Thursday, September 13, 2007
Woman guilty of killing young son - Seattle P-I
Mother admits stabbing death of 20-month-old boy
A mentally troubled woman known by neighbors to be a risk for her three children pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder in the stabbing of the youngest, a 20-month-old son.
Kelly N. Meining, 32, faces up to 28 years in prison when she is sentenced Oct. 2 ...
According to court records, Meining has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After her arrest, neighbors in the Sifton area said they joined with the grandparents of her children in trying to protect the three youngsters from their mother's erratic behavior.
A grandmother was staying with the children until a few minutes before Meining's husband, Kris Meining, returned home from work and called 911 to report that she had stabbed their youngest child. ...
Mother admits stabbing death of 20-month-old boy
A mentally troubled woman known by neighbors to be a risk for her three children pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder in the stabbing of the youngest, a 20-month-old son.
Kelly N. Meining, 32, faces up to 28 years in prison when she is sentenced Oct. 2 ...
According to court records, Meining has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After her arrest, neighbors in the Sifton area said they joined with the grandparents of her children in trying to protect the three youngsters from their mother's erratic behavior.
A grandmother was staying with the children until a few minutes before Meining's husband, Kris Meining, returned home from work and called 911 to report that she had stabbed their youngest child. ...
Labels: mental illness, murder
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
American confesses to Dutch axe murder over Iraq war - Reuters
A former member of the U.S. Air Force has confessed to axing a Dutch student to death in a random attack to protest against Dutch support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq, prosecutors and Dutch media said on Wednesday.
...
Hartmann, a U.S. citizen, first sought out a Dutch soldier in the southern Dutch city of Roosendaal, but could not find one and turned his axe on a student waiting for a train on a platform at the city's station ...
A former member of the U.S. Air Force has confessed to axing a Dutch student to death in a random attack to protest against Dutch support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq, prosecutors and Dutch media said on Wednesday.
...
Hartmann, a U.S. citizen, first sought out a Dutch soldier in the southern Dutch city of Roosendaal, but could not find one and turned his axe on a student waiting for a train on a platform at the city's station ...
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Killer's Parents Describe Attempts Over the Years to Help Isolated Son - Washington Post
Sometimes, Hyang Im Cho would become so frustrated with her son, Seung Hui Cho, that she would shake him. He rarely spoke. And when he did, it was just a few words, barely above a whisper. He never looked anyone in the eye. It was as if he lived walled off in a world of his own. Try as she might -- with countless visits to counselors and psychologists, treatment with antidepressants or art therapy, and attempts to find him friends at basketball camp or taekwondo or church -- no one could break through.
Like any mother, she wanted her son to fit in. Like any immigrant, she felt that no sacrifice was too great to make sure he found a place for himself in this new country, even if it meant overcoming the deeply ingrained stigma in Korean culture of admitting mental illness.
She knew he was troubled and isolated. But it wasn't until her son killed 32 students and teachers at Virginia Tech on April 16 that she knew just how twisted his private world had become.
...
The panel's report, formally released yesterday, paints the most complete portrait to date of Cho's frail and sickly childhood; his hopeful middle and high school years bolstered by intensive psychological therapy, medication and a supportive school environment; his misplaced aspirations to become a famous writer; and, as that dream slipped away, his descent into madness.
The report also provides for the first time some perspective from Cho's family. They were shocked when they learned of his violent writings. Cho had always been so secretive, typing away on his computer but refusing to share what he wrote. They had no idea that he had been briefly hospitalized at a psychiatric institution during his junior year at Virginia Tech and had been declared mentally ill. The son, the hospital and the court never told them.
"We would have taken him home and made him miss a semester to get this looked at," the Chos told the panel. "But we just did not know . . . about anything being wrong."
...
Cho began his college career as a business information technology major but, by the time he was a sophomore, decided to switch to English, which was one of his weakest subjects. Nevertheless, he was convinced that he could be a great writer. ...
Later that year, after his sister found a rejection letter from a New York publishing house, [his sister] noticed that he became increasingly depressed and detached. His English grades ranged from B's to D's, and his rage grew as he felt no one understood him or his talent.
...
[He] saw an art therapist and a psychiatrist who diagnosed a severe social anxiety disorder. "It was painful to see," one of the psychiatrists told the panel. The Chos took turns leaving work early to get their son to his sessions every week. In art therapy, Cho made houses out of clay that had no windows or doors. Sometimes, when the therapist explained that his artwork showed how inadequate he must feel, Cho's eyes would fill with tears. ...
Sometimes, Hyang Im Cho would become so frustrated with her son, Seung Hui Cho, that she would shake him. He rarely spoke. And when he did, it was just a few words, barely above a whisper. He never looked anyone in the eye. It was as if he lived walled off in a world of his own. Try as she might -- with countless visits to counselors and psychologists, treatment with antidepressants or art therapy, and attempts to find him friends at basketball camp or taekwondo or church -- no one could break through.
Like any mother, she wanted her son to fit in. Like any immigrant, she felt that no sacrifice was too great to make sure he found a place for himself in this new country, even if it meant overcoming the deeply ingrained stigma in Korean culture of admitting mental illness.
She knew he was troubled and isolated. But it wasn't until her son killed 32 students and teachers at Virginia Tech on April 16 that she knew just how twisted his private world had become.
...
