Hailey Dunn: A Profile of Neglect

by Peter Hyatt

What was the home life of Hailey Dunn like?

What led this 13 year old girl to be closer to counselors than her own mother?

Why did Hailey Dunn tell her friends that she feared living with Shawn Adkins?

What is to be made of a grown man wearing, buying and selling, trading masks, and making vile videos of blood and of killing?

What are we to think of a mother defending and loving the only named suspect in the disappearance of her daughter?

What impact would a mother's stripping for money have upon the psyche of an 11 or 12 year old girl?

What does it mean that Billie Jean and Shawn Adkins had a New Year's Eve party while Hailey was "missing"? Is it just gossip to appeal to the National Enquirer types, or is it an element in this case? Did Nancy Grace raise the issue for ratings, or does it matter in the investigation?

Everything matters in a missing child case.



Some claiming to be neighbors of the Dunns have written some unflattering things about Hailey and about the family in general.

We don't know Hailey and don't know what she was like, but we can apply logic to what we have learned about the family, and how children suffer under similar circumstances, and speculate on what it must have been like to have been under the roof of Billie Jean, Clint, and for the past 3 years, Shawn Adkins, by what we have learned about them, mostly from them, and understand the particular challenges that a child like Hailey would face.

From what the police affidavit has told us, from what Billie has (including via statement analysis), told us, what Shawn has told us via video and statements, along with what Clint has revealed, let's draw a composite on what Hailey may have faced in her young and tragic life.

1. Drugs
2. Alcohol
3. Violence
4. Sexuality
5. Neglect


What is the life of a child of drugs?

It is a vicious roller coaster of love and affection when mom is high, to running for shelter when mom comes down. It means having to beg steal or borrow things from girlfriends, to keep from being ashamed, so that mom can use her last few dollars for street drugs. It means, even when mom is straight for awhile, she can't count on the money for new sneakers for cheer leading because Shawn may take it for his drugs. Some days she had plenty, and some days she had to go to the counselor for lunch money.

Drug moms often go to extremes. A year of neglect means a year of guilt,therefore, the drug mom will often overcompensate on Christmas and birthdays, giving the child "everything she wants" to alleviate the lingering guilt of neglect.

Drugs may cost mom her profession and drop the household income from that of a nurse to that of a secretary. The notion that it was just a bounced check on the license is thin excuse.

What else does drugs mean?

It means a life of lying.

Mom lies as addicts do, which is ad enough, but what is worse is that the child learns to first accept lies, and then to imitate lying.

The child will imitate her mom.

Drugs mean a life of jeopardy.

Clint said that Billie bought an ounce of cocaine for re-sale. This meant that she would be making contact with dangerous people: buyers and sellers both, who don't give written receipts, guarantees of satisfaction, and who see weakness, will exploit it with violence. Drug dealers don't accept IOU's and they don't float loans. They don't deliver $10,000 drugs on someone's word.

What if Billie had sold cocaine to a man who decided, later, that he was ripped off and decided to pay Billie a visit, only to notice pretty little girl, Hailey?

Would protection be up to Shawn? Would Shawn put on a scary mask and scare the bad man away? Would Shawn be awake long enough to protect Hailey? Besides, Clint reported, Shawn snorted away the purchased cocaine himself.

Drugs and selfishness are twin sons.


2. Alcohol

Mixing alcohol with drugs changes the landscape. If drugs make them 'mellow', what does alcohol do?

Clint's mother said that she feared that Hailey was raped by Shawn and then killed when she threatened to tell.

What made Hailey's own grandmother say such a thing? Why did these words enter her mind?

Alcohol is used to lower the resistance of children who are being preyed upon.

Predators will often mix vodka, for instance, with fruit juices, freeze them and serve as a snack or treat.

We know from Shawn Adkin's choice of words, he watched movies, but "looked at stuff", with the key word, "look", as in with pornography, at photos and videos of killing and of blood. For the sadist, it is their porn which excites them.

Pornography, in whatever form, is used to desensitize children, and to lower the resistance. What shocked once, causes a yawn later, and this is the grooming that takes place.

Why would a 25 year old man go after a 35 year old woman with children?

What attracted Billie to Shawn? We learned that she met him through the very source of his blood lust videos and pictures: MySpace. This means that her description of being surprised was disingenuous at best, while on Nancy Grace. She attempted to portray the material as 'true crime' stories, and not the sick and twisted perversion it is.

