Mass Murder & Spree Killing

[Mighty_Emperor]

Spree Killers

A general thread to cover reports people who kill a number of people in a short space of time.

Sikh men slain in San Jose park

Gunman killed after deadly rampage on card players


Demian Bulwa, Delfin Vigil, Simone Sebastian, Chronicle Staff Writers

Monday, February 23, 2004







A leisurely afternoon at a San Jose park turned violent Sunday, when a gunman opened fire on a group of mostly elderly Sikh men who were playing cards, striking six of them -- three fatally -- before the group turned on the attacker.

The assailant, a 43-year-old San Jose man whose name was not released, died at the scene after several witnesses wrestled him to the ground when his gun jammed or ran out of ammunition, San Jose police said.

Sarwan Singh Gill, 47, of San Jose witnessed the attack.

He said he was among about 15 friends who were playing cards at Overfelt Gardens in east San Jose when a man who was unfamiliar to them walked up to four of them, said something abusive in Punjabi, then started firing a semiautomatic weapon -- first at the four, then at the others.

Gill escaped the danger by hiding behind a tree. He said the shooter was reloading his weapon and began firing again when somebody tackled him from behind.

"I lost my friends, and I'm feeling very bad,'' Gill said in Punjabi at his home Sunday night, surrounded by family members.

Police responding to the 2:47 p.m. call about shooting at the usually tranquil park found a chaotic scene.

"This is very much unusual,'' said San Jose police spokesman Steve Dixon. "These fellows play cards at this park regularly, and on typical Sunday afternoons we have never had any trouble before.''

Two men died at the scene, and one died at San Jose Medical Center. They were 46, 65 and 70 years old, police said. Three others, ages 80, 78 and 62, were sent to Regional Medical Center in San Jose with non-life threatening injuries, according to Dixon.

The suspect was dead when police arrived, probably because he was beaten to death, Dixon said, though the cause of death will be determined by an autopsy by the Santa Clara County coroner.

Sunday evening, relatives, friends and associates of the shooting victims tried to make sense of the devastation and questioned why anyone would have wanted to kill them. The men -- most of whom attended Sikh Gurdwara temple in San Jose and who were between the ages of 46 and 80 years old -- were longtime friends who gathered almost daily at the park for card games.

Relatives identified the 46-year-old man who was killed as Kulwant Singh, a technician at Wintec Industries in Fremont, who came to the United States from India in 1999, leaving behind a small farm. He lived in San Jose with his wife and three daughters.

"He was a hard worker who was honest, loyal, committed, and family oriented," said Kulwant Singh's brother-in-law, Kirpal Singh Atwal.

Kulwant Singh's wife, Baljeet Kaur was walking in the park when she heard the gunshots, her brother said. It wasn't until three hours later that police told her that her husband was among the dead.

Sunday night, she was surrounded by friends and family at her San Jose apartment. Twenty friends packed onto the floor of Kaur's and Kulwant's bedroom, passing around pictures of the couple and grieving his loss.

At the Sikh Gurdwara temple on Quimby Road, where about 1,000 Sikhs worship, people gathered Sunday evening awaiting news of the victims' identities.

"Many families are calling, and they are very scared," said the vice president of the temple, Bob Dhillon, who spent several hours answering phone calls from concerned members. "This has scared the heck out of our community. It is especially disturbing that this happened in a public place."

Temple secretary Jaswant Singh Hothi said the shooting brought back tension felt within the community following Sept. 11, 2001, when Sikhs were mistakenly targeted as followers of Osama bin Laden. Sikh men's traditional garb -- with long, thick beards and turbans -- cause them to resemble the widely publicized photographs of the Muslim terrorist.

Sikhs are not Muslims, though their traditional appearance causes confusion. Many are Punjabi natives, a tiny minority in their Indian homeland. The 500-year-old Sikh Dharma monotheistic religion was founded in India, based in philosophies of social equality and truth.

"I'm feeling very scared," Hothi said.

"Those people just sit (at the park) every day. They don't have any problems," Hothi said. "We're just confused. Right now, we are nowhere."

The uncertainty about who the shooter was and what his motives were increased tension in the temple.

"Who has done these things? Why?" asked Billy Singh, 30, who searched the park Sunday evening for his father, Swarn Singh, who often joined in the card games.

"I haven't seen him. I've been looking for him everywhere," Billy Singh said, not knowing if his father was among the victims. He later learned his father was OK.

Swarn Singh said the group of friends had gathered at the park for years to play cards, joke around, and just talk.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/02/23/MNGJ7566RV1.DTL&type=news

Emps

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

I thought I'd started a thread on this already but if there is one I didn't find it

Books:

Graham Chester: Berserk! Motiveless Random Massacres
Includes Charles Whitman (University of Texas clocktower sniper), George Hennard, James Huberty, Laurie Dann, etc.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312954425/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312954425/

Different from serial killers:

http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11849

in that they take place over a short space of time (the crticial bit of serial killing being the cooling off period). The A-Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers makes the distinction in that serial killers are more "hunters of humans" while mass murderers are "human time bombs" who go off killing everyone in he vicinty -often killing more than some serial killers (Whitman: 21 vs Dhamer: 17).

Mass Murder - tends to take place in one location (pos. because they have a close link to that place like it being work or school) like the clock tower shootings and famously at Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas:

http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/nation/guns/part2/gunside1.html
http://www.vpc.org/studies/wgun911016.htm

Books:
Karpf & Karpf: Anatomy Of A Massacre

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567960405/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567960405/

Spree Killing - where the killer remains more mobile e.g. Howard Unruh who in 1949 Camden, New Jersey wandered the streets for 12 minutes killing 13 and wounding 3 and Michael Ryan who on the August 19th, 1987 in Hungerford shot 30 people with an AK-47. The line can get blurred with serial killers where the rampage is spread over some ime like Christopher Wilder's 1984 month long spree killing 6 prostitues and most famously Charles Starkweathers 26 day rampage across Nebraska killing 10 people (the distinction with serial killing then appears to be motive - the spree killer tends to kill more randomly and not obsess about their ictims).

For historical examples see:

http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13126

Anyway this struck me as an odd case of mass murder with no apparent motive:

Two guilty of Cape gay massacre

Two men have been found guilty of carrying out some of the most gruesome murders seen in South Africa.

Last year, Cape Town was stunned when nine male escorts, including the owner of the Sizzlers gay massage parlour, had their throats slit before being shot.

On Thursday in the city's High Court, waiter Adam Woest, 27, and taxi driver Trevor Theys, 44, were convicted of nine counts of premeditated murder.

The reasons for the attack are unclear, as the men refused to testify in court.

The only survivor of the attack managed to stagger to a nearby petrol station to alert police.

The killings sent shockwaves through South Africa, which has some of the world's highest rates of violent crime.

Cape Town markets itself as a top holiday destination for gay tourists.

The two men, who were also convicted of robbery, are expected to receive life sentences next week.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/3505514.stm

Published: 2004/03/12 12:54:14 GMT

© BBC MMIV

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

The "Bodom Lake Murders"

Metro - Monday 5.4.2004

Man remanded on suspicion of infamous unsolved triple murder from 1960

Fourth member of camping party survived; police now believe he could be perpetrator

The Espoo District Court ordered on Friday that a man be held in custody on suspicion of carrying out a savage murder that has remained open and unresolved for nearly 44 years, dating back to June of 1960.

The investigation of what is one of the best-known and most puzzling crimes in Finnish legal history took a dramatic turn late last week when the court remanded Nils Wilhelm Gustafsson on the grounds that there was "probable cause" to believe he was the killer of two 15-year-old girls and an 18-year-old male youth, the other three members of a weekend camping party.

Gustafsson was the only member of the quartet to survive an overnight attack in the campsite close to Bodom Lake, in Espoo. In the early hours of the morning of Sunday June 5th, 1960, the killer cut the guy-ropes of the tent in which the youngsters were sleeping and then stabbed and battered those inside savagely and repeatedly with a knife and a heavy blunt instrument.

The man remanded was arrested earlier in the week by the National Bureau of Investigation, Finland's central criminal police.

The arrest and the court hearing have both been shrouded in a veil of secrecy, and the preliminary investigation material surrounding this latest development in the case has also been kept secret, but it is known that police have strong reasons to suspect Gustafsson's role in the matter.

The "Bodom Lake Murders" rank among the most brutal killings in Finnish criminal history, and the incident left the entire country in a state of shock at the time. The mystery surrounding the identity of the killer or killers and any possible motive for the act has only served to elevate the events to quasi-mythical status, on a par with the "Jack the Ripper" case in the United Kingdom. The subject resurfaced in the headlines only a year ago, with the publication of a book by Professor Jorma Palo.

The three victims were Anja Tuulikki Mäki, 15, Maila Irmeli Björklund, 15, and Seppo Antero Boisman, 18. The only survivor, Nils Gustafsson, also 18 at the time, was seriously injured, with a blow to the back of the head, a deep knife wound to the forehead, and a smashed jaw. All four youths were from Vantaa, and had set off for the trip on the previous day on two motorcycles.

At the time, Gustafsson was not publicly suspected of any involvement in the killings, and he told police he had no recollection of the events of that night between going to sleep in the tent and waking up later in hospital.

Under hypnosis shortly after his discharge from hospital, Gustafsson had stated that he had managed to get out of the tent, at which point the killer had kicked him in the jaw. He also gave details of the man he claimed was the killer.

Any number of theories for the motive for the killings and the identity of the killer surfaced in the weeks and months after the event. One claim was that suspicions pointed to a man brought to a Helsinki hospital on June 6th, and another version argued that the killer was a man who drowned himself in the same lake in 1969. Both these stories proved false. A number of people were arrested in connection with the killings, but sufficient evidence was never found to warrant a prosecution.

The fact that the wording "probable cause" has now been used, and also the publication of the name of the alleged culprit, would seem to imply that the police have a strong belief that they can secure a conviction in the case. Reportedly Gustafsson's involvement had been suspected for some time prior to his arrest. He has been interviewed on several occasions while in custody.

Although the police have been very reluctant to divulge any details, a number of issues are clearly of significance, most prominent being the advances in forensic medicine since the time of the killings.

The police have naturally examined the bloodstains on the tent. Since it has generally been assumed that the assailant struck from outside the tent and through the canvas, it is logical that the blood of the victims would be on the inside. This raises the question of whether there are DNA-traceable samples from three persons or from four.

Equally, if Gustafsson is the alleged culprit, how were his own not inconsiderable injuries created? Were they self-inflicted, caused during the struggle with the others, or by some other means?

There is as yet nothing to suggest Gustafsson has confessed to the crimes. Now aged 62, he is partly retired from his work as a driver and mechanic for an Espoo bus company and he still lives in Espoo.

http://www.helsinki-hs.net/news.asp?id=20040405IE7

In the more info section:

Monday 5.4.2004

BACKGROUND: Murders that shocked Finland in the 1950s



The triple murder at Bodom Lake was the third in a series of unresolved cases from nearly half a century ago that continue to shock and puzzle the Finns.