The panel's report, formally released yesterday, paints the most complete portrait to date of Cho's frail and sickly childhood; his hopeful middle and high school years bolstered by intensive psychological therapy, medication and a supportive school environment; his misplaced aspirations to become a famous writer; and, as that dream slipped away, his descent into madness.
The report also provides for the first time some perspective from Cho's family. They were shocked when they learned of his violent writings. Cho had always been so secretive, typing away on his computer but refusing to share what he wrote. They had no idea that he had been briefly hospitalized at a psychiatric institution during his junior year at Virginia Tech and had been declared mentally ill. The son, the hospital and the court never told them.
"We would have taken him home and made him miss a semester to get this looked at," the Chos told the panel. "But we just did not know . . . about anything being wrong."
...
Cho began his college career as a business information technology major but, by the time he was a sophomore, decided to switch to English, which was one of his weakest subjects. Nevertheless, he was convinced that he could be a great writer. ...
Later that year, after his sister found a rejection letter from a New York publishing house, [his sister] noticed that he became increasingly depressed and detached. His English grades ranged from B's to D's, and his rage grew as he felt no one understood him or his talent.
...
[He] saw an art therapist and a psychiatrist who diagnosed a severe social anxiety disorder. "It was painful to see," one of the psychiatrists told the panel. The Chos took turns leaving work early to get their son to his sessions every week. In art therapy, Cho made houses out of clay that had no windows or doors. Sometimes, when the therapist explained that his artwork showed how inadequate he must feel, Cho's eyes would fill with tears. ...
Labels: mental illness, murder
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Students strangle boys for a day off, India police say - A.P.
Three boarding-school students are accused of strangling two young boys in the hope that classes would be suspended after the deaths, police said Saturday.
The students, ages 12 and 13, confessed to strangling an 8-year-old boy and his 5-year-old brother so their school would close down, said S. Sethi, a policeman in the Jalna district, 200 miles east of Mumbai, also known as Bombay.
"When questioned, the boys said they knew this school gave a holiday when a child had died last year and thought they could get another holiday this year," Sethi said.
Sethi said the three dragged their victims' bodies into an unused restroom.
Authorities found the boys' bodies after their 9-year-old sister reported them missing. Sethi said an autopsy confirmed the children were strangled. [end]
Three boarding-school students are accused of strangling two young boys in the hope that classes would be suspended after the deaths, police said Saturday.
The students, ages 12 and 13, confessed to strangling an 8-year-old boy and his 5-year-old brother so their school would close down, said S. Sethi, a policeman in the Jalna district, 200 miles east of Mumbai, also known as Bombay.
"When questioned, the boys said they knew this school gave a holiday when a child had died last year and thought they could get another holiday this year," Sethi said.
Sethi said the three dragged their victims' bodies into an unused restroom.
Authorities found the boys' bodies after their 9-year-old sister reported them missing. Sethi said an autopsy confirmed the children were strangled. [end]
Labels: murder
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Baby survives being buried alive - BBC News
A two-day-old baby girl in India has survived after being buried alive in a field by her maternal grandfather in the south of the country.
The baby, who had apparently never been fed, was discovered by a farmer near a village some 150km south of Hyderabad.
He said he only spotted her because her tiny hand was sticking out of the soil.
Police say they have arrested the baby's grandfather, 52-year-old Abdul Rahman, after he confessed to trying to kill the newborn by burying her alive.
"I am yet to marry off four daughters and cannot take responsibility for a fifth one, even when she is only a granddaughter," Mr Rahman was quoted as telling police.
It was not immediately clear whether Mr Rahman's daughter, the mother of the baby, had given her consent for her child to be taken away.
The baby, who has not yet been named and weighs just 1.7kg, is being treated in a nearby hospital.
The practice of female foeticide and female infanticide does occur in some rural areas.
A girl child is often viewed as inferior to a boy and a bride's dowry can also cripple a family financially.
Government figures suggest that around 10 million girls have been killed by their parents - either in the womb or immediately after birth - over the past two decades. [end]
A two-day-old baby girl in India has survived after being buried alive in a field by her maternal grandfather in the south of the country.
The baby, who had apparently never been fed, was discovered by a farmer near a village some 150km south of Hyderabad.
He said he only spotted her because her tiny hand was sticking out of the soil.
Police say they have arrested the baby's grandfather, 52-year-old Abdul Rahman, after he confessed to trying to kill the newborn by burying her alive.
"I am yet to marry off four daughters and cannot take responsibility for a fifth one, even when she is only a granddaughter," Mr Rahman was quoted as telling police.
It was not immediately clear whether Mr Rahman's daughter, the mother of the baby, had given her consent for her child to be taken away.
The baby, who has not yet been named and weighs just 1.7kg, is being treated in a nearby hospital.
The practice of female foeticide and female infanticide does occur in some rural areas.
A girl child is often viewed as inferior to a boy and a bride's dowry can also cripple a family financially.
Government figures suggest that around 10 million girls have been killed by their parents - either in the womb or immediately after birth - over the past two decades. [end]
Labels: murder
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Chris Benoit's World - Newsweek
What made the professional wrestler snap? Authorities search for clues into the murders of his wife and child and Benoit's grisly suicide.
By all appearances, professional wrestler Chris Benoit and his 7-year-old son, Daniel, shared a loving bond. The boy’s room in Fayetteville, Ga., was filled with posters and action figures of his father ...
