Dad takes hammer to kid's cell for 10,000 texts

Dena Christofferson is 13 years old. She likes to send texts. Lots of texts. She particularly likes to send texts at school.

In fact, in a recent month she sent 10,003 of those curt little messages. And received almost 10,000.

"Dear Jenna. Please can you lend me some money? Dena."

(Credit: CC Karloswayne/Flickr)

Her parents were a little surprised at this. Not because she told them. But because Verizon sent them a bill for $4,756.25.

You see, Gregg and Jaylene Christofferson, from Cheyenne, Wyo., thought texting on little Dena's phone had been disabled. And $4,756.25 is a lot of money.

"It hit us like a rock," Gregg told NBC's Channel 9 News in Colorado.

Rocks can sometimes rain down in multiples, so perhaps it wasn't entirely a surprise that Dena's school principal called to say she had suddenly achieved five Fs in a semester. Strange that he didn't text, but still.

This was one rock too many for Gregg Christofferson. He got out his hammer and smashed that Verizon phone into several pieces.

You might be impressed that the phone was so resilient that merely tossing it against a wall, ripping it apart with bare hands, or crunching through it with sharp teeth appear not to have been good options.

Dena says she has learned her lesson. Her grades are soaring up to their former levels. Though perhaps it has helped her studies that she has been grounded.

Verizon is, apparently, working with the family to try and have the phone bill reduced.

One can only hope that Mr. Christofferson will not have to spend endless days on film sets, unpaid, as part of the vast group of people behind that nice man in glasses in the Verizon TV spots.