By The Numbers

This past week, thanks to the Jesse Campbell murder story (which noone has linked back here to, ignorant bastards, I was the first online with this thing), traffic to this site has seen the most in one week it's ever seen since its inception.

But... How many will stay?

Apparently, I've pissed alot of kids off. "The system failed Jesse," they say. They say "You're wrong about him."

How can you say something negative about a kid who kills his own mother and have it be wrong? At that point, the kid has invited everything negative known to man into his front door and had a party for all of them.

No, the system didn't fail Jesse. Jesse failed Jesse. The system works, but only if you choose to work within it. If you don't, then you've doomed yourself to failure with no blame cast on the system at all. You kids can stop crying about how the system failed, and start crying anew because your so-called "friend" failed himself.

Instead of asking why they didn't do more for him, ask why Jesse didn't allow the help he was offered. Instead of thinking this is a horrible tragedy that befell a sweet boy, think how horrible and terrible this twisted little fuck's mind is. After all...

HE BEAT AND SLASHED HIS OWN MOTHER.

I'm probably the least religious person on the face of this planet, but even I will concede that killing your own mother falls into the "unforgivable sin" category.

Face it, kids: The person you thought Jesse James Campbell was, wasn't.

So, now that I have all these new readers, how many have I alienated with those comments? Honestly, I don't care, because you kids need to hear someone speaking the truth. And, as the old saying goes, the truth hurts. This time, though, it hurts like a motherfucker.

A young man has betrayed his friends and his family. A mother is dead at the hands of her son. The motive? Selfish greed. The excuse? None.

Noone failed Jesse James Campbell but Jesse James Campbell. And he failed all of you, too. Don't mourn his "mistake," condemn his actions. Quit making excuses. Jesse didn't make an excuse when he beat and slashed his own mother, did he...

Aftercomers

Google for Jesse James Campbell. A week ago, that name was hard to find on the Internet. And now, it's everywhere. And everywhere you look, if there's a comments section, it's full of the same thing: Grab your torch and pitchfork, we'll have a hangin' at dawn.

Most interesting is one found down the list a piece: A GoDuBois Forum Post on the subject, with some lively debate, including this quote:

Jesse James Campbell...

parents: think twice when you name your kids please

Har. Appropriately enough, the thread is titled "Mentally Unstable." Gee, ya think? What's really sad is, even in this local area, there are probably quite a few more kids like Jesse who haven't pulled something like this yet.

And speaking of Har, here's a funny one: Jesse has made his way to People You Will See In Hell. Before this morning, I never knew this site existed. And since I don't really believe in Hell, I can't say that Jesse will go. But if there is one, I bet he's got a reserved seat on the special bus.

Blogs are finally starting to pick up on the whole story more, as is the case with this post at Dreamin' Demon. Plus, there are all kinds of news stories with details of what really went down, mostly send-ups of the third link, a generic blanket UPI story. Turns out that Jesse had taken his mother's computer and, not wanting to return it and fearing his mother would send him back to prison (go figure, kid had a prior and did State time), he decided to kill her.

And not one link to this site from any of these. Bummer.

Brilliant. For all of you anonymous people who deem it necessary to defend such a soulless, moronic subhuman, you're just as brilliant.

Meanwhile, Jesse's preliminary hearing has been continued to April 30th(links here and here). I'd say this kid is headed straight for the table with the tubes. There isn't a jury on this earth that wouldn't have him put to death.

In short, he's fucked.

But what about Kacey? From what I've read this morning, she took the clothes, which Jesse had wadded up into a trash bag, and tossed them into the dumpster. That sticks her with a few charges right there, and while they're not Murder 1, they're fairly serious on their own. I'm sure there will be some form of Evidence Tampering charge, as well as some sort of Obstruction charge. Accessory to Murder 1? With her not being present for the whole thing (she was under the impression that he was just out getting cigarettes, even though he told her he was going to kill his mother before he left), I doubt she'd be tagged as an accomplice.