Authorities believe Benoit, 40, strangled his son and his wife, Nancy, before committing suicide at the family’s new 7,500-square-foot home in a tony neighborhood south of Atlanta. All the more disturbing: police say the killings appear to have been drawn out over the course of the weekend—first Nancy, sometime Friday night, then Daniel on Saturday, and finally Benoit himself in the wee hours on Sunday. ...
What made the professional wrestler snap? Authorities search for clues into the murders of his wife and child and Benoit's grisly suicide.
By all appearances, professional wrestler Chris Benoit and his 7-year-old son, Daniel, shared a loving bond. The boy’s room in Fayetteville, Ga., was filled with posters and action figures of his father ...
Authorities believe Benoit, 40, strangled his son and his wife, Nancy, before committing suicide at the family’s new 7,500-square-foot home in a tony neighborhood south of Atlanta. All the more disturbing: police say the killings appear to have been drawn out over the course of the weekend—first Nancy, sometime Friday night, then Daniel on Saturday, and finally Benoit himself in the wee hours on Sunday. ...
Monday, April 02, 2007
Two people shot at UW - Seattle P-I
A woman shot to death on the University of Washington campus Monday morning had lived in mortal fear for weeks about a man who was stalking her, her friends and co-workers said.
Her attacker killed himself after killing the woman, police said. The woman... had recently taken out a court order against her ex-boyfriend who would ultimately shoot her to death.
Jonathan Rowan, 41, had repeatedly threatened her. On March 7 -- a day after Griego sought court protection from him -- and again on March 14, he called her at work and threatend to kill her...
Griego had, at times, worked from home because she was afraid to come to work. She also had considered riding her bike to work so she could vary her route ...
Griego had changed her telephone numbers, moved a couple of times and e-mailed to co-workers in the UW's real estate program a description and photograph of her stalker ...
She described him as a suicidal alcoholic who had tackled and punched her when they lived together.
"I forgave him because he was drunk, but now I see that was wrong, and he has threatened to hurt me again."
She said he had also threatened her dog and her family. ...
A woman shot to death on the University of Washington campus Monday morning had lived in mortal fear for weeks about a man who was stalking her, her friends and co-workers said.
Her attacker killed himself after killing the woman, police said. The woman... had recently taken out a court order against her ex-boyfriend who would ultimately shoot her to death.
Jonathan Rowan, 41, had repeatedly threatened her. On March 7 -- a day after Griego sought court protection from him -- and again on March 14, he called her at work and threatend to kill her...
Griego had, at times, worked from home because she was afraid to come to work. She also had considered riding her bike to work so she could vary her route ...
Griego had changed her telephone numbers, moved a couple of times and e-mailed to co-workers in the UW's real estate program a description and photograph of her stalker ...
She described him as a suicidal alcoholic who had tackled and punched her when they lived together.
"I forgave him because he was drunk, but now I see that was wrong, and he has threatened to hurt me again."
She said he had also threatened her dog and her family. ...
Labels: attachment, murder, suicide
Friday, March 30, 2007
New Hope for Amish children - Lancaster Online
Six months after tragedy, school will open Monday at Nickel Mines. Much has changed.
... Much of the new school is made of brick, not wood, and its large outhouse is largely brick. The schoolhouse has locks and a "panic bar" inside the front door. The building is of sturdy construction and can be secured against outside entry.
So why does a paved driveway lead to the front door?...
"The kids all - to a kid - remembered the shooter coming in and spinning tires with the gravel,'' he said this morning. "They wanted that not to be a possible event ever again.''
On the morning of Oct. 2, 2006, Charles Carl Roberts IV, who lived in nearby Georgetown, drove a pickup truck up the gravel drive of the old school.
He walked inside and drew a gun. He dismissed the teacher and other adults and all the boys. He lined up the girls, ages 6 to 13, and shot 10, killing five and seriously wounding the others. Then he killed himself before state police broke into the building. ...
***
According to a related A.P. story, Amish school in shooting rampage to reopen,
[the killer,] Charles Roberts, [was] apparently tormented by an unconfirmed memory of having molested relatives 20 years earlier, and by the 1997 death of his own infant daughter ...
Six months after tragedy, school will open Monday at Nickel Mines. Much has changed.
... Much of the new school is made of brick, not wood, and its large outhouse is largely brick. The schoolhouse has locks and a "panic bar" inside the front door. The building is of sturdy construction and can be secured against outside entry.
So why does a paved driveway lead to the front door?...
"The kids all - to a kid - remembered the shooter coming in and spinning tires with the gravel,'' he said this morning. "They wanted that not to be a possible event ever again.''
On the morning of Oct. 2, 2006, Charles Carl Roberts IV, who lived in nearby Georgetown, drove a pickup truck up the gravel drive of the old school.
He walked inside and drew a gun. He dismissed the teacher and other adults and all the boys. He lined up the girls, ages 6 to 13, and shot 10, killing five and seriously wounding the others. Then he killed himself before state police broke into the building. ...
***
According to a related A.P. story, Amish school in shooting rampage to reopen,
[the killer,] Charles Roberts, [was] apparently tormented by an unconfirmed memory of having molested relatives 20 years earlier, and by the 1997 death of his own infant daughter ...
Labels: murder
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Slain daughter adds to father's torment - Seattle P-I columnist Robert Jamieson
He lost his ability to walk. He lost his life partner. Now he has just lost his daughter to murder. But his faith in the investigators and a higher power are getting him through it all.
... On March 9, Lorentson's 24-year-old daughter, Merianne Elizabeth Lorentson, a single mom, was found stabbed to death in her apartment. ...
