Mom of Boy Set on Fire: It's "Disgusting"

Fifteen-Year-Old Michael Brewer Has Burns on 65 Percent of His Body; Five Teens Charged in the Case

(CBS)  The mother of a 15-year-old boy who was set on fire by his classmates said on "The Early Show" that violence among children needs to stop.

Valerie Brewer said what happened to her son Michael Brewer is "disgusting."

"Our country, our world, needs to wake up and see what is going on with our children," she said. "They need to do something. This has got to stop. It's not just my son. It's everybody's children. This could happen to somebody else and God forbid -- I don't wish this agony and torture on anybody. We have got to do something to make this violence stop today."

Five Charged With Setting Teen on Fire

Michael has burns on 65 percent of his body after he was doused with rubbing alcohol and set on fire. Five boys, who are all 13 to 15 years old, have been charged in the attack.

Broward County police say Michael owed one of the suspects Matthew Bent $40 for a video game. When he didn't pay up Bent allegedly tried to steal a $500 custom bicycle, belonging to Brewer's father. And when Brewer called the cops, police say, Bent wanted revenge.

Sheriff Al Lambert said, "This group of kids thought, that because the kid may have snitched him out, and turned him in because they were trying to steal his dad's bike, they felt in their mind, it was OK to set him on fire."

Fifteen-year-old Denver Jarvis is accused of dousing Brewer with rubbing alcohol. Jesus Mendez, also 15, is accused of flicking the lighter.

Detective Steve Feeley said, "(One suspect) told him pour it on him, pour it on him at which time a second suspect poured it on, then a third suspect lit him on fire."

Brewer ran and jumped into a pool, but it took a man with a fire extinguisher to put out the flames. Authorities say Bent and Jarvis laughed when they were questioned about the attack.

Sherry Jarvis, the suspects' mother told CBS News, "They're good kids, they have good grades, no problems in school. Wrong place, wrong people."

As for Michael Brewer, he is fighting for his life in Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where he's expected to remain for months. Michael's doctor, Dr. Nicholas Namias, the director of the Burn Center at Jackson Memorial, said Michael is "doing as well as we could hope someone could do with this condition."

"But don't mistake that for being good," he said. "This is obviously a very bad thing, a very serious thing. People said yesterday he was out of the woods, but that's only half the sentence. … Burn patients only really start to get sick four, five, six days into it."

Namias said now doctors are trying to treat massive inflammation of Michael's whole body. He added Michael will likely deal with more infections and organ failures down the road.

"This is just part of the long process of treating a major burn," Namias said.

Michael's mother, who has been by his side, said on "The Early Show" she hasn't slept since her son was hospitalized.

"It's just a big blur," she said. "It's heartache and pain. And I have a wonderful support system. My family, my friends, and the staff here at the hospital, they're all taking care of me. And helping me to get through this."

If you would like to help Michael Brewer and his family, go to CBS 4's Neighbors 4 Neighbors.

[vrossv]

Im only 18 years old and i am DISGUSTED by what these juvenile kids have done, why aren't the parents disciplining the children anymore? since they had a lack of discipline they should have the ultimate disciplinary action taken against them by sentencing them in jail for life. They have ruined the life of a young man and therefore should have THEIR lives ruined.... ever heard of "eye for an eye"?

[kingerik234]

Setting someone on fire is far more than a "mistake". A mistake is losing your book bag.

As soon as I read the headline, I immediately knew the race of the attackers. I guess I am psychic.

[weneedpeace]

I usually dont write on these things because you have such foolishness and stupidity written on here. Do you know that I came on to see if I could find out how the boy was doing and ran across these remarks. I have a question for all of you that showed so much anger towards the boys that set this young boy on fire. Have you never made a mistake? No I don't know the boy that was burnt or the boys that did this horrible thing, but I feel sorry for all the boys that were involved and the parents that have to face this horrible nightmare. These children and yes they are children will deal with this the rest of their lives. They have made a horrible mistake, a horrible mistake but who are we to judge them or their parents. If any of you are parents, you know how hard it is to raise a child in this day and age. We sometimes forget about family values and we have left Hollywood to raise our children. It's not that we don't love our chidren we just have busy schedules and forgot our priorities. Even as parents we need to be taught still. If we are wanting the children to stop this bullying then we can't turn around and threaten them or wish the worse to come upon them. You are doing nothing but teaching your child hatred. I watched the mother on the CBS Morning Show and my heart went out to her and her family. I have thought of this young man everyday. He will suffer many, many painful hours, days, months and years to recover. We need to find a solution for helping the children of today, for helping the parents of today. Please checkout the Peaceful Solution Website. It helps with self control, character, respect and responsibility. If we want something to be done, we have to change our own families and communities first.

