Broward prosecutors shift focus to alleged accomplice in Ratley beating, Kayla Manson/Kayla will serve no jail time per plea deal

Wayne Treacy warned his friends before he arrived on the campus of Deerfield Beach Middle School on March 17, 2010, that he was headed there for a chilling purpose — to find and kill Josie Lou Ratley.

With Treacy's conviction last week on a charge of first-degree attempted murder, the focus of the Broward State Attorney's Office now shifts to the young girl who told Treacy how to find his target, then walked away as he beat Ratley nearly to death.

Kayla Manson, 15, is charged as a juvenile with principal to first-degree attempted murder. Prosecutors say Manson, 13 at the time of the incident, identified Ratley as the friend and Deerfield Beach Middle School classmate who had gotten into a hostile text message exchange with Treacy hours earlier. And it was Manson, prosecutors and witnesses say, who led Treacy to Ratley and pointed her out in a crowd.

"Nobody took [Treacy's threats] seriously," said Regina Tsombanakis, one of Manson's lawyers. "She feels horrible that something like this happened to her friend."

The criminal accusations have driven Manson out of school and made it impossible to have a normal teenage social life, Tsombanakis said. The case is scheduled to be tried before a juvenile court judge in late August.

The charge against Manson hinges on whether she knew Treacy intended to kill Ratley when he arrived at her school. The prosecution insists she knew because Treacy told Manson he wanted to snap Ratley's neck. The attack would not have taken place without Manson's help, prosecutors say, and if she knew what Treacy was going to attempt, she is legally as responsible for what happened as he was.

Manson's lawyers say she didn't take the threat literally and believed Treacy was just going to yell at her friend.

The circumstances that brought Treacy and Ratley together resemble teen-based soap operas and afterschool specials — at least until death threats entered the picture.

Before that afternoon, Treacy and Ratley did not know each other. Manson was their only link. Manson knew Treacy because her family was friends with his, according to her lawyer.

While there's no evidence or testimony to suggest Manson and Treacy acted as anything more than friends, Manson reportedly considered herself his girlfriend on the day of the incident. But Treacy, then 15 and a student at Deerfield Beach High School, had a girlfriend named Taylor at the time — Manson likely knew about the other girl and confided in her friend Ratley.

On the day of the incident, Manson had borrowed Ratley's phone to send Treacy a text message, but apparently returned it before Treacy replied. When Treacy replied, Ratley responded curtly, "Kayla doesn't want to talk to you."

The conversation immediately got ugly, with Treacy hurling curses and Ratley calling him a rapist for his apparent interest in the younger Manson. When Treacy threatened to hunt Ratley down and hurt her, she laughed it off and told him to perform a sex act on Taylor, referring to the other girl by name. The exchange shows that while Treacy did not know who he was communicating with, Ratley did.

It got uglier, with Treacy making an unfounded accusation against Ratley's father, but Treacy's anger exploded when Ratley tried to end the conversation with an offhand suggestion that Treacy pay a visit to his dead brother. The brother, Michael Bell, 30, had committed suicide by hanging five months earlier, and Treacy saw the body before it was cut down.

After that comment, Treacy's threats intensified, and even his lawyers concede he felt he had been pushed too far. He told Ratley he was going to kill her and repeated the threats to friends. Then he contacted Manson, who by then had borrowed a phone from another friend.

"You need to tell me who Ayesha is," he said, referring to the fake name Ratley gave him. Realizing the exchange came from Ratley's phone, Manson revealed her real identity to Treacy.

According to Assistant State Attorney Maria Schneider, who successfully prosecuted Treacy earlier this month, portions of the exchange between Manson and Treacy could not be retrieved after they were erased. The portions that remain indicate Treacy was angry with Ratley but contain no threats of physical violence.

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October 22, 2012
FT. LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – A teenage girl who was charged as accomplice of Wayne Treacy in the near fatal beating of Josie Lou Ratley two and a half years ago will face no jail time.

As part of a plea with prosecutors, 16-year old Kayla Manson pleaded no contest to a charge of misdemeanor battery on Monday, according to the Sun-Sentinel. Under terms of the deal Manson, who was charged as a minor, will have adjudication withheld. If she stays out of trouble, her record will be wiped cleaned when she becomes an adult.


Manson was with Wayne Treacy the day he

Treacy attacked Ratley on March 17th, 2010 at the bus stop in front of Deerfield Beach Middle School after a heated exchange of text messages. Treacy kicked and stomped Josie Lou Ratley’s head while wearing steel toed boots. Both were 15-years old at the time. The attack left Ratley with permanent brain damage.

Treacy does not deny that he did it. He claims he was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder brought on by seeing his brother’s body hanging from a tree when he committed suicide 5 months earlier. He said he went into a rage after a heated text message exchange with Ratley boiled over when she brought up his dead brother.

Convicted last July of attempted first degree murder, Treacy has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. On his release, he will have to serve 10 years of probation.
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Unbelievable she faces NO jail time!