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REVIEW OF: 'A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath Of Tragedy'. Author: Sue Klebold, mother of Columbine shooter Dylan Klebold.

3/14/2016

1 Comment

 
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By Jennifer McKelvey of The Gold Patrol

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Columbine High School, February 2015 - Courtesy of Jennifer McKelvey
April 20, 1999 changed our world drastically. Two boys, Eric Harris, and Dylan Klebold, loaded up their cars with guns and pipe bombs, after months of careful planning, and went to Columbine High School. They had one mission, to kill as many classmates as possible. When they arrived at the school, they told one student to leave. And he did. The rest were sitting ducks.


They carried duffel bags into the school cafeteria which contained two, twenty pound propane tank bombs, and were set to explode at 11:17 AM, a time that the cafeteria would have been the most crowded. They then went to their respective cars, which offered a clear view of the cafeteria area, to watch as the bombs went off. Luckily, the propane tank bombs did not detonate, as hundreds of students in the cafeteria for lunch could have been killed.  From videos the boys made prior to the attack, they originally had planned to shoot any survivors or anyone trying to flee. Their cars both had explosives with timers which were set to detonate when they went back into the school. 

The very first 911 call in this mass murder had nothing to do directly with Columbine, but everything to do with Eric and Dylan's planning. A small, timed explosion in a field about three miles away from the high school was placed by the killers to divert police so the killers could have more time to make the body count higher. Back at the school, eyewitnesses recall seeing Eric and Dylan at the highest point on campus with a clear view of the school. They were dressed in trench coats and carrying duffel bags. One student heard Eric or Dylan yell, "GO, GO", and the carnage began. The shootings started at 11:19 AM outside. The shootings end at 12:08 with the suicide of Eric and Dylan. For 49 minutes, the killers took the lives of thirteen; including twelve students, and one teacher, wounded many, and traumatized all who were there that day. They also put an end to carefree school days as students knew them.

In the time since the shootings, very little has been said by the parents of the shooters. Both parents released statements through their lawyers the next day. Eric Harris's parents have remained mostly silent since. Dylan Klebold's mother began to speak out years after the killings. In 2009, ten years after the shootings, she offered a self-written piece to Oprah's magazine about the events of that day and the aftermath. You can read it here: http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Susan-Klebolds-O-Magazine-Essay-I-Will-Never-Know-Why

I have often wondered what the parents of Eric and Dylan endured in the days, months, and years in the aftermath of Columbine. Many were so quick to blame them almost immediately when it became known that the guilty ones had killed themselves. I never thought the parents deserved the harassment and death threats they received, but when the guilty ones die, the public goes on a witch hunt for those who knew them best, accusing them of everything under the sun. I always thought maybe they had missed signs, but now as a mother, I feel their pain more than ever.
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Sue Klebold, mother of Columbine shooter, Dylan Klebold (R).
When you become a parent, your life changes. You hope and dream for your child. You hope you aren't screwing it up. Parenting is tough. When your children are small, you instill the framework for what you hope will become the structure of their moral compass, their work ethic, accountability, and you hope that when you release them into the world, they contribute, not take away. All in all, we really never know if we've succeeded, in spite of our best efforts, until that child shows you in the decisions they make and the path they choose. In spite of honest, best efforts, many parents did it, "right", only to have their kids end up bad. 

When my kids do something bad, I hold them accountable. I explain the consequences, explain why it was wrong, and offer reasons why they should make a better decision in the future. Reading Sue Klebold's book, 'A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy', I saw she too did the same thing with both her boys, the youngest being Dylan Klebold. Dylan had a very normal and stable upbringing. He played baseball, he tinkered with old cars with his father, he was his mother's sidekick as a child. He was an exceptionally bright child. They were active in his life. He wasn't abused or abandoned. He was seemingly like every other kid in the neighborhood. Nothing seemed odd.
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Sue and Dylan Klebold
As Dylan grew into a teen, he became more withdrawn, but nothing out of the ordinary. Most teenage boys want their privacy and also relish in the beginnings of independence. They make their own friends, not ones set up by mom as a playdate, they get their license, they get a car. It's a rite of passage when you get these freedoms. You test the waters as a young adult under the watchful eye of good parents. Dylan was no different.