[Leotta99]

Do you know that they laughed when they were arrested? They don't care, they have no remorse over what they did. If these boys are not prosecuted as adults THAT is what will teach our kids the wrong message. You are seriously messed up in the head for feeling sorry for these monsters. It takes the kind of mentality these kids have to grow up and torture people like the Nazis did. A "mistake"?!! Give me a break!!!!

[lifefitness]

I read your comment and I would like to ask you a question, do you have any children because if you don't you have no clue what these poor people are going through. To have your child set on fire by these little pieces of crap and then laugh at him as he is burning is unforgiveable. They all deserve to go to jail for the rest of there lives. So until something like this happens to you, like I said , you don't have a freaking clue.

[Support4All]

Please take action and sign my petition requesting that State Attorney Satz prosecute these boys as adults. Thank you for your time and support.
http://mbrewer.epetitions.net/

[crytton]

I am appalled by the actions of the boys. Nothing could ever justify setting another kid on fire or harming them in any way! The day after Michael was set on fire my son (12yrs) was attacked by a classmate. He stood on top of my son kicking him in the throat and head and did not stop until my son was gasping for air. We pressed charges, after wards I found out about what happened to Michael Brewer. I am frightened!! What is wrong with these children?? To Michael and his family, my heart and prays go out to you.

[catmagic43613]

Brewer ran and jumped into a pool, but it took a man with a fire extinguisher to put out the flames. Authorities say Bent and Jarvis laughed when they were questioned about the attack.

Sherry Jarvis, the suspects' mother told CBS News, "They're good kids, they have good grades, no problems in school. Wrong place, wrong people."

SHERRY JARVIS WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE YOUR KID IS EVIL TO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THIS! DO YOU GET IT? DO YOU REALIZE THAT THIS KID WILL BE SCARRED, EMOTIONALLY AND PHYSICALLY FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE IF HE LIVES THROUGH THIS. YOUR KIDS ARE SICK AND AS SICK AS YOU ARE LIVING IN DENIAL SAYING THEY ARE GOOD KIDS.

[guinessmom]

As a mother of a recovered burn victim, I urge the mother to seek out FREE ABSOLUTELY FREE care for her son including reconstructive surgery. She should contact the Shriner's Burn Institute in Boston, or Texas.
My heart bleeds for them both.

[cat54mom]

My heart goes out to Michael Brewer and his family. This whole event is chilling, and I think these boys should be charged as adults, given their age and the seriousness of this crime. Yes, Sherry Jarvis's comment defending the kids as "good kids" is outrageous, but that doesn't automatically mean that she is a terrible mother, or that she should be charged with child abuse or anything else. If it is true that they have had good grades and have not been in trouble, she may well be used to thinking of them as "good kids". Teenagers of that age are capable of leading something of a double-life, for the simple reason that they aren't under constant supervision when they walk out the door. Plenty of parents been blind-sided by their "good kid" buying and using or dealing drugs, or getting into other kinds of trouble. Teenagers are strongly influenced by their peers, and are capable of making choices and they don't always do what their parents have tried to teach them. Sometimes parents are to blame and sometimes not. I feel fortunate that my daughter turned out all right. We did our best, but that isn't always enough. I know people who have done everything right, but had their kids go wrong.

[wobxw]

our children are getting more and more violent each day. Scary part is that it is at a younger age. Many of us have witnessed children below the age of 11 cuss like a sailor. Yet if a parent tries to take control and install a little discipline the law steps in and says child abuse. I feel sorry for this young man and his mother.