What she did and didn't believe at that point has yet to be fully determined. It's a pretty safe bet that, as soon as I can talk to her, I will, and hopefully she can give us a clearer picture of what the hell was going on in the days leading up to this circus. Until then, though, it's my guess that she'll be the star witness for what will most likely be a local media spectacle of a trial, and what might snag itself a little national media coverage in the process...

UPDATE: 2:40pm - The story has made a newsgroup posting, oddly enough on alt.drugs.psychedelics, found via Google Groups. Whoever this Rob Cypher is, he's linked to Jesse's MySpace page, encouraging people to leave comments. However (and this is no surprise), there are no new comments: He's not there to add new friends, and its set to only receive comments from friends.

But The Point Is Probably Moot

People love to correct me. They also love to leave comments on posts I have to scroll down to find. They also love to not identify themselves, making them a less-believable source.

For starters, folks, it'd be alot easier for all my readers if you'd leave relevant comments in the most recent post on the subject. Second, it'd be great if you'd identify yourself: That'd help in either confirming or disproving what it is you all have to say.

Second, what I've been reporting since this broke has mostly come from mainstream news outlets that have actually covered this tragic story (which, sadly, are very few and far between). The most information I've gathered comes from Greg Bock at the Altoona Mirror, who is the only reporter I know of trying to put a human angle into this story, apart from me (and I hardly qualify as an official "reporter," I like "citizen journalist" better).

You'll notice that, as information comes in that contradicts what I've posted earlier, I've made any necessary corrections along the way. Correcting me via anonymous comments isn't going to get any changes made, because being Anonymous means you could be anybody: Someone connected to the case or families, or just some schmoe who loves to sit here and berate me because they think they can hide behind the mask of "Anonymous."

What I've been trying to do is develop a psychological profile of Jesse. And right now, things don't look to good for the outcome of that profiling. From all accounts I've recieved, talking to folks I know close to the situation, Jesse is a failure. He's failed to grow up, he's failed to rehabilitate from whatever problems got him put in jail in the first place. He's a perp with a history.

AND FOR FUCKS SAKE, HE KILLED HIS OWN MOTHER.

Yeah, that's not quite the formula for "poor kid with bad luck." Nope, sorry, I've got "poor kid with bad luck" locked up, and I haven't killed anybody, especially not my own mother with a 5lb freeweight and a knife. And you certainly won't see me picking up a Bible or any other religious text sometime soon.

It should be known that I was one spur-of-the-moment decision away from being in the middle of this. Around 2:00am (about two hours after the actual murder, but before Kacey came back to her apartment), I was on my way to a friend's (a neighbor of Kacey's) to pick up some diapers for my son. As I drove into the complex, I looked at Kacey's apartment and noticed a bedroom light on. I thought she was home, and considered stopping by to say hello. I decided against it, picked up the diapers, and came home.

Had I decided to stop in, there's a chance I would have been there when Kacey arrived home hysterical, and I don't even want to consider what would have happened next. The only thing I could see happening is I'd have a whole hell of a lot more details about this fiasco, most of them would have come first hand.

I'm glad I didn't stop in...

At any rate, I will continue to report on everything I find. You can all tell me how wrong I am, or what I'm publishing is hearsay and rumor. But until you identify yourself, I'll treat what YOU tell me as hearsay and rumor. Grow a pair and talk to me directly. I'm open to any and all sources of information, unless they come from "Anonymous."

Some More Coleman Murder Stuff

Wow. This has generated quite a response, as I figured it would, but it's a bit bigger than I thought.

First of all, I should address the most recent comment, from reader melanie626. She's fairly adamant in her correction that it's Jessie Campbell, not Coleman. I'll concede that much, no problem, and will correct my prior entries. More on that in a moment. She's also saying that, no, Kacey was not with Jessie when the deal went down, which is a huge relief.

So, why have I been calling him by his mother's last name? That comes from my initial discovery of the event, when an unknown person logged on to Kacey's Yahoo! Messenger account and sent me a message. They had logged in under Invisible mode, so I had no idea they were there until the message came through.