Dylan and Eric became friends a few years before the massacre. Both boys had numerous other friends, a misconception in the aftermath of the tragedy. It was reported for years that they were loners, only having each other. This isn't true. They had mutual and individual friendships, enough of them to dispel the rumors that social isolation was a motivation for the killings.

Early on, it was clear that Eric was trouble. In 1997, he had an AOL profile, as well as a webpage, that grew increasingly violent, threatening towards students and teachers at Columbine. It also included specific threats against Brooks Brown, a friend of Dylan's. Dylan gave the website address to Brooks. Brooks's mother, concerned with what she saw, informed authorities. After viewing the website, which Eric stated he had explosives, a deputy wrote a draft affidavit asking for a search warrant of the Harris house, but never filed it. Missed red flag? In her book, Sue believes that maybe Dylan gave Brooks the web address in the hopes that Eric would be stopped.

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Dylan Klebold and Brooks Brown at Columbine High School

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Eric Harris AOL profile at the time of his death.
Eric and Dylan were both arrested their junior year for breaking into a van and stealing electronic equipment. This was, no doubt, a wake up call for Sue and Tom Klebold. Dylan was ordered to complete  pre-trial intervention, which included classes and paying restitution. Eric was ordered the same, as well as to begin seeing a psychiatrist. Both boys were released from the program early and passed with rave reviews.
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Dylan Klebold (L) and Eric Harris (R)
Eric and Dylan began working at Blackjack Pizza together, meeting some of the people who would eventually supply them with guns, not knowing of their plans. Senior year came. The plans were in full swing for the massacre, but to Sue and Tom, Dylan seemed to be on the upswing. They visited the University of Arizona weeks prior to the massacre, a place Dylan ultimately chose to attend for college. They looked at dorm rooms, made plans, and he even went to prom a few days before the massacre. Everything seemed normal from Sue's perspective.
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Dylan Klebold, with his prom date.
When someone is going to commit a crime or kill themselves, they rarely give blaring signs that they intend to do so. The most dangerous ones stay silent until you find out when the event happens. This is what happened with Sue and Tom. Sue was at work about 25 miles away from home when she saw the blinking red light on her work phone. It was a frantic message from her husband, telling her to turn on the TV, that there had been a shooting at Columbine, and Dylan had already been mentioned as a shooter. Sue initially thought maybe Dylan was hurt or couldn't call her. When it became clear to her on the ride home that Dylan indeed may be a shooter, Sue did the opposite of what most Columbine parents did that day.

The parents of students at Columbine no doubt prayed for their children's safety from the gunmen in the school. Sue Klebold, on the other hand, prayed for her son to kill himself. Yes, to end his life, so he couldn't take any more innocent lives. Can you imagine, as a mother, to have to pray for your child to die? It sounds so foreign, but I think Sue began very quickly to connect the dots. Deep down, she knew Dylan was killing classmates as she sped home to Littleton, CO.

In her book, she gives insight into what happened when she arrived home. Cops, then a bomb squad took over her home. They were only allowed to stand in the driveway as investigators executed a search warrant on her home. They found no explosives.

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Klebold home
They had to escape to somewhere safe, as the press and the masses were hunting them down. They settled in with extended family for a while. She tells of seeing Dylan's body, dressed in a hospital gown, her final goodbye. They chose cremation for Dylan, as they knew his grave would be vandalized on a regular basis. She stated that her older son, Byron, didn't feel Dylan looked like himself at the viewing. That helped all of them in that moment. Eric and Dylan both had killed themselves by a gunshot wound to the head. Eric's body sustained the most damage. While their suicide photos are readily available, I have chosen to not post them here. While what they did was senseless and evil, the photos are extremely graphic, and most importantly, I do not condone suicide regardless of the circumstance.

