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http://www.detnews.com/article/20101...89/1361/UPDATE
Taunted Trenton girl goes on toy spree
Kathleen gets $2,000 in toys; rest of funds raised to be donated
Trenton — Kathleen Edward got the royal treatment Thursday, while prosecutors pored over police reports about the couple who allegedly taunted the 7-year-old about her terminal illness.
The couple, Scott and Jennifer Petkov, said they also received notice Thursday that the incident had cost Scott Petkov his job.
"The public got what it wanted," said Jennifer Petkov, who has been vilified on Internet social networking sites as the "Devil of Detroit Street."
"What I did was childish. If you hate me, fine. But please don't hate my family," she said Thursday. "All this energy toward us should be redirected toward fulfilling that little girl's life."
Kathleen, who is dying from Huntington's disease, was allegedly harassed by the Petkovs, family and neighbors have said.
On Thursday, Kathleen spent the morning on a shopping spree at Tree Town Toys in Ann Arbor, courtesy of donors responding to the dispute.
The girl, who is in the late stages of the disease and shows signs of deterioration, walked gingerly through red velvet ropes, past a three-tiered fondant cake, under a "Welcome Kathleen" sign, and down the aisles, hugging stuffed dogs and pandas to her chest.
"I think it will sink in when she sees all these toys fill up her room and her bedroom," said Robert Edward, Kathleen's father. "It's just a wonderful thing."
Huntington's disease is a hereditary disorder in which nerve cells in the brain degenerate. Victims often experience uncontrolled movements, emotional disturbances and mental deterioration.
As part of a long-running neighborhood fued, the Petkovs had posted an image on Facebook of Kathleen's face above crossbones, allegedly hurled verbal jabs at the girl, and drove their truck — which had a coffin attached and bore the inscription "Death Machine" — up and down the block.
Jennifer Petkov also posted an image of Laura Edward, Kathleen's mother, in the embrace of the grim reaper. Laura Edward died of Huntington's last year at age 24.
The Petkov and Edward families, who live across from each other on Detroit Street, have filed several police reports during their years-long dispute. Trenton police have forwarded the reports to prosecutors.
"We're reviewing several police reports at this time," said Maria Miller, spokeswoman for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
Kathleen's family has reported an outpouring of sympathy and generosity from around the globe since stories about the incident went viral on the Internet.
More than $20,000 has been raised by people worldwide who saw media reports about the dispute — $17,000 by the toy store and $5,000 by the Huntington's Disease Society of America Michigan chapter.
Kathleen bought about $2,000 worth of toys during the shopping spree; the family is donating the remainder of the funds to C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor.
"Within a week, a nation has come together for a little girl," said Jessica Shinkonis, whose 11-year-old daughter, Cailey — who also suffers from Huntington's disease — was invited by Kathleen's family to join in the shopping spree.
The Petkovs' lawyer, Scott Weinberg, said his clients this week have received mail and e-mailed threats of violence; their house has been egged, and they fear for their lives.
"They have been told to not come out of their house, to not walk down the street. If those people sending these threats had signed their names, they could be charged a crime," Weinberg said.
Weinberg said Petkov's images of the girl and her mother were on the Internet for no more than an hour.
He said Petkov has deleted her Facebook page. Several other Facebook pages that have since appeared under her name are fakes, Weinberg said.
"My clients have apologized for making a juvenile mistake. He's lost his job," Weinberg said. "It's hard to imagine that what's happened over the past week can be undone."
"…But I believe the Prosecutor's Office will see this for what it is, a neighborhood dispute with a long history of back and forth. The unbelievable thing about this is how social media can be so abused by everyone and anyone."
Weinberg said his clients made a small donation online to a Huntington's disease group in the names of Kathleen and Laura Edward. Petkov said she could only afford $10, but she wanted to do something.
"Because of my ignorance, people around the world are now more aware of Huntington's disease," Jennifer Petkov said.
Petkov said posting images on her Facebook page was the result of her jealousy over the outpouring of sympathy and aid to Kathleen's mother, and continued with discovery that the girl was also dying from the disorder.
"At the time I was mad because I felt the community was out to get me," Petkov said, adding that conflicts escalated as her family struggled with her husband out of work.