In May 1953, 17-year-old Kyllikki Saari disappeared while cycling home from a religious meeting . Her bicycle was discovered from a marshy area later in the summer, and her body, dumped in a marsh, was recovered in the autumn. Around 25,000 people gathered for her funeral. The case has never been solved.

Eine Nyyssönen and Riitta Pakkanen, two women in their early 20s, set off on a cycling trip in July 1959. They disappeared, their tracks being lost at a campsite in Heinävesi. Their bodies were later discovered, again buried in a marsh.

In this case, a man named Runar Holmström was arrested on suspicion of killing the two women. He had a shady past and it was alleged he had been following the pair on a moped. Nevertheless, the case against Holmström was by no means watertight. He never confessed to the crime, but attempted suicide twice while being questioned. He finally succeeded in killing himself while waiting for a psychiatric examination.

http://www.helsinki-hs.net/news.asp?id=20040405IE8

Emps

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Villisca ax murders

Although it gets a mention here:

http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=101198&highlight=villisca#post101198

it fits in here better but see the oficial site linked in from that post for more background:

http://www.villiscaiowa.com

And the article (from the front page):

Published Tuesday
April 27, 2004

Iowa filmmaker says he's solved Villisca ax murders



VILLISCA, Iowa (AP) - Joe Pate says he knows the identity of the Villisca ax murderer.

And, he says, the killer had an accomplice who was known in the community.

The Atlantic, Iowa, filmmaker and his wife, Stacy, are producing a documentary on the unsolved bludgeoning of a prominent Villisca couple, their four children and two young houseguests in 1912.

The unsolved mystery has been the source of paranormal investigations, books, films and kitchen table conjectures for almost a century.

Another documentary, "Villisca: Living With a Mystery" is scheduled for release in June.

Pate is not tipping his hand as to who committed the heinous crimes - you will have to see the movie.

Once a skeptic about ghost stories told about the old Moore place - the home of Josiah and Sarah Moore and site of the murders - the director's time behind the camera made him a believer.

"I'd heard a lot of the stories about the murders and the house from my mom," Pate said. "I am the kind of person who would have to see it to believe it."

As part of the filming, Pate and his wife did just that.

"We stayed overnight in the house along with investigators from the Miller Paranormal Team," he said.

The team, from Kansas City, investigates paranormal activities, including the presence of spiritual energy, Pate said.

While the filmmaker won't tell all, he did say he felt someone touching him during the night; and Stacy felt someone playing with her hair and sleeve.

"They took a photo, and there is a white light at the base of her neck," the former skeptic said. "The paranormals who have studied the house claim that Lena and Ina Stillinger (the houseguests slain that night) are very playful and like to touch people," Pate said.

He said that the following night, six volunteers joined the paranormal team at the house, while he filmed the sleepover.

It was during those two overnights that the murderers' identities were revealed, Pate said. And, he said, the evidence will be disclosed in the documentary, which is expected to be released in August.

Some other teasers Pate shared: "We all had a distinct smell of pipe tobacco that went systematically throughout the house, and will explain in the video how this ties to the murderer. The batteries that Jeff (Jeff Brown, who wrote "The J.B. Moore Ballad" detailing the murders) put into his guitar-tuner, just last month, were dead, and these usually last for two to three years."

Pate said he has some good "sleepover" screams on film.

"I guess people have a tendency to scream when the closet door opens then slams shut," he said. "Or how about a bed slat that's already on the floor being lifted and slammed back down?"

He said his and Stacy's company, Movie Memories, is co-producing the film with Studio 9, an Omaha production company.

"The project just got bigger and bigger the more we got into it," Pate said. So the two are combining resources.

He said the movie's lead-in will be a video set to Brown's ballad.

Pate said current plans are to sell documentary videos. He'd like to get the projected 90-minute film onto the big screen but isn't sure that will happen.

"We plan to show it in Villisca and Atlantic and are working with someone in Des Moines," he said.

Pate said a California syndicated public access program, "Let's Talk Paranormal," will broadcast a 30-minute feature once the film is complete. It will air in California, Texas and Arizona, he said.

Pate offers these further tidbits for the cynics he is hoping will take a look at the eerie 1912 murders and their aftermath.

In addition to revealing the murderers, he said the film will tell where they were hiding when the victims arrived home that night, which victims saw the killers, why all the mirrors and bodies were covered and the reason the killings happened.

Pate said the Villisca documentary will also present documented and verified voice recordings of both the murderer and the victims.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=1638&u_sid=1078956

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Two state killing spree

Bizarre killing spree ends in WNC

By Jon Ostendorff and Amy MillerMay 3, 2004 11:06 p.m.



FRANKLIN - A man hunting down his estranged wife went on a two-state killing spree before shooting himself in the head while fleeing police, authorities said Monday.

Douglas Manning McClymont died from the gunshot wound about noon Monday in a Tennessee hospital. Police said he killed a longtime acquaintance in Florida and kidnapped the man's wife before fleeing to Franklin.

McClymont, 36, then shot Joann and James Maney in their home, where they were protecting his estranged wife.

Investigators in Florida believe McClymont kidnapped William Bowes early Sunday. McClymont had known Bowes, 53, of Lake Helen, Fla., for 15 years.

McClymont then stole Bowes truck, shot him and dumped his body off Interstate 4 near DeLand, Fla., before driving to Bowes' home. Police said they do not know what led to the killing.

He then ditched the truck in the woods and entered the house using the keys. Inside he found the man's wife, Deborah Bowes, 34. He took money and jewelry and forced Bowes into her truck and started driving to North Carolina, according to sheriff's investigators in Volusia County, Fla.

Police believe McClymont was looking for his estranged wife, Theresa Lynn Martinez, 41, of Franklin.

Franklin police received a 911 call about a domestic disturbance at the Maney home on West Palmer Street at 10 p.m. Sunday. Two officers went to the house and knocked on the door but no one answered.

Bothered by the lack of response, Sgt. Steve Apel and Officer Dewayne Cabe returned two hours later, Police Chief Terry Bradley said. After knocking numerous times, the two men woke a small child who apparently had been asleep when they visited previously.

Hearing the child crying, the officers forced their way inside, where they discovered Joann Simonds Maney, 61, and James Milles Maney, 60, dead from gunshot wounds. The child, a girl, is the great-grandchild of the Maneys.

The officers learned that Martinez had been visiting the Maneys and might have been kidnapped. The police department sent a message to neighboring counties with the details.

"Had they not gone back to the residence, we could have been delayed many hours getting this investigation started," said Charles Moody, head of the western district for the State Bureau of Investigation.

Court records indicate a history of domestic violence between Martinez and McClymont. In May 2003, Martinez filed a domestic violence protective order in Macon County seeking protection from her husband.

In the civil complaint, the hairdresser said her husband had hit her at their home, then followed her into a fast- food restaurant where he was "pushing and shoving and slapping me."

Martinez also noted that McClymont had faced charges for attempted murder of a Florida police officer. Criminal records from Florida indicate McClymont had been arrested multiple times, with the charges including attempted homicide in September 1985, firing a weapon into a vehicle in November 1985 and an aggravated assault in November 1998.

After hearing about the slayings in Franklin, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office called officers in Macon County. Deputies had chased a truck from a little more than an hour after the Franklin police discovered the bodies, they said.

The driver of the truck, McClymont, shot himself while fleeing from deputies. The truck swerved into a bank on U.S. 64 a few miles west of Murphy. Deputies found Martinez and Bowes inside.

"The lady whose husband was killed in Florida began to tell us she had been kidnapped and that her husband had been killed," said Cherokee County Sheriff Keith Lovin. "The other lady was rather hysterical."

McClymont was taken to Murphy Medical Center and then airlifted to a Tennessee hospital where he died.

Lovin said Bowes and Martinez were interviewed and then left with their families. The Cherokee County sheriff declined to discuss what the women said about McClymont's possible motives, citing the multiple jurisdictions involved in ongoing investigations.

Bradley said McClymont might have taken that answer to the grave.

"Basically, this means we'll never know what he was thinking," he said of the gunman's death.

Investigators in Florida also were trying to piece together a reason for the killings.

"Maybe something snapped in this individual," said Capt. Dave Hudson of the Volusia County Sheriff's Department. "I don't know what it was. The means of violence attached to it would indicate he had major problems."

The Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal contributed to this article. Contact Ostendorff at 452-1467, Ext. 304, or [email protected] or Miller at 232-5922 or [email protected].

-------------------------
TIMELINE

Sunday, 7:27 a.m.: Florida Highway Patrol is notified that a body has been found on the side of Interstate 4 near DeLand. The man is later identified as William Roderick Bowes, 53, of Lake Helen.

Sunday, 7:52 a.m.: Paramedics pronounce Bowes dead. Volusia County Sheriff's Office investigators say he was shot multiple times.

Later Sunday: Douglas Manning McClymont, 36, drives to the victim's home in Lake Helen and abducts his wife, Deborah Bowes, 34.

Sunday, 10 p.m.: Franklin police are dispatched to 368 West Palmer St. to follow up on a domestic disturbance report. They leave after not seeing any signs of activity.

Monday, 12:02 a.m.: Franklin police return to the house to check again because of concern for the owners. They hear a child crying after they bang on the door. The two officers force their way in, where they find the bodies of James and Joann Maney.

Monday, 1:59 a.m.: A Cherokee County Sheriff's Department deputy chases a pickup truck after noticing it had fictitious tags. McClymont was driving the truck.

Monday, 2:20 a.m.: McClymont shoots himself while fleeing from officers and wrecks two miles from Murphy on U.S. 64. Deputies find two kidnap victims, Theresa Lynn Martinez, 41, of Franklin, and Bowes.

http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/regional/54279

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

It is od how people snap - an unsual detail is where her self-inflicted wounds are (and that is an interesting name of the county):

Woman kills her 3 children, boyfriend, self

advertisement


Associated Press
May. 4, 2004 07:10 AM

ZION GROVE, Pa. - A woman killed her three children and her boyfriend, shooting them all in the head, and then took her own life in a deadly spree that lasted at least five hours, authorities said.

The woman, Hollie M. Gable, 39, was alive but suffering from gunshot wounds when police entered her home late Sunday night. The victims were Kenneth M. Cragle, 39; Jared Brown, 18; Kirsten Brown, 16; and Kelsey Brown, 13.

Police said Monday that they had not developed a clear motive.

"We'd certainly like to know, but it may not be a recent event," said state police Lt. Ed Snyder. "It could just be culmination of things that were going on for some time."

A motorist found the body of Kelsey Brown near Route 61 in Conyngham Township in southern Columbia County shortly before 3 p.m. Sunday. Two boys who had been fishing nearby told police they had heard a gunshot a half-hour earlier, authorities said.

Jared Brown's paternal grandmother found his body at the home he and his sisters shared with their father in Hegins Township, Schuylkill County.

After the first two killings, Gable picked up Kirsten Brown from a school event, authorities said. Her body was found in a vehicle parked outside Gable's home on Green Mountain Road.

Police theorize that Gable first shot Cragle, then killed Kelsey and Jared before shooting Kirsten either on the way back to her home or once they arrived there, Snyder said.

Gable came to the door as police arrived at the Zion Grove home around 8 p.m., but she retreated inside, after which police heard four shots, Snyder said. Police secured the area and standoff ensued, during which Gable spoke briefly with authorities by telephone.

