Motive in killing discussed
Move for child support sparked fightBy Brad Bauer, bbauer@mariettatimes.com
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Fact Box
Excerpts of the 911 call made by Felicia Quattlebaum at 4:12 p.m. Tuesday. Her son, Noal, is charged in the strangulation death of Amber Wesley.
Dispatcher: Washington County Sheriff's Department.
Felicia Quattlebaum: I have an emergency. I cannot talk loud.
D: OK, go ahead.
FQ: My son is at my house. He is suicidal. He accidentally killed his girlfriend. And if (someone) calls the law he is going to run. I don't know what to do.
D: He accidentally what?
FQ: He accidentally killed his girlfriend.
D: OK. Hold on one second. OK?
FQ: You gotta hurry, he don't know I'm on the phone.
D: Give me one second, here. Ma'am, what's your address?
FQ: I'm in the pink house in Waterford.
D: Pink house? What's your address?
FQ: 301 Main St. You cannot come with sirens. He will hear them, and he will run. He's scared; he don't know what to do.
D: OK. 301 Main St. How did he kill his girlfriend?
FQ: He said they got into a fight. She hit him with a coffee cup in the face, and he said he choked her. I don't know, and I'm not going over there to find out.
D: Have you seen her? Is she breathing?
FQ: She is not here. She is at her house.
D: But have you seen her?
FQ: No. He came here telling us. He don't know what to do. He's scared. He's suicidal. He wants to kill himself.
D: OK. You're at 301 Main St.
FQ: Yes.
D: Is she there with you?
FQ: No. I have the kids. I'm the grandparent. I have the kids; you were here this morning; the baby couldn't breathe.
D: Where is she?
FQ: I guess she's at her house, 85 Lang Farm Road.
D: OK. Hold on one second.
(Another dispatcher gets on the line)
D: OK, I'm kind of getting in the middle of this. Where is she at that I need to send a squad to?
FQ: She's at 85 Lang Farm Road.
D: 85 Lang Farm Road.
FQ: Yes. He's here. He's suicidal.
D: That's Mark is?
FQ: No. Mark's the dad. It's Noal.
D: Noal?
FQ: Yes. He said they got into a fight, she hit him in the face with a coffee cup, and he choked her. But I don't know all the details. I just know he's not in his right state of mind right now, and I don't know what to do.
D: Is there anyone there with the girl?
FQ: There's nobody at her house. It's just him and her.
D: And what is her name?
FQ: Amber Wesley.
D: Is there a phone number there at Amber's?
FQ: No. They don't have a phone.
D: There's no phone. OK. And Noal is there at your place.
FQ: Yes. If you come with sirens, he's going to run. I know he will. He's scared; he don't know what to do.
D: OK. Hold on just a minute, OK?
FQ: OK. Please hurry.
--
D: Ma'am -
D: You're still with me. Where do you believe he is?
FQ: He's at my house, 301 Main St. I'm upstairs. He doesn't even know I'm on the phone.
D: And he's at 301 Main St. (to another officer at dispatch). And she's at 85 Lang Farm Road?
D: Is anybody out there with her?
FQ: No.
D: Nobody was there. Is there anybody close?
FQ: The landlords live next door.
D: Why do you think that she's dead? What did ...
FQ: He said.
D: He said she's dead?
FQ: Yes. They fight constantly. I knew something bad was going to happen one day. He choked her until she quit breathing. That's what he says.
Questions over Amber Wesley's possible involvement with another man and the paternity of her youngest child might have led to her death, police said.
"There was an argument concerning her relationship with another male," Washington County sheriff's Lt. Detective Brian Schuck said Thursday.
It was the first time police offered a possible motive for Wesley's death. The 21-year-old mother of two young children was found bound, strangled and wrapped in a blanket Tuesday afternoon in the bedroom of her mobile home at 85 Lang Farm Road.