Her killing comes after Lorentson lost his wife of 35 years to cancer in June. As she battled the disease, Lorentson's son, Michael, 30, struggled with alcohol and drug addiction. The young man, now in his third year of sobriety, vows not to relapse as he grapples with his sister's death.
...
Having lost his wife and daughter in nine months, he wonders, "Why?"
His unshakable Episcopalian faith -- and friends and family within and outside the church -- offer comfort. Lorentson believes God is using him to show the importance of holding onto one's faith through hard times. He refuses to curse the heavens. ...
He lost his ability to walk. He lost his life partner. Now he has just lost his daughter to murder. But his faith in the investigators and a higher power are getting him through it all.
... On March 9, Lorentson's 24-year-old daughter, Merianne Elizabeth Lorentson, a single mom, was found stabbed to death in her apartment. ...
Her killing comes after Lorentson lost his wife of 35 years to cancer in June. As she battled the disease, Lorentson's son, Michael, 30, struggled with alcohol and drug addiction. The young man, now in his third year of sobriety, vows not to relapse as he grapples with his sister's death.
...
Having lost his wife and daughter in nine months, he wonders, "Why?"
His unshakable Episcopalian faith -- and friends and family within and outside the church -- offer comfort. Lorentson believes God is using him to show the importance of holding onto one's faith through hard times. He refuses to curse the heavens. ...
Labels: faith, murder, suffering
Monday, March 19, 2007
Tragedy follows landmark court win - L.A. Times
After success in a long fight against forced medication, a schizophrenic man gained freedom. But now he is accused of killing his roommate.
[When the police arrived,] Kanuri Qawi, was waiting casually in the doorway, a glass of soda in his hand. Qawi invited the officer inside and began spinning a wild tale. Intruders, he insisted, had entered his apartment. They had robbed him of $300, then stripped him naked, strapped him to a flatbed truck and paraded him through the streets. As Qawi talked, incense burned, but it could not hide the smell. It was the smell, the officer knew, of decaying flesh.
...
Qawi was a notorious figure in California mental hospitals. His nine-year legal battle had taken him all the way to the state Supreme Court, where he had won the right — for himself and hundreds of other mental patients — to refuse to take the psychiatric drugs prescribed by doctors.
...
Qawi started life as Kenny Washington, an average kid from an unusual family. As if their 14 children weren't enough, Kenny's parents, Alma and Calvin Washington, also took in a host of foster children at their home in Arcadia, Fla. ...
After success in a long fight against forced medication, a schizophrenic man gained freedom. But now he is accused of killing his roommate.
[When the police arrived,] Kanuri Qawi, was waiting casually in the doorway, a glass of soda in his hand. Qawi invited the officer inside and began spinning a wild tale. Intruders, he insisted, had entered his apartment. They had robbed him of $300, then stripped him naked, strapped him to a flatbed truck and paraded him through the streets. As Qawi talked, incense burned, but it could not hide the smell. It was the smell, the officer knew, of decaying flesh.
...
Qawi was a notorious figure in California mental hospitals. His nine-year legal battle had taken him all the way to the state Supreme Court, where he had won the right — for himself and hundreds of other mental patients — to refuse to take the psychiatric drugs prescribed by doctors.
...
Qawi started life as Kenny Washington, an average kid from an unusual family. As if their 14 children weren't enough, Kenny's parents, Alma and Calvin Washington, also took in a host of foster children at their home in Arcadia, Fla. ...
Labels: mental illness, murder
Avery 1st Exonerated Man To Be Convicted of Murder - CBC
A man who spent almost half his life in prison for a rape he didn't commit is the first person ever exonerated through DNA evidence and then convicted of murder, according to a national group.Steven Avery, 44, was released from prison in 2003 after serving 18 years for a 1985 rape that DNA evidence proved he did not commit. On Sunday, a Manitowoc County jury found him guilty of shooting photographer Teresa Halbach in the head near his family's auto salvage lot in rural Manitowoc County on Oct. 31, 2005.
...
... only 21 states compensate people who are wrongly convicted, and only a handful provide college tuition and health coverage to help them acclimate to life outside prison.In Wisconsin, a wrongfully convicted person gets no more than $5,000 a year for each year of imprisonment and not more than $25,000 altogether. Avery filed a $36 million civil lawsuit for his wrongful conviction, but settled for $400,000 after he was arrested in the murder case. His proceeds were $240,000, which went to his lawyers fees in the homicide case.
...
Marvin Anderson, who was exonerated in Virginia after 15 years in prison, recently bought the trucking company where he previously worked as a driver.--Anthony Robinson, who was exonerated in Texas after 10 years in prison, got a law degree and has been studying in China to get a doctorate in Chinese law. ...
A man who spent almost half his life in prison for a rape he didn't commit is the first person ever exonerated through DNA evidence and then convicted of murder, according to a national group.Steven Avery, 44, was released from prison in 2003 after serving 18 years for a 1985 rape that DNA evidence proved he did not commit. On Sunday, a Manitowoc County jury found him guilty of shooting photographer Teresa Halbach in the head near his family's auto salvage lot in rural Manitowoc County on Oct. 31, 2005.
...
... only 21 states compensate people who are wrongly convicted, and only a handful provide college tuition and health coverage to help them acclimate to life outside prison.In Wisconsin, a wrongfully convicted person gets no more than $5,000 a year for each year of imprisonment and not more than $25,000 altogether. Avery filed a $36 million civil lawsuit for his wrongful conviction, but settled for $400,000 after he was arrested in the murder case. His proceeds were $240,000, which went to his lawyers fees in the homicide case.