In the months after the massacre, Sue was lost and grieving alone for the most part. Her husband was in the throws of grief, no doubt, but a mother's grief is different I would imagine. Not more, but different. Answers were few for a long time. After some time had passed, the families were able to view the, 'Basement Tapes'. The tapes were over four hours long.  These tapes were the thing she needed to help with her being able to understand that her son, who she thought she knew, was a stranger to her. He was filled with rage. He used racial slurs, he used intense profanity and radiated hate. All of these things she and her husband had taught against. Yet, it seemed so natural to Dylan. The last tape is when the boys are heading out the door to unleash death and destruction upon kids sitting in a high school on what would normally be a standard day at Columbine had Eric and Dylan not been filled with the need to kill. The, 'Basement Tapes' largely never made it past the police. There were a few snippets and transcripts released, but a court order sealing the tapes made them pretty much inaccessible for the general public. The tapes were destroyed in 2011, along with other evidence from the shootings, at the discretion of the sheriff with the support of the families; the shooters, and the victims. They feared it may inspire copycats and bring raw pain back to the surface, both potentially disastrous and simply unnecessary. As far as we know, all copies are gone.

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Dylan Klebold, seen in, 'The Basement Tapes'.
After watching the tapes, Sue felt Dylan lied to her. He had successfully fooled her. And, she realized that he wanted to participate. Until then, Sue had a lot of suspicion that Eric took advantage of Dylan, perhaps even brainwashing him. That theory was dispelled by the tapes. She does maintain that Eric's homicidal desires were a vessel for a suicidal Dylan. In his journals, Dylan talked about being depressed, had self medicated with St. John's Wart, a natural remedy commonly used for depression. Sue felt heartbroken when she discovered the pill bottle after his death, knowing Dylan was trying to get out of his depression alone. He talked about wanting to find love but he thought he never would. Eric's journals were filled with vile fantasies about rape and murder. Sue acknowledges that Dylan killed classmates out of cold blood, but, she feels in her heart he would have never done so without Eric. Dylan wanted to die and killing students in the process was something he chose to do in order to take his own life in the library that day giving him a legitimate reason to do so.

Although it took her many years, Sue is now very active with suicide prevention and has close friendships she has established by going to survivors of suicide meetings in Colorado.  Regardless of what her son did to others, he also took his own life, a loss that any parent would feel. In the process, the massacre's aftershocks proved to be too much for Dylan's parents, and they quietly divorced recently. Not much is said about Dylan's older brother, Byron.

Sue seems to have found her new self. A mother who still loves and grieves for her son, a mass murderer, who changed the world for the worse on April 20, 1999. Much criticism for Sue has reared it's ugly head since the release of her book and accompanying book tour. I have to say that I think the, "outrage", is displaced now more than ever. Families of the victims are speaking out, berating her for the book. While I sympathize and cannot fathom their loss and pain, sixteen years on, I have to say, their blaming Sue Klebold is not well placed.

I am sure many people would love to, and probably silently do, point out our shortcomings as parents. The bottom line is that we cannot control what out children do to an extent. As small children, we have the most control over what they can and cannot do, yet they seem to trip up and embarrass us or disappoint us. We love them through it all. While I am close, but not quite the parent of a teen, I know what awaits. The constant worry, the distance that is caused by their sudden independence and figuring themselves out, and their friends we do not care for. At what point do we set our kids free to figure it out on their own? At what point do we know if we are raising mass murderers? We hope never. Statistically, we are good. Our chances of raising a killer are small. Nobody reading this would even think that one day, they could be in Sue Klebold's shoes. I feel for her. I really do. At the end of the day, no matter what your kids, do, you love them. Sue is no different, only she has a much bigger elephant in the room.
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Sue Klebold,
I highly recommend, 'A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy'. Sue gives us not only a glimpse into raising one of the participants in the worst school shootings in history, but also the grief, confusion, and public witch hunt that, to this day, continues. You may find some of yourself in Sue, or Tom Klebold. A loving parent who dedicates their lives to raising good kids.

