Raped at 8 And Left For Dead, Jennifer Schuett Raises Her Voice

by LarryDeezell | September 25, 2009 at 12:51 pm

4353 views | 57 Recommendations | 19 comments

For about twenty years a victim, Jennifer Schuett, 27, has held on to every memory of the night she was abducted from her bedroom, raped and left for dead.

It was August 10, 1990. Schuett was 8 years old and lived alone with her mother in the first floor of an apartment complex in Dickinson, Texas. The bedroom windows faced the parking lot

Not able to find a suspect yet, investigators now have DNA testing that may change that. Normally CNN does not identify the victims of sexual assualts, but Schuett wants to go public with her story and have her name identified to increase the chances of finding her attacker.

"It's not about me anymore," she explained. "It's about all the little girls that go to sleep at night. I know there are so many girls out there who have been raped and hurt. You have to fight back."

"I remember everything; I've always wanted to remember everything, so I can find the person that did this," Schuett told CNN during a phone interview. "If I had blocked this out of my memory, the investigation wouldn't have come this far. I'm a fighter."

Schuett explains what happened that night, saying she was alone in her bed when a man came creeping in through the window. She remembers waking up in a stranger's arms as he carried her across a dark parking lot.

"When I opened my eyes, his face was the first thing I saw and he covered my face and mouth," she said. "He ran with me to his car. He told me he was an undercover cop and that he knew my family. He seemed calm -- not nervous, not aggressive."

After leaving the parking lot, the kidnapper drove through the streets of Dickinson, Texas, pulling into a mechanic shop next to her elementary school.

"Watch the moon. The moon will change colors and that is when your mom will come to get you," she recalled him saying. "Oh, it looks like she is not coming."

Then Schuett said nervously that her kidnapper drove her to an overgrown field next to the school and raped her.

"He had a knife to my throat and touched my face and offered me Reese's pieces," she said. "I was scared but I knew I couldn't be fast enough to get away. Cars would drive by but I couldn't get away to get help."

She believes she passed out. "I woke up to him dragging me by my ankles," she said. "I felt thorns ripping the skin off my back. I would see him turn to look at me and I would play dead."

She passed out again, and awoke at daybreak. "I remember feeling dew around me and I couldn't figure out why when I screamed I couldn't hear myself," said Schuett.

She lay naked on top of an ant hill with her throat slashed from ear to ear, and her voice box torn.

Much later, she said, "I heard children playing hide and seek. That is when one of the kids tripped over my foot," said Schuett.

Schuett had been found at 6 p.m. on a hot August day and had been laying in that field for nearly 12 hours, when found she was rushed to a hospital in critical condition.

"Three days after the attack, I started giving a description. The doctors told me I would never be able to talk again, but I proved them all wrong," said Schuett. She believes she got her voice back so she could tell her story.

"I never wanted to play the victim role. I wanted to be a strong survivor," she said.

But the attack left its mark. "For the first two years, I had nightmares and was scared," she said. "But I never wanted sympathy. ... If I had given up, he would have won, and I wanted to show him: 'You didn't win.' "

Shuettt said she is now "on a manhunt."

Dickinson police Detective Tim Cromie and Houston FBI Special Agent Richard Rennison are the lead investigators on the case.

Rennison said "this is the only one that I can think of that the victim has suffered some traumatic injuries and survived, the main reason the CARD team picked this case was because she was alive. In cases of child abduction it is rare that the child is recovered alive. Frequently you recover a body and most times you never find them."

The investigators have found evidence collected 19 years ago, which can be retested. It included the underwear and pajamas Schuett was wearing, with a mans underwear and T-shirt, which was found in the same field where Schuett was left for dead. The clothing had been tested in 1990, but the sample needed to be larger to get a good enough result, now techniques allow DNA to be isolated from a single cell.

Once they get back the DNA results -- "any time now," Schuett said -- they will run them through the FBI's criminal database and see if they get a match

"Someone might remember something about that night," Schuett said. "Dickinson is a really small community. Everybody knows everybody. I know someone in town knows something."

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Rhonda J Mangus

at 13:00 on September 25th, 2009

Thanks for this, LarryDeezell! I watched her in interview recently. She is a remarkable and courageous young lady.

caj1

at 17:34 on September 25th, 2009

I, too, saw the interview on TV which aired on another network (not CNN). She showed much poise, after waiting a long time to tell her story. She is a role model and a survivor!

LarryDeezell

at 13:22 on September 25th, 2009

your welcome, hopefully the DNA helps

Rhonda J Mangus

at 14:13 on September 25th, 2009

Yes, let us hope they get a match!

Rory Cripps

at 17:57 on September 25th, 2009

Teach your kids the proper use of firearms from an early age . . . . The sad thing is that I'm saying this only half-jokingly. When it comes to abductions and pedophiles, it's sick out there and getting sicker . . . .When I was a little kid, my friends and I would eat our Rice Krispies, run out of our homes, get on our bikes, and spend the entire day having fun. The thought that we would be abducted and molested never entered our minds, nor did it enter our parent's minds.

No one would have dared to abduct and molest us. My town had a 911 system long before the 911 system was established--it was called neighbors looking out for neighbors. Had anyone been dumb and/or sick enough to attempt to abduct and molest any one of us, the probability of them getting out of town alive would approach zero. And the NYPD wouldn't even bother filling out a report. My, how things have changed in America!

badboobee

at 17:21 on September 25th, 2009

Good for you Jennifer! I hope they find this sick POS! You at 8 years old showed more courage than any man I have ever known. I hope the DNA evidence finds your attacker and you can laugh in his face and tell him he didn't win!

