Real Life Crime and Murder #18

[Eureka]

Jaysus lads you would think the poster was the criminal here! She's not doing anything wrong and is acting with good intentions. It's also really interesting and a great opportunity to learn. She's been very brave to post and doesn't deserve this reaction.

 

[NeverEnough]

His name is James Goff. I never really google him but I do have this link saved from his most recent appeal.

Death sentence upheld for man who killed Bible school teacher in 1994

The Ohio\u00a0Supreme Court has upheld\u00a0the death penalty\u00a0of a man who was found guilty of killing an 88-year-old Bible school teacher in 1994.

eu.cincinnati.com

We rarely talk about his crime. Only when the appeal was going on. I have never asked him if he is guilty or not. I have written to him for 15 years. He had seen me through 3 pregnancies, four international house moves and a whole load of life in-between. I send him photos every month and always tell him of the news and stuff. He knitted baby blankets for all of my children. I am unwell but i hope to get well enough to visit him.

Well I have googled him, just as I suspect everyone reading this thread will have by now.

So from what I can gather he, with premeditation, stabbed to death a defenceless 88 year old woman, for the price of a fix of crack. A woman who had already paid him to deliver her furniture. A women who he identified as vulnerable, like a true predator, and whom he returned to under cover of darkness because of his greed for more money. He stabbed her over a dozen times and left her dead and naked for her own daughter to find. He then made great efforts to cover up his tracks.

Detailed account here.

James Goff Murders Myrtle Rutledge In Ohio - Murder Database

James Goff Murders Myrtle Rutledge In Ohio James Goff was sentenced to death by the State of Ohio for the murder of Myrtle Rutledge According to court documents James Goff had delivered furniture to eighty eight year old Myrtle Rutledge and he would later return to the home and would break in...

murderdb.com

It’s your business who you are friends with. That is nothing to do with me. But my god, it would take a shitload of baby blankets for me to overlook that.

 

[Eureka]

I had a friend who had PNP. She didn't harm her child but the impact was so severe when she found herself pregnant a few years later she took her own life. Really we had lost her years before. She had "recovered" but she was a pale imitation of the woman she had been, it completely destroyed everything that made her her. Its an absolutely horrific condition and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I can't feel angry at this woman, just desperately sad that the system that needs to be there to support these mothers isn't available. This could have been prevented.

 

[maytoseptember]

I didn't want skin to skin with my 2nd born as I was in shock and needed something to eat so thought she was safer and warmer in the incubator and it was on my notes as "mother refuses skin to skin" and I thought that was terrible. I had a very quick birth and she needed warmth so I thought the incubator was best place.

One thing I’ve noticed about the way women are treated during/after giving birth, is that once the baby is born, women are no longer considered a patient who might be suffering from pain and exhaustion and is in need of care. They must selflessly put all that aside because the baby is the only thing that matters Hence the judgemental sounding language in your notes.

 

[InTheDollsHouse]

What gets me is that if it was post partum psychosis why didn’t she kill herself too? She was able to kill all three kids but wasn’t that distressed/mentally ill to kill herself? Convenient.

I think anyone saying ‘poor mother’ is in extremely poor taste. If it was a father people would be calling them scum etc. My sympathies lie only with the families and children whose lives were lost, and although mental health may be the cause of this tragedy, a crime has been committed and I struggle to find myself caring about the welfare of a triple murderer.

She was injured and is still in hospital. We don’t know what the injuries were but I think it’s fair to assume they were self-inflicted.

If it was a father, there would be no possibility of post-partum psychosis or other serious perinatal mental illness. (Of course, there could still be mental illness with a father). Psychosis can entirely alter who you are. It can make you believe untrue things about other people - including your own children.

If she is seriously mentally unwell to the point she killed her three children - who were obviously loved very much - when she is well and able to realise what she did, her life will fall apart all over again.

Everyone is sad that children were killed. Empathy and concern for a mother driven to that point doesn’t dampen the feelings for the children.

 

[Officedoor123]

Interesting article. She isn't affording the mother any sympathy. Particularly like this quote:

"His mother, Sarah Piesse, who had separated from his father and not visited her “gorgeous” and “cheeky” son since November, following an argument, has demanded answers."

