Do you personally know anyone who's been murdered or murdered someone? (civil, children)

[Joe the Photog]

A girl I went through school all the way from elementary to high school killed her mother when we were in our 30s. She also stole money from her and set the houe on fire before going on the run. She was caught and is serving a long prison sentence. Her mom was good friends with my sister.

[banjomike]

I've known 4 murder victims and 1 murderer.

3 of the victims were men as was the murderer, and one was a woman.

The woman was a victim of a multiple murderer in 1987, and was kidnapped in a grocery parking lot after getting back into her van.
Her killer was inside the van, attempting to hot-wire it when she came out of the store. She never saw him as she got into her van; he must have seen her coming and hid. Once she was inside, he forced her to go to her bank and withdraw all her money from her checking account at the drive-up, then took her out of town to a farm field, where he raped her and then shot her.
And then ran over some old wire fencing that wrapped around the van's axle and stuck the vehicle. He abandoned the van with her body inside it, walked to a country store and called someone who came and got him and brought him back to town.
The van was discovered later the same day, but by then the killer had found another car and had driven out of state.
He was captured two days later in Nevada, where he was pulled over by a cop for speeding. When the driver's door was opened, the gun he used fell out and landed at the patrolman's feet.

Her death was the last of the 3 he committed in the course of 5 days. His other 2 victims were both convenience store workers he murdered after robbing the stores. One was a man who was dragged into the store's cooler, and the other a woman he carried off in his getaway car, with the intent to rape her, but she escaped and was shot while running away.

Apparently, she was killed through happenstance opportunity. He wanted a new getaway car, spotted her van entering the parking lot, and thought it was the best choice for him. Her murderer was pure scum who had been in trouble all his life.
To the end, he never admitted to his crimes, even when there was a mountain of evidence, and after he was sentenced, he tried to attack the prosecutor in the court room.


One of the men I knew was living in L.A. when he was murdered in 1978. He was working for a music distributor who sold instruments and goods, and had arrived at a local music store at noon as part of his normal routine as a salesman.

The store owner had just purchased a new home, and wanted to show it off to my friend.
Since it was noon, they planned to go take a look at the house and then go to lunch afterward.

When they walked in, they interrupted burglars who had broken in through the back door. They had been watching the movers carry all the family's goods into the house the day before, and hit the house to carry it all off while it was still in boxes while no one in the family was at home

My friend and his customer were both bound and roped to some kitchen chairs while the burglars debated on what to do with them, and then both were shot to death.
All 3 were eventually arrested and imprisoned, but none received a death sentence and I'm sure they were all freed after serving out their time.

Another male victim I knew was a Canadian, the son of one of my father's old friends.
I didn't know him well, but he had come down a couple of times with his dad for visits and we hung out together when he came.
About 2 years after their last visit, he was found outside a bar in Alberta in his car with his throat cut. I never heard if his killer was ever arrested.
That family also lost their other son to murder about 15 years later. His younger brother was living and working in a local hotel as the night manager and was murdered while on the job.

The last and most recent murder victim I knew was an old friend I had lost contact with recently, but I had known for most of our lives.
He died on Thanksgiving eve in 2021 at a girlfriend's house after an argument with her nephew who was high on drugs.
After he went into the spare bedroom and went to sleep, the young guy went in a killed him with a shotgun.
He was sentenced to 18 years last year.


The murderer I knew was a childhood friend I grew up with.
After we graduated from high school, he became alcoholic and addicted to gambling, particularly card games, after he had flunked out of college a year earlier.

I don't know much about the killing as I was serving in the Navy when it happened, but apparently, he had lost all his money in a card game one night and went back to the local convenience store where he worked to rob the till so he could rejoin the game.
He was interrupted by the guy who was working his late shift at the store, and my friend shot him with a gun that was kept next to the till.

He then fled to a neighboring state and was not suspected, as his employer thought he had just quit working to go get drunk. He turned himself in about a month later after his conscience began to bother him, pled guilty to second-degree murder, and received an 18-year sentence.

I met him for our last time several years later after I was discharged and was attending college.
He was allowed to get out of state prison to go speak at the college at a law seminar that was held there about the rehabilitation programs the prison was using at that time.

He was always very intelligent, and once sentenced and sober, had set about re-habilitating himself as soon as he entered prison. He studied, took extension classes, and had committed himself to providing his victim's wife and son to half of his income to an account he set up for them.
From those efforts, he had become a convict spokesman for the prison's programs and was allowed out sometimes to speak at these conferences with supervision.

This was in 1971.
We talked for quite a long time after the day's events ended. He was uncomfortable when he recognized me in the audience, but once we began talking, he was very frank and honest when he told me about his crime and its consequences.
Talking to me wasn't easy for him, but he was immensely sorry for his crime and never tried to diminish it to me. I'll never know what became of him, but I'm sure he did everything he could do as repentance, as he was always very diligent and decent when we were kids.

That murder was the very shocking to me, us it was so unlike him, and I knew him very well. He was always a guy the kids today would call a hot dork.

He was not natural athlete, but through sheer diligence became a star basketball player in High School, who never missed a shot once he was given the ball.
He always got good grades even though he wasn't a natural scholar, and was always a joiner who loved to participate in everything. He wasn't ever a loner at all.
The kind of kid who made friends with everyone. He was a big kid, but he used his size as a peace-keeper, and never intimidated anyone with it, but he would wade into a fight and pull it apart and then cool it down.

The boy the parents all knew would bring their daughter home at 10:00 on the dot, even when his girlfriend wanted to party on until midnight. Church every Sunday, and the first to lend a hand whenever it was needed.