Her live-in boyfriend, Noal Quattlebaum, 22, is charged with her death. He is expected to be arraigned at 1 p.m. today on murder charges in Marietta Municipal Court.
Schuck said Wesley recently filed a request for child support in Washington County Juvenile Court. He said it appears there is some question as to who fathered the youngest child. Wesley had two daughters, the youngest is almost 7 months old and the other is just under 2 years old. A DNA test was ordered, the results of which are pending.
The children are currently staying with Quattlebaum's parents in Waterford. Officials with Children Services are reviewing the situation, said Sheriff Larry Mincks.
"(Children Services) are working on this as we speak," Mincks said. "The grandparents already kept the children four days a week, while (Wesley and Quattlebaum) worked."
Mincks said the couple worked at Influent, a telemarketing company near Reno.
On Thursday the sheriff's office also released the 911 calls placed by Felicia Quattlebaum, Noal's mother.
Police say after the murder, Noal Quattlebaum left his residence and went to his parents' home at 301 Main St. in Waterford.
On the recordings, a distraught Felicia Quattlebaum describes how her son explained the murder. She told the dispatcher she had snuck upstairs, away from her son, to place the 4:12 p.m. call.
"I have an emergency. I cannot talk loud," Felicia reported to the dispatcher.
"OK, go ahead," the dispatcher said.
"My son is at my house. He is suicidal. He accidentally killed his girlfriend. And if (someone) calls the law he is going to run. I don't know what to do," she said.
After providing the dispatcher with directions to her son's residence and to her home, Felicia Quattlebaum told police what she knew about the murder.
"He said they got into a fight. She hit him in the face with a coffee cup and he choked her. But I don't know all the details. I just know he's not in his right state of mind right now and I don't know what to do."
While Felicia Quattlebaum was providing directions to her home, she reminded the dispatcher that officers and an ambulance had been to her home earlier in the day.
Mincks said in an unrelated incident, around 11:30 a.m., officers responded to the Waterford residence on a report of a child in respiratory distress. The child was Wesley's older child, who was staying with Felicia and her husband, Mark.
"It was completely unrelated, but she was having some kind of breathing problem," Mincks said. "She was perfectly OK when we got there and they refused treatment (or transport to a hospital)."
Mincks said the timing of the incident was eerie.
"From what Noal has said, this happened about the same time he was strangling her mother," Mincks said.
Noal Quattlebaum was taken into custody at his parents' residence without incident.
Mincks said Quattlebaum remains on a suicide watch at the jail.
"Mental health (officials) have talked to him and cleared him, but we're still continuing to keep him in a holding cell by himself where he is being monitored," the sheriff said.
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LeeLee
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07-26-08 11:29 PM
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We have all made bad choices, its just that this one cost a life. I have learned from experience that making good choices "sometimes" comes with getting older. Amber was young, she made a choice from her heart instead of her mind - maybe he knew she was going to end it - they were like water and oil, most of us have been in those kind of relationships, finally something just broke - in this case it was her boyfriends mind. I just pray Amber finds peace in Heaven.
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Harleyrider
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07-25-08 11:04 PM
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Citizen2009, so you are calling me a liar? You are a fool that has no clue.
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MamaH
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07-25-08 9:19 PM
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If you look at the court dockets as someone suggested in the earlier story you will see that Amber was charged with DV as well. I'm not saying she deserved to die either, but I think that it is sad that there is no one for a man to go to when he is the victim of DV. If this had been Amber killing Noal then everyone would be on her side. NO one knows what happened in their home but from all I've seen and heard it appears that these were 2 people who fought a lot and maybe it's best that they aren't raising children together in that environment. It's said that this is the way that the children will be saved though. And I use the word "saved" loosely. It's just more lives wasted in this valley. Lousy 911 dispatchers, police who overlook the obvious. There were places for her to go if she was that scared. I was a battered woman too. And you can leave. No one left. And now all are gone. Sad sad sad.