"There was some conversation - but nothing that bore anything on the investigation or reasons or anything, really, that would mean anything," Snyder said.

Troopers entered the home three hours later to find Cragle on his bed, dead of a gunshot wound to the head, Schuylkill County District Attorney Frank R. Cori said. Two dogs inside the house also were shot to death.

Gable was alive but unconscious in a living-room chair with what Cori said were at least two self-inflicted gunshot wounds - to the wrist and knee.

A .357-caliber revolver was recovered from inside the home, located in a rural community about 85 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

Gable was flown to Geisinger Medical Center, where she died at 1:30 a.m. Monday. She never regained consciousness, leaving a team of more than a dozen investigators to comb through her background looking for answers.

"I think she did have a history of some mental-health issues," Cori said.

The children's father, Alfred Brown, was contacted and was not believed to be involved in the shootings, Cori said. There was no answer Monday at the phone at the house where the boy's body was found.

Columbia County District Attorney Gary E. Norton told reporters Monday that authorities were examining whether custody battles might have been a motive.

The Schuylkill County prothonotary's office said a custody lawsuit between Gable and Alfred Brown was filed in 1993. The most recent action in the case, which occurred in 2000, reaffirmed that Brown had primary custody of the three children and required Gable to undergo counseling "to assist her in her relationship with the children," according to court documents.

Snyder said the fact that Gable took her own life would make it harder to figure out why the shootings occurred.

"I certainly don't mean to minimize anything, but there's not going to be a trial. So if we can't come up with some of those things, it's not as critical as if she survived," he said.

At the Green Mountain Road home on Monday afternoon, a cat cried as it pawed at the door, and a goat was in a pen on the property. The single-story house was surrounded by a trim lawn and had a well-tended vegetable patch, and construction had begun on what looked like a new front porch.

The Rev. Carl D. Shankweiler, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Valley View, said Kirsten and Kelsey were "wonderful girls" who were active in the church youth group.

He said their father was struggling to cope with the tragedy.

"Obviously it's a big loss for the family. These children were extremely important to him. He was the one who had custody and he was the one raising them," Shankweiler said.

Allan Stauffer, who owns a body shop on Green Mountain Road, less than a mile from the home, said Gable moved in with Cragle about two years ago. He said Cragle worked for a company that plants roadside grass.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0504FiveDead04-ON.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

A lesson to us all about associating with scumbags:

DRUGS AND DEATH: Chain saw killer is locked away for life

'Burn in hell,' a victim's relative shouts in court

May 27, 2004


BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER




Dujuan O'Neal saw ,000 in cash and 40 pounds of marijuana and decided it was worth three lives.

So O'Neal disrupted a drug deal that his friends were conducting in a Corktown duplex that doubled as a dogfighting den. He grabbed a .357 Magnum from a buffet table and shot and killed three men from Sterling Heights who had come to Detroit to sell dope.

Then O'Neal drove to a Home Depot and bought a chain saw. He planned to cut up the men and dispose of their bodies. It didn't work out that way.

On Wednesday, the homicide case that was so gruesome it became the grist for an Elmore Leonard novel concluded during an emotional hearing in Wayne County Circuit Court.

Judge Leonard Townsend sentenced O'Neal to mandatory life in prison with no parole.

Before about 20 family members of the victims, O'Neal, a 36-year-old Detroiter, proclaimed his innocence, blaming two other men who pleaded guilty in the case. One of them testified against him during his weeklong trial earlier this month.

"I'm the wrong person, but I've accepted my fate through God," O'Neal said.

"Burn in hell," one family member shouted.

Townsend said: "He can say he's innocent until hell freezes over. It's not going to change anything."

Townsend told O'Neal he believed the jury had made the correct decision.

"You never testified in this case," Townsend said. "Now you turn to the family and say, 'I didn't do it.' "

O'Neal then got sassy with the judge. "You're playing God and making the rules," he told him.

Family members scoffed at O'Neal's remarks, but some of the seven Wayne County sheriff's deputies reminded them they needed to be quiet.

The murders, which took place Nov. 22, 2002, caught the attention of Leonard, who recounted the scene in his most recent book, "Mr. Paradise." Leonard changed the ancestry of the victims from Chaldean to Mexican, but kept many of the facts.

Leonard wrote about "an old duplex two blocks west of Tiger Stadium, an empty building on the corner and then this house . . . one of 'em had a chain saw taken to him, the chain still in the basement, scorched but brand new, the box sitting there. The tech says there's human tissue in the teeth of the saw."

Police said that after O'Neal shot the victims in the head, he went out to buy the chain saw and returned to the Vermont Street home and used it on the arms, legs and head of 22-year-old Christopher Kasshamoun. The engine seized, though, because O'Neal had failed to add oil. O'Neal left to buy gasoline, came back and set the home on fire.

O'Neal took the ,000 and fled to Spring Valley, N.Y. The resident of the home, Jamale Stewart, who was a friend of the victims, took the marijuana.

They were caught with the help of a confidential informant.

During O'Neal's trial, Stewart testified he had no plans to kill the men. But once the men were dead, he said he had to go along with the cover-up.

Jurors convicted O'Neal on May 10 after only an hour of deliberation.

The two other victims were Kasshamoun's uncle, Wesam Akrawi, 38, and Rany Sharak, 23.

Stewart of Detroit is serving six to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to being an accessory after the fact, along with helping in the mutilation. Another defendant, Raymone Johnson, a 26-year-old Detroiter, also pleaded guilty to the same charges and is serving five to 10 years in prison.

Prosecutors said Johnson helped O'Neal and Stewart bag the dismembered body.

Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Stevens said Stewart's testimony helped seal the case.

"A deal had to be made with him, we needed someone with the information of what was going on in that house," he said.

The victims' family members refused to give their names after the hearing because they fear repercussions from O'Neal's friends.

They said they appreciated the support from Townsend.

"I wish I could have gone up there and hugged Judge Townsend when he spoke out today," one young man said. "We could tell he felt for us and our pain."

http://www.freep.com/news/locway/chain27_20040527.htm

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

You might expect this kind of thing from a man calling himself "The Sausage King":

'Sausage King' boasted after killing

Survivor of attack contradicts grocery manager's testimony


Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, June 11, 2004



A San Leandro sausage factory owner accused of killing three meat inspectors boasted to a friend that he would get out of jail in a few years and that the case would be made into a movie, the lone survivor of the rampage testified Thursday.

Stuart Alexander told Todd Sorce, a meat department manager at a Hayward supermarket who visited him in jail, that the victims "were nothing but a bunch of f -- inspectors" and that he was not remorseful for what he did, said state meat inspector Earl Willis.

Alexander said he was "glad that he did it, thrilled that he did it" and that the meat industry "was going to back him," said Willis, recalling comments that Sorce, who worked at a Lucky store, relayed to him two weeks after the killings.

The self-proclaimed "sausage king" also said "he'd be out in a couple years, and Hollywood would make a movie about him," said Willis, 55, of Elk Grove (Sacramento County), testifying for the second day in the 43-year-old defendant's trial on three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors Jean Hillery, 56, and Tom Quadros, 52, and state Inspector Bill Shaline, 57, were killed on June 21, 2000, at Alexander's factory on Washington Avenue.

Willis' testimony appeared to undercut the testimony a day earlier of Sorce, 45, of Tracy, who denied hugging Willis and saying he was sorry for what occurred.

Under questioning Wednesday by Deputy District Attorney Paul Hora, Sorce also denied that Alexander had made any statements about Hollywood or had said he intended to plead insanity.

Willis has said he ran for his life as Alexander chased him outside the factory and fired five shots at him but missed.

Sorce testified that that he and Alexander did not talk about the case but communicated at times with hand signals during the jailhouse visit. Sorce said Alexander used his hands at one point to indicate that Willis wasn't struck by gunfire because the defendant tripped.

Alexander sprayed the inspectors with gunfire and shot each in the head minutes later as they lay wounded on the floor of the factory lobby, as shown on black-and-white footage from his own security cameras.

Alexander's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Michael Ogul, has acknowledged that Alexander killed the three inspectors but has said he did so only because he had been provoked, harassed and pushed to the breaking point by inspectors bent on enforcing regulations.

Willis will be back on the stand when the trial resumes Monday.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/06/11/BAGR874LG21.DTL

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Five dead in workplace murder-suicide

Saturday, July 3, 2004 Posted: 0527 GMT (1327 HKT)



KANSAS CITY, Kansas (AP) -- A disgruntled worker at a meatpacking plant killed four fellow employees and wounded three others Friday afternoon before committing suicide, police said.

Another employee said the gunman appeared to have targeted particular workers at the ConAgra Foods Inc. plant during the 10-minute rampage, which coincided with the plant's 5 p.m. shift break.

Andre Porter said he heard the gunman tell some people in the cafeteria, "You haven't done anything to me, so you can go."

Deputy police chief Col. Sam Breshears said witnesses told police told gunman was a disgruntled plant employee. Porter said the gunman had a conflict with some co-workers earlier in the week, but didn't describe the conflict.

Police did not immediately release the names of the gunman or the victims.

Breshears said when officers arrived the gunman was still moving through the building, but did not provide details about the circumstances under which the shooter committed suicide.

The three men wounded were being treated at The University of Kansas Hospital, spokesman Bob Hallinan said. One was in critical condition late Friday night, one was in serious condition and one was in fair condition, he said.

Breshears would not say where the shootings occurred, but Porter said the gunman started near the men's locker room, then continued the shooting spree in the cafeteria.

Porter, 38, of Atchison, said he was in the men's locker room when he heard what he later realized were gunshots. He saw the gunman -- without seeing his weapon -- and asked, "What are you doing ... shooting fireworks?"

Porter said the gunman -- whom he knew only as Elijah -- slowed down to acknowledge him, then took off running. That's when Porter saw the weapon, which he described as a handgun.

Then Porter saw a co-worker who had been shot lying near the doorway to the locker room. Porter started walking toward the cafeteria, where he heard 10 to 12 rapid-fire shots.

Porter said he ran to the women's locker room and told everyone to stay there, and told other people he saw wandering around to get out of the building.

Asked why he wasn't shot, Porter said of the gunman, "He was always friendly to me and I was always friendly to him."

Police said two of the men killed were 45 years old, one was 21 and two others had yet to be identified. The critically injured victim was 55, and the other wounded men were 44 and 60, Breshears said.

Many employees had been kept at the plant for hours for interviews with police while friends and family gathered outside, waiting for word.

"Everybody out here is trying to find out if their loved one is a victim or a survivor," said Robert Thompson, whose wife was inside when the shooting took place. Thompson later learned his wife was OK.

The ConAgra plant is located in an industrial section of the city, about four miles southwest of downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

Workers there process and slice meat for deli and sandwich products, company spokesman Bob McKeon said.

ConAgra is working with police in the investigation, but had no other details, McKeon said in a telephone interview from Omaha, Nebraska, where the company is headquartered.

"Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families of the employees who have been involved in this tragedy," McKeon said.