My archiving has been turned off for some time, so I have no hard copy of the conversation (idiot). All I can do is recount the basic gist of the whole thing.

them: hey kacey is in jail

me: What?!?

them: yeah

me: For what? WTF?

them: she and her boyfriend killed his mom

me: You said what now? They killed Jordan's mom?!?

(At this point, I had no idea that Kacey and Jordan had broken up two weeks prior.)

them: no she broke up with jordan two weeks ago

me: So it's that other kid she's been seeing, then.

them: yeah jessie coleman

(It was this unknown person using Kacey's account who gave me the name I'd been running with up to this point)

me: God damn... When the hell did this happen?

them: last night

me: Mother Fucker...

At this point, whoever it was stopped talking, and I've received nothing from Kacey's screen name since. Prior to this, I'd spoken to her online about three weeks before, and seen her briefly on a Thursday a few days before that. Personally, I received no indication that any of this was going on in the slightest. Kacey didn't mention anything about Jessie other than that she'd been seeing a kid younger than her (she's 22, he's 20). Never told me his name or anything else about him, really, just mentioned him in passing.

Otherwise, she was her usual self, pretty much. I can't speak for the two weeks leading up to the murder, since I had no contact with her. I really do hope that she's alright, because she's a good kid and hella cool to hang out with.

If anyone else close to Kacey would like, feel free to use my Comments links to chime in with what you know, any speculation, or just to show your support for Cindy Jo's or Kacey's families. This is probably the worst tragedy Houtzdale has seen since the block party fires of the late 90s: a son, killing his mother in, from what I've heard, is an argument over a computer.

Something went very wrong here, and not just that night...

Star-cross'd Lovers

A few quick updates on coverage of the Cindy Jo Coleman murder here in Houtzdale. A quick check of teh Googles reveals the first blog (that I've found) other than my own to speak out on the story: A blog called News of Doom picked it up and has a bit of commentary to go with it. Yeah, this kid could very well be looking at the needle, and I can't think of anyone in this state who would sit on the jury for this case, hear how this kid killed his mother, and NOT throw the book at him.

A bit of ha ha, Froggy98's website had a blurb about it on their FrogNet News page (find it yourself, I don't like Froggy, so no link for them), but apparently it's rotated out of their limited live page cache. Oh well, it would have only been a paragraph at most, and would have probably run along the lines of a summary the Altoona Mirror's article, anyway. In short, nothing new from a crappy source.

Years ago, when the Kimmy Jo Dotts (wow, women with Jo as a middle name tend to get killed around here...) Murder went down, Montel Williams did a show dedicated to the case, where I saw my friend Clint on the air, and heard a phone call from a very stupid/ignorant Dawn Lanager and her mother. I wonder which tabloid show will pick this story up first. Oprah? Maury? JERRY?!? We'll see, I guess.

While I'm inclined to continue to dig up new junk on this story, today is, in fact, St. Patrick's Day, and I can't help but want to step away from the keyboard and search box for a while and relax. I'll be at Electric Avenue tonight, watching everyone else get hammered while I drink my Sierra Mist 'on the rocks,' straight. I'll be back tomorrow, though, hopefully with more. On the bright side, I won't have to battle through any sort of hangover to do it...

Cats In The Cradle

The weekend has brought new information in the Jessie Coleman Campbell murder story, as teh Internets (which is a series of tubes) have finally caught up to me, at least when it comes to actually having anything online at all. Granted, they're a bit more well-connected than a lowly citizen-journalist such as myself, so they're a bit more in the know. But hey, at least I got to break it to the digital world, not a chance I get often (or one that I get soon enough to act on).

GantDaily says that the murder itself happened at Woodward Terrace Apartments. The police presence my friend confirmed for me at McAteer was most likely a posse hunting Jessie down at his girlfriend's apartment (that being Kacey).

The first mention of Kacey, however, comes in the form of an article from the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat which gives us some more details about the killing itself. While Kacey is only mentioned as "his girlfriend," it goes on to say that there's a stolen computer involved. Jessie took a 5lb plastic weight and clubbed his mother with it when she wouldn't wake up, then slashed her throat and wrists.