When Hailey was reported missing, Shawn was able to join the conversation and talk about the killing of a deer.

This was an indication that he may have been aroused at the thought of killing, and may be that instinctive response from Clint's mother. She may have no proof, no logical reasoning, and may have known that even if she were to plead with Clint, Clint would not likely do anything, anyway, and just blurt out the frustrated fear that was deep within her.

Shawn said that Hailey was promiscuous. Did he know this first hand? If so, it is likely that alcohol played a role in this.

3. Violence

What we do for a hobby, we often fuel with peripheral interests such as magazines, or DVDs, etc, and then follow through with experience and fulfillment. This is natural.

For example, if a woman gets food magazines delivered to her home, she may enjoy the magazines, but it is not until she makes the meal for her family does she receive her fulfillment.

The same goes for other hobbies and interests. If a man gets Golf Digest magazine and instructional DVDs and videos sent to his home, the satisfaction comes when he is on the golf course.

This is the reason why child pornography is against the law. It fuels interest which leads to 'satisfaction' of that which is fueled.

Shawn fueled his interest with videos, masks and "stuff", and it is likely that brutally killing a deer once may have satisfied him, now made him yawn.

Did he receive "satisfaction" at the cost of Hailey's life?

Shawn's interview recently revealed that he enjoyed that people fear him. Think it through: what is the purpose of a scary mask if not to scare? It is a thrill for him, which is why he puts it on his face, trades and collects them. His prior threats were memorable and it may be that he made good on his threat to take away Hailey's life.

Billie's defense of him is provocative.

Who said that Billie Jean Dunn had a party on New Year's Eve?

Shawn Adkins did.




Police reported that he told them that they had a party. He told police that they should be looking at him and Billie.

What the (*&*&(?

Why would he say these things?

He enjoys it.

He gets a thrill from it. He is taunting the police. This tells me that he disposed of the body well, and is confident that they won't find it.

He is reliving the thrill.

He told police that they had a party, and then under questioning from Nancy Grace, via Statement Analysis, Billie confirmed it.

Why would they celebrate??

There is a violence used to control that is the heart of domestic violence. It is more common than most of us may realize.

But there is another violence that is rare and deeply frightening:

it is the violence of perversion: Someone who enjoys violence.

This is Shawn Adkins.

This is the Shawn Adkins that Billie first met on MySpace, of whom she says she loves, and even after threatening to kill, she subjected Hailey to.

4. Sexuality.

Billie said she wanted to be Hailey's friend. A 13 year old girl who's mother is her "friend" and not a boundary setting mother is one who will allow the 13 year old freedom for trouble.

Stripping.

Strippers I've interviewed had much in common. They all had substance abuse issues. They all had stories of early childhood sexual abuse.


They all had young daughters who emulated them and dressed provocatively, even at a young age.

Stripping likely played a much bigger role in Hailey's life than many will think:

a. Shawn's jealousy.

Shawn is a grown man who wears masks. Shawn is immature. Shawn is violent. Clint told us that men watching his girlfriend take off her clothes made Shawn very jealous.

Jealousy and violence are an explosive combination. This could not have been good for either Hailey nor for David. Domestic violence, as well shown by the writings and radio broadcasts of expert, Susan Murphy Milano, is bad enough when it is just for control, but add in the element of jealousy by an immature and insecure mask wearing drug user, and the results can be fatal.

b. Age level inappropriateness.

It is common for the daughters of strippers to not only dress inappropriately but for them to watch DVDs and movies that are not age appropriate. "Sex and the City" parties with 11 year old girls may shock the sensibilities of most mothers, but this is what happens. The 11 or 12 year olds want to watch it, but their mothers all say "no" but there is always that one mother, who is not so much a mother, but wants to be her daughter's "friend" who gives in, so as not displease her "girlfriend". Everyone thinks her mother is the "cool" one, but as parents quickly recognize and rebound, that house becomes the one to avoid. Marybeth's mother seemed to understand this when she said she wouldn't let Marybeth sleep over there any more since she learned that Billie let Hailey and her daughter walk the streets at night.

c. View of men.

The stripper views relationships with men on how she might manipulate and control them, by using sexuality.

The lesson is that sex is nothing more than a biological itch to be scratched, and discount all the wonder and beauty found within love. Rather, she would only teach that a woman is an object, and that men should be performed for.