I feel the pain of the victims families. They lost an innocent child on that fateful April day. We all send our kids off to school with the comfort that they're safe. On that day, and many more school shootings since, we've been reminded that isn't always the case. We gamble when we let our children out of our sight, yet we cannot follow them everywhere. All we can do is hope and pray that they're not the victim of a senseless tragedy, or God forbid, the one who causes so much pain. Be careful not to judge Sue Klebold. Just because her child was half the cause of so much pain doesn't make her immune to pain herself. Her eyes scream of disbelief and grief after all this time. Will she ever get over all of this? No. But, if she can educate as to the warning signs that she learned in retrospect, maybe many of these terrible breaking news event be prevented. Feel her pain as well as the pain of the parents who lost their children, or spouse, that day.
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Those who were killed on April 20, 1999 by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold
1 Comment

Straight Out Of Compton... Too Good?

9/7/2015

1 Comment

 
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By Jeff Gold of The Gold Patrol
Putting on my analyst hat re #StraightOttaCompton. The bio pic of #RealityRap was a really compelling flick, But was it TOO compelling? Featuring #NWA s #FuckThePolice as a street anthem, the movie chronicles the early beat of gangsta rap in LA.  The song was the pre #RodneyKing exposé of #LA cops from the point of view of the hood, Compton, CA. You feel the degradation and can't help but feel stirred up. American have always been anti establishment. Revolt was our birthright afterall. Outlaws and gangsters are the stuff of our movie legends. But with the last three weeks of this anti police film topping the box office (and that's nationwide not the hood) you gotta wonder if "Outta" has played some part in the increase in police being shot across the country. 83 officers have died in the line of duty this year already. And the last few weeks has seen report after report. Coincidence?  God I hope so.
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1 Comment

#JODIARIAS -The END 

4/14/2015

8 Comments

 
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 #JODIARIAS -THE END 
by: Jennifer McKelvey of The Gold Patrol

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We watched as Jodi Arias was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of release. For years we  followed her case. It was ugly. The victim was re-victimized time and time again. Jodi was plain ruthless. She lied, she schemed, and, in the end, she avoided the death penalty. She took one last chance to torment the Alexander family at her sentencing when she spoke. Among other insulting statements, the fog magically lifted and she recalled details of the murder she couldn't remember for all these years. Better left unsaid? Yes. True Jodi fashion? Absolutely. 

But, she is now gone from the center ring. She is a statistic now, just a number, and literally too, prisoner number 28119. We may hear the occasional story about her, shenanigans she's been up to, or the reminder that this trial that went on way too long, which caused so much additional trauma and pain to the gracious Alexander family and his friends, several of whom, I have had the honor of meeting through The Gold Patrol. 

Speaking of meeting, how many of us have formed meaningful friendships in the wake of this tragedy? Pretty much all of us. I think we bonded as we grieved for a stranger whose life was taken way too soon. I like to think this is what Travis Victor Alexander would like. He was about connections, bonds. From his friends and family, it's pretty clear that Travis was that special guy who would be capable of bringing people together, even in his death.


The State’s team, Prosecutor Juan Martinez and Detective Esteban Flores, poured their hearts into seeking justice for Travis. Detective Flores and his wife Corrine lost their son tragically recently, only to have Detective Flores back in that courtroom shortly after to ensure that his commitment to justice was seen through to the end. 


While most supporters never knew Travis, it's amazing how we all feel he's our friend, our brother. I encourage all of you to go forward from this point and not reflect on Jodi one more minute, but only on the man who made a lot of strangers turn into a family. To continue his legacy, even if in small ways. I hope that in the coming months and years, the Alexander family finds some joy in knowing that their brother, while gone from this earth, has made such a big impact on so many people. Their pain is never going to go away. Nobody will replace Travis, as nobody could. But, I hope that time and the absence of a criminal trial gives them the time and space to begin to pick up the pieces. They're a close family who clearly loves one another. I know they will find their way together.