My jaw nearly hit the floor when I read that the mother said "social services should not be allowed to get away with this" -WHERE WERE YOU? YOU WERE HIS MOTHER????

 

[InTheDollsHouse]

Inflicting unnecessary suffering on someone - whether a criminal or not - makes the people in charge no better than the criminal themself.

They did not know for certain what would happen, but they did it anyway.

They still do not know what he felt or experienced, but they will do it again anyway.

That is not okay.

 

[MedeaWho]

Inside the 'violent execution' of 'writhing' Kenneth Eugene Smith

The 58-year-old convicted killer had a firefighters-style mask placed over his face as he was strapped to a gurney inside the execution chamber at the William C. Holman prison in Atmore, Alabama.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Interesting account of the murder here. I love the use of language. "He was by no means a perfect person". Really? No one's perfect but we're not talking about an unfortunate apple scrumping incident here. We are talking about a murder for hire, not even a clinical one, the poor woman was set upon and stabbed 8 times .

"Look at the context of his life as a whole.". What? Really? Was he nice to animals or something? What exactly is the trade off in context which balances the scales to cold blooded murder?

The death sentence is up for debate. This method is certainly up for debate. But what isn't up for debate is Kenneth Eugene Smith is no great loss to humanity and the end of his life makes the world just that little bit a better place.

I'm sure he loved his wife. His wife ought to take a long look at herself and ask herself if the love of a convicted murderer is worth having? Can a man like that even feel love?

Killing a human being via a method deemed too unethical for animals does NOT make world a better place. Exactly the opposite.

 

[blueblue]

A girl or woman who was not empowered to take control of her situation, many situations along the way (conception, pregnancy, birth). Empathy perhaps if not sympathy.

We always need to send the lift back down for our sisters. Contraception and abortion is healthcare, we need to keep fighting to ensure everyone has access.

 

[Eltonjohnsflorist]

He also cut the telephone wires so she couldn’t even call for help, not that she probably would have been able to after your pen pal stabbed her multiple times in her head, neck, shoulders, and ankle with a fishing tackle knife. This is the same man who made baby blankets that you swaddle your children in?

Why are you doing this? What business of yours is it if she writes to a prisoner?
I don’t get the point of berating her. Why would she care what you think?

 

[Dinate]

The SW contacted the police on the two occasions they attended and got no reply. The 3rd time they got a key and went in themselves

One of the dad's grown-up sons has said that they had invited him to spend Christmas and NY with them but he decided not to go because he had a bad foot and also he couldn't find anyone to look after his dog. They messaged each other on Boxing Day. The son then messaged him on NYE but he didn't reply. Unfortunately, the son didn't follow this message up.

They seem to think that the dad died before NY which would line up with him not replying to his son's message. The postmortem gave the earliest date of death as being 29 Dec. A neighbour said she last heard the dad on NYE and she heard Bronson shouting 'Daddy' in the early hours of NY. So if the neighbour is correct, he likely died on NYE.

I don't see how any blame can be attached to the SW who was making an arranged visit after the holidays and reported her concerns to the police immediately, and did so again after her 2nd visit. I don't know what else she could have been expected to do especially as it seems that it was a routine visit. Sadly, it may even be that little Bronson had already passed away by her first visit, and more likely than not by the 2nd. But I honestly don't see how any blame can be attached to her.

 

[Eltonjohnsflorist]

What gets me is that if it was post partum psychosis why didn’t she kill herself too? She was able to kill all three kids but wasn’t that distressed/mentally ill to kill herself? Convenient.

I think anyone saying ‘poor mother’ is in extremely poor taste. If it was a father people would be calling them scum etc. My sympathies lie only with the families and children whose lives were lost, and although mental health may be the cause of this tragedy, a crime has been committed and I struggle to find myself caring about the welfare of a triple murderer.

this is such a weird interpretation of PP psychosis! So if the person suffering doesn’t manage to kill themselves it’s not real? wtf?!

 

[Bread]

I doubt he did it on purpose - suspect it was splashback. A shame it wasn't worse.