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DayDreamer21
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07-25-08 9:17 PM
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Well this whole thing is crazy. I know how it is to be abused not by only boyfriends,Family and other people. Once when I was like 15. This boy was at my sisters house and she had left for work there were to other guys there. But I didn't like the boy so I took him to leave he sat ontop me and wouldn't let me up. So finally after like 20 or 30 mins he let me up and I start scream at him he knocked me to the ground and choked me this my face was blue. Thank god the other boy did something or I wouldn't be here today. I'm not saying all guys are bad but they don't know there strength and I know for a fact that some girls hit guys like beat the crap outta them and thats abuse on there part but nobody thinks guys are victum's of abuse but they are too.
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hunted1
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07-25-08 6:48 PM
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I guess I must not understand, but I thought 911 was intended to reveal the location of the caller. Does it not work that way in Washington county. I guess if you are suffering from some medical situation, and cant talk or pass out before the dispatcher gets all the details, you will more than likely not live. If I am wrong let me know!
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Finallap
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07-25-08 6:35 PM
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I may be wrong about this,but I have a feeling it was switched from a dispatcher to a regular law enforcement officer
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teaglass97
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07-25-08 5:44 PM
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Citizen2009---Don't defend yourself to Harleyrider, it's not worth the effort. Harleyrider chooses to belittle anyone that doesn't subscribe to his terms of thinking since he believes he is always in the right...need examples...look at all the other messages on this site towards people he's left comments too, not just this article.
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souljagurl09
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07-25-08 5:38 PM
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First of all why would they even switch dispatcher in the middle of the call and secondly Noal's mother told them over and over that Noal did not even know that she was on the phone so they needed to hurry! I bet that call was probably atleast 10 minutes long! I knew Amber very well her and I worked together and she was a very honest and caring lady! Everyone at work liked her!
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Citizen2009
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07-25-08 4:57 PM
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Harleyrider... have you ever been in an abusive relationship? i doubt it.. when you're in one, and you wanna leave so bad, and you try to you cant. because either you love them or you dont want them to hurt you when you try and leave. I have had som many people family memebers, friends, even my best friend in one.. They dont leave because they are afraid. You dont understand what its like to be abused. so im not missing the facts. you just need to get your story straight
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Finallap
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07-25-08 3:46 PM
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I am sure(at least I hope so) when the dispatcher was asking so many questions they had already dispatched law enforcement..I do wonder why they asked her address so many times..Because when you call 911 their name and address is suppose to come up on their screen.. I do believe the 911 system is screwed up here. I think they should have 911 calls going to one 911 center..I also think 911 dispatches should be dispatchers and not a bunch of other things..I know the Marietta PD dispatcher has to help process prisoners..That should not be.. For the life of me I cant understand why,all 911 calls from the 678 exchange (Barlow Vincent) areas goes to Belpre PD..Belpre doesnt dispatch sheriffs dept..So why do calls go to Belpre..But I do believe dispatchers do ok,for what all they have to do
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ConcernedFriend
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07-25-08 3:29 PM
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Concerning the Sheriff's Dept. and their obvious problems - in a recent problem that I had, three different Deputies questioned me and asked the exact same questions, I believe that can be a good thing - as far as establishing a defense in the future in this matter. The strength it took for his mother to turn her son into the police. Praise her for that- she deserves that much.
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ConcernedFriend
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07-25-08 3:22 PM
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Actually 3 mothers. (sry) I want something better for my gandbabies. In fact after having grandchildren I have learned that the past is the past and I can't do anything about the abusive family life I grew up in, I can't do nothing about the abusive way I treated my children when they were small - all I could do was remove myself from the home and I don't want my grandbabies to grow up and do the same things my entire family has done in the past - I always heard we lead by example and I try everyday to do things better, different, HEALTHIER. Prayers for all concerned in the recent events - may God bless and teach then all to start making changes TODAY so that their children don't grow up and repeat their mistakes.