You can finally rest in peace, Travis. 


"Your candle burned out long before your legend ever did" 

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8 Comments

The End of #jodiarias is near

2/23/2015

11 Comments

 
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The End of #JodiArias is Near
 by Jeffrey Evan Gold of The Gold Patrol

Picturevictim Travis Alexander
On a plane back to Phoenix for what promises to be the end of #JodiArias as we know  it (err... her). Closings are tomorrow morning, and then jury gets the case. 

It's the second shot by state at the death penalty. Remember, she has already been convicted. And there is no third shot at death. A hung jury means Life. While the statute says that there is a possibility of a life with parole sentence, parole has been abolished in AZ. There is only a clemency board now. Further, it very unlikely the judge would give any chance of parole in a case like this one where the first jury hung on death. I think Judge Stephens has given Jodi every break short of dismissal, but that I think would be a bridge too far even for her.  

Picturedefendant Jodi Arias in jail garb outside presence of the jury
Although I know many of my viewers and readers would like the death penalty here. It's not very likely either. Traditionally death is reserved for multiple victims, special victims like kids or cops, extremely brutal killers, ie that torture you first and chop you up after, or defendants with long records. Boyfriend girlfriend killings not usually on death rolls, but still it could happen in a state that doles it out often. 

However, consider if Jodi gets death, then the chances of some reversal due to error increases as there are many more appeals and free ones at that. So, in the end, the right thing is probably going to happen, life with no parole, and she will suffer in prison for the rest of her life. Justice for Travis Alexander is not going to be torture his family for years to come, but to put his precious soul to rest finally knowing that his murderer will never enjoy one day of freedom ever. 

But in this case anything can happen...and usually does. So stay tuned.
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11 Comments

"I Traded My Soul For a Truck"

2/10/2015

2 Comments

 
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"I Traded My Soul For A New Truck"
   By: Jennifer McKelvey of The Gold Patrol
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On February 2, 2013, the most famous American sniper, Chris Kyle, 38, and his friend Chad Littlefield, 35, took a fellow Iraqi War veteran named Eddie Ray Routh (age 25) to Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, TX, to do some "shooting therapy". Routh's mother, Jodi, had approached  Chris at his children's school, where she worked. She had heard how successful Kyle was in working with soldiers with PTSD.  She hoped Chris could break the shell her son had placed around himself after returning from Iraq.

PictureRough Creek Lodge
 They arrived at the lodge that day at approximately 3:15 PM and both Kyle and Littlefield were found dead at 5:00 p.m. by a hunting guide, shot multiple times with a semi-automatic handgun at point blank range. Littlefield was face down with claw marks in the sand, indicating he was struggling after being shot. Chris Kyle was found face down, shot in the back of the head and also in the back. Numerous guns were also found at the scene of the crime, believed to be guns intended for the day's planned “therapy.” 

PictureChris Kyle in Iraq
Chris Kyle's military career is one that will be heard about for generations to come. After injuring his arm in a rodeo, Chris headed to his local recruiting station to join the Marines with an interest in special operations. Due to the residual pain in his arm from his accident, as well as the metal pins, the Marines passed on Kyle. He enlisted in the US Navy in 1999 instead. He served 4 tours of duty in Iraq, becoming the deadliest sniper in US Military History with 160 confirmed kills. He was nicknamed: 'The Devil of Ramadi' by the enemy and the "Legend" by his comrades. He left the Navy in 2009.

After returning from Iraq, Kyle wrote the best-selling book, 'American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper In U.S. History' which became the basis for the huge box office film, 'American Sniper',  starring Bradley Cooper and directed by Clint Eastwood. (The movie was #1 on the charts as of  February 9, 2015 and has earned six Oscar nominations.) Kyle had made all the talk show rounds to promote his book and his charity, “FITCO”, which gave wounded veterans workout equipment in their homes. While being interviewed on The Opie and Anthony Show and The Bill O’Reilly Show, Chris told a story of how he punched Jessie Ventura, an opponent of the war in Iraq, in a bar in California in 2006 after Ventura allegedly said the Navy Seals “deserved to lose a few”. In Chris' book, he did not name Ventura but referred to him as “Scruff Face”. Ventura field a lawsuit again Kyle in January, 2012. After Kyle’s death, Ventura still pursued the lawsuit and was eventually rewarded $1.8 million in damages for defamation against Kyle’s estate.