Radio 4 were discussing the issue this morning. Personally I think anyone convicted of a crime, particularly a sexual one, should be refused asylum full stop.

 

[Dizzy]

I'm sorry if this upsets people but I don't feel sorry for the mother who dumped the poor little baby. She basically left her to die in the freezing temperatures. Thankfully she survived.

I realise there may have been exceptional circumstances (e.g. if mother was a victim of abuse and forced to dump the baby). If the mother actually made the choice to leave a baby out like that it's awful. Leave it in a hospital or something, don't sacrifice a child's life.

I totally get what you’re saying but postpartum psychosis is a very serious and debilitating illness which can mean the mother acts completely irrationally resulting in life threatening behaviour. Symptoms can include the mother having feelings and thoughts about harming her baby (and herself) - in these cases the mother sometimes abandons the baby to keep them ‘safe’ from themselves.

 

[Davena94]

The thread is about murder and this poser has given a relevant and in my opinion, very interesting insight into her connection to that. I appreciate her honesty

 

[Bima6694]

This is what Bronson's mother posted the day he was found.... Just... Yeah

 

[MissTeddy]

This is what Bronson's mother posted the day he was found.... Just... Yeah

oh god I found her Facebook too, what a joke.
Theres a mentality among certain people to blame the government, teachers, police, social workers or the nhs for every failure in their lives. Responsibility begins at home. Imagine effing away on social media when your poor baby died alone.

 

[BarryEvansHun]

FFS I'm so sick of these paranoid schizophrenics murdering women. I'm really sick of it.

If the dogs had been reported, why had nothing happened?

You’re sick of men murdering women. More ‘normal’ men murder women in a week than paranoid schizophrenics murder in a year. People living with schizophrenia are more at risk of killing themselves than anybody else.
I do worry how the current reporting of ‘schizophrenic attacks’ will affect the ever growing stigma around the diagnosis.
I am fed up of the NHS cut backs, low staffing, inefficient training, the terrible communication between services / families and the lack of resources that cause people living with a psychotic disorder to get so unwell they are able to attack and kill innocent people.

 

[Unicorn_Poop]

The mother is in the papers too saying it’s SS fault.

We don’t know the full circumstances but was she not concerned by a lack of contact? Did she not try to get in touch etc? Maybe she wasn’t allowed near, I don’t know but by the sounds of it SS did act and went above and beyond when they couldn’t contact the family.

I can’t imagine how the social worker will be feeling and it’s not their fault.

It’s always easier to blame someone though, isn’t it.

I know we never get the full story but it blows my mind in cases such as this the other biological parent comes out condemning SS - why do they have to shoulder all the blame? Surely if you’d had no contact from that long you’d be raising the alarm yourself?

It reminds me of Baby Peter whose Dad was dragging all services yet he never reported any concerns - how didn’t HE notice the bruises and marks? It seems unfair Social services shoulder all the blame yet absent parents soon play the victim

(I sound rather right wing here - I know there will be reasons why mum didn’t have custody etc but it baffles me ) you can see why SS struggle the recruit-retain staff when they get so much shit

 

[Bima6694]

Sadly no chance of that. She’s already done an interview and photo shoot with The Sun. Archive link here. She says she didn’t see Bronson since November because she fell out with his dad. She had the older two children living with her. It’s very very strange and I think more will come out eventually.

Mum of tragic Bronson Battersby breaks down & says 'he was 2 inches t…

archived 18 Jan 2024 07:48:14 UTC

archive.ph

I've just read the article and it makes me so angry at the mother. None of it makes sense. Bronson lived with Dad as she have moved into a flat with a high staircase - but no concern for the 3 yr old she kept with her? What? And all about her having his Christmas present wrapped up that she'll never give him. Hows about Christmas Day? It was already like 2 weeks after Christmas?

Also this "I got down there as fast as I could. I was there in ten minutes flat" and "They asked Sarah if she had received any messages from Kenneth, but gave her no indication there was anything to worry about."

So she knew he'd gone AWOL but couldn't be arsed to wander 10 mins down the road to see if her 2 yr old was alright, after weeks???

Weird.