MELISSA LYTTLE | Times (2008)
the girl
in the window
photos, videos and audio
Photo gallery:
Dani, then and now
MELISSA LYTTLE | Times
Dani in 2008
MELISSA LYTTLE | Times
Dani in 2011
LARA CERRI | Times
Dani in 2017
MELISSA LYTTLE | Times
2008: Bernie loves to give Dani, 9, kisses and hugs, even if she can't give them back.
MELISSA LYTTLE | Times
2011: Dani, 12, is a foot taller and responsive to her dad's affection, hugging him back, kissing and playfully biting his nose.
LARA CERRI | Times
2017: Dani and Bernie share a hug at the end of Bernie’s visit.
MELISSA LYTTLE | Times
2008: Dani and Bernie
LARA CERRI | Times
2017: Dani and Bernie
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Watch the videos
The girl in the window
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The girl in the window, 10 years later
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Listen to the stories
and interviews
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MELISSA LYTTLE | Times
“I still have nightmares about what that child had to live with for the first six years of her life. The thought of having to lie down with 1,000 cockroaches on a urine-soaked mattress every night …”
Mark Holste, Plant City detective. Listen to an excerpt from the interview.
Mark Holste, Plant City detective. Listen to an excerpt from the interview.
MELISSA LYTTLE | Times
“I guess I’m guilty of having a dirty house. And not sending her to school. And I never took her to a doctor because she was never sick.”
Michelle Crockett, 51, has two grown sons. Danielle was her youngest child. Listen to an excerpt from the interview.
Michelle Crockett, 51, has two grown sons. Danielle was her youngest child. Listen to an excerpt from the interview.
MELISSA LYTTLE | Times
“Your heart just goes out to this child. What happened to this poor little girl? How am I going to figure out how to help her?”
DR. KATHLEEN ARMSTRONG, director of pediatric psychology at the University of South Florida medical school. Listen to an excerpt from the interview.
DR. KATHLEEN ARMSTRONG, director of pediatric psychology at the University of South Florida medical school. Listen to an excerpt from the interview.
Heart Gallery
“Everyone said there's nothing there, in that child. But I could feel it. I could even see it. There was just this look on her face.”
Bernie Lierow and his wife, Diane, saw Danielle's photo in the Heart Gallery, an exhibit of children available for adoption. Listen to an excerpt from the interview.
Bernie Lierow and his wife, Diane, saw Danielle's photo in the Heart Gallery, an exhibit of children available for adoption. Listen to an excerpt from the interview.
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“The Girl in the Window” at your fingertips
Read “The Girl in the Window” wherever you go. Download the ebook at bit.ly/gitw_ebook.
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Read more about Dani
The original story
Danielle Crockett was found curled up in a filthy room and taken away from her birth mother by a detective who’d never seen a worse case of neglect.
Dani, three years later
Her story started in solitude and unimaginable squalor. Three years later, she has a home, a family and puppies to play with.
What is a feral child?
The term comes from historic accounts of children raised by animals and not exposed to human nurturing.
Dani, 10 years later
No one had any expectations. But there was hope: Maybe she had been found early enough.
Additional credits
- Editor Maria Carrillo
- Photo editor Patty Yablonski
- Video editor Danese Kenon
- Story design Lyra Solochek, Martin Frobisher and Lauren Flannery
- Research Caryn Baird
Want the scoop behind the story? Listen to WriteLane.
Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter Lane DeGregory discusses her stories and answers your questions in a weekly podcast.