Bizarre case

[Truncador]

Murder suspect, 12, fidgets

The girl and her 23-year-old boyfriend were part of a Goth vampire underworld.
By JUDY MONCHUK, CP


MEDICINE HAT, ALTA. -- A 12-year-old girl accused of murdering her parents and younger brother kept her eyes downcast and fidgeted in her oversized blue prison-issue clothing during a brief court appearance yesterday.

Moments later, her 23-year-old boyfriend, Jeremy Allan Steinke, slumped into a courtroom bench and had to be admonished by provincial court Judge Darwin Greaves to stand.

Both are facing three charges of first-degree murder.

Those who packed the Medicine Hat courtroom hoping for some inkling of explanation behind the slayings of a middle-aged man, his wife and 10-year-old son were frustrated by the lack of emotion from the pair.

"I wanted to see for myself," said Crystal O'Donnell, whose fiance knows Steinke. "They showed no expression. They just had blank stares."

The girl cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, but in the small city of 56,000, her identity is no secret.

Some have been shocked by newspaper revelations that she met her co-accused in a Goth vampire chat room on the Internet.

In recent weeks, the Grade 7 Roman Catholic schoolgirl had abandoned her clean-cut look for a darker, Goth style with heavy eyeliner and makeup.

But an acquaintance of Steinke says the pair met at a punk dance three months ago and that the girl's Goth transformation began after that.

Daniel Clark, 23, says many of Steinke's friends had told him in recent weeks that the 10-year age gap between the couple was bizarre and even wrong.

"It was common knowledge and we all said, 'You're out of school. Look how old you are. You can expect (the parents) to be mad,' " said Clark, adding Steinke brushed aside those concerns and was adamant no one was going to stop him from seeing the girl.

The gruesome killing in a quiet residential neighbourhood has garnered national headlines and shocked people across the country.

"We don't expect little girls to be involved with murder," said criminologist Keith Spencer of the University of Alberta. "But we have to get used to the fact that violent crime is an equal opportunity thing."

WTF ?

So, is this merely a tragic but isolated incident, or an ominous sign that the Imminent Collapse of Society is at hand ? Do these two have some kind of neurological wiring defect, or is it society's fault ? If the latter, is it that bleeding hearts have unleashed an epidemic of Permissiveness against all Discipline, Religion and the sacred authority of the Family ("in my day, they whupped the killin' right out of ya")- or is it down to the Dehumanization of Capitalist Exploitation, whose elevation of Greed and Profit over Welfare teaches youth to kill for pleasure by the evil example of the Imperialist Killing Machine of the State ("it's Bush's fault") ? Are there too many self-esteem programs, or not enough ?

 

[red]

its a horrible tragedy. lets wait to see whether they are found guilty.

 

[salsamarc]

even more bizarre

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/04/26/1551602-cp.html

is not long but you may want to check it out

 

[maxweber]

hence & ergo & q.e.d.

If the latter, is it that bleeding hearts have unleashed an epidemic of Permissiveness against all Discipline, Religion and the sacred authority of the Family ("in my day, they whupped the killin' right out of ya")- or is it down to the Dehumanization of Capitalist Exploitation, whose elevation of Greed and Profit over Welfare teaches youth to kill for pleasure by the evil example of the Imperialist Killing Machine of the State ("it's Bush's fault") ? Are there too many self-esteem programs, or not enough ?

If you're gonna claim causality here, you best be loaded for bear--or else, forebear.

MW