OT: Suffolk murders

I thought about you when I was looking at the news tonight. I wondered if it was near you and that appears to be so.

It is a dreadful thing to happen and lets hope the police catch the person who is doing it very soon. Shirley

In message , Pat P writes

Nobody deserves to die like that. As you say, somebody loves them. It's tragic.

We had a horrid death here yesterday. A worker at the sewage treatment plant fell in. The vat was mostly foamy sewage, and there was no way to swim or tread water, and he died. Ick.

What an AWFUL way to go! I don`t envy the funeral directors, either.

Pat

It's making the news here, Pat. My sister has been walking in a couple of the places bodies were found. I think she'll be doing her Christmas shopping well before dark this year.

Rosemary

It is pretty awful. Last night when I was driving home I listened to a show on NPR discussing this. There late night BBC radio, followed by a Canadian show on WETA (the DC PBS station on TV & radio). Anyhow, it was on the Canadian show, and the hostess interviewed a spokeswomen for the essentially the Union of Prostitutes (though it was a name other than union) in England. She was very well-spoken, and her big point was that this was worsened because of the government crack-down on prostitution, hence spurring on people who find prostitution wrong therefore feeling more justified in killing them. It was an interesting discussion - the Canadian interviewer was asking this woman if she felt that the police crackdown was the reason for the killings and the spokeswoman kept saying that it was essentially inspiring people to feel they were doing the right thing, with government support - in killing these girls. Pretty horrid.

ellice

Oh, so truly ick. Poor worker. Here there has been a rash of young drivers dieing in and/or causing other deaths by vehicle accident. Last week a 16 year old killed himself and 13 yr old sister when he crashed his jeep into a tree. The evidence was that it looked as if he was reaching for something - like a cd and lost control . One of the Washington Post columnists wrote an article today about the problem with 16 year olds having full licenses in an area like the Metro DC one with what is now essentially a 20 hour a day rush hour. The non-peak times here are like rush hours in many places, and rush hours extend 3-4 hours in the morning (5:30 -9:30 am) and easily 4 1/2 in the evening (3:30 - 8 pm). Plus - forget Friday afternoon - then it starts at 1:30 pm heading out of the city -especially west or south - and well, even north - okay - it's just everywhere. It's an interesting column by Courtland Milloy.

ellice

ellice ,in rec.crafts.textiles.needleworkwrote: and entertained us with

It is pretty awful. Last night when I was driving home I listened to a show

I don't know - there is no particular crackdown on prostitution in Canada and yet Robert Picton out in BC is just being tried for the murder and disposal of nearly 30 (I think that's the correct number) of prostitutes.

I believe the nutters who believe it is their job, or divine right, to do away with prostitutes would not need any help with that attitude. After all, how often do you hear of a man (or woman for that matter) deciding it is their job to murder the Johns ? Rational thinking tells one No Johns, No Prostitutes, so we know we are not dealing with rational.

Sorry I misspelled his name and forgot to add the link

Sorry - I should have been more clear. The show is a Canadian radio show. But the Canadian host was interviewing the spokesperson for the League of British Prostitutes - and she was talking about the crackdown the British government has on cleaning up the streets - not in Canada. I guess that was a bit confusing.

One of the points the spokeswoman for the working girls was making was that because of this crackdown, that any johns who had received a warning, or girls for that matter, would be hesitant to come forth with any information for fear of receiving another citation which would lead to jail time - so that unless the police were offering amnesty then people with possibile information would be hesitant or afraid to come forth. Wish I could remember the exact name of the host . I tried looking on the WETA web site, but gave up in frustration.

ellice

Our Police Superintendent said that there is a virtual amnesty at the moment. Not an official one (I suppose that would take time to go through the legal channels) but he says that NO-ONE need fear prosecution by coming forward with information.

John`s old secretary lives in a house in a wood directly opposite where the bodies have been lying all day. I think they`ve gone to the mortuary now, but they were found so late in the day yesterday, they had to put tents over them and leave them until daylight allowed proper investigation. It must have been a bit wierd for poor Jean just over the road - although at least she had dozens of policemen around all night!

Pat

So tragic - poor parents! The news said there was no alcohol or drug involvement, simply a momentary loss of control for whatever unknown reason.

The scariest thing with teens - they think they're invincible, and lives can turn on a dime in just a split second, and they just don't "get" it. When something like this happens, it is a wakeup call, a "teachable moment."

Sue

This sounds like a Scotland Yard procedural murder mystery - like a Thomas Lyndley detective novel by Elizabeth George. What's so "entertaining" in fiction is just tragic in reality!~

Hope it all ends...I almost said "soon," but that's not soon enough...NOW!

Sue

There were four 20 somethings injured here a few months back -- the driver had dropped his cell phone and was reaching for it. Three of them will recover completely, but the fourth had very serious head injuries, and recover will take years.

Why on earth is finding that cell phone so imperative?

Statistically, "driver inattention" is the most common cause of accidents. Whether it's yakking on the cell phone, fiddling with the radio, looking for a CD, eating....

Isn't it ridiculous? I think this is one of the accideent research things that they're finding with younger drivers - accidents innvolving reaching for things - a CD, a phone, whatever. Maybe the lack of experience and that thinking you can do anything - not realizing what you're really trying to control with a motor vehicle.

One of my friends - the one with the LNS - her son nearly totalled his Bronco - driving back to Penn State a few years ago - because he just had to have a CD that was in the back and reached back, ending up running the car into the highway median, etc. Fortunately he wasn't very hurt, and didn't hit anyone else, but, still - the lack of patience and plain stupidity.

I hate being on the rescue squad for some of these - the station I'm now riding with did the rescue - ahem - for the teenagers killed in Leesburg. I'm not looking forward to those nights.

ellice

At least in DC proper it's illegal to being using a cellphone hand-set and operating a motor vehicle. But, people are still morons about it. Around here the area is rife with illegal drivers, drivers who've never had a license, and the ever popular person who learned to drive in another country and hasn't bothered to learn the rules or ways here. I cannot tell you the problem just in my neighborhood of one cultural group that insists on driving in the middle of all the roads, and turning into the wrong lane. Aack.

ellice

I suppose it could be a lack of patience. People today often seem not to know how to wait for anything.

No I did understand what you meant - my point was that all these girls in BC were killed and since there was no crackdown on prostitutes and Johns, it would seem to not back the theory up that crackdowns don't work because information does nto come forward.

If it was radio, it was likely procurable at cbc.ca - they do the best interviews. There are several news type programmes in the early evening. It is streamed online.

A former business partner used to yell out the window "the ox was the smart one". Cracked us up and they had no idea what he was talking about (assuming they spoke English).

His theory was that in their home country, the only thing they drove was an ox cart, and they didn't need to know any rules of the road because the ox had the brains to not collide with another ox cart.

Sort of like my grandfather's observation that when he was a young man, you could drink and drive safely, because the horse knew the way home, so you could fall asleep and leave the driving to Trigger. :)

I don't know that there has been any big increase in the crack-down of prostitution here, there's been several 'slave' type stories in the press over the past few years. I get the feeling this woman is just using the current publicity to promote her cause, and in this case there's not much wrong with it.

The police have opened older cases with similar MO's dating back 14 years, one of those,Vicky Hall happened just 3 years ago and she was not a prostitute just a teen on her way home.