When he turned himself in, the local police never suspected he was the killer. Even his boss, who knew he was having problems with alcohol, never thought he would ever shoot anyone with the gun at the store. His boss thought he had gone on a bender; it was something he had done before, but would always come back to work after he had sobered up.

He was given the late shift on his request, as it helped to keep him out of the bars. Back then, late-night traffic at the store was always very slow, so he used that idleness to clean the place up and re-stock it. His boss let him keep the job because of that ****-and-span diligence.

The entire town knew him, and to everyone, he was the most unlikely person possible who would ever do what he did.

[Three Wolves In Snow]

Don't know anyone who was murdered, but since others have included suicide, I know of one boy who did when I was in high school.

I don't think he was in high school yet. I think he was in Jr. High...I can't remember if he was in 8th or 9th grade.

Anyway, as I did a lot in high school, I would sneak out the gym side doors (because it was so easy to open them back up with a coat hanger), and skip class. I was walking up to town, and this boy was in front of me. I knew who he was, but wouldn't say I 'knew' him. He was a kid that a lot of other kids bullied, and he didn't have a good family life.

I remember seeing him as I got onto the main road walking up to town, and kind of laughing that I was not the only person skipping class right then. As we walked, he kept looking back at me. If I had caught up to him, I probably would have said hi and maybe a comment about skipping class and how funny it was.

I eventually reached the stores, but he kept walking. I had no idea where he was going, but still felt like we were 'skipping class buddies' for that bit of time.

Found out later from the newspaper that he had continued walking all the way to the next town about 6 miles away. He walked through that town, got to the other side of it, went onto the bridge over the river, and proceeded to jump to his death.

For a very long time, I put so much guilt onto myself. If only I had caught up to him and joked with him about skipping class. If only I had known, I could have stopped him. If only I had known, I could have made him feel better and he wouldn't have killed himself.

Obviously, those are not necessarily actions that would have changed his course, and I also had to admit that it would have been possible that if I had caught up with him, I could have even passed him and maybe not said much at all. Maybe just the hi, and asking if he was skipping, too. But we all wish to be that person who stops someone from doing something drastic. I don't think anything I would have said, had I caught up to him, would have changed a thing. He really was a sad boy, and people in school are mean.

[trinity1111]

Yes. In my 20's my (female) roommate had another apartment in her 'hub' town --she was a flight attendant. She left our house and flying into the hub town, she walked into that apartment when it was being robbed.

Poor timing, he stabb3d her 36 times, I can't imagine the horror, the fear, the pain, the sadness of leaving a life she loved....
She lived for just a bit in the ambulance and told the cops only one word: "Black".... then she left this world.....

[BJW50]

One of my childhood friends was involved in a murder. He was the driver and later destroyed the murder weapon. He died last year, but spent most of his adult life in prison. I hadn’t seen him since the ‘70s and none of the stories I heard about him were flattering.

[MissPickel]

Many years ago I lived on a corner & I had a neighbor (of 15yrs) who's kitchen window was maybe 6' distance from my own livingroom window. He was a nice man .. a kind man. The only dispute we ever had was over the Honeysuckle that separated our properties & the way he butchered it every spring. I heard talk that he was selling drugs, but never saw any evidence of it. There was no foot traffic. Also heard he had a floor safe. M'k .. construction work is seasonal, & sometimes under the table.

At that time in history I had a very annoying family member who loved to drop by unannounced, & sometimes bring along a companion. One evening (late) I was watching teevee & heard a car pull up out front. Quick, turned the volume down & turned off the lamp. Laid back down -- & promptly fell asleep. In the morning my DIL woke me as she was peeping out the front window as they were removing two body bags from the neighbor's house.

Soon reporters & local media were out there -- w/lights & camera -- doing interviews w/the local looky-loos as law enforcement removed "evidence." My neighbor on the opposite side said she heard a commotion that night via her open bathroom window. As she listened closely she heard a woman's voice pleading, "no, please." She immediately dialed 911. According to the news, when law enforcement responded there was someone seated in a car in front of the house. This person was asked if they heard anything unusual. They said, no. Law enforcement never went to the door. My neighbor tried to follow up on her 911 call, & specifically asked for a copy of it, to no avail.

They had both been shot "execution style" .. his locked firearms were gone & his safe was rifled.

Funny thing is there is never any mention of his classic Shelby Cobra. A collector's item. Nary a peep. I remember him uncovering it to show it to me in his garage. Heh. Never mention it in "the news." Funny that. The killers had to have come prepared w/a tow or a trailor for that Cobra. They left a big bloody palm print on the garage door. Something I still can't unsee. Another 'funny thing' is that nobody ever came & tapped on my door to ask me if I'd seen or heard anything strange that night. Not my door, or my neighbor's door. So much for "the murder investigation."

His ex-wife who lived out of state, came to my door when she was in town. She wanted to know if I knew anything. She explained she tried to launch her own investigation (via her attorney IIRC), but was eventually told that they "hit a wall." When I see Cold Case files, I think of him, & the young lady, whoever she was, @ the wrong place @ the wrong time.

.

[king john IV]

no.

knew the relatives very well.
knew the friends even better.
but...the convicted? never.

[MonkeyChow]

Sadly, yes. A friend of mine was murdered in 2018 by her husband. He was sentenced to life in prison.

[RosieSD]

A good friend of my daughter's in her mid 20s was shot by her (male) roommate in the living room of the house they shared.

Then, he called the police to report there were two people dead and committed suicide before the police arrived.

No one has ever been able to explain why. They were not romantically involved and seemed to get along fine.

[SunGrins]

Personal friend and coworker of one victim -- murdered about ten years ago. I met a young guy (daughter's classmate) who went nuts and killed his dad, but we were not closely acquainted. He went directly to a mental hospital.