While she lay there, choking on her own blood, Jessie apparently sat and read the bible to her. Funny, since Jessie doesn't strike me as a Bible sort of kid...

Of course, The Progress is late to the party. And even though they're the most local paper to the story, their coverage, as always, is lacking.

And finally, the plot thickens as we get our first mention of Kacey (left) by name outside of this blog. According to the Altoona Mirror (who also supplied Jessie's CCJ booking photo, above left), it was Kacey who blew the whistle. Around 2AM (which is pretty much the same time I was near her apartment picking up diapers from a friend for my son), Kacey came back to her apartment hysterical, and called the police.

While I still can't garner Kacey's status at the moment (all I have to go on is whoever used her Yahoo to message me told me she, too, was in CCJ), the article does mention that Kacey was involved in some sort of planning. She never mentioned anything like this to me.

In fact, her's what WAS mentioned to me by her in the weeks leading up to Cindy's murder: Around three weeks ago, she revealed to me that she was cheating on her boyfriend (at the time) with Jessie, the first I'd ever heard of him at all. She did say that she was under a ton of stress, but never went into details, even when I asked her. After that, her account went dark for about a week and a half, popping back up on Thursday morning with whoever was in control sending me the message that started this whole fiasco.

The computer, I understand. Since Kacey had broken up with her previous boyfriend, she lacked a computer, hence her Yahoo account not coming online for a week. Cindy's computer (honestly, she won't be using it now) would fill that void, though I highly doubt that Jessie killed her because Kacey wanted a way to get online. Pretty weak motive for murder right there.

No, there's something deeper here. This Jessie, I'm willing to bet, is one seriously fucked up kid. And I aim to get to the bottom of why he is. Why? Because, in a very distant but still-significant way, his anger is like my own when I was that age. Understanding that anger, and understanding Jessie Coleman Campbell, brings us one step closer to understanding why so many kids are flipping out and racking up body counts these days.

For the record, I love my mother endlessly, and would never, EVER dream of killing her, or anyone else, for that matter.

As I gather more info, I'll post it here. Week should be interesting...

Small Town

Well, things have pretty much settled in the aftermath of Thursday morning's insanity. The story so far:

From what I've gathered, Jessie has been wandering about for some time saying he was going to kill his mother. While I haven't pinpointed a reason yet, it looks like no one took him seriously, with the possible exception of Kacey. In the end, WTAJ (CBS10, Altoona) reported it that evening as Jessie acting alone, with no mention of Kacey's involvement. That was a bit of a relief, seeing as how I'm obviously very worried about someone I consider a good friend.

Cause of death is likely to be blood loss from slash wounds to the throat and wrists, but I've heard some reports of possible blunt force trauma as well, which wasn't reported by WTAJ during their 5pm newscast. If that's the case, then Cindy suffered a very frightening death at the hands of her own son.

But what would possess a child to kill his own mother, let alone do it in such a violent and nasty way? One possible scenario is that, mad at his mother for some reason and sent over his breaking point by something, he beat the ever-loving tar out of her and, scared of the consequences of that, killed her to silence her. If that's the case, wrong move, just made things worse.

What makes a kid rage against his mom like that? Any number of things, really, could - either on their own or, more likely, in tandem with more - contribute to a child's anger. Jessie is a part of a very selfish and spoiled generation, the grandchildren of the Boomers and children of TV Generation parents. With doting grandparents desperate to stay young by living through their grandkids, and parents who are either unwilling or unable to connect with them on much of any level, its really no surprise how these kids fall off the boat.

Most adopt a "Fuck The World" mentality, refusing to care about this or that or the other thing and only focusing on their narrow view of the world around them. They feel trapped by their surroundings, with a fear of inability to escape their mundane existence in their tiny niche of the world. They assault their ears with the overly-aggressive, testosterone-fueled anthems of Hardcore music, and at the same time feed their depression with the whiny crybaby sounds of Emo. The "fuck it all" attitude leads to indifference to school, work, life, and pretty much anything that isn't branded PlayStation or Aeropostale.