Syn-me (not verified)

at 18:41 on September 25th, 2009

What an extraordinarily woman Jennifer is. That is a crying shame that an eight year old child should ever have to be traumatized like that!!What is extremely upsetting and beyond belief- is that such vile forms of human life exist! What could possible cause an another human being, especially an adult- to become a twisted predator- seeking out a little girl to kidnap,brutalize her by slicing her throat leaving her to die, raping, traumatizing, and torturing her???!!I hope to hell that the horrid sick monster who did this to Jennifer is caught asap! I also hope that karma pays him back. Most likely there are others that he has victimized, those psychopaths like him are not just one time offenders. He just might already be incarcerated for another heinous crime similar to Jennifer's- and hopefully the DNA database will show a match-up.When the monster is caught, I hope that this will allow Jennifer some closure and piece of mind. I am sickened to hear that Jennifer had to go through such a horrific ordeal, and amazed by her strong spirit and her courage to see her through this!

Syn-OG1

at 18:55 on September 25th, 2009

BBB,

It's me ;-),

Isn't it cool that we both happened to read and then comment on this horrific story!

Jennifer should get some type of award for being so courageous and willing to come forward with her story to help find that vile creature who should never have a chance to inflict his heinous acts on another ever again.

Jennifer will be in my prayers, that with her help, they soon catch this monster. I wish her success on her "Manhunt" mission! I also hope that this monster has lived a wretched life filled with pain and suffering beyond my imagination!

badboobee

at 07:22 on September 26th, 2009

Hey there Syn! Yeah, I am drawn to these stories because I can't understand how a human being can do this to another - especially a child. Jennifer is an incredible woman and through her I can see that there is hope. I am so proud of her, and other woman, who rise above being just another victem and become a pillar of strength to others. It can't be easy to put your face out there and talk about something so monsterous happening to you. My prayers are with her and every child who has been hurt. I hope they catch this guy and he is made to suffer the way he has made her suffer all these years.

Courage Award to Jennifer!

Syn-OG1

at 01:43 on September 27th, 2009

Thank you Larry Deezell for this extraordinary story! I had never heard about this case before, and unfortunately I missed Jennifer's TV interviews.

It's amazing that after what happened to Jennifer when she was a little girl, somehow she managed to find the strength and courage to live through that nightmare, and has become an inspiration for many victims to not give up-to become a survivor and fight back!

It's a damn shame that there are such sick monsters living among us who would rape and brutalize an innocent young child, abducting her from the safety of her home!

LCoastMom

at 10:49 on September 27th, 2009

This is so horrible that this man appeared in this small town where everyone knows everyones business and yet 19 years later no one has come forward.

I hope they find him rotting in some prison.

Syn-OG1

at 15:30 on September 27th, 2009

I agree LCM,

How could that psycho go undetected all this time?? It has been almost 20 years since that happened and LE and the FBI still haven't made an arrest?

I'm also wondering why Hailey Cummings hasn't been found yet? LE has so many resources available, one would think that between them all it shouldn't be too hard to outsmart those like Misty and company!

LarryDeezell

at 12:46 on September 28th, 2009

your welcome Syn, I've finished another article about RORY Cripps comment, kids with guns

http://my.nowpublic.com/world/gun-accidents-each-year-kills-around-500-kids

satan (not verified)

at 07:52 on September 30th, 2009

HA HA HA HA HA HA YOU GOT RAPED HA HA HA HA HA

badboobee

at 15:31 on September 30th, 2009

Response to Satan

HA HA HA HA HA YOU'RE A PIECE OF SHIT HA HA HA HA HA

anonymous in defense of innocent (not verified)

at 20:05 on October 13th, 2009

All monsters must leave the planet, no conditions.You are outnumbered by angels in heaven and angels on earth.Weak cowards. Got nothing. I will sacrifice my very body in a twink to protect and defend any innocent child.Weak... you. Got nothing.

badboobee

at 11:38 on October 13th, 2009

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33295777/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

They got him!

anonymous in defense of innocent (not verified)

at 20:20 on October 13th, 2009

I fear for this girl now for going public.Whats the IP Address of that loser 3 posts above claiming satan... lets goto his doorstep and see what he is all about. Lets check his DNA. Better yet he deserves to HAVE THE CRAP KICKED OUT OF HIM until he croaks.Someone listening? She needs to be protected and identity changed and moved.I hope the authorities are not stupid and taken measures to protect her.Do something !

Syn-OG1

at 16:56 on October 15th, 2009

Thanks for sending me the link BBB. I'm glad that POS was finally caught! What's disturbing is that he only served 4 years back in 1997 for another kidnap and his usual MO of slitting the throat of his vic. That time the female was 35 years old. Still no connection was made from Dennis Brad ford's previous crime, What a shame that it took that long to finally nab that sociopath.

Speaking of nuts...I agree with "anonymous in defense..." that comment by the aptly named "Satan" is a loser. That POS is also a whole lot more than just a loser. Satan definitely needs to be checked out! I hope LE saw that post and gets the IP and hunts down that evil creep! Satan sure does deserve to have the crap kicked out of itself. I think Satan's IP needs to be publicly disclosed! And "it" gets a taste of what it posted here!! ;-)

Burn in hell Satan!