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Alex Cabrero ReportingDestiny probably had no idea what was going to happen to her when her killer lured her into his home. From everything we've heard, she was a loving, trusting child, and maybe she was that way because of the culture she grew up in.
You can compare the Norton family lifestyle to the peace movement of the late 60's; it's very similar. They are part of the Liberty Park drum circle, a group that claims it values love to all, respect, and most of all, acceptance -- even though it would appear, the Norton's weren't fully accepted when they first became public figures.
If there was ever a place Destiny Norton felt safe, it would've been at the Liberty Park drum circle.
Rachael Norton, Destiny's Mother, Tuesday, July 18: "She loves everybody. She knows the difference between good and bad people."
Destiny's mother, Rachel, wanted her daughter to be part of the lifestyle. Trust, love, and accepting others no matter what are values she felt her daughter would benefit from. The whole family thought so.
Peter Brooks, Destiny's Uncle, Thursday, July 20: "These are people we trust, people we love and people we care about."
It's certainly not a lifestyle for everyone, though, because no matter how much love this group may have, for many on the outside, it's hard to look past the tattoos, the hair, the dress, the way in which their carefree attitude just doesn't rub well with more mainstream people.
Shane Siwik, Search Coordinator, Thursday, July 20: "Unfortunately, I think that may be the case in some people."
Shane Siwik helped coordinate plenty of the past week's searches.
Shane Siwik: "I would just hope that we would all look inside if ourselves, and realize no matter what class we come from, or our income where ever we are, this is about a five-year old girl that's lost, and that's all."
But right away, some looked at the family and their close friends, and judged. The day after Destiny was taken, some on our KSL.com message board wrote posts like, "I think they know where their daughter is," and "She may have been the victim of a parent or extended family member, or a family or acquaintance." And even, "Bad part of town, bad parenting, bad result."
Kevin Bardsley, Search Coordinator, Thursday, July 20: "I don't care who it is or what their class of life is, they are all children of God, and it doesn't matter."
Peter Brooks, Destiny's Uncle: "Everybody just needs to take a look and realize if you have differences with what you've seen on the air, or differences in what you've seen at the search center or in person, just keep in mind, keep an open mind, this is a five-year old little girl who isn't with her parents."
Many in that close-knit group believe because Destiny was so trusting, that's why she went to her killer's house when he supposedly asked her to.
