DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. -- Local 10 received new pictures Saturday of the teenager accused of brutally beating another teen last week.

Family members said a 15-year-old girl is unresponsive and in a coma after she was attacked and severely beaten outside Deerfield Beach Middle School Wednesday afternoon.

Josie Lou Ratley, 15, remains in a medically induced coma. Part of her skull has been removed to allow the swelling to go down, and she is "black and blue from head to toe," said Rick Freedman, an attorney for her family.

Police said 15-year-old Wayne Treacy, a student at Deerfield Beach High School, attacked Ratley at a bus stop outside the middle school Wednesday, kicking her in the head with steel-toed boots. Treacy has been arrested on an attempted murder charge and is waiting for prosecutors to determine whether to charge him as an adult.

A 13-year-old girl also has been arrested, accused of being an accomplice in the attack.

At a news conference at Broward General Medical Center, where Ratley is being treated, Freedman and the teen's aunt, Linda Sarmiento, spoke to media Friday morning. Freedman read a statement from Ratley's mother, who he said was too upset to appear.

"'My baby should be home with me right now. Instead, she is fighting for her life in a hospital bed. Josie is a sweet and loving girl who has an amazing talent for art,'" Freedman read. "Josie's family's message to the community is that if you're home tonight, watching this at your dinner table with your family, that you do two things. Please say a prayer for Josie, and please have an age-appropriate discussion with your children about what happened to Josie. Speak to your children tonight. Communicate with them."

Ratley's aunt faced reporters because her mother could not.

"She is a sweet little girl. What can I say? She was abnormal in today's time. She's a good kid. She would go home, just do her thing, play on the computer. She was very artistic, would draw," Sarmiento said.

Doctors are hopeful but said Ratley is critically injured.

"Part of the bone was removed to allow for the brain to swell and not to pinch against the skull," said Dr. Mayra Dominguez, of Broward General Medical Center. "She's not with us. She's swollen. She's controlled by machines. She cannot respond to us. She's in a coma," Sarmiento said. "We don't know. It's still a waiting matter."

Ratley's family does not know Treacy, but Sarmiento said she feels sorry for him.

"I feel for his parents. I feel for this child. Obviously, I believe, there are some disturbed issues because it's just not normal in my mind for a 15-year-old to react the way he did," Sarmiento said.

Freedman said no decisions have been made about a possible lawsuit. He added that the family wants to thank the Broward Sheriff's Office for its hard work on the case as well as the community for its support, prayers and good wishes.

Anyone who wishes to help Ratley's family can make out a check to the Josie Lou Ratley Fund. The checks can be dropped off at any Wachovia bank or at the Gordon & Doner office at:
4114 Northlake Blvd.
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410

Checks can be mailed to Wachovia at:
2989 PGA Blvd.
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410

2nd Suspect Appears In Court

Investigators said Treacy did not act alone in the beating.

As Treacy made his first appearance in Broward County Court Thursday, Sheriff Al Lamberti announced the arrest of a 13-year-old girl, who he said was an accomplice.

Police said the 13-year-old was the one "who he met when he went over there, who knew he was going to do this, did nothing to stop him, in fact directed him to Josie, his victim, and pointed her out," Lamberti said.

Police said that Treacy, who attends Deerfield Beach High School, and the 13-year-old girl, a friend of Ratley's, were dating. Investigators said Treacy sent Ratley a text message intended for his girlfriend. Instead of passing it along, police said, Treacy and Ratley argued via text message. Deputies said the 13-year-old girl later pointed out Ratley at the school, knowing Treacy wanted to hurt her.

"He has shown no remorse. We do have the text messages that indicate this was premeditated. He intended to go over there with the intent of beating her severely," Lamberti said.

The 13-year-old girl, who is charged with being an accessory to an attempted murder, appeared in court Friday morning. She covered her face with her hair throughout the hearing, anxiously looking back at her mother at times.

"The family wanted to wish Josie a very speedy recovery," said the 13-year-old girl's lawyer.

The teen is not being identified because of her age.

Witnesses Describe After-School Attack

Witnesses said Treacy was wearing steel-toed boots when he confronted Ratley, pushed her to the ground and kicked her until a teacher broke it up.

"It was painful just to see all the blood gushing out of her head. It was nasty," said student Sexton Spencer.

"I just turn around and I just see it happening. It just happened that fast," said student Jovan Englin.

"I guess he threw her, just pushed her on the ground and he just started kicking her," said student Francisco Rodriguez.

“He punched her and she fell to the ground. He continued to punch her. He stomped on her,” said Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman Mike Jachles.

Ratley was unconscious and unresponsive when paramedics arrived, police said.

“What he did was nothing short of barbaric. He came here with the intention of harming this defenseless eighth-grader,” Jachles said.

Ratley was airlifted to Broward General Medical Center, where she remains in the pediatric intensive care unit.

In a hearing Thursday, a judge ordered that Treacy be held in juvenile detention for 21 days until prosecutors decide whether to charge him as an adult. The 13-year-old girl also will remain in detention for 21 days. Both teens will face a judge next Friday.

Treacy showed little emotion as the judge ordered him held on a charge of premeditated attempted murder. He will remain in juvenile detention until prosecutors decide whether to charge him as an adult.

Outside the courtroom, Treacy's mother wept while his attorney spoke for them. They said Treacy has never been in trouble before, but ever since the suicide of his brother, Michael Bell, he has not been the same.

"Last October, the day before Mr. Treacy's 15th birthday, he found his only brother hanging from a tree. That's what we're exploring. We think that that event is what triggered what happened yesterday," said Betsy Benson, Treacy's attorney.

Friends: Victim Quiet, Didn't Have Enemies

Friends of Ratley, an eighth-grader at Deerfield Beach Middle School, said they are shocked at what happened to her. Nicole Cacurak rode the bus home with Ratley every day after school.

"She used to just sit there and read on the bus, always quiet," Cacurak said.

Ratley often was seen drawing and studying, friends said.

"She went to all her classes, and she was just fun," said Sara Hertz, who met Ratley in gym class last year. "She likes art. She likes music."

"She never started anything with anybody and really didn't have any enemies," said another student.

Classmates started a support page on Facebook, one person writing, "Please pray for Jojo."

The incident was the second attack on a Deerfield Beach Middle School student this school year. In October, student Michael Brewer was at a friend's house when, police said, a group of teenagers surrounded him, doused him with rubbing alcohol and set him on fire.

Parents whose children attend the school struggled with the news of a second attack as they dropped off their students Thursday morning.

"We do need more security in the schools, especially out front, when the kids are coming in," said grandfather Evando Rodriguez.

Parents said they feel it is impossible for the children to focus on their classes while they are thinking about two of their classmates being attacked and injured.