The shooting came a year and a day after an employee of a manufacturing plant in Jefferson City, Missouri, shot eight people, three fatally, before killing himself in front of the city's police headquarters.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/Central/07/02/plant.shooting.ap/index.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Unemployed Hunter Slaughters Family, Pets, Self

Created: 27.07.2004 17:21 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 17:21 MSK, 22 hours 30 minutes ago

MosNews


An unemployed man in Central Russia gunned down his entire family together with the household animals after drinking a bottle of pure alcohol, the Regions.ru news agency reports.

The suspect, a 44-year-old man out of the central Ivanov region, reportedly emptied a bottle of Troyar alcohol upon getting up in the morning, got hold of his double-barrel shotgun, shot his sleeping son point-blank, and proceeded to shoot his wife, who was brushing her teeth.

The man then shot and killed his 11-year-old daughter.

After killing his family, the man headed outside, shooting at everything that moved. First he shot the guard dog, then the cat, and finally all the chickens in the yard.

The man then reportedly phoned his brother, telling him that he had killed his family and warning him not to come into the house. Before police arrived at the scene, the man shot himself in the chest and died.

Police are at the scene investigating the incident. The man was not officially employed, but the family was well off, and the man was a member of a hunting club. He also had an alcohol abuse problem, witnesses were quoted as saying.

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2004/07/27/freak.shtml

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Three dead in Costa Rica hostage drama

Wed 28 July, 2004 07:59




By Daniel Brenes

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - A Costa Rican policeman has shot and killed three people inside the Chilean Embassy he was in charge of protecting and then turned the gun on himself in a dramatic hostage crisis.

Security Minister Rogelio Ramos said police moved into the embassy on Tuesday night and found the bodies of the hostage-taker and his three victims, who included Chile's consul and first secretary.

"When we went in a few minutes ago, we found four people dead," Ramos said, adding the policeman, who was apparently upset about being transferred to another job, killed himself with a bullet to the head.

The police officer was identified as 54-year-old Jose Orlando Jimenez. He led security at the embassy for five years, but took 10 people -- a mix of Chilean diplomats, officials and employees -- hostage on Tuesday afternoon.

Seven of the hostages escaped death by locking themselves in a room inside the embassy.

"It is clear he shot the three people who died and tried to shoot the rest but they took refuge in a room. He tried to open it and when he saw that he couldn't, he shot himself," Ramos told Reuters.

Assault units surrounded the embassy from the start of the crisis and officials used bullhorns to exhort Jimenez to give himself up, but they never managed to open negotiations for a peaceful end to the crisis.

Chilean Interior Minister Jose Miguel Insulza, who is on a visit to Costa Rica, told Chile's state television station the drama inside the embassy was over long before police moved in.

"Unfortunately, the tragedy had already occurred," he said. "There was no way to foresee it."

Costa Rica has long been considered the most stable country in Central America and is a popular tourist destination, but it saw a string of hostage crises in the 1990s.

They included the kidnapping of two European women in Costa Rica's jungle and a case when an armed gang seized 18 Supreme Court justices. Both those crises ended without bloodshed.

Source

 

[TheQuixote]

Seven found stabbed to death in Japan
Mon 2 August, 2004 04:18

TOKYO (Reuters) - Four men and three women have been found stabbed to death in two houses at Kakogawa near the Japanese port city of Kobe, police say.

Domestic media said a 47-year-old man, thought to be the nephew of one of the victims, had been detained in connection with the killings after crashing as he attempted to flee the scene by car.

The man is also thought to have set fire to a neighbouring house, burning it to the ground, Kyodo news agency said, adding that other people had been injured in the incident.

Crime rates have been rising in Japan, with 2.85 million crimes reported in 2002, the highest level since World War Two.

Strict gun laws mean many violent crimes involve knives. A 12-year-old girl was stabbed to death by an 11-year-old classmate in an incident that shocked Japan in June.

In 2001, a former mental patient killed eight children and injured a number of others in a knife attack in a primary school in Japan's second city of Osaka.

Source

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

You might expect this kind of thing from a man calling himself "The Sausage King":

'Sausage King' boasted after killing

Survivor of attack contradicts grocery manager's testimony


Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, June 11, 2004



A San Leandro sausage factory owner accused of killing three meat inspectors boasted to a friend that he would get out of jail in a few years and that the case would be made into a movie, the lone survivor of the rampage testified Thursday.

................

Alexander sprayed the inspectors with gunfire and shot each in the head minutes later as they lay wounded on the floor of the factory lobby, as shown on black-and-white footage from his own security cameras.

Alexander's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Michael Ogul, has acknowledged that Alexander killed the three inspectors but has said he did so only because he had been provoked, harassed and pushed to the breaking point by inspectors bent on enforcing regulations.

.................

Source

Seems this is rumbling on and he is pulling out all the stops to live up to his boast:

Article Last Updated: Friday, September 10, 2004 - 3:47:15 AM PST

Did diminutive brain play role in killings?

'Sausage king' jurors hear of defendant's shrunken cerebrum

By Glenn Chapman, STAFF WRITER

OAKLAND -- San Leandro's former "sausage king" has a shrunken brain, jurors at his triple murder trial were told Thursday.

If 43-year-old Stuart Alexander's cerebrum were being graded by size along a bell curve, it would get an "F," a Utah neuro-image expert said during daylong testimony before Alameda County Superior Court Judge Vern Nakahara.

Erin Bigler stepped to an easel next to the jury box and drew a standard bell curve to illustrate how an analysis of MRI scans taken in December 2003 showed about 99 percent of people Alexander's age have more brain tissue than he does. Bigler is a Brigham Young University professor who specializes in neuropsychology.

"His brain is atrophied," Bigler replied to questioning by Assistant Public Defender Michael Ogul, who called him as a witness. "It is far away from what would be considered a normal brain."

Defense attorneys Jason Clay and Ogul have spent weeks trying to bolster their argument that Alexander is a brain-damaged linguisa factory heir who acted in unreasoned rage when he shot dead three meat inspectors he felt were harassing him.

Alexander has a history of blows to the head stretching from his childhood to a 1997 pickup truck crash on Interstate 880, according to the defense case. Brain scars, along with shrinkage, can impair the ability to process information and control impulse, experts have testified.

"We have proven what I said in my opening statement," Ogul said Thursday when asked how the size of Alexander's brain backed his argument that Alexander shouldn't be convicted of capital murder.

Ogul said Alexander was impulsive because of organic brain damage, and he fixated on his hatred of the meat inspectors.

Prosecutors Jack Laettner and Paul Hora contend Alexander is a lifelong bully who boasted to friends he intended to kill the meat inspectors, dodge accountability by using a mental health defense and then cash in on his story through a book or film.

"Atrophy does not equate to dysfunction," Laettner concluded after Bigler finished testifying for the day.

Laettner noted in court that defense experts hadn't ruled out psychiatric or emotional disorders might be at issue with Alexander instead of brain damage. Laettner had Bigler review the diagnostic criteria for an antisocial personality, which seemed to fit things the jury has learned about Alexander.

"Do you look for hateful ... just plain mean?" Laettner asked Bigler about the way he studies patients.

"We don't have a meanness test," Bigler replied.

Bigler agreed with Laettner that a "sophisticated malingerer" could intentionally score poorly on neuropsychology tests without being exposed by safeguards crafted into exams.

Bigler's testimony capped a week that included an associate of Alexander who told how they both shared "conservative, Republican" values such as the tenet "you are responsible for your actions."

"Stuart Alexander was a law-and-order person, such as myself," said Douglas Smith, who worked for a sign company that dealt with Alexander.

Smith described being frustrated by San Leandro city planning employees during the permit process for a Santos Linguisa Factory sign, and recalled how Alexander maintained local officials were getting back at him for once having run for mayor.

After being arrested for shooting dead federal and state meat inspectors Jean Hillery of Alameda, Tom Quadros and Bill Shaline in the Santos retail room on June 21, 2000, Alexander wrote Smith a letter thanking him for his friendship. The letter was signed "Love, Stuart The Sausage King."

Testimony is to resume Monday.

http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1726~2392545,00.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Oh how the Sausage King has fallen - it does sound like they are having fun in court though!!!:

Article Last Updated: Wednesday, September 15, 2004 - 3:51:10 AM PST



'Sausage king' pulling 'scam,' prosecutor says

Prosecution: Murder suspect feigns insanity

By Glenn Chapman, STAFF WRITER

OAKLAND -- Triple-murder defendant Stuart Alexander coated himself with feces, ate paint chips, flooded his cell and dropped his pants in front of a chaplain to feign insanity, a prosecutor implied Tuesday at the death-penalty trial.

While cross-examining Pinole neuropsychologist Dale Watson, prosecutor Jack Laettner portrayed 43-year-old Alexander as a conniving killer whose loony antics behind bars were part of a "scam" meant to trick jurors into letting him off the hook in the capital case.

Before shooting dead three meat inspectors at Santos Linguisa Factory in San Leandro on June 21, 2000, Alexander bragged openly he could get away with such killings by pretending to be out of his mind, Laettner pointed out in court.

Laettner and fellow prosecutor Paul Hora have contended that Alexander knew exactly what he was doing when he shot USDA meat inspectors Jean Hillery, 56, of Alameda and Thomas Quadros, 52, and state food inspector William Shaline, 57, in the Santos retail sales room.

Alexander's jailhouse behavior in the years after his arrest included attacking a television, drinking toilet water, banging walls, responding in nonsensical sign language to staff, refusing to see psychiatrists and smearing feces on his clothing and in his hair.

Alexander once dumped out a jail trash can on the floor and ran around naked, Laettner informed Watson. Alexander reportedly confided to a girlfriend he was acting mad behind bars to strengthen his defense, according to the prosecutor.

"Do you agree it would be of significance he did these things after talking of a plan to play crazy in jail?" Laettner asked.

"It is either evidence of malingering or psychiatric illness," Watson replied.

Objections by Assistant Public Defender Michael Ogul prompted Alameda County Superior Court Judge Vern Nakahara to chide Ogul for making "speaking objections" that included information Watson appeared to incorporate in responses.

"You don't have to signal him," Nakahara told Ogul. "This witness knows how to testify."

Ogul erupted in protest, prompting Nakahara to send jurors from the courtroom.

"Are you going to lose it today?" Nakahara asked, hearkening back to a trial day that ended with Ogul challenging Laettner to duke it out. "Why are you turning red?"

Ogul denied being ready to snap. The florid attorney turned to a bailiff and asked, "Am I red?" The bailiff did not reply.

Nakahara warned Ogul he would hold him in contempt of court with each and every future "speaking objection." Proper objections are to consist of a lawyer rising and briefly stating grounds such as "relevance" or "hearsay."

Ogul accused the judge of misconduct and demanded a mistrial.

The judge and Ogul verged on yelling over each other as Ogul accused Nakahara of giving jurors the impression Watson wasn't credible because Ogul was signaling him. Ogul denied doing anything of the sort.

"It does not go to the credibility of the witness," Nakahara said. "It goes to you. It goes to your credibility."

Ogul then accused Nakahara of acting on a decades-old grudge rooted in a time Ogul bested the judge's wife at a trial, when she was a prosecutor. Ogul had maintained that a defendant shot a woman repeatedly because he thought she was a "Bouda," or sorceress. The jury convicted the man on charges less than the attempted murder count sought by the prosecutor, who suffered the embarrassment of losing to what had been derisively dubbed "The Voodoo Defense," Ogul argued.