...
Marvin Anderson, who was exonerated in Virginia after 15 years in prison, recently bought the trucking company where he previously worked as a driver.--Anthony Robinson, who was exonerated in Texas after 10 years in prison, got a law degree and has been studying in China to get a doctorate in Chinese law. ...
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Killing Jared - Salon
Matt Baker was a restless teenager in suburban Las Vegas who loved gangster movies and acting cool. Nobody could imagine he wanted to murder his best friend and bury him in the desert.
Matt Baker was the first to pay his condolences when the news came that the body of Jared Whaley, one of his best friends, had finally been found in the desert outside of Las Vegas, on March 2, 2004. The 17-year-old Whaley had been stripped naked, shot twice, and some of his teeth had been cut out.
...
Today, Matt Baker sits in a Nevada prison, convicted of murdering Jared Whaley, shooting him in the chest and head with a shotgun. He will spend at least 35 years in prison, a sentence longer than the ones received by his four teenage friends, also involved in the killing. ... Matt never explained why he killed Jared.
...
Matt moved to the valley from Pomona, Calif., with his mom (he told friends that his dad had died before he was born). She worked as a clerk at a jewelry store on the Strip, living paycheck to paycheck and not always quick to pay bills. "By the time I was arrested," Matt wrote me, "I had lived in eleven different places I can recall, but I lived at my grandmother's twice so that means I moved twelve times.
...
Kids of tough, resilient single moms, with nonexistent dads, Matt and Jared were selfish to a fault, and became more so the more they hung out. They weren't much for responsibility -- neither one had ever had a job, nor much of a plan of what to do after high school, and now they talked about dropping out of high school too. A lot of what made their relationship work was that Matt was incredibly shy, and he was just in awe of Jared's nerve, his ability to say whatever he wanted without caring what anyone thought.
...
Anything to do with a real, honest-to-God murder would probably have stayed that way if another Shane -- Shane Johnson -- hadn't moved to town. ... The year before, he had transformed from clean-cut junior ROTC member when he followed his older brother into membership in a KKK spinoff, the International Klans of America. "It was fun," he would tell me. "We went to lots of barbecues, told jokes, ate good food. I had a bad home life, and it gave me a new family." ...
Matt Baker was a restless teenager in suburban Las Vegas who loved gangster movies and acting cool. Nobody could imagine he wanted to murder his best friend and bury him in the desert.
Matt Baker was the first to pay his condolences when the news came that the body of Jared Whaley, one of his best friends, had finally been found in the desert outside of Las Vegas, on March 2, 2004. The 17-year-old Whaley had been stripped naked, shot twice, and some of his teeth had been cut out.
...
Today, Matt Baker sits in a Nevada prison, convicted of murdering Jared Whaley, shooting him in the chest and head with a shotgun. He will spend at least 35 years in prison, a sentence longer than the ones received by his four teenage friends, also involved in the killing. ... Matt never explained why he killed Jared.
...
Matt moved to the valley from Pomona, Calif., with his mom (he told friends that his dad had died before he was born). She worked as a clerk at a jewelry store on the Strip, living paycheck to paycheck and not always quick to pay bills. "By the time I was arrested," Matt wrote me, "I had lived in eleven different places I can recall, but I lived at my grandmother's twice so that means I moved twelve times.
...
Kids of tough, resilient single moms, with nonexistent dads, Matt and Jared were selfish to a fault, and became more so the more they hung out. They weren't much for responsibility -- neither one had ever had a job, nor much of a plan of what to do after high school, and now they talked about dropping out of high school too. A lot of what made their relationship work was that Matt was incredibly shy, and he was just in awe of Jared's nerve, his ability to say whatever he wanted without caring what anyone thought.
...
Anything to do with a real, honest-to-God murder would probably have stayed that way if another Shane -- Shane Johnson -- hadn't moved to town. ... The year before, he had transformed from clean-cut junior ROTC member when he followed his older brother into membership in a KKK spinoff, the International Klans of America. "It was fun," he would tell me. "We went to lots of barbecues, told jokes, ate good food. I had a bad home life, and it gave me a new family." ...
Labels: murder
One Murder Too Many - Newsweek
David Rattray died in one of the senseless killings that have become all too common in crime-ravaged South Africa. Will his killing be a turning point in the nation’s fight against violence?
Even in crime-ravaged South Africa, the killing has shocked the nation. The 48-year-old Rattray died on Jan. 26, when six robbers slipped onto his game preserve, Fugitives’ Drift. The men came from the poor Zulu communities that eke out their survival on hardscrabble farms in this rural part of KwaZulu-Natal province. They accosted workers at the lodge, where tourists stay during battlefield forays, then forced one of the workers to take them to Rattray’s home. Rattray’s wife, Nicky, screamed when she saw one of the intruders heading for their bedroom; Rattray pushed her out of the way and moved toward the gunman, who fired three shots. Two hit the historian in the arm and hand, but a third fatal bullet hit him in the chest. The robbers fled empty-handed. Initial reports speculated that the attack may have been part of a possible vendetta over a land dispute between Rattray and local farmers, but a confession by one of the attackers subsequently arrested by police suggests that burglary was the gang’s real motive. ...