Kyle also appeared on a reality TV show called, 'Stars Earn Stripes', where military operatives are paired up with celebrities to show them day-to-day operations in their specialty field. He had also begun preparations for the movie 'American Sniper' and never met Bradley Cooper to begin preparing Cooper to play the part of himself. They did speak by phone a couple of times. Ironically, the first draft of the movie was handed in the day before Kyle was murdered. 

PictureDress Blues and Mug Shot Eddie Ray Routh
"I traded my soul for a new truck" said Routh stopping by his sister and brother-in-law's house to tell them about what he had done.  According to his sister, Laura Blevins, Routh said, In a frantic 911 call, Blevins tells the dispatcher that her brother confessed to killing "two guys" and she was frightened he may return and harm her and her family. On the call, she can be heard telling others in the house to get their shoes on as they were preparing to leave the residence to go to the police station. Too emotional to finish the call, she handed the phone to her husband, who informed the dispatcher that Routh had recently been released from a mental institution with a diagnosis of PTSD (His 2nd visit since returning home from the war) as well as gave a description of the car Routh was driving. You can listen to the 911 call here: 911 Call From Sister . After leaving their home, Routh returned to his house and eventually led cops on a chase, which ended in his arrest for the murders of Kyle and Littlefield.


PictureEddie Ray Routh
Eddie Ray Routh joined the Marines in 2006 and eventually rose to the rank of corporal in 2010. He was a small arms technician, referred to as an "Armorer".  His service took him to Iraq where he served one tour at Balad Air Base and Camp Fallujah from 2007-2008.  Balad Air Base has 24 hour fast food, a movie theater, and mini-golf, a base a fellow Marine said was comparable to being on base Stateside. According to the men he served with, those locations saw no action and Routh never stepped foot off of the base. He never saw any events that were traumatic in any way.  There were a couple of incoming mortar attacks, but nothing close to Routh, and was no threat to him at all. He did guard Muslim terrorists at a jail on base. It is also alleged that Routh saw no combat time at all while stationed in the Marine Corps. Fellow Marines said that Routh was a known drug user and performed below average during his time in the service. Could this information help the prosecution debunk the PTSD theory? In addition to serving one tour in Iraq, Routh was sent to Haiti on a disaster relief mission in 2009. While Routh told of being on the streets of Haiti with rotting bodies all around, military records show he never left the warship, the USS Bataan. Many fellow Marines have expressed that Routh clearly exaggerated his service to friends and family. Was Routh jealous of his fellow hometown veteran who was welcomed back as a hero and went on to national fame? 

PictureWalid Shoebat referred to this photo, speculating that the appearance conforms to the standard appearance of a Muslim convert’s beard
Routh was also alleged to have been violent on several occasions while deployed. Ryker Pawloski, a Marine who served with Routh, said that he witnessed Routh beat a fellow Marine for posting pictures up on base of Routh with the word "WANTED" and a rainbow. Then, a few weeks later, Pawloski said that Routh body slammed him to the ground for laughing at something unrelated to Routh. Allegedly, Routh slammed him so hard he woke up convulsing due to hitting his head on a metal bar on the way down. There is no record of Routh being punished for these events.

In addition to the recent news that Routh never saw combat and his diagnosis of PTSD is being questioned as a motive in the killing, wild conspiracy theories are beginning to run rampant. One in particular suggests that Routh was a terrorist sympathizer, after he was a guard at a prison in Iraq. According to Walid Shoebat, a former radical Muslim, he says that in a phone call to his father from Iraq, Routh talked about the poor living conditions the prisoners were living in, his increasing opposition to the war, and how he was not eager to engage in any kind of combat, (which he never did).  


