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UTAH COUNTY — A family of nine will hopefully become a family of 17, and a horrific story of child abuse will soon have a happy ending.
Last week in Tampa, Florida, Jamie Hicks was arrested on charges of abusing her eight children.
"All of the children in separate interviews gave consistent accounts that they had been slapped, they had been choked to the point where they couldn't breathe. They had been kicked, punched in the stomach. Their head had been held under water," Tampa Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy told WFLA. "They were forced to eat old and moldy food. When they would throw it up, the mother would then make them eat their vomit."
The story hit extremely close to home for Jennifer Gossard and her family. Jamie Hicks used to live in Utah and was charged with neglecting three of her other children 18 years ago, and Gossard adopted all of them.
“One of the first things I asked my mom was, ‘Can we get those kids?’” 17-year-old Cayla Gossard asked. “Because I didn’t want them to be separated either.”
Even though they don't really know each other, they’re family, and soon they will be together.
“We just want to take them and give them a good home and love them and hopefully teach them everything they can to succeed, and be there to support them and care for them,” Jennifer Gossard said.
Gossard said she will have to buy a new house, a new car and new clothes to support the family.
She will fly out tomorrow morning to Florida to meet the children. Gossard hopes they will be able to fly back with all eight kids in a couple of weeks.
For people who want to help the Gossard family, an account* has been set up at Chase Bank under the name Jennifer Gossard.
*KSL.com has not verified the accuracy of the information provided with respect to the account nor does KSL.com assure that the monies deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