Ogul demanded Nakahara excuse himself from the Alexander trial.

"You've got to be kidding me Mr. Ogul," Nakahara replied. "I'm doing this because of a case my wife tried against you 20 years ago? This is absolutely ridiculous."

Nakahara denied Ogul's motions, then had Watson resume testimony before jurors.

Watson was called by defense attorneys Jason Clay and Ogul to back their claim that Alexander's brain is shrunk and the part of it controlling impulse and information processing is damaged. Alexander felt harassed by the inspectors, and his ability to stop himself from killing them was impaired, according to his lawyers.

http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1726~2402710,00.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Quadruple Slaying Trial Ends With Guilty Pleas

Herrera To Be Sentenced Oct.29

POSTED: 9:46 pm MDT October 1, 2004
DENVER -- A man charged with killing four people after binding them with duct tape and shooting them in the head as one of the victim's 3-year-old daughter watched pleaded guilty to the slayings Friday.

Edward Herrera, 51, will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences on Oct. 29, said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver district attorney's office.

Herrera pleaded guilty to four counts of felony murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder for the August 2003 slayings and shootings of two people who survived. Herrera's plea ends his trial, which began earlier this week.

Herrera's son, Michael Sandoval, also pleaded guilty Friday to one count of aggravated robbery and will be sentenced to 15 years in prison, Kimbrough said. His trial had been scheduled for December.

District Attorney Bill Ritter in March said he would not seek the death penalty because the wounded witnesses provided conflicting testimony on who fired the shots.

The four victims, Blanca Duenas-Balbuena, 21; Rose Amador, 46; Amador's brother, Filbert "Bobby" Pacheco, 47; and Pacheco's girlfriend, Sally Mendoza, 47, were found dead shortly after midnight Aug. 7, 2003.

Carlos Balbuena, 22, and another man, Douglas Kubo, 39, were both wounded in the attack.

Herrera and Amador were estranged boyfriend and girlfriend and the slayings happened at Amador's house.

According to court documents, Herrera told Sandoval he was robbing a "crack house" for easy money. Sandoval said he drove his father to the home and helped bind the victims, but when he went to get the car, he heard gunshots and sped away from the home, leaving his father behind.

Family members said Duenas-Balbuena's 3-year-old daughter witnessed the slayings.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3778467/detail.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

He certainly went the whole hog - killed his family, burnt big parts of Yosemite and then topped himself.

Bizarre Twist To Brentwood Killings

POSTED: 8:53 pm PDT October 17, 2004
UPDATED: 4:17 pm PDT October 18, 2004

BRENTWOOD, Calif. -- Police believe a man suspected of killing his wife and two daughters in a Northern California suburb later committed suicide after starting a fire that burned 2,000 acres in Yosemite National Park.

Police found the bodies of Michelle Celebrini, 32, and her daughters, 6-year-old Nina Celebrini and 9-year-old Samantha Foutch, a child from a previous marriage, on Saturday. They were discovered in Brentwood, a community about 50 miles east of San Francisco.

Officials have not released the cause of death. But police believe that Richard Celebrini killed his wife and the girls.

Another daughter, Jessica Foutch, was away from home at the time, celebrating her birthday with her father in Livermore.

Later Saturday, rangers in a remote area of the Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy basin found a body that they believe is that of an arsonist who started the 2,000-acre blaze.

Brentwood police Sgt. Tom Hansen said investigators suspect the body is that of Richard Celebrini. They were still waiting for a positive identification Monday from the Tuolumne County Coroner's office, where the body was sent for examination.

Autopsy results were not released Sunday, but park spokesman Scott Gediman said the suspected arsonist appears to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

On Friday, visitors told park rangers they saw a man lighting fires and brandishing a gun on a hiking trail in the Hetch Hetchy basin. The body found Saturday closely matches the description of the suspected arsonist, Gediman said.

The fire burned in rugged wilderness in the northwest portion of the park, where no structures or roads were threatened. Steady rainfall helped put out most of the fire by Sunday, Gediman said.

Richard Celebrini's mother, Helen Celebrini of San Leandro, told the Contra Costa Times that her son had lived in Brentwood for six years.

"He was a wonderful son," she said.

Neighbors in Brentwood held morning and evening vigils Sunday.

"Everyone in the neighborhood is just numb right now," said Peanut Samuda, who lives next door to the Celebrinis.

Clay Foutch, the father of Samantha and Jessica, spoke to the crowd tearfully, saying, "You all will be a big part of Jessica's healing, and I'm grateful for that."

Several neighbors described Richard Celebrini as quiet but nice, and said he visited Yosemite often.

Some acquaintances said the couple had had relationship problems.

Neighbor Michelle Larkin, whose four children were friends with the Celebrini girls, said Michelle Celebrini "was a great person who always had a great smile, and the girls reflected that -- the liveliness of their mother. They were very happy. They were always together, and they were very protective of each other."

--------------------
Copyright 2004 by KTVU.com.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/3827748/detail.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

And its good to see (given the various weird things his defence came up with) that he has been convicted of a distinctly unpleasant crime:

'Sausage King' Convicted In Meat Inspector Murders

3 Inspectors Gunned Down At San Leandro Factory In 2000

POSTED: 4:36 pm PDT October 19, 2004
UPDATED: 7:50 am PDT October 20, 2004

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The self-proclaimed "sausage king" of San Leandro has been convicted of three counts of first-degree murder for killing three meat inspectors in 2000 at his factory.

Stuart Alexander shot and killed two federal inspectors and one state inspector at his Santos Linguisa Factory, an incident caught on surveillance videotape and shown to jurors during the trial.

A fourth inspector escaped unharmed and testified against Alexander during his five-month trial.

Defense lawyers had argued that Alexander killed the inspectors only after months of harassment. They said the provocation should have contributed to voluntary manslaughter convictions.

Public defender Michael Ogul even put experts on the stand who said Alexander has an abnormally small brain, damaged from a car accident and boxing.

Alexander now faces a possible death sentence.

---------------
Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press.

http://www.thekcrachannel.com/news/3834128/detail.html

Article Last Updated: Wednesday, October 20, 2004 - 6:55:58 AM PST


'Sausage king' is guilty in 3 killings

By Glenn Chapman, STAFF WRITER

OAKLAND -- San Leandro's former "sausage king" was declared guilty as charged Tuesday with murdering three meat inspectors at his family-founded San Leandro linguisa plant in 2000.

Stuart Alexander pursed his lips as Alameda County Superior Court Clerk Kristi O'Hern read aloud verdicts that qualify the 43-year-old sausage empire heir for punishment by execution.

The panel found Alexander guilty of the first-degree murders of U.S. Department of Agriculture compliance officers Jean Hillery of Alameda and Thomas Quadros and state food inspector William Shaline at Santos Linguisa Factory on June 21, 2000. Jurors also found Alexander guilty of trying to shoot dead state food inspector Earl Willis, who dodged Alexander's bullets as he sprinted from the now-defunct linguisa plant that day.

Alexander murdered the government agents as retaliation for, or to prevent them from, doing their jobs, jurors concluded after nearly six months of hearing testimony and evidence.

Quadros' brother and sister-in-law sat with Hillery's three daughters and one of her grandchildren in the front row of the nearly packed gallery behind prosecutors Paul Hora and Jack Laettner. The loved ones linked hands in a chain that began with John Quadros and ended with 11-year-old Andrew Lehman. Each waited anxiously for the verdicts to be read, then yielded to grief-tinged tears of joy as O'Hern revealed the guilty verdicts.

"I've waited four years to hear those words," said Hillery's eldest daughter, Sheri Lehman, who came with her son from Iowa for the culmination of the guilt phase of the trial.

Judge Vernon Nakahara dismissed jurors for the day, telling them to return to his Oakland courtroom next week for the start of a penalty phase that will end with the panel recommend ing whether Alexander be executed or imprisoned for life with no chance of parole. Family members stepped to the wooden rail and hugged Laettner and Hora, whose eyes watered by the time the embraces were done.

"I feel this is a good jury and wanted to do the right thing," Laettner concluded. "Without a doubt, this was the right verdict. Any other verdict would have been wrong."

Defense attorneys Jason Clay and Michael Ogul vowed to continue their fight to keep Alexander off death row.

"I think the jury knows, right now, that Stuart Alexander is not a predator," Ogul said, referring to death penalty pursuit as vengeful "vigilante justice." "It is not necessary to kill him to protect society. ... The death penalty is not meant for hot-blooded crimes."

The penalty phase is to emphasize Alexander's character as well as the trauma suffered by the families and friends of 52-year-old Quadros of Hayward, 54-year-old Hillery of Alameda and 57-year-old Shaline of Sacramento.

Among the evidence expected in the next phase is a lifelong pattern of thuggery by Alexander, including him beating an elderly man bloody and trying to enlist people to kill a San Leandro police officer as well as the executor of his late father's estate.

"Society has to value the lives of those average people who do average jobs, especially those who work to protect public safety," Quadros' brother, John, said when asked how he hoped the penalty phase turns out. "Society can't disregard that and has to make a clear stand."

The Quadroses and Hillery's three daughters maintained that the verdicts validated their certainty that the inspectors were ambushed and shot dead for being devoted professionals out to safeguard people's health. They decried public defenders Ogul and Clay for trying to convince jurors inspectors were harassing Alexander as part of a malicious campaign to ruin Santos.

"Any such association is absolutely absurd and is the most vile and vicious type of slander we could ever imagine," Lehman said while flanked by the Quadroses and her sisters, Jo Ann of San Diego and Barbara of San Jose. "Every defendant is entitled to the best defense, no matter how ludicrous, insulting and preposterous. However, we feel this defense strategy and its participators sunk to new lows, and the jury was wise to see through the complete fabrications, distortions and lies."

John Quadros and his wife, Kathy, attended the proceedings daily. The Fremont couple deemed it "despicable" that the defense accused meat inspectors of being at fault because they didn't let Alexander defy them and food safety rules at Santos.

Alexander was a bully with a penchant for brutally punishing those who didn't let him have his way, according to prosecutors. Evidence indicated Alexander long mulled a plan to teach all meat inspectors "a lesson" by killing some at Santos and then getting off light with a contrived mental health defense.

"Our thought and prayers go out to the families of these brave public servants who were murdered mercilessly. ... They embodied the commitment and dedication to public service that is at the very core of our workforce," said Department of Agriculture spokesman Dan Puzo. "We will never forget their sacrifice, and their memory will continue to live through the efforts of their colleagues in ensuring food safety for all Americans."

Puzo said the Santos slayings have "made a big difference in what we do" and have prompted changes in the way inspectors deal with problematic situations.

Jurors deliberated about three days before delivering their verdicts to Nakahara in the Rene Davidson Courthouse mid-afternoon Tuesday.

"This was such a moral victory," said Kathy Quadros. "It was important to validate the lives of these people. Maybe they are at peace now."

http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~2480192,00.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Hunting humans!!