Routh's defense will be that he was legally insane at the time of the murder.   Fellow Marines and friends have said that Routh was addicted to drugs and began to get paranoid after his deployment.  At one time, his mother, Jodi, reported a theft of 9 prescriptions, including Morphine from Routh's grandfather, who was suffering from terminal cancer. Did he have a mental illness there before he enlisted? Some friends say something always seemed a bit off about Eddie Ray. But classically the issue in legal insanity is did the defendant know right from wrong? When questioned by police after being caught, the arresting officer asked Routh if he knew what he did was wrong. Routh's response was to the point, his answer, "Yes sir".  According to The Gold Patrol's own Jeff Gold: "if Routh knew he had just traded his soul for a truck, then he knew it was wrong”. 

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Routh at court
'American Sniper' left moviegoers exiting the theaters in tears and with an eerie silence. The movie itself does not show the murder. With defense attorneys already saying that the defendant cannot get a fair trial in the midst of box office and Oscar furor over the Clint Eastwood film about the victim, its a good thing too.  The trial of Eddie Ray Routh is expected to start Wednesday, February 11, 2015, in the small Texas town of Stephenville.  Prosecutors have chosen not to seek the death penalty against Eddie Ray Routh. 


Follow @TheGoldPatrol and @JeffGoldEsq. We will be live tweeting the openings which will be also streamed live at www.TheGoldPatrol.com. 


Copyright (c) by The Gold Patrol (tm) all rights reserved. 
2 Comments

Who was Odin Lloyd? 

2/4/2015

6 Comments

 
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Who was Odin Lloyd?

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by Jennifer McKelvey of The Gold Patrol

 Aaron Hernandez’s  trial for the murder of Odin Lloyd started on January 25, 2015.  As with most high profile cases, we've heard all about Aaron, his accomplishments on the football field, his troubled teen years after the sudden death of his father, his college career at the University of Florida, and how he was a 4th round draft pick due to teams' hesitations to take on a player with amazing talent who was also seen as a liability due to past behavior.  We know about the $40 million contract extension he signed to carry him into 2018 with the New England Patriots. We know he has a young daughter and a fiancé. And, of course, we also know that he is accused of murdering Odin Lloyd on June 17, 2013.

But who was his alleged victim, Odin Lloyd?  Odin came from a different world than Aaron.  Odin was born Sr. Croix, US Virgin Islands, moved to Antigua, eventually settling in Dorchester, Mass., a rough side of Boston. Lloyd seemed like a bright young man with the hopes of playing college football one day. He could have been a Division 1 prospect given his natural athletic ability on the field, but his grades in high school prevented that. After high school, he was admitted to Delaware State University, but financial problems prevented him from attending classes. He eventually took classes at Bunker Hill Community College and earned a degree in the electrical field.

Lloyd began working. He often worked more than one job at a time and rode a bicycle for miles daily back and forth to and from those jobs. One employer later recalled that when applying for his laborer job at a fertilizing company, Odin showed up in a shirt and tie with resume in hand. That is the kind of impression Odin Lloyd would make.

Odin also tried out for and made a local semi-pro football team, The Boston Bandits. He wasn't a starter on the team according to his coach, Oliver Bustin, but he was hard working and dedicated, even mentoring a younger player. There was no pay for the players. With no money to pay the $75 dues, Lloyd wore jerseys with someone else's name on them.

Odin would ride his bike or ride with a teammate to knowing that this semi-pro team would likely never amount to a lucrative contract or a chance to play in the NFL, but it did not stop Lloyd's love or enthusiasm for the game. A teammate of Lloyd's said he was the team's comedian and always made others feel good about themselves.

Unlike many in his part of town, Odin had no criminal record of conviction. (He had been charged twice with offenses that were later dropped.)