David Rattray died in one of the senseless killings that have become all too common in crime-ravaged South Africa. Will his killing be a turning point in the nation’s fight against violence?
Even in crime-ravaged South Africa, the killing has shocked the nation. The 48-year-old Rattray died on Jan. 26, when six robbers slipped onto his game preserve, Fugitives’ Drift. The men came from the poor Zulu communities that eke out their survival on hardscrabble farms in this rural part of KwaZulu-Natal province. They accosted workers at the lodge, where tourists stay during battlefield forays, then forced one of the workers to take them to Rattray’s home. Rattray’s wife, Nicky, screamed when she saw one of the intruders heading for their bedroom; Rattray pushed her out of the way and moved toward the gunman, who fired three shots. Two hit the historian in the arm and hand, but a third fatal bullet hit him in the chest. The robbers fled empty-handed. Initial reports speculated that the attack may have been part of a possible vendetta over a land dispute between Rattray and local farmers, but a confession by one of the attackers subsequently arrested by police suggests that burglary was the gang’s real motive. ...
Labels: murder
Teen killed after affair with teacher; husband charged - CNN
In a tragic twist to a familiar story, a teenager who had sex with his married 30-year-old teacher was fatally shot outside the woman's home, and authorities have charged the woman's husband.
...
Powell "was a great kid, full of life," Flynn said. He had taught himself to play guitar and just received his driver's license. His adoptive parents, Scarlett and Jack Powell, had just bought him a car.
But he left school November 20 and did not return. School officials refuse to explain why, citing privacy laws. Flynn said her son had a substance-abuse problem and went to rehab for less than a month.
Norman McLean described his son, one of his eight children, as "an excellent person" who was not violent, but he acknowledged that his son "had a lot of burden on him for months now," referring to Erin McLean's affair. ...
In a tragic twist to a familiar story, a teenager who had sex with his married 30-year-old teacher was fatally shot outside the woman's home, and authorities have charged the woman's husband.
...
Powell "was a great kid, full of life," Flynn said. He had taught himself to play guitar and just received his driver's license. His adoptive parents, Scarlett and Jack Powell, had just bought him a car.
But he left school November 20 and did not return. School officials refuse to explain why, citing privacy laws. Flynn said her son had a substance-abuse problem and went to rehab for less than a month.
Norman McLean described his son, one of his eight children, as "an excellent person" who was not violent, but he acknowledged that his son "had a lot of burden on him for months now," referring to Erin McLean's affair. ...
Labels: murder
Friday, March 16, 2007
In Heart of Village, 4 Lives Intersect in a Chain of Violence - N.Y. Times
The paths of an ex-marine whose life had been unstable for years, a pizzeria bartender and two auxiliary police officers intersected in a mere 10 minutes.
... David R. Garvin, 42, was an ex-marine whose life had been unstable for years. He had worked in information graphics for The Wall Street Journal, but was fired for threatening a colleague. There were two divorces and two bankruptcy filings. In recent years, he wrote screenplays and made a run at directing and acting in films. But he found mostly frustration and, investigators said, had shown increasing signs of paranoia. By Wednesday night, his grand designs had given way to a darker obsession.
It was impossible to see it coming: the execution of the bartender in a pizzeria, apparently an act of revenge; the cold killings of two unarmed auxiliary police officers who trailed him, shot as they cowered at his feet while a videotape caught the horrors; the final shootout with police officers; and the gunman lying dead on Bleecker Street as wailing patrol cars swarmed in on a balmy night in Greenwich Village.
...
Mr. Garvin turned right on Bleecker Street and walked one block east to Sullivan Street, where he encountered the two auxiliary officers: Mr. Pekearo, a bookseller and aspiring novelist who grew up in the Village, and Mr. Marshalik, who came to New York as a boy when his family fled the war in Chechnya. ...
The paths of an ex-marine whose life had been unstable for years, a pizzeria bartender and two auxiliary police officers intersected in a mere 10 minutes.
... David R. Garvin, 42, was an ex-marine whose life had been unstable for years. He had worked in information graphics for The Wall Street Journal, but was fired for threatening a colleague. There were two divorces and two bankruptcy filings. In recent years, he wrote screenplays and made a run at directing and acting in films. But he found mostly frustration and, investigators said, had shown increasing signs of paranoia. By Wednesday night, his grand designs had given way to a darker obsession.
It was impossible to see it coming: the execution of the bartender in a pizzeria, apparently an act of revenge; the cold killings of two unarmed auxiliary police officers who trailed him, shot as they cowered at his feet while a videotape caught the horrors; the final shootout with police officers; and the gunman lying dead on Bleecker Street as wailing patrol cars swarmed in on a balmy night in Greenwich Village.
...
Mr. Garvin turned right on Bleecker Street and walked one block east to Sullivan Street, where he encountered the two auxiliary officers: Mr. Pekearo, a bookseller and aspiring novelist who grew up in the Village, and Mr. Marshalik, who came to New York as a boy when his family fled the war in Chechnya. ...
Labels: mental illness, murder
Indian brides pay a high price - International Herald Tribune
Once the wedding guests were all assembled, the father of the bride brought out a large metal tray on which he had piled up 51,000 rupees (in notes of 10 and 50 rupees, to make the heap look larger) and handed it to the groom.
A new television and sofa were conspicuously displayed in the same room, so that every member of the party could see what was being offered from the bride's family to the groom as a dowry. ...