Last update: November 22, 2004 at 6:34 AM

Wisconsin shootings kill 5

Terry Collins, Chuck Haga, Larry Oakes, Chao Xiong and Richard Meryhew, Star Tribune
November 22, 2004 HUNTERS1122



BIRCHWOOD, WIS. -- At least five people were killed and three wounded in a multiple shooting in northwestern Wisconsin Sunday afternoon. After a confrontation over the use of a deer stand, a 36-year-old St. Paul man apparently chased some of the victims through a heavily wooded area, authorities said.

Chai Soua Vang, 36, was arrested early Sunday evening in Sawyer County, Wis., said Sawyer County Sheriff's Deputy Jake Hodgkinson. Vang lives on St. Paul's East Side, police spokesman Paul Schnell said.

Vang was being held in the Sawyer County Jail in Hayward.

Tim Zeigle, chief deputy for the Sawyer County Sheriff's Department, said Sunday night that four men and one woman were among the dead.

Zeigle said the bodies were found "a long way from each other," indicating the killer chased them down after the initial confrontation and as several hunters came to assist their colleagues.

Investigators found two bodies next to each other, with a third 50 yards away, the fourth 75 yards from the third and the final body 100 yards from the fourth, Zeigle said.

They were killed with an SKS assault-style rifle, he added.

"He was picking them off," Zeigle said, adding that some were shot more than once. "He was chasing after them and killing them."

Authorities were still working on the crime scene late Sunday night.

Two of the victims were identified by friends Sunday as Robert Crotteau, about 41, and his son, Joey, about 20.

'A good family'

"This is not supposed to happen to people you know," said Mark Miller, owner of Fat Man's, a Rice Lake tavern where Robert Crotteau often stopped by for lunch.

Miller also believed two others who were killed were a father and daughter.

Crotteau owned a concrete company in town, said longtime Rice Lake City Council Member Marv Thompson said.

"They're a good family," Thompson said. "They're decent people. Deer hunting is real big in their family and a lot of households around here."

Zeigle said that a man dressed in hunting clothes was occupying a tree stand on private property around noon Sunday. He did not have permission to hunt on the land and was asked by a group of deer hunters to leave.

After one man was shot, he used a walkie-talkie to contact others in his party nearby that he needed help. When members of his party came out, they also were shot, Zeigle said.

Roads near the scene were closed to all traffic, including ambulances, as authorities from sheriff's departments in Sawyer, Rusk and Barron counties were involved in the manhunt.

According to broadcast reports, the man then fled into the woods and came upon another hunter who was able to tell him how to get out.

When he got out, he was met by a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officer who contacted police.

Officers arrested Vang without incident. His rifle was empty.

Zeigle said authorities were notified of the shootings shortly after noon, when a member of the hunting party stopped at a gas station in the Birchwood while taking one of the victims to the hospital.

The caller said simply, "There were five people dead in the woods," Zeigle said.

Deputies were immediately dispatched to the scene and found the bodies in the brush. The injured were taking to hospitals. At that point, authorities started their search for Vang, taking to county roads and the air hoping to find him.

One of the hunters had given authorities Vang's "tag number," which identifies deer hunters when they get their licenses. The hunter had written the number down during the confrontation that sparked the shooting.

'Prayed for safe hunt'

Three wounded men were taken to Lakeview Medical Center in Rice Lake, Wis. One of the victims, Denny Drew, had surgery and was in serious condition, said Jennifer Greshowak, the hospital's director of community relations. Another, Lauren Hesebeck, also had surgery, and he was in fair condition.

A third victim was flown to a trauma center in Marshfield, Wis., and was listed in critical condition.

Hesenbeck's wife, Theresa Hesenbeck, who also is Drew's sister, said Sunday night that she learned about the shootings shortly after leaving church, where she had "prayed for a safe hunt."

Drew was shot in the stomach. The bullet went in one side and out the other, family members said. They added that Lauren Hesenbeck was shot in the arm and the bullet exited through his back.

The shootings happened in Meteor Township in southwestern Sawyer County, between the cities of Birchwood and Exeland.

The Drew and Hesebeck family said in a statement Sunday that they "certainly appreciate the thoughts and prayer of this close-knit community and encourage you to think and pray for the other families involved."

Wisconsin's statewide deer gun hunting season started Saturday and lasts for nine days.

Miller said he used to play fast-pitch softball with Robert Crotteau and his brothers. Miller said he brought a car this spring from Denny Drew, "and Lauren Hesenbeck rode with me to put gas in it. It's a small town and everybody knows everybody.

"It's going to be strange working [today]. It's all that people will be talking about."

The arrested man, Vang, lives in an aging, two-story house on St. Paul's lower East Side.

He and his family apparently moved into the neighborhood earlier this year, said John Black, a lifelong resident of the neighborhood who lives across the street.

Black and his wife, Cheryl, said Sunday night that the family pretty much kept to themselves, rarely interacting with neighbors. They said they never spoke with the man, but described him as "real clean-cut" and "nicely dressed."

'We're floored'

John Black said he believed there were several children living in the home, but added that he didn't know how many there were or what their relation to Vang might be.

"We never had any problems with them," Black, 56, said. "We never heard a peep out of those guys, to be honest with you. We're floored. What would take a guy to that point?"

John Black said he was watching a football game sometime after 3:30 p.m. Sunday when he noticed some commotion outside and saw several unmarked police cars pull up in front of Vang's house.

"They wouldn't tell us anything," said Black, who eventually found out what was going on from a TV cameraman.

At one point, Black said, police led a woman from the house, shielding her from cameras by covering her face with a blanket.

Source

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Posted on Fri, Nov. 26, 2004

Man with knife kills 8 at Chinese school

BEIJING — A man armed with a knife killed eight people today at a high school in central China and wounded four others, a government news agency reported.

Police were searching for the attacker following the killings in Ruzhou, a city in Henan province, the Xinhua News Agency said. It did not give any other details.

China has suffered a series of knife attacks in schools and day-care centers in recent months.

Source

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Article Last Updated: Monday, November 29, 2004 - 9:46:11 AM PST

'Sausage King' defense tries for life

Jury to decide between prison, death in penalty phase of trial

By Glenn Chapman, STAFF WRITER

OAKLAND -- Stuart Alexander's mother is to testify Monday as defense attorneys wrap up their battle to get jurors to spare the life of San Leandro's former "Sausage King," convicted of killing three meat inspectors in June 2000.

Closing arguments in the penalty phase of 43-year-old Alexander's trial could begin by Tuesday. Jurors are to decide whether Alexander should be executed for gunning down federal and state meat inspectors Jean Hillery, William Shaline and Thomas Quadros at Santos Linguisa Factory.

Alexander's mother, Shirley Eckhart, has attended nearly every day of her son's trial before Alameda County Superior Court Judge Vernon Nakahara. She has held firm that her son was a decent man who was "out of his mind" when he went on the killing spree at the linguisa plant.

Defense attorneys Jason Clay and Michael Ogul have ushered dozens of people from Alexander's past into court to depict him as generous, charitable, compassionate and driven to a horrid mistake by stress and cumulative head trauma.

Alexander's reasoning eroded after a 1997 pickup truck crash in which he slammed his head, said Eve Bechtel, whose last name was Elder when she dated Alexander.

"I just didn't see real clear thinking, choice wise," Bechtel said of the post-crash Alexander. "Kind of irrational."

Alexander took over Santos after his father died about a decade ago. Alexander had "huge stress levels" from running the plant, operating a hauling business and working as a garbage man, Bechtel said.

"I think he wanted his dad's approval," Bechtel testified. "After his dad passed away, he really went out on a limb to buy all the properties and the linguisa factory and all that. He wanted to keep it all."

Alexander was living with his divorced dad in a "dysfunctional" family when he and Bechtel began dating about 1983, she said.

Alexander worked at Santos after school. He eventually quit, complaining his dad didn't pay him enough, and he left home to live with Bechtel and her mother in Oakland, she testified. The couple later bought a San Leandro house and moved in together.

Alexander routinely worked himself into exhaustion, said Bechtel and others.

Bechtel left Alexander in 1997, she said. Alexander changed the house locks, preventing her from getting her belongings without his permission, she said.

He still owes her $40,000 for her share of the property value and money she lent him, she testified.

Alexander's aversion to marriage was reportedly among the reasons Bechtel left him.

"He didn't think (marriage) really worked," testified an Alexander friend, Julie Fletcher of Sacramento. "He believes that marriage lasts about 10 years and then the wife usually ends up with half, if not more than that."

One of Alexander's previous girlfriends, married and pregnant with her first child when she testified, told of being 15 years old and Alexander four years her senior when they began a relationship.

Laura Lovell said Alexander avoided his father, who yelled at him a lot. She recounted sneaking out of Alexander's bedroom window and climbing down from a balcony at times as his dad arrived home.

Prosecutors Jack Laettner and Paul Hora pointed out the stealthy escapes and paternal ire could have been the result of the father's disapproval of Alexander's 2-year dalliance with an underage girl.

"He was a good boyfriend, in that he would send me flowers and take me out to dinners and stuff," Lovell said, recalling her teenage awe when Alexander gave her a diamond ring. "He was not a good boyfriend, because I think he was dating a lot of other girls at the same time."

Lovell told of passing out drunk at Alexander's house once, only to have him wake her with a dousing of water and delivering her home drenched.

Alexander didn't have a "tight-knit loving family" and routinely ate his meals at a local hickory pit restaurant, Lovell said. He had a "short fuse" and worked out his aggression at a boxing gym, said Lovell.

Alexander's trademark jocularity vanished after Bechtel left and the deaths of his father and Mike Nolan, a friend who had been Fletcher's spouse, witnesses testified. Alexander asked Fletcher on a date after Nolan's death, she said, calling the effort a "silly gesture that didn't go anywhere."

Witnesses told of Alexander donating linguisa to charities, handing out $2 bills to children, driving vintage cars in parades, helping fellow business owners and being generous to friends. Organizations he took part in ranged from the Buon Tempo Italian club to the Boys and Girls Club and Portuguese societies. Alexander also contributed to the 100 Club, which raises money for families of slain Alameda County police.

Alexander joined in the hunt for robbers he spied making a getaway from a market heist in San Francisco one night, according to testimony.

Alameda County sheriff's deputies called to testify told of Alexander causing no trouble in Santa Rita county jail in Dublin.

"Stuart would like to make an entrance," Deputy Mike Vales said. "He would be the last one out of his cell ... kind of stand on the upper tier ... look down at me, flex his biceps, kiss each biceps and then walk down the stairs."

Inmates gave Alexander a spot at the head of the food line.

"You have to have some kind of respect to be able to get your food first," said sheriff's Deputy Gena Livenspargar.

Source

 

[PlagueRider]

A few years ago I saw a book on serial killers in a bargain bookshop and was interested in getting it - but at the time was rather skint. A few days later I went into another of their stores to see if they had it there. Upon asking the lovely lady behind the cash desk if she had 'a large book on serial killers' I got the strangest looks from her and others queuing up. Surely I don't look like the type to kick off my own spree, do I?