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paperboy
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07-25-08 2:35 PM
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MariettaRob: Are you serious? "I'm sure that the transcript of the call is more concise and bears no comparison to the actual call!!!???" Explain how it could be more concise? These are excerpts (a portion, snipits, a small part) from the call. I realize dispatchers need to gather information to relay to first responders (to ensure their safety and to get the right help to people). But it is inexcusable to switch dispatchers in the middle of an emergency call and ask the same questions over and over. Ask the sheriff's department for a copy of the 911 call from the campground shooting from last year. A guy was bleeding to death and a dispatcher played the same 20 question game with that caller (at least 10 of the questions were repeats)!
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teaglass97
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07-25-08 2:17 PM
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Harleyrider--holding an intelligent discussion on a comment board about a murdered woman...how tacky...I laugh at the fact you think I lack mental capacity for your the one that seems destined to prove themselves right on a message board...self-esteem issues might I ask? Ignore my ramblings, won't hurt my feelings.
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Harleyrider
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07-25-08 2:17 PM
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boots65, I was in one. So please do not attempt to lecture me on the issue. Want to know something else, there are resources for women and none for men. As far as eve goes, they don't talk to men. They will not even stand up for them.
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boots65
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07-25-08 2:10 PM
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harleyrider: you say it is a choice to stay in an abusive realationship, but unless you have been in one, you don't know how hard it is to get out. When you are being abused not only physically, but also mentally, verbally and emotionally you have no self esteem and don't have the courgae to do what you KNOW you need to do. Talk with people that work with EVE..they can open your eyes to this.
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teaglass97
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07-25-08 2:04 PM
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For give me Professor.Harleyrider...I should have taken notes during your class lecture.
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Nikizimm
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07-25-08 1:52 PM
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My point exactley!!... but can I ask why everyone is having this discussion and doing this below an article about a girl that was just murdered a few days agao????
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Harleyrider
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07-25-08 1:47 PM
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teaglass97, let me try to explain something to you. There are city governments that take care of city issues. Then there are county governments that take care of county issues. The sheriff's department takes care of issues outside of the cities. Waterford is a village, not a city. Now, the sheriff's dept. has nothing to do with the city and vice versa. As the 911 center is a COUNTY wide service, it falls within the jurisdiction of the county, not the city. So again, I will ask you, what does city council have to do with it? Now if you would have said county commissioners, I would have understood your comment. The fact is that Washington county has one of the best funded sheriff's dept. in the state. So I would have to say you are just babbling.
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teaglass97
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07-25-08 1:33 PM
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I'm not sure how it has anything to do with council...maybe I'm just babbling like the experts on here have accused me of doing...since non of you babble at all, cough, cough...but I'll agree with you Harleyrider because I can see already and argument with you is worthless since in your mind you'll always be in the right
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Harleyrider
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07-25-08 1:27 PM
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teaglass97, please explain what city council has to do with a county issue?
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teaglass97
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07-25-08 1:24 PM
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then i have sympathy for you*
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teaglass97
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07-25-08 1:23 PM
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Harleyrider---yes a tax increase to be trained properly...you live there, you should know how it works...or are you on the marietta city council...if so, then I please feel my sympathy.
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Harleyrider
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07-25-08 1:23 PM
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Citizen2009, it is bad Amber died. Someone should pay for that, and I am sure that he will. With that said, you are ignoring a lot of facts. I know that often times she was the aggressor in their fights. The bottom line is this, they both should have stayed away from one another. Both had an oppertunity to get out and never did. Both chose to stay. Our choices can have dramatic effects on our lives. I thik everyones point on this issue is if violence is prevelant in a relationship, get out. I don't want to hear the excuses why people did not get out. It is a choice.
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teaglass97
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07-25-08 1:19 PM
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Nikizimm---babbling? what do you call all the other comments on this site...explain that to me...it's all babbling, all opinions, and all taken in the context you want to take it...
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