Corey Oates Reacts To Father Forgiving His Children's Killer

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
iHeart podcasts, Yeah, more kiss podcasts, playlists and listen live
on the Freeheart appe Robin Now with Correos.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
The podcast.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
We're talking about forgiveness. It was on Spotlight last night.
In twenty twenty, a drunk driver mowe down seven children,
killing four of them, and last night the father of
three of those kids met with the driver and has
asked for his immediate release. His name is Danny Abdullah
and his wife Layla are the ones asking now, Trish

(00:49):
of Warner, you've seen Lala? Is that right?

Speaker 3 (00:53):
Yes?

Speaker 4 (00:54):
Laila came up to Pedra Mum and Mother and Son's
breakfast and present did a presentation for us that was
absolutely beautiful, like just they're forgiveness. They was very was
quite early on in the piece. It was and it's
not been like three years or whatever in the making.

(01:14):
It was really Laylah's story was beautiful from when it
actually happened, from when she actually was on the scene
and everything it was. It was just really bumpy.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Yeah, when they did that, When Leila did that, presso
was everyone in tears. It sounds like they would have
been one of those most emotional things.

Speaker 4 (01:33):
Yeah, it was pretty close to that, and she did
it like twice, Like we had two mother and son breakfasts,
So she came her and her daughters came up for
the first presentation and then just herself for the second one.
And yeah they yeah, everyone was pretty much in here, beautiful. Yeah,

(01:54):
we can learn so much from from them, like they've Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Okay, amazing, Thank you, Tricia. We are talking about forgiveness
the boys he claimed they couldn't. But coming up next,
Tina has her own story about her daughter being held
at knife point. How does she feel about forgiveness? Is
she on my side or.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
Your You see, the youngest daughter was Siena, same names
as my little girl. Oh and you. I think it's
very admirable what he's been able to do this forgiveness.
But I look at it like it's almost like when
I look at someone who can climb a mountain without ropes,
you know what I mean, Like that's admirable, and I go,

(02:35):
that's amazing that you can do that. But I can't
do that.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
But how would you live? Then you stop living, You
stop living. If you can't forgive, then it eats you
for the rest of your life, and what about the
rest of your family?

Speaker 5 (02:48):
But he's ruined that he took that away.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
Yeah, but then you're giving him the rest of your
life as well by being so angry and bitter. Anyway,
let's chat to Tina of Waterford, West, because you have
lived something similar.

Speaker 3 (03:01):
What happened, Oh, good morning, guys. When my daughter was fourteen,
she was working at McDonald's and a man came into
this door and grabbed her at nine point to her neck,
held her hostage for quite some time, attempted to stablished
several times. First job. She'd been working there for three months.

(03:24):
The police came and they shot the man in front
of her, and subsequently he died. I had to forgive.
I had to forgive so that myself and my family
could go on a healing journey. If you don't forgive,

(03:44):
you hold onto that and it festers in you. And
I also found empathy for the man. He had a
very rough life, had no supports. My daughter had all
the support in the world, and that's why she's going
to get through it. She's still struggling and it's four
years down the track. But as a family unit, we

(04:05):
had to forgive him. We had to have empathy for
him to be to heal and obviously my situation is
a little different where my daughter is still alive. But
until you're in that situation, you really can't make a call.

Speaker 1 (04:22):
Tina. Can I ask you if he had lived, would
you have felt the same? Do you think?

Speaker 3 (04:28):
I believe so? I truly believe so. And I would
have wanted to.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
Have met him.

Speaker 3 (04:35):
Yeah, not for him, but for me. And that's what
it's about. I didn't forgive him to give him satisfaction.
It's for the healing within yourself, you know. And for
that family that have lost three, they had other children.
They need to be able to heal to move forward
because they still are a family.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
Unit and they went on and they've had a couple
of other kids as well.

Speaker 3 (05:01):
Yeah's amazing. It's amazing, but it's very freeing. It's very fringing,
and it is just with your healing.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
It does. Yeah, and you think it and all of
us like just think in our lives the people that
we haven't forgiven, yes, Like who is that hurting on
any degree?

Speaker 4 (05:20):
Right?

Speaker 2 (05:20):
Like an ex.

Speaker 5 (05:22):
Yeah, yeah, I could just never do what people have,
what Treena's done, and what the other familys have done.
I just that's just me, Like Yeah, that's I'm one
of those people. You do something, I'm done, like, you know,
I don't need to forgive. I don't I don't know.

(05:42):
I don't need to forgive the person. It's my choice
and that's just the way I am.

Speaker 1 (05:47):
Absolutely