The Victoria Lindsay Beating Video. Transcript of the Newly Released video

Like nearly everyone else in the world, I was touched by the story of Victoria Lindsay, the Florida teenager who was beaten by a group of her friends and videotaped to show on youtube and myspace. I was absolutely shocked by the first video, and could not get it out of my mind. Then the second one was released at the end of April, which showed what led to the beating.

With the new video I was interested in what the girls were saying to each other, and how it escalated into the arguments. As a writer, I listen to how people talk and communicate feelings with one another. These two videos demonstrated such emotion that I wanted to learn more about them.

So, I transcribed the second video.

The video is available through various Florida news outlets and searchable through yahoo news. I watched these, noticing that some were easier to hear than others. Also, some were shorter or longer than others. Finally, there was a FOX News report on youtube that showed a few more seconds than the ones in the news outlets.

I put them all together for a complete transcription of the events in the second video. Time permitting, I plan to transcribe the first video at a later date.

The transcript follows below.

The players include Victoria Lindsay, April Cooper, Brittini Hardcastle, Britney Mays, Mercedes Nichols, and two others who didn't appear on the video. In the transcript, I reference Victoria as "V," April Cooper as "A," Brittini Hardcastle as "BH," and Britney Mays as "BM." If I heard a voice whom I didn't know belonged to, I simply labeled it as "Girl." "CAM" refers to the girl holding the camera who I THINK was Cara Murphy.

The second girl who appears in the video holding the cell phone I THINK is Britney Mays. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

The videos had "beeps" to cover up the naughty words. I've typed in the words I think they spoke. Otherwise, it says "beep" or "garbled" when I couldn't understand it.

I think what's interesting is that 2/3 of the way through, after the lights come on and Brittini Hardcastle is taunting Victoria, you can tell that she is running out of "fuel" for her arguments. At this point, she is grasping at straws for things to dig at Victoria. So she pulls out the "whore" statement.

The original tape is reportedly thirty minutes long. I wonder if someday officials will release the entire thing.


My heart goes out to Victoria Lindsay. I hope that you are recovering from your ordeal and please know that the whole world feels for you.

This site has a good copy of the video. Feel free to follow along.


(video starts)

V: It was my sister and I told you that.

A: No, it was you on the phone. It was definitely you.

V: And I was drunk, and you know that.

A: So what?

V: So? I was being stupid.

A: So, learn to shut your fuckin’ mouth. You want to talk your shit, go over and talk it to my face.

V: April, (beeped) her.

A: You want to talk on the phone, you want to talk on the computer, so now’s the time to talk to my face.

V: And I’m telling you right now, that I was drunk, and it was stupid, and I’ve grown up since then.

A: You haven’t. You really haven’t.

V: I really have.

A: You haven’t. You’re still a whore, you still fuck every person on the planet—

V: I’m a whore?

A: You are.

V: How am I a whore?

A: Oh my God. Your own sister tells me you’re a fucking whore.

V: My sister lost her virginity when she was fourteen.

A: Okay . . .

V: I am not a whore.

A: You fucked every guy on the planet . . . .

CAM: It was one guy, though.

A: You went with a (beep) Your own family don’t even want you in their house.

V: Name a guy I fucked that you—

A: Elmer, Elmer, Elmer

April attacks Victoria.

V: Wait! Wait!

CAM: Oh yeah, baby. Oh, yeah.

V: (while attacked) Please, I’m calling the cops. I’ll leave.

Attack stops, Victoria gets up.

A: Go.

(Beep)

V: I’ll fucking leave. Mercedes, give me your phone.

A (or other girl): Go.

Victoria goes down hallway.

V: Give me your phone, Mercedes, thanks for being my friend.

(Girl, BM?) I told you (beep)

V: I knew this shit was gonna happen, I told her it was planned.

(Girl, BM? A?) Did I tell you to go?

V: (Beep) Yells. Mercedes. . .

V: Yells.

BH: (over V) Don’t yell at Mercedes. Do not yell at Mercedes.

V: (Garbled) You know what I’ve been through.

BH: Don’t yell at Mercedes. Don’t.

V: I care abut Mercedes. I am not yelling at her.

BH: I don’t care. You’re not yelling at her, then what the fuck is? You’re yelling.

V: I’m so upset right now, I can’t even—I don’t understand what I’m doing, okay?

CAM (over V) I need fo—I need light.