Unfortunately for Kamlesh, the 18-year-old bride, who uses only one name, the payment from her father, Misrilal, was insufficient. Her new husband had expected a scooter; his parents had wanted more than the 51,000 rupees - about $1,100 - that they got. During three years of marriage, the requests for an extended dowry settlement began to be accompanied by worsening bouts of violence - until in August, he beat her over the head with a wooden stick, tied her up and locked her in the cow shed as she bled profusely.
Violent dowry harassment is an increasingly visible phenomenon in India.
...
The burden both of dowry payments and lavish weddings is one of the main reasons why female feticide - the practice of aborting female fetuses - remains widespread in India. Earlier this year a report in The Lancet, a British medical journal, indicated that as many as 10 million female fetuses may have been aborted in India over the past 20 years by families trying to avoid the expense of having a daughter and hoping to secure themselves a male heir.
...
Kusum Hardina ... set fire to herself a few weeks ago because she felt so desperate at the constant pressure from her in-laws to extract a higher dowry payment from her family.
On Sept. 22, she fought with her mother-in-law and brother-in-law over the dowry and then in a fit of anger poured kerosene over herself and set it alight. As she lay dying in hospital, she gave a statement to the police saying she had done it because she was being harassed for a dowry ...
Once the wedding guests were all assembled, the father of the bride brought out a large metal tray on which he had piled up 51,000 rupees (in notes of 10 and 50 rupees, to make the heap look larger) and handed it to the groom.
A new television and sofa were conspicuously displayed in the same room, so that every member of the party could see what was being offered from the bride's family to the groom as a dowry. ...
Unfortunately for Kamlesh, the 18-year-old bride, who uses only one name, the payment from her father, Misrilal, was insufficient. Her new husband had expected a scooter; his parents had wanted more than the 51,000 rupees - about $1,100 - that they got. During three years of marriage, the requests for an extended dowry settlement began to be accompanied by worsening bouts of violence - until in August, he beat her over the head with a wooden stick, tied her up and locked her in the cow shed as she bled profusely.
Violent dowry harassment is an increasingly visible phenomenon in India.
...
The burden both of dowry payments and lavish weddings is one of the main reasons why female feticide - the practice of aborting female fetuses - remains widespread in India. Earlier this year a report in The Lancet, a British medical journal, indicated that as many as 10 million female fetuses may have been aborted in India over the past 20 years by families trying to avoid the expense of having a daughter and hoping to secure themselves a male heir.
...
Kusum Hardina ... set fire to herself a few weeks ago because she felt so desperate at the constant pressure from her in-laws to extract a higher dowry payment from her family.
On Sept. 22, she fought with her mother-in-law and brother-in-law over the dowry and then in a fit of anger poured kerosene over herself and set it alight. As she lay dying in hospital, she gave a statement to the police saying she had done it because she was being harassed for a dowry ...
Labels: anger, attachment, murder, suicide
Severed Lives: Family and Friend Left behind - part of the Philadelphia Inquirer's Kids, Guns, and a Deadly Toll series, which includes profiles of the murdered children
..."My son loved to rap and challenge people," Adams says. "I told him, 'I want you to stop battling, because some people can't handle things.' The grudge came in because my son beat him rapping... and one thing led to another."
Kareek Adams was one of 24 young people - ages 3 to 17 - who were killed by gunfire this year in the eight-county Philadelphia region.
Nearly half appear to have been killed mistakenly - in gun accidents or by assailants aiming at others.
Almost all the rest were shot because of jealousy or perceived disrespect, or disputes over turf, drugs or girls.
"Is it just expected for the children to kill each other with guns?" asks Israe Gilliard. In July, her nephew Jarrett Gore, 15, was preparing to settle an argument with fists when he was shot by an acquaintance.
...
For weeks now, Adams has haunted the El like a ghost, using her cell phone to photograph strangers who look like the mug shot of the man police think killed her son.
The other day in the grocery store, she was sure she saw the gunman. She got so close and stared so hard that when she finally realized it wasn't him, she lied and told him she thought they had once dated.
...
When two teens robbed Robert's other sister, 19-year-old Lauren, in September, she was "more mad than upset." She refused to give up her purse until one youth suggested they shoot her; then, when the boy with the gun fled, she chased the other, who had taken the bag. She asked him to give her back something - anything - from the purse. "I said, 'Really, my brother just died. I don't need this!' "
But he refused.
...
Gussie Favors was at Sadir Reddy's house that day with Evens Occean, and the three friends were about to go shopping downtown.
According to court testimony, Sadir, 16, had been showing off his prized .380 semiautomatic for weeks. The question was: Who would carry the gun to the Gallery?
Gussie volunteered because he had the biggest coat. He started "twirling" the weapon - a weapon shared so often among the friends that during Sadir's trial it was referred to at least once as "a community gun."
According to Evens, Sadir had taken the pistol back to adjust the safety when the gun fired into Gussie's chest.
Gussie's dad doesn't buy it. "I think he meant to do it," Augustus Favors says of Sadir, although he acknowledges that "if that was my son that shot him, I might be thinking a different story."
Immediately after the shooting, Sadir called 911 to say a mysterious gunman had shot Gussie. Then he ran from the scene where his friend lay dying. ...
..."My son loved to rap and challenge people," Adams says. "I told him, 'I want you to stop battling, because some people can't handle things.' The grudge came in because my son beat him rapping... and one thing led to another."
Kareek Adams was one of 24 young people - ages 3 to 17 - who were killed by gunfire this year in the eight-county Philadelphia region.