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

And the end of the Sausage King - hes had his chips!!:

'Sausage king' receives death sentence

Case of man killing meat inspectors faces automatic appeal

Wednesday, February 16, 2005 Posted: 1905 GMT (0305 HKT)

OAKLAND, California (AP) -- A sausage factory owner was sentenced to death Tuesday for killing three meat inspectors nearly five years ago.

Stuart Alexander, 43, the self-proclaimed "sausage king," was convicted in October of three counts of first-degree murder for the 2000 shooting deaths of two federal inspectors and one state inspector at his factory in San Leandro.

A jury recommended December 14 that he be put to death, and an Alameda County judge upheld the sentence. The case will be automatically appealed to the state Supreme Court.

Alexander's public defenders had argued that their client was driven to kill after months of harassment by the inspectors, and the death penalty wasn't intended for "emotion driven killings."

Prosecutors argued that Alexander hatched a "diabolical plan" to kill the inspectors, get away with it by pleading insanity, then write a book or movie to profit and gain notoriety from the crime.

The murders were captured on the factory's surveillance videotape, which was shown to jurors during the five-month trial.

After Alexander killed the three inspectors, he fired at and chased a fourth inspector for several blocks from the Santos Linguisa Factory.

------------------
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.

Source

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Police: Gunman kills 7 at church meeting

Suspect then shot himself to death, chief says

Sunday, March 13, 2005 Posted: 0154 GMT (0954 HKT)


(CNN) -- A gunman opened fire at a church meeting in a Wisconsin hotel Saturday afternoon, leaving seven people dead or dying before killing himself, police said.

The gunman died from a self-inflicted wound at the scene; four other people also died at the scene, and three died at a hospital.

The shooting occurred in Brookfield, a community of 6,420 people about 15 miles west of Milwaukee.

Of those who were shot, the youngest victim was about 10 years old and the oldest was around 72, Brookfield police Chief Daniel Tushaus said.

Four people remained in hospitals.

None of the victims' names were released. They were members of the Living Church of God, an international evangelical denomination based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Tushaus said police responded to a call from the Sheraton Hotel at 12:51 p.m. (1:51 p.m. ET).

"We quickly determined that a multiple shooting had occurred, and the suspect involved apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound," the chief said. "There are no other suspects being sought at this time.

"The suspect is the person we believe is responsible for the shooting incident."

Tushaus said the gunman's motive was unknown, and he didn't know if the shooter, who used a handgun, targeted certain people.

Nine-year-old Bridget Healy of Chicago, Illinois, said she heard the shots.

"I just heard a woman screaming 'help.' Someone call 911. Somebody's shot," said Bridget, who said she quickly went to tell her mother.

"My biggest concern was the children. I didn't want them to see anything," Janet Healy said.

She said people moved quickly, and many were visibly upset. She said she approached two men who were crying and said, "I'm sorry."

Source

 

[lopaka]

Longer piece about the above. With the pats in bold to emphasize the End Times-ism aspect of the story. It's hard to tell how much the press is playing up this angle and/or just demonizing a group with marginal beliefs.

Police: Church Gunman Upset Over Sermon

By JULIET WILLIAMS and RYAN NAKASHIMA
BROOKFIELD, Wis. (AP) - The man who fatally shot seven people during a quiet church service before turning the gun on himself was on the verge of losing his job and upset over a sermon he heard two weeks ago, investigators said Sunday.

Terry Ratzmann, 44, left no suicide note and gave no explanation for the killings during Saturday's weekly meeting at a suburban Milwaukee hotel. It was unclear what specifically upset him, but Ratzmann was a member of the Living Church of God, a denomination whose leader recently prophesied that end times are near.

Fifty to 60 people were at the service when it turned into a bloodbath. Ratzmann, a buttoned-down churchgoer known for sharing his homegrown vegetables with his neighbors, walked into the room and fired 22 rounds from a 9mm handgun. He even dropped a magazine and reloaded another.

One of Ratzmann's friends begged him to stop, calling him by name and saying, ``Stop, stop, why?'' police Capt. Phil Horter said. Chandra Frazier dove under a chair. The man sitting in it died.


``I just remember crawling on the carpet and just praying, screaming out and praying,'' Frazier told ``Good Morning America'' on Sunday.

After killing seven people and wounding four others, Ratzmann took his own life, leaving four rounds in his gun, police said.

The church's minister, Randy L. Gregory, 51, and his son, James Gregory, 16, of Gurnee, Ill., died, along with Harold Diekmeier, 74, of Delafield; Richard Reeves, 58, of Cudahy; Bart Oliver, 15, of Waukesha; Gloria Critari, 55, of Cudahy; and Gerald A. Miller, 44, of Erin, according to police and published reports.

Marjean Gregory, 52, of Gurnee, was hospitalized in critical condition. Matthew P. Kaulbach, 21, of Pewaukee and Angel M. Varichak, 19, of Helenville were hospitalized in satisfactory condition Sunday, a hospital spokeswoman said. A 10-year-old girl police identified as Lindsay was released from the hospital.

About 10 people attended a short vigil Sunday night outside the hotel, holding candles and praying. They gathered near a snow bank in front of a large makeshift memorial, which included more than 40 bouquets of flowers and 20 stuffed animals laid in front of seven white crosses.

Each cross had a victim's name and age. In the back, leaning against a tree with some bouquets, was an eighth cross bearing Ratzmann's name.

Becky Niedfeldt, 15, attended the vigil because she knew Oliver. ``He'd take care of you even if he barely knew you,'' she said.

The church group was 20 or 30 minutes into Saturday's service when the shots rang out.

Ratzmann regularly attended the gatherings at the Sheraton each Saturday - the church group did not have a building of its own. But Frazier said Ratzmann walked out of a recent sermon ``sort of in a huff.''

``Something that the minister said he was upset about. I'm not quite sure what exactly,'' she said.

During the shooting rampage, Ratzmann told the friend who approached him that he was upset, said Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher, although he was unsure over what.

He was not known to have threatened anyone and had no criminal record, police said. They seized three computers, a .22-caliber rifle and a box of bullets from the modest two-story home Ratzmann shared with his mother and adult sister.

Neighbors said Ratzmann built his own greenhouse, kept a well-tended garden and even used humane traps to free squirrels that got in the yard.

``He wasn't a dark guy. He was average Joe,'' said Shane Colwell, a neighbor who knew Ratzmann for about a decade. ``It's not like he ever pushed his beliefs on anyone else.''

But another neighbor called Ratzmann a drinker, and church members said he struggled with depression for years.

``Terry suffered from depression, on and off. When he was really depressed he didn't talk to people. Sometimes it was worse than others,'' said Kathleen Wollin, 66, who was sitting at the front of the room during Saturday's service.

The district attorney said Ratzmann was on the verge of losing his job as a computer technician. Ratzmann had been working for an employment agency, assigned to a health care company.

Colwell said Ratzmann was so devout about attending church that he skipped Colwell's wedding because it was on a Saturday.

The Living Church of God, based in Charlotte, N.C., places a strong emphasis on using world events to prove the end of the world is near.

Earlier this year, the group's leader, Roderick C. Meredith, wrote that events prophesied in the Bible are ``beginning to occur with increasing frequency.''

``We are not talking about decades in the future. We are talking about Bible prophesies that will intensify within the next five to 15 years of your life,'' he wrote in the church's magazine, Tomorrow's World.

The church branch that met in Brookfield was started by Randy Gregory, who moved his family from Texas to Gurnee, Ill., five years ago, said next-door neighbor Toni D'Amore, 47. Gregory and his 16-year-old son, James, were among the victims.

``Their children were probably, I'd have to say, were probably some of the nicest and most respectable young men I've ever met,'' she said.

She said James excelled in school. ``He just had potential coming out of every pore of his body. You know, the world's lost something there.''

Don Free's niece, Angel Varichak, was one of the wounded. Free said she was expected to survive.

``I wanted to know where God was when this happened,'' Free told the Chicago Sun-Times. ``He was supposed to be everywhere. He could have at least been there.''


03/14/05 04:10

© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved

SOURCE

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

lopaka: Interesting follow up - what do we know about this group?

Emps

 

[lopaka]

They are apparently a sect that split from The Worldwide Church of God after the death of the founder, Herbert W. Armstrong in 1986. They're not 7th Day Adventists, but share a broadly similar theological outllook.

Saturday is to be recognized as the Lord's day, and

The second coming of Jesus will happen in the immediate future.

In addition

Another foundational belief of the WCG is Anglo/British Israelism: that the British (and by extension Americans, Canadians, Australians, and others) are the spiritual and literal descendants of the ancient Israelites.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/wwcog.htm

That's from the overview of the parent church.

The website of the actual group is http://www.livingcog.org/

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Gunman Denied Bond for Shooting Rampage in MD and DE

First posted 9:32 a.m., 04/07/05; Last updated 3:45 p.m., 04/08/05

SALISBURY- Chaos reigned in the courtroom as shooting suspect Allison Lamont Norman yelled obscenities and expletives as well as claimed he was the "son of God" during his Friday morning bond hearing at the District Court of Maryland in Salisbury.

When Judge R. Scott Davis warned Norman, "I'm going to eliminate your ability to speak," the 22-year-old man replied, "I'm going to eliminate you."

Norman was denied bail as a result of Thursday's multiple shootings in the Salisbury, Delmar and Laurel areas that left two people dead and four wounded.

Also during his bail review, Norman refused a preliminary hearing. He has 10 days to request a preliminary hearing if he changes his mind. He will be returned to his holding cell at the Wicomico County Detention Center in Salisbury.

In Maryland, the police have charged Norman with first-degree murder and handgun offenses, including the use of a handgun during the commission of a crime of violence, a felony. Other charges, including attempted murder, are pending, according to the police.

In Delaware, the state police filed charges on Friday against Norman. Once Norman is returned to Delaware, he will be charged with first degree murder, two counts of first degree attempted murder, three counts of wearing body armor during the commission of a felony, three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, three counts of possession of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited and felony theft.

A motive for the shootings has also not been released yet. Detectives are exploring several possible motives, including the possibility that the shootings were done randomly.

Norman, who police originally said was from Seaford, lived at Carvel Gardens Apartments in Laurel, according to Maryland District Court charging documents.

Delaware court documents reveal that Norman is no stranger to the law. According to court documents, Norman has been arrested at least 21 times in Delaware alone since age 12 for various offenses including trafficking cocaine, resisting arrest, consumption of alcohol as a minor, consumption of narcotics, disorderly conduct and possession of drugs with intent to deliver. He also was arrested five different times for violation of probation.

Norman still has two active cases in the Delaware Superior Court. Court records also indicate that Norman was put in a work program for drug offenders, but was terminated from that program for failing to return.

Delaware Department of Correction spokeswoman Beth Welch said a judge sentenced Norman in June of last year to an additional 18 months of probation for violating probation on an earlier conviction charge of possession of drugs within 1,000 feet of a school.

And in Maryland, the Wicomico State's Attorney's Office said a warrant was issued for Norman's arrest when he failed to appear in court on Wednesday on charges related to a shooting incident at the Thirsty's convenience store in Delmar last Oct. 16. During the gun fight, Norman was shot twice while sitting in his car and Norman also fired shots, according to the state's attorney's office. Following the incident, Norman was taken to the hospital where he underwent surgery and was discharged.