About 18 months prior to his murder, he began dating Shaneah Jenkins, whose sister was engaged to Aaron Hernandez.   Odin and Shaneah met at   the hotel that Shaneah worked at on the night shift. Lloyd was in town for work, and that job kept him at the hotel regularly for several weeks. They began seeing one another and the relationship deepened. Eventually he was introduced to Aaron Hernandez.

It wasn't your typical friendship. Aaron Hernandez lived in a mansion about 40 miles away from Lloyd. Aaron had a multi-million dollar NFL contract, endorsements, and money to spare. Odin Lloyd was a laborer who couldn't afford a car according to his mother. When Odin met Aaron, they had one thing in common according to a teammate of Lloyd's - football. Odin enjoyed being associated with a well-known NFL player. Another teammate of Lloyd's said that it took Lloyd a while to tell Aaron he played semi-pro football. He didn't want to seem like a groupie.

It is alleged that Odin became a source for Aaron obtaining marijuana and, they would often smoke together in the basement of Aaron's home or break away from the group they were with to get high. In an attenmpt to characterize the victim in negative light, defense calls Odin the "Bluntmaster”. The defense appears to be ready to point to mysterious drug connections that could be the source of Odin’s demise, rather than Hernandez and his friends.

On June 14, 2013 , two nights before the murder, Aaron and Odin went to Rumors, a nightclub in Boston. At one point on surveillance, Aaron can be seen looking agitated.  A valet attendant said he saw Hernandez with a gun in his waistband. It later was revealed that Hernandez was upset that Lloyd was talking to men that Hernandez disliked. Ultimately, Lloyd left with Aaron and ended up at his condo along with two women

Aaron Hernandez reached out to Odin Lloyd at 9:05 PM on June 17, 2013, via text a few hours before he was killed asking Lloyd if he wanted to get together. Below is a transcript of the texts between the two prior to Lloyd getting into the car with Hernandez and the co-defendants:

Hernandez (9:05 PM): "I'm coming to grab that tonight u gon b around I need dat and we could step for a little again"

(Lloyd did not answer the text)

Hernandez(9:34 PM): "Waddup."

Lloyd (9:37 PM): "Aite, where."

Hernandez (9:39 PM): "ikd it don't matter but imma hit u when I'm dat way like Las time if my phone dies imma hit u when I charge it which will be in a lil."

Lloyd (10:00 PM): "Aite idk anything going on."

Hernandez (10:13 PM): "I'll figure it out I'll hit u on way."

Lloyd (12:22 AM): "We still on."

Hernandez: (2:33 AM): "We're Here"

At the same time he was texting Lloyd to make arrangements to pick him up (in a Suburban SUV  Hernandez  rented the week before)  Aaron was also texting his friends, Carlos Oritz, and Ernest Wallace, the two other men who have been charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd. The pair were in Connecticut at the time the texts were sent by Hernandez:

Hernandez (9:02 PM): "Please make it back."

Hernandez (9:35 PM): "Get your ass up here."

Hernandez (10:23 PM): "Hurry your ass up."

Hernandez, Oritz, and Wallace eventually arrive for Lloyd up at 2:33 AM on June 17. The co-defendant, Oritz, admitted that Hernandez confronted Lloyd about "chilling" with people Hernandez had a problem with. Lloyd reassured him there was no problem, and according to Oritz, Hernandez and Lloyd shook hands as a sign of the dispute being settled. Lloyd, apparently paranoid about the situation, texted his sister:

Lloyd (3:07 AM): "Did you see who I am with?"

Lloyd (3:11 AM): "Hello?"

Sister (3:19 AM): "My phone was dead. Who?"

Lloyd (3:22 AM): "NFL."

Lloyd (3:23 AM): "Just so you know."

Within a very short time, Odin Lloyd was dead.

The motive that prosecutors insist  on is that Aaron Hernandez felt disrespected by Odin Lloyd at the nightclub a few nights earlier.

The last memory that Odin’s mother, Ursula Ward, has of her son, was seeing him with a huge smile as he walked up to her that last day of his life. Early that next morning,  he was found dead on the hard gravel by a teenage jogger.


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