Nearly half appear to have been killed mistakenly - in gun accidents or by assailants aiming at others.
Almost all the rest were shot because of jealousy or perceived disrespect, or disputes over turf, drugs or girls.
"Is it just expected for the children to kill each other with guns?" asks Israe Gilliard. In July, her nephew Jarrett Gore, 15, was preparing to settle an argument with fists when he was shot by an acquaintance.
...
For weeks now, Adams has haunted the El like a ghost, using her cell phone to photograph strangers who look like the mug shot of the man police think killed her son.
The other day in the grocery store, she was sure she saw the gunman. She got so close and stared so hard that when she finally realized it wasn't him, she lied and told him she thought they had once dated.
...
When two teens robbed Robert's other sister, 19-year-old Lauren, in September, she was "more mad than upset." She refused to give up her purse until one youth suggested they shoot her; then, when the boy with the gun fled, she chased the other, who had taken the bag. She asked him to give her back something - anything - from the purse. "I said, 'Really, my brother just died. I don't need this!' "
But he refused.
...
Gussie Favors was at Sadir Reddy's house that day with Evens Occean, and the three friends were about to go shopping downtown.
According to court testimony, Sadir, 16, had been showing off his prized .380 semiautomatic for weeks. The question was: Who would carry the gun to the Gallery?
Gussie volunteered because he had the biggest coat. He started "twirling" the weapon - a weapon shared so often among the friends that during Sadir's trial it was referred to at least once as "a community gun."
According to Evens, Sadir had taken the pistol back to adjust the safety when the gun fired into Gussie's chest.
Gussie's dad doesn't buy it. "I think he meant to do it," Augustus Favors says of Sadir, although he acknowledges that "if that was my son that shot him, I might be thinking a different story."
Immediately after the shooting, Sadir called 911 to say a mysterious gunman had shot Gussie. Then he ran from the scene where his friend lay dying. ...
Labels: anger, grief, karma, murder
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Mom's solution to cramped living - Reuters
A Russian woman paid a former convict to kill her 17-year-old son because she was fed up with sharing her small one-room apartment with him, the newspaper Izvestia reported on Wednesday.
The 42-year-old crane operator paid the man a 2,100 rouble ($80) deposit to kill her son, Izvestia said. But the would-be hitman told the police who set up a sting operation and arrested her when she handed over the 900 rouble 'completion' payment.
The woman and her son shared the tiny apartment in the Moscow region with their respective partners and there were frequent rows, which became worse when the son's girlfriend became pregnant.
"The woman decided that by snuffing out her son she could solve her housing problems," the paper said. ...
A Russian woman paid a former convict to kill her 17-year-old son because she was fed up with sharing her small one-room apartment with him, the newspaper Izvestia reported on Wednesday.
The 42-year-old crane operator paid the man a 2,100 rouble ($80) deposit to kill her son, Izvestia said. But the would-be hitman told the police who set up a sting operation and arrested her when she handed over the 900 rouble 'completion' payment.
The woman and her son shared the tiny apartment in the Moscow region with their respective partners and there were frequent rows, which became worse when the son's girlfriend became pregnant.
"The woman decided that by snuffing out her son she could solve her housing problems," the paper said. ...
Labels: attachment, murder
Man pulls girlfriend into elevator, sets off bomb - A.P.
A man pulled his estranged girlfriend into an elevator in the office building where she worked and set off a homemade bomb, killing them both ...
...
[The woman's young son] was left outside the elevator and survived
...
Court records showed a restraining order was issued against Echavarria on Jan. 8 after Robles alleged he kidnapped her at knifepoint. She had the restraining order lifted on Jan. 16. ...
A man pulled his estranged girlfriend into an elevator in the office building where she worked and set off a homemade bomb, killing them both ...
...
[The woman's young son] was left outside the elevator and survived
...
Court records showed a restraining order was issued against Echavarria on Jan. 8 after Robles alleged he kidnapped her at knifepoint. She had the restraining order lifted on Jan. 16. ...
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Priest stabbed to death in front of family at vicarage - Times (London)
A vicar was stabbed to death in front of his wife and daughter as he answered the door to his vicarage yesterday.
...
Dave Davies, a regular churchgoer, said: “Paul’s most remarkable achievement was how many children he brought into the church. A year ago you would have seen maybe three on a Sunday morning. Last week we had 29. Paul had 54 children taking confirmation classes with him. He love his classical music and was improving the choir, which is something he was so excited about.
“As a testiment to what he done for the parish, last Sunday he had a congregation of 200 across the three churches. That is an incredible achievement.” Marion Godsall, a parishioner, said: “He wasn’t just the local vicar. He was everybody’s friend. Whether you went to church or not, he was there for everyone.” ...
A vicar was stabbed to death in front of his wife and daughter as he answered the door to his vicarage yesterday.
...
Dave Davies, a regular churchgoer, said: “Paul’s most remarkable achievement was how many children he brought into the church. A year ago you would have seen maybe three on a Sunday morning. Last week we had 29. Paul had 54 children taking confirmation classes with him. He love his classical music and was improving the choir, which is something he was so excited about.
“As a testiment to what he done for the parish, last Sunday he had a congregation of 200 across the three churches. That is an incredible achievement.” Marion Godsall, a parishioner, said: “He wasn’t just the local vicar. He was everybody’s friend. Whether you went to church or not, he was there for everyone.” ...
Labels: murder
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