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"Whipping Boy" is the story of a well-to-do Colorado woman who allegedly beat to death her adopted, 2-year-old Russian son. Because the death occurred in a rural town in the northern reaches of the state, the case did not receive a great deal of press attention in Denver. The obituary asked that in lieu of lowers, donations be sent in the child's name to The Attachment Center in Evergreen, Colorado. The clinic specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of attachment and bonding disorders. Through FOIA requests, Westword obtained autopsy reports and police investigative reports that had not been previously released to the media. The investigation ultimately discovered that the woman's defense would hinge on the fact that her son suffered from attachment disorder, and that somehow, because of that affliction, he was to be considered the instrument of his own death.(October 10, 1996)