[Momto2sweeties]

For all of you who are lucky to have never witnessed your child suffer from 2nd or 3rd degree burns, you are SO VERY LUCKY!! My younger child suffered from 2nd degree burns when he was a baby from an accident in our home. I wracked my brain in anger at myself at the fact that I was SO HUGE on child safety locks, safety stairs, the best carseats only to miss an obvious danger (my curling iron - AFTER I had stored it and put it away).

There is a thick, rubbery film that grows over burn wounds - to this day, I still have no idea why it happens but it does and the horrific thing is - aside from the nightmare of the actual accident where your child is screaming in pain is that you have to literally SCRUB the open burn wounds to get that rubbery film off. Otherwise, I was told by doctors, the burn unit and such that the wound won't heal properly. So every night and day, you have to hold your baby down and literally scrub their painful wounds as they are looking up at your wondering why you are hurting them so much. To this day when I look at his scars, I relive the nightmare over and over and over again in my mind. I would never wish this on my worst enemy and if I could do anything to take back those moments and had foresight to have stored it in a safer place, I would. I never thought that I would fail at parenting at something so horrific but at that moment, I failed my baby and I regret it with every thing that I am. I wish that I had been smarter to store it someplace safer, decided to not do my hair that morning, not put started the laundry at the moment where my older child went to grab it and play with it (he dropped it on the baby since it was hot). So many what if's.

When your child gets to 15, you assume that they are fairly safe from childhood dangers and now you have to worry about the callousness and cold hearts from other children - your child's very own peers.

We're in a horrible state of mind and this all needs to stop. My heart goes out to this young boy and to his family. I can only imagine the pain that he is going through and I pray for a speedy recovery. I'm so so sorry that your son is suffering so.

What's sad is that these boys had malicious INTENT. You don't walk around with alcohol as teenagers. You don't walk around with lighters. They planned this and then had the cold heartedness to carry this out...so many lives are now ruined by this...so many families.

[knoxied]

The mother who described the perpetrators as "good kids," yes that's outrageous given they SET SOMEONE ON FIRE, but the woman is probably out of her mind trying to reconcile her belief in her son with the horror of reality--I think this kind of denial is kind of a natural reaction. It's time for society and the criminal justice system to send a message that once you reach a certain age you WILL pay for your crime. Even if the victim dies and these boys are convicted of murder, they will probably be turned loose back into society in a few years because they are juveniles. They are old enough to know better and to pay for their crime.

[olghina2012]

I agree.

[bosniahertz]

I totally agree, these thugs planned this and the mother saying they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time is slime.TOO BAD SHE CAN'T SERVE SOME TIME ALSO.

[beentheremom]

As a parent of a burn patient(who by the way, has been burned twice in his life) I think this is absolutly DISGUSTING!!!! I agree with the one person that commented that this mother or even these so called "GOOD KIDS" should have to spend the day in a burn ccu and watch a burn patient literally have their skinned scraped off of them while they are awake. And listen to their screams , especially when it is a 3 year old child that is begging for his mom and pleading to make them stop. My child was burned when he was three years old and again when he was 19. This makes me literally sick to my stomach to think that this mother could possibly think that her child didn't do this. And even more so to think that anyone could do this to another human being, and then be so cold and callious to laugh about it. I spent 4 months in a waiting room because much like this young man's mom, I would not leave him, and I saw so many people come in with burns, and never leave. I also know and understand this mom's heartache. My son is scarred but PRAISE GOD, he's alive. I pray that these THUGS are punished to the full and hopefully beyond extent of the law. If you are reading this and you are a christian, then PLEASE,PLEASE, band with me and pray for MICHAEL BREWER and his family that GOD will help them through this ordeal and pray that GOD will have mercy on the souls of these monsters as well as their blind parents. Thank you and GOD BLESS!!!

[olghina2012]

I chilling agree with your comment.

[rf35]

"Brewer ran and jumped into a pool, but it took a man with a fire extinguisher to put out the flames. Authorities say Bent and Jarvis laughed when they were questioned about the attack.

"Sherry Jarvis, the suspects' mother told CBS News, "They're good kids, they have good grades, no problems in school. Wrong place, wrong people."