In effect, they've desensitized themselves to sympathy, empathy, and have failed to find outlets for the wellspring of emotions swimming around inside of them. Social interaction, even among family, is retarded, and bridges (rather than being burned) aren't even built in the first place.

With a parent who, while trying their best but still falling short, can't make a connection with their kid, the other side of the bridge doesn't even get past the foundation phase. With neither side making any effort, any emotional bond is all but erased.

The kids end up reacting negatively to any parental "intrusion," distrusting and coming to resent any effort by their parents for anything, over time becoming a conditioned response. Kid will run off, do what he/she pleases while they're out, consequences be damed because the parents lack the skills to enforce any punishments. Grounded or no, kids are right back out doing lord knows what.

But what drove Jessie to kill his mother, and in such a violent manner, is something that needs to be looked at in order to understand the true nature of the generation gap kids and parents these days have to deal with. If I were to go any further with this subject, though, I'd never get any sleep.

And yes, I know, it's Caturday. I'm going to try my best this time around...

UPDATE: 6:43am - Whoopsie. Eric too tired, forget to check teh Googles. Here's a Centre Daily Times blurb, although it's fairly limited at this time. Looks like I'm the only one releasing names other than perp and vic. Can that get me in trouble? Eh, fuck em.

BREAKING NEWS: MURDER IN HOUTZDALE

From what sources I have, signs point to holy shit.

All the information I have right now says this: Sometime very recently (probably last night or this morning), Kacey Fisher and Jessie Coleman Campbell killed his mother, Cindy Jo Coleman. Both are in Clearfield County Jail, held for murder 1, most likely. Currently, Jessie is being held without bond in Clearfield County Jail. I have yet to confirm the whereabouts of Kacey.

I wish it weren't true, but it is. Kacey was a friend of mine.

The who and the why will all become clear in time as I try to gather the facts. But I have one source who told me essentially that story, and another source who lives in the area who confirmed the heavy PSP presence since this morning, making it highly unlikely that the first source is wrong.

While I master a home video DVD for Teddy's grandmother, I'll be hitting teh Googles for whatever links and news I can find. For now, though, it looks like I'm the first to hit the net with this story.

UPDATE: 4pm: - Links to Kacey's Yahoo Profile and MySpace account. Kacey is at least 22 now, possibly 23, though I never really knew when her birthday was. From what I've heard, this Jessie kid is 20, and that's all I have on him at the moment. Kacey's MySpace page hasn't been update for a week, but still has pictures of her and her ex boyfriend on it.

An excerpt from Kacey's blog, dated April of last year:

Todays the day to start life over. I have no clue on what to do or how to live my life normal, or in the normal sense. I"m tired of fuckin around, i'm tired or wasting time and my life on the petty arguments, the fights and the tears i've had to cry. I want to start fresh, start anew, open my eyes and get a clear view. A new perspective. I need a challenge. I don't want to run anymore, and death is not an option. I miss my friends and my family, I miss being me. I feel very alone, depressed, scared and everything in between. Somebody, Anybody, please help me start my first new day or freedom.

I guess that won't be the case now. She'll be starting a new life, but not the one she'd hoped for. When the motive comes out, I'm sure I'll be able to piece together what went wrong...

UPDATE 2: 4:21pm - Via another source, though it has yet to be confirmed, Jessie's mother's cause of death was the old ear-to-ear grin. Man, something went really wrong here, and I aim to find out what the fuck it was. I need to find Jordan...

UPDATE 3: 4:30pm - Found Jessie Coleman's Campbell's MySpace account. Kid said he's just trying to live life and be happy. I guess offing the woman who gave him that life in the first place was part of his happy plan.

Interesting Observation: On Kacey's MySpace, the song is "The Kill" by 30 Seconds to Mars. On Jessie's, it's "Gravedigger" by Willie Nelson. Talk about creepy...

On a completely different note, my good friend Justin ended up in the hospital this morning, and they're keeping him for a bit for observation. For the most part, he's fine, but tests will reveal more. Get well soon, Old Man!