The Missouri teenager who was left for dead by confessed murderer James Wood 13 months ago has decided to attend Wood's sentencing hearing for last summer's slaying of an 11-year-old Pocatello girl.
"I really honestly want to come and face him," said Jamie Masengill, 19. "I want him to see that he didn't accomplish what he set out to do. I want him to know that he did not take my life."Wood, 45, has admitted to police that he abducted Masengill from a service station near her home in suburban St. Louis, took her to a wooded area and shot her in the head. He told authorities he was surprised when he learned she had survived.
Sixth District Judge Lynn Winmill has set aside three days for the sentencing hearing in the death of Jeralee Underwood, who was kidnapped while she was collecting on her newspaper route and murdered several hours later in Idaho Falls.
Wood, who has admitted the murder and subsequent mutilation of the child's body, could be sentenced to die. He served a prison term for a murder during the 1970s in Louisiana.
Masengill, who will be accompanied to Pocatello by her parents, Della and Steven Molina, said she hopes facing Wood will help her heal emotionally as well as physically.
She was in a coma for three days after being found. The damage to her brain left her paralyzed on her right side. She now walks only with the aid of braces. Because she cannot use her right hand, she had to learn to write with her left.
It also damaged her long-term memory, and at times she said she cannot translate thoughts into words.
"The whole time that I was in the hospital, I didn't know the man's name who had done this to me, but I had faith they would find him," Masengill said.
"I would tell other victims of crimes to do what they feel is right," she said. "Don't let anyone tell you what to do."