
THE LEDGER

Published: Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 1:51 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 7:43 a.m.

BARTOW | New interviews by prosecutors provide more insight into the infamous videotaped beating of a former Mulberry High School cheerleader.

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April Cooper

Brittini Hardcastle

Kayla Hassell

Britney Mayes

Mercades Nichols

Kayla Hassall, 15, of Mulberry, who faces criminal charges in the case that has garnered national attention, spoke with prosecutors in a June 11 interview about the beating.

Eight teenagers were accused in the thrashing of Victoria "Tori" Lindsay, 17, of Lakeland on March 30, and of threatening to post video footage of the attack on the MySpace and YouTube Web sites.

In audio recordings recently obtained by The Ledger, Hassall is heard telling prosecutors that the presence of the video camera might have helped fuel the teenagers' fury, and she identifies who she says were the primary aggressors in the attack.

"Do you think that the camera had encouraged it?" she was asked.

"Yes, probably," Hassall answered.

Hassall explained why she thought the incident spun out of control.

"Tori, as long as we've all known her, as many times as people tried to work things out with her, she has e-mailed every single one of us numerous numbers of times and has threatened to fight every single one of us, but never has tried to," Hassall said.

"Why do you think it (the beating) went as far as it did?" prosecutors asked.

"Because people were probably tired of her running her mouth and saying all that stuff, so they probably were like, in my opinion, 'OK, because she was always saying she's going to fight us and she's going to beat .<0x200A>.<0x200A>. us, well, OK, I'm going to do that to her.'<0x200A>"

Hassall said her mother's video camera was used to capture the beating, but she said someone else did the filming.

She identifies two girls, Brittini Hardcastle, 17, and April Cooper, 15, both of Lakeland, as being the ones who punched Lindsay, and Brittany Mayes, 17, of Lakeland as being responsible for filming the attack.

She insists Mercades Nichols, 17, told Lindsay to leave and wasn't part of the attack. The beating happened at Nichols' grandmother's Highland City home, where Nichols was living and where Lindsay had been staying.

Nichols has been characterized by Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd as coordinating the attack and "luring" Lindsay to her home.

But Hassall said Hardcastle actually warned Lindsay what could happen if she went to the house.

"Brittini texted her, I think it was off Mercades' phone, saying 'If you come in the house with an attitude, I'm going to fight you,'<0x200A>" Hassall told prosecutors.

Hassall said she didn't intervene to try to stop the beating because she was afraid of Hardcastle.

"I was afraid that if I were, because Brittini was so mad, I was afraid that if I was to get in between her and Tori, like if I were to try and stand between her and Tori and tell her to stop, that she would have hit me. And being as how little I am, she would have done worse to me than she would have done to Tori," Hassall said.

Hassall and four of the girls originally arrested continue to face charges of kidnapping and battery.

Earlier this month, charges were dropped against three teenagers who had been accused in the beating - Cara Murphy, 16, of Lakeland and Stephen Schumaker, 18, and Zachary Ashley, 17, both of Highland City - because there was insufficient evidence against them.

Schumaker and Ashley had been accused of acting as lookouts, but Hassall said the boys were not there.

Murphy, Schumaker and Ashley have also given recorded statements to prosecutors.

Hassall told prosecutors she's sorry for what happened.

"When you watch all the news and people say like we feel no remorse for her, I know I tell my mom at least maybe twice, three times a week that I do feel bad for her, because things should have never gone as far as they did. Never."

[ Jason Geary can be reached at jason.geary@theledger.com or 863-802-7536. ]

This story appeared in print on page A1

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Teens' Interviews Shed More Light on Beating Case

Prosecutors' recordings suggest video camera added to fuel when group attacked girl.

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