First, charge the suspects as adults with attempted murder. Second, charge their parents with child abuse, child neglect, and as accessories to the attempted murder for being such utter failures as parents and citizens.

[olghina2012]

I 100% agree.

[lous33]

i agree 100% with you

[NikEst]

These kids should never see the light of day again, but it probably isn't the parents fault. As someone else has mentioned, Sherry Jarvis is probably just trying to cope with the fact that her son set someone on fire. Think if your kid had been well behaved with good grades and suddenly the police show up at your door saying they set someone on fire or shot up a school, you won't be able to believe them and will want to defend your kid.

[MLBushman]

I want to add one other thing here: Parenting is the hardest job, the most time-consuming endeavor, I have ever undertaken. It requires constant vigilance, an ear for both lie and truth, because kids test you at every turn and only by knowing them intimately can you discern when they are snowing you and when they're being honest. I see so many parents today being played by their own children it's not funny. And on the other hand I see a ton of parents who, having discovered just how much work parenting really is, give up on the job and are secretly glad when their children are out of sight and out of mind.

I love my daughter. She is turning out to be a good person in heart and soul and mind, but only because I work hard to stay one step ahead of her. Any parent who thinks their child does not make mistakes, won't try lying or manipulation, any parent who's first instinct is to stick up for the child no matter what, is only fooling themselves and hurting their child.

[MLBushman]

The quote from the parent of the suspects is the most telling. Jarvis is sticking up for her kids, she can't imagine them doing anything like this, or laughing, because she didn't know where her kids were at the time of the incident, she probably didn't care where they were, and doesn't want to admit it, nor is she now aware that she has raised kids without any compassion. Where did they get this lack of compassion do you think? From no one caring perhaps? No one, like their parents? Amazing. If my kid had done this to an animal, let alone a classmate, I would be in jail for killing my own child. But I would never for one minute stick up for my child without first ascertaining whether or not my child had done it, and if my child had done something this heinous, being the first to admit I failed as a parent. Some people should not breed--ever. This woman, Jarvis, is one of them. Too bad the world, and poor Mike, had to find out the hard way.

I give no quarter for the failure of parents, and this is a parenting failure. Why were five boys allowed loose on the street to begin with, to steal, to rob, to attempt murder? Where were the parents? Jarvis hasn't answered that yet, has she?

[olghina2012]

As a parent I agree with your comment.

[Ariviste]

I am a retired teacher. For the past 10-15 years I have noted a lack of compassion or empathy for other living things developing in our children. They see so much murder, blood-shed, and horror on television and in the movies, I believe it has had the effect of destroying the feelings for other living things whether other people or animals. I have seen kids laughing at the suffering of a person or an animal in a movie. This is a reaction that is very troubling. When I was their age I could not bear to watch something like that happening on the screen. Now the bloodier the better, and the more horror they see the more they like the movie. I believe it has produced a hardness in many kids and a loss of feeling for the suffering of others.

[SusanStoHelit]

Jarvis's mother should have to sit in that burn ward for at least 24 hours and listen to the screaming, as she tries to claim her kid and the others are good kids.

[deedido]

I want the Brewer family to know I am praying for them and my heart aches for them

these are GOOD BOYS? WHAT????
I hope they are tried as adults and do not get a slap on the wrists in the juvenile system. I agree with a previous posting--even a young child knows this is wrong.

[olghina2012]

Even a young child knows that is wrong. I agree.

[mia45]

I hope the court system does not let Michael and his family down. These kids knew what they were doing, even my 4 year old grandson knows enough that you do not set people on fire let alone a person who is 13 to 15 years of age. Basically, if your going to do an adult crime then you better do the adult time.....no mercy!

[willow013]

Sherry Jarvis, the suspects' mother told CBS News, "They're good kids, they have good grades, no problems in school. Wrong place, wrong people."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If they are good kids, I'd certainly hate to meet the bad ones.....

[twindaze]

This boy's life has been ruined essentially. The boys who did it need the book thrown at them. They need to sit in prison for a long period of time. And the fact that they laughed makes me ill to think about. And the mom who said they're good kids, she is deluded. Good kids don't set people on fire, I don't care how good of grades they get, they clearly have no morals or character.