V: I’m so frustrated (beep) I’m sorry.

BH: Okay, listen to me, what this, what about, bluh,

BM crosses between into room.

BM: (Answering phone) Hello?

BH: What about me and you? What the fuck’s been going on in the past year?

BM: Can I call you back please?

V: Ashley,

Girls talking: That’s what started it . . . It’s always someone else’s fault.

Girl: It’s always someone else’s fault, isn’t it?

BH: What’s this got to do with Ashley?

BM: (Continues on phone)

V: ’Cause I got involved _____ with my best friend, you know that.

BH: I don’t ca—

Girl: It’s always someone else’s fault. It’s always someone else’s fault.

Girl: (beep)— by your own house.

V: Someone just give me a phone. I will leave, if you all hate me, that’s fine. I will leave.

Girl: We all do, so go.

V: I need a phone, I have nowhere to go.

Girl: Someone get her the phone. You brought this all on yourself, honey, all of it. It’s no one else’s fault but yours.

V: Will you let me use that phone?

Girl: So, why’d you tell Mercedes that, um, I didn’t like you?

V: She told me you don’t like me.

BH: I don’t! I don’t like you.

Girl: (Garbled) I don’t have a problem with you, girl. I’ll hang out with her.

Girl: She doesn’t like you.

Girls: Yelling, incoherent. You said, hang out for five minutes. You even said you do not like her.

V: (beep) I was like, fine, then I don’t like her if she don’t like me. I said I don’t have a problem with it.

Girl: Can we turn the light on, please?

Girl: Twist the light bulb, you gotta twist the light bulb.

Girl: Oh my God.

Lights come on.

Girl: Oh, there you go.

BH: Why’d you have to turn away?

V: I’m waiting for the phone so I can leave.

BH: Well, me and you were talking, and that’s kind of rude I think. You don’t think it’s rude, if I was talking to you—Oh, no, I thought you were done—

V: I was talking to her.

BH: No, well ____ then.

V: Okay, well, you have to say.

BH: And you’re saying that you’re not a whore? How long did—no, honestly answer this, how long did you date Elmer? How long?

V: Elmer is—do you want to call him? (beep) I didn’t even (beep) He even—

BH: You didn’t (beep) _____ my best friend that you did.

V: Let me call him right now and put him on speakerphone.

BH: I’ve already talked to him.

V: Now that you all are here, let me call him and put him on speakerphone and say Elmer, what did you do?

BH: Why did he break up with you, then? Because you—

Arguing

BH: Bullshit! Don’t yell at me. Do not yell at me. Do not.

V: I’m ____ for Will. Me and Will both got back together.

Arguing

V: . . . do anything.

BH: Why aren’t you together now? Because he doesn’t want to.

V: Because he’s in Korea.

BH: Because he doesn’t want to. That’s why.

V: You guys don’t know nothing about me.

BH: I don’t know nothing?

V: About me and Will?

BH: Oh, I’ve heard plenty of stories.

V: You guys can’t even name a guy that I had in the last six months.

BH: Let’s see, Elmer, Uh-huh. Oh, oh, oh! What about Will? He had that big old train. Hm, yeah, that train. Or—or, Sandy Wood in the shower with, six guys, take showers with . . . .

(garbled)

V: What are you talking about? (beep) shower

BH: You, too, (garbled) being so damn bad in there.

Girl: I don’t know why you’re bringing everything up, she’s just going to deny everything.

V: I’ll tell you the people I’ve fucked, I’m not ashamed. They’re all on (garbled)

BH: How many guys? How many guys? And you’re sixteen, and you’re calling your sister . . .

Arguing

BM: (beep) Why don’t you stay together, she’s been with Jack since eighth grade.

V: I was with Wilbur three years.

BM: Okay, how old were you?

BH: Okay, okay, if you love him so much, how the fuck did you go from him to three, five, six other different guys and fuck him? You don’t do that. If you loved someone you don’t do that.

(FROM FOX NEWS GRETA VIDEO)

V: (continued) Because we broke up for a long time.

BH: (shouting) I don’t give a fuck if you break up.

(CUTS TO BH HITTING V IN FRONT OF DOOR)

V: (crying) Okay, Brittini, okay. (garbled)

BH: I don’t want you talking about me (garbled)

V: (garbled) . . . . what to say.

BH: Say—

(Ends)