Evil

After my wife and I were married in 1991, we settled down in the sleepy old river town of Alton, Illinois, about 15 miles north of St. Louis. We loved our seven years there: an easy going pace, beautiful old homes, stunning views of the Mississippi from high on the bluffs, and history galore (e.g., Lincoln and Douglas debated there and Father Jacques Marquette stared in wonder at the Piasa Bird in 1673.)

But Alton can be a pretty rough place for a city of 30,000, with more than its share of drugs, gangs, and drunken biker dudes roaring down the streets. Seriously...The place is a biker gang haven. Our first apartment overlooked the main drag and one of the main biker bars. (Imagine us on a hill looking down on the bar about 100 feet below.) As was typical one summer night around 1:00am, the bar closed and the roar of Harleys split the night quiet. Suddenly we heard the thunk of heavy metal hitting pavement. I looked out our bedroom window and saw a guy sitting in the middle of the street next to his overturned motorcycle. Apparently he had simply fallen over sideways. He rose, ambled over to the curb, and sat down. Not 30 seconds later a car pulled to a stop at the bike, as it was blocking the street. Two men got out and exchanged words with the biker, who remained at his perch. Both parties waved in a what I interpreted as a sign of agreement. The two men then righted the bike and pushed it to the curb, aside its recumbent owner. Handshakes were exchanged and the men drove away. A few minutes later, the biker righted himself and roared off in the direction of Godfrey, where the bars stayed open til 3:00. (I suppose colorful would be another apt adjective in describing Alton.)

All of that is just a bit of background to one of the most horrific stories I've had the displeasure of reading. No more commentary. I'll let the AP take over:

Torture death shocks Ill. town

ALTON, Ill. - Banished to the basement, the 29-year-old mother with a childlike mind and another baby on the way had little more than a thin rug and a mattress to call her own on the chilly concrete floor.

Dorothy Dixon ate what she could forage from the refrigerator upstairs, where prosecutors say housemates used her for target practice with BBs, burned her with a glue gun and doused her with scalding liquid that peeled away her skin.

They torched what few clothes she had, authorities say, so she walked around naked. They often pummeled her with an aluminum bat or metal handle.

Dixon — six months pregnant — died after weeks of abuse. Police have charged two adults, three teenagers and a 12-year-old boy with murder in the case that has repulsed many in this Mississippi River town.

[...]

[Police Lt. David Hayes] watched the autopsy and found her injuries disturbing. X-rays revealed roughly 30 BBs lodged in her. Deep-tissue burns covered about one-third of her body — her face, her chest, her arms and feet — and left her severely dehydrated. Her face and body showed signs of prolonged abuse. Many of her wounds were infected.

None of the injuries, Hayes said, proved singly fatal to Dixon. Her system already was taxed by her unborn baby.

"The autopsy sort of indicates her immune system just shut down," he said. "It was not capable of fending off any more."

Evil. Pure, simple evil. No other word fits.