Norman's girlfriend, Ashley Dean told WBOC that it was hard to believe that her boyfriend committed these deadly acts of violence.

"Why would he do this?" Dean said. "Why would he do this? He has no reason to."

Dean said she she did not believe Norman committed the crimes but there were witnesses who say he allegedly did.

"I don't know for certain," Dean said. "I'm just going by what people are saying. I don't believe he did this but all these stories, all these people are saying it was him."

Dean also said that she had no contact with Norman during or after the shootings.

According to court documents, at the time of Norman's arrest, he was in possession of a 9mm Glock semi-automatic handgun, an empty magazine and was wearing a bulletproof vest. A search of the surrounding area's crime scene was conducted and 9mm caliber spent casings were recovered, that according to court documents, were consistent with the handgun in Norman's possession.

"It appeared he was prepared for a confrontation," said Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Tim Hutchins.

The police said witnesses pointed out the suspect to the police who chased him down Miami Avenue for about a block. Two deputies along with a K-9 dog were able to apprehend Norman without having to fire any shots at the suspect.

The police say the suspect apparently started his rampage early Thursday morning in Laurel and worked his way down to Salisbury. At around 8:14 a.m. Thursday, the Delaware State Police and the Laurel Police Department received simultaneous calls regarding two shooting incidents in the Laurel area. One incident was reported to have occurred in Carvel Gardens Apartments on Daniel Street and the other in the parking lot of the Discount Land shopping center on U.S. Route 13.

As the police arrived on the first scene, officers said they found that the suspect allegedly shot two male victims with a 9-mm handgun. One of the victims, identified as 24-year-old Jamell D. Weston was pronounced dead at the scene. The police say the other victim, Marcus Cannon, was shot in the arm by the gunman as he awaited a bus near Carvel Garden Apartments. Cannon said the incident happened so fast.

"He stood there, aimed and shot," Cannon said of the suspect. Cannon was hospitalized at Nanticoke Memorial Hospital where he was treated for his injuries. He was released about three hours later.

At the second scene (Discount Land), the police say a male victim received a gunshot wound to the stomach and leg. This victim was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury where he was admitted in stable condition.

The police say the suspect stole a black Ford Focus out of the parking lot of the apartments after the first shooting, and then drove down the road where he committed the second. The police say the suspect then fled from that scene to the town of Delmar where he shot at another male victim who was operating a trash truck. This victim was not struck, and the bullet lodged in a house not striking anyone.

Once it was determined that the suspect was traveling south, the police in Maryland were informed that the suspect was traveling towards their jurisdiction.

After the shooting in Delmar, the police were informed that the suspect possibly had his child in the car (unknown age) and was en route to take her to school. The police also received information that a shooting may have taken place around a school in Maryland. Based on this information, schools in the Laurel, Delmar and Seaford areas were locked down as a safety precaution.

The suspect then proceeded on to Salisbury where three more shootings took place. The police said that in one of the first shootings in Salisbury, the suspect fired into a vehicle on Jersey Road. The police said the suspect then went to an area that was in very close proximity to West Salisbury Primary School as well as the temporary location of North Salisbury Elementary School. The suspect then shot at three vehicles there, injuring a person, the police said.

The police said the suspect then took a burgundy colored Chevrolet Suburban with the driver still in the SUV. The police said the suspect and the driver then went to Miami Avenue where the suspect then allegedly got out of the vehicle and shot the driver. The body of the driver who was found sitting in the driver's seat has been identified as 28-year-old DaVondale Maurice "Pete" Peters of Salisbury.

According to Maryland District Court documents, when the police arrived at Miami Avenue, a witness informed deputies that Norman was hiding behind a black Chevrolet Blazer, located at 819 Miami Ave. Deputies approached the vehicle and observed the suspect crouched behind the vehicle. Upon approach, the suspect, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, ran and a short foot chase ensued. Norman was caught at 809 Miami Ave., according to court documents.

Lt. Greg Shipley of the Maryland State Police said that during the Salisbury shootings, "Witnesses saw the man walking down the street, shooting randomly."

As a result of the Salisbury shootings, several victims were taken to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury. PRMC spokesman Roger A. Follebout Jr. told WBOC that three victims were taken into the emergency room for treatment of gunshot wounds. Two were being treated in the Emergency/Trauma Center for very serious gunshot wounds and one for less serious wounds, Follebout said.

Responding to the crime scenes in Salisbury were the Maryland State Police, the Salisbury police and the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office. The Salisbury Fire Department also responded to the scenes. A temporary command post was set up at the National Guard Armory on Route 50 and Booth Street. It was also the site of the press conferences.

The temporary lockdowns of Delmar and Laurel schools were lifted late Thursday morning. Although there were no shooting incidents in Seaford, all schools there were placed on a precautionary lockdown that was lifted at noon.

A temporary lockdown of Wicomico County's schools also was lifted by late Thursday morning. Sheriff Nelms said the lockdowns were done as a precautionary measure. Wicomico County Assistant Superintendent Allen Brown said school operations there returned back to normal.

Source

 

[Human_84]

....all I know is that in Halo2 online, I get on 2 or 3 killing sprees each game. You kill enough people without dying, the announcer yells "Killing Spree!!!".

Does this count ?

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Six found slain in Ohio homes

Three adults and three youths killed in neighboring houses

Monday, May 30, 2005 Posted: 1:14 AM EDT (0514 GMT)


(CNN) -- Three adults and three youths were found shot to death Sunday morning in two neighboring houses in a rural area outside Bellefontaine, Ohio, authorities said.

The deaths appeared to be multiple murders and a suicide, authorities said. A rifle was found at one of the houses, said Logan County Sheriff Michael Henry.

A 15-year-old girl survived with a gunshot wound to the neck and managed to make a call on a cell phone to a friend who contacted deputies, Henry said.

Bellefontaine is about 45 miles northwest of Columbus. The survivor, Stacy Moody, was in critical condition at the Ohio State University hospital there.

Henry would not identify which of the dead was believed to have been the killer.

"A lot of us here knew the victims, and the families, so it's tough," he said.

Deputies found four bodies and the survivor at one house when they investigated the report from the girl's friend at 10:47 a.m., Henry said.

Soon after, they found two more bodies at the other house about a half-mile away.

Logan identified the victims in the first house as Paige Harshbarger, 14; Sheri Schafer, 37; Megan Karus, 19; and Scott Moody, 18.

In the second house, investigators found the bodies of Sharyl Schafer, 66, and Gary Schafer, 67.

Henry did not disclose the relationships of victims to one another, at least one of whom was scheduled to graduate from high school Sunday.

"We have a lot of work to do at two crime scenes to put the facts together -- and when we get those facts, you'll have them," he said. "But right now, we don't have them all yet."

Henry said deputies had records of 10 "nuisance-type" calls at the residence where the first four bodies were found, but none involving complaints of violence.

A neighbor, Iris Angle, said the slayings were inexplicable.

"Such a shock -- very nice people, nice neighbors," she said. "I just can't imagine what they're going through."

Source

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Sausage king dies in his cell on Death Row

Cause of death not known for man who murdered 3

Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, December 28, 2005


The self-proclaimed San Leandro sausage king, sentenced to death in February for murdering three meat inspectors during a 2000 rampage, was found dead early Tuesday on Death Row at San Quentin Prison.

Guards found Stuart Alexander, 44, unresponsive and not breathing about 4:30 a.m. in a suicide-watch cell, said Sgt. Eric Messick, a prison spokesman. Alexander could not be resuscitated, and the prison physician pronounced him dead at 5:15 a.m.

Although Alexander had been put on suicide watch on Christmas Eve and had been receiving psychiatric care, it did not appear that the former San Leandro mayoral candidate had killed himself, Messick said. Officials found no signs of foul play and believe Alexander died of natural causes, authorities said.

The Marin County coroner conducted an autopsy Tuesday but was awaiting the results of toxicology tests -- which could take weeks -- before determining how Alexander, who had gained a tremendous amount of weight in the years since the killings, died.

In February, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Vernon Nakahara sentenced Alexander to death, four months after a jury found him guilty of three counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspectors Jean Hillery, 56, and Tom Quadros, 52, and state Inspector Bill Shaline, 57.

The June 21, 2000, rampage at Alexander's Santos Linguisa Factory was caught on his own security cameras. Alexander also was convicted of attempted murder for chasing state Inspector Earl Willis and firing five shots at him. Willis escaped injury.

During a six-month trial, jurors repeatedly watched surveillance camera footage showing Alexander shooting each of the inspectors in the head after having already sprayed them with gunfire. Prosecutors said he had killed them as they tried to cite him for allegedly selling sausage without government approval.

Word of Alexander's death brought no sympathy from the relatives of his victims, who said his death would free them from enduring lengthy appeals. Death sentences are automatically appealed to the state Supreme Court, and it can be 15 years or more before such a sentence is carried out.

"I'm sorry that he will spend his Christ-less eternity in hell, but my other thought is that we're so relieved," said Hillery's daughter, Sheri Lehman, 38, of Vinton, Iowa. "We're done. It's final. No appeals."

Quadros' brother, John Quadros, 59, of Fremont, said, "I can tell you that it probably was not surprising to any of us. We kind of felt that this guy, from the day he committed the murders and killed my brother, was essentially killing himself. He was on a downhill slide since then."

Alexander was known to hoard food in jail and had a penchant for peanut butter, authorities said. Although he was thin at the time of the slayings, he had gained so much weight by the time his trial was under way that one witness almost didn't recognize him when asked to identify him.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John "Jack" Laettner, one of two prosecutors in the case, said Tuesday that he had no sympathy for Alexander, whom he had called a miserable sociopath during the penalty phase of the trial.

"Knowing how much pain he caused and misery he created, I could feel very little compassion for him," Laettner said. "I side with the victims."

But Alexander's lead attorney, Michael Ogul, said he was saddened "because I liked Stuart."

Ogul, who learned of the death through a phone call from Alexander's mother, Shirley Eckhart, said, "Obviously, he did a terrible thing, but he had a lot of good qualities, too."

Ogul, who is now a chief deputy public defender in Solano County, said he couldn't comment on the state of Alexander's mental health because of attorney-client privilege. But he said, "I'd be surprised if Stuart committed suicide."

He said the death shows that a sentence of life in prison without parole is preferable to the death penalty. "It just kind of illustrates the wrongfulness of seeking Stuart's execution," Ogul said. "This is God's way of saying it was wrong."

Deputy District Attorney Paul Hora, who also prosecuted the case, disagreed, saying Alexander deserved to be executed. Hora said although he believed Alexander's health had been compromised by his weight gain, he was surprised by Alexander's sudden death.

"I didn't think it was going to happen so soon," Hora said.

Alexander is the second Alameda County defendant to die this year while on California's Death Row.

On Sept. 16, Caroline Young, 61, of Hayward, who fatally stabbed her two grandchildren, died of kidney failure at a Fresno hospital. Young, who had been held at Central California Women's Prison in Chowchilla since 1995, was the first woman sentenced to death in Alameda County. She killed her two grandchildren because she was afraid of losing custody of one of them to his father, authorities said.

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