This would be an early and deeply taught lesson about male-female relations that the young Hailey would receive. It is the Billie Jean that Clint described, needing to always walk on eggshells and pacify her; even to the point where he thinks if he doesn't report truthfully about her, she will tell him where Hailey is.

Thus far, it is not working.

Billie could teach her daughter how to use men, and in reality, how to be exploited by them. It is not as the "Pretty Woman" Hollywood world. Police officers and Social workers on the ground will tell you that the stripper is often prostituted out, and will likely suffer physical abuse, disease, drug abuse, and so many other maladies that have no resemblance to Hollywood's glamorous views.

Billie, working as a stripper, not only incited the anger of a man-child immature insecure monster, she also taught her daughter a terribly disrespectful view on how men and women should treat one another.

5. Neglect

Clint seemed to know so little about his own daughter. Although he searched early and often, he was not close to her. It is not just that Hailey kept from him her fear of Shawn, but that he never sensed her fear?

Hailey was 10 years old when Shawn Adkins came into her life. How, in the course of 3 years, could he have not sensed his daughter's fear??

He now complains that police haven't contacted him in 3 weeks? Is he kidding?

Most fathers would have all but camped outside the police station and, compared to their missing child, would not give a damn what dirty laundry his ex will air: his sole purpose is to find his daughter.

Passivity meant neglect to Hailey.

Hailey couldn't share her fears with her mother, who, as a "friend" was likely, as Dr. Lillian Glass eloquently portrayed, as a "rival" more than a daughter.

She couldn't talk to her father; he was busy self medicating with marijuana, day and night, and was listless and dull. Going to his house meant watching TV.

It appears, however, that she did have counselors whom she trusted.

Dedicated professionals have likely been a source of information for investigators, even while Clint waits for police to call him.

note: (by the time of my interview with Clint, police didn't know of the cocaine connection of Billie Dunn, a valuable piece of information that would need to be explored in the event of a drug revenge kidnapping, until I informed them. Note to Marc Klass: This is why nothing is insignificant in a missing child investigation.)

Drugs, Alcohol, Violence, Sexuality and acute emotion numbing Neglect all conspired to form the life of 13 year old Hailey Dunn.

What are most 13 year old girls like who have grown up under these circumstances?

Very few are able to rise above.

When Billie Jean said that Hailey had some problems striking out at others, it is a terrible minimizing of what deep, internal hurt that Hailey felt within.

Girls will often turn their rage within, upon themselves, and go into a life of self-abusive behavior. They are unable to ever accept why they were not important enough to mother and father; which is the lingering impact of Neglect.

Neglect leaves invisible bruises and scars that last a lifetime and can dictate the paths of life like a powerful source, turning rage outward at first, but inward mostly. The neglect would eventually lead her to choose a man who may "punish" her, just as Neglect punished her. She would have little self-worth, drawn from the fact that those charged with loving her, loved their drugs more, and gave their best to the drugs, and not to her.

When she needed sneakers, she had to wait; there were pills to be purchased.

When she needed someone to talk to, she had to wait until he was out of the fog of his high.

When she needed protection, all she found was fighting and anger and harsh words.

When she needed attention, it was not to be found.

When she needed a father, a father could not be found.
When she needed a mother, a mother could not be found.

It reminds me of the comforting words from Psalm 27:10

"Though my father and my mother should forsake me, yet the Lord will gather me up." (Geneva)

It is no wonder why strangers sacrifice much to search in the cold, while her mother sits at home, enjoying her favorite TV shows.

Let the Billie and Shawn defenders save their passion for Hailey. They desperately want an alive Hailey to come home, but they must listen to Billie's own references to Hailey:

in the past tense.

When a mother of a missing child speaks of the child in the past tense, she is revealing her knowledge that her child is dead.

Susan Smith did it.

Casey Anthony did it.

Billie Jean has done it repeatedly.

It is time to think of something else for Hailey:

Justice.

Justice for Hailey.

Arrest them both.

Shawn said "look at us both" when he taunted police. It's time to take his advice.

Arrest them both and watch how quickly they turn on each other rather than "answering questions for each other." Watch how the self-first of drug addicts rises to the surface and self-preservation reveals where they can find Hailey.

They both failed polygraphs for good reason.

Justice for Hailey Dunn.