Was This Man Influenced By "The Lovely Bones" By Alice Sebold????????

                                          When I heard the story of Vinson Filyaw, and how he kidnapped Elizabeth Shoaf, a 14-year-old girl from Lugoff, South Carolina, on September 6, 2006, my curiosity  was aroused.  This slimeball posed as a police officer, dressed in full regalia, lured her into the woods, till she was geographically disoriented, then lifted the door on an underground bunker, where she was imprisoned, tortured, and raped, over a ten day period.  When I watched this story, on Investigation Discovery's "Surviving Evil," I thought, "This is the same thing George Harvey (brilliantly played by Stanley Tucci in the movie!!!!!!) did in "The Lovely Bones."  Since there was nothing really given about the early life of Filyaw, (one of the flaws of these types of programs) I had to wonder if he had had any exposure to Sebold's novel, (which was published in 2002) to be influenced by it.

                                             The program neither raised nor answered that question,either, but it made abundantly clear that he had the same agenda as George Harvey, because during this period Elizabeth was systematically chained, tortured, and raped!!!!!!!!!!!   She would have probably ended up dead, like Susie in the Sebold novel, if it were not for Elizabeth's resourcefulness, such as dropping her shoes, and pulling out hair to leave clues to herself behind in the outdoors around her, gaining Filyaw's trust so much he allowed her to use his cell phone allegedly for games, but which she used to text a message to her mother, giving clues as to where she might be.  As it turns out, she was barely a mile from her own home.

                                              When Filyaw learned of the double cross, she talked him out of killing her, and going on the lam, instead.    He was caught, and is now serving 421 years in prison.  His girl friend, (she must be a real laugh riot, dolls!!!!!!!!) who was in the bunker for at least part of the time, and witnessed some of the atrocities, doing nothing, was charged, as well.  Take the key, and lock her up, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                 I have to hand it to Elizabeth.  Few victims would be this resourceful under such circumstances.  No wonder she was too emotionally distraught to testify against Filyaw publicly; though I would have relished glaring at him, and spewing my venom!!!!!!! Tit for tat, as they say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                  But I really have to wonder how much "The Lovely Bones" had a play in this. Not that I am denigrating Sebold's work; far from it.  It just goes to prove truth is not only stranger than
fiction, but sometime the two intersect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                   At least now, Filyaw is only intersecting with his jail cell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!