In June 1985, two teenagers…Larry Brock and Amy Boyle, ran away from home to get married. Strangely enough, they took another teenager with them, named Pat Beach…

Larry and Amy were found shot to death in the remote mountains of Colorado. Beach was a close friend of Larry. Beach very quickly became the suspect, seeing that he was arrested while hitchhiking near the scene of the murders. Oddly enough, Brock’s pick-up truck was found overturned, and the rifle used to kill the couple was found nearby. When taken into custody, Beach had Brock’s wallet and about $800, which was believed to belong to Brock and Boyle. Particularly telling was the fact that Beach initially claimed to not know Brock or Boyle.

Beach claimed that there were two youths in a truck who could provide an alibi for him. Of course, no such people were found. In a very strange and thought-provoking twist…

Reference is being made to the 1979 role-playing game…

The game involves superheroes and villains, and so only in some of the mechanics, is this game anything like D&D. However, role playing games, certainly at the time, were all being treated as if they were D&D…

…wrong! The two games have nothing to do with one another. But this wasn’t the only game found in the truck…

Brock’s battered pick-up truck Wednesday was in a gas station parking lot in Lake City where someone towed it. Inside, authorities had placed the teens’ belongings. Visible were hot dogs, cans of SpaghettiOs, lanterns, fishing tackle boxes, beer cans, blankets and comforters, and a word game called Boggle.

This goes a long way to explaining Villains and Vigilantes…both games were brought along to keep the teenagers from getting bord. Perhaps you can blame Boggle for what happened. But why kill Amy? Because he killed Brock…

Beach underwent a psychological examination that revealed a very disturbed, though not insane, young man…

Beach had talked about suicide before the murders but had shown no violent tendencies, said MacDonald. In addition, he told me he had an impulse to kill his parents with his stepfather’s rifle. He had difficulties in his relationship with them, the psychiatrist said. The day prior to the murders, Beach had an impulse to kill Boyle and Brock. His original plan was to kill them, take their money, fly back to Illinois and tell his friends about the killings, MacDonald said. He figured he’d be in an insane asylum the rest of his life. He always wanted to be in an asylum, but not be totally insane.

Having the goal of ending up in an insane asylum is crazy. That’s a load of nonsense, though for some, an asylum is better than prison. But you have to be found not guilty by reason of insanity, and so his plan failed, and he ended up in prison. And so much for not having violent tendencies. But the psychiatrist did say something about Beach that was significant…

But he is an emotionally disturbed youth who has low self-esteem, conflicts with sexuality, and a poor grasp of reality.

Ah, perhaps the Boy George Syndrome. But Beach did describe himself as a…wimp, and was overly jealous of Brock.

MacDonald also said Beach had an unhealthy preoccupation with fantasy games such as Dungeons and Dragons, and Villains and Vigilantes, which MacDonald described as very violent. MacDonald said he didn’t believe the fantasy games were directly involved in the murders, even though a Villains and Vigilantes game was found in the truck the three traveled in.

This is the only statement I have found that indicates that Beach was into D&D, and even so, it’s irrelevant. I wonder what MacDonald thought about the game Boggle. Reports indicate that Beach showed no remorse for the killings. He reached a plea deal by which he pled guilty to one count of secondary murder. It seems strange that MacDonald said that Beach would kill again if he had the chance….it just doesn’t seem to fit.

On October 19, 1988, twenty-two-year-old Joseph Michael Bradsberry was brutally murdered. He was handcuffed, choked, stabbed through the neck and drowned in the Natomas East Drainage Canal. Implicated in the murder was Wallace (Randy) Ervin, Luther (Luke) Franklin Mays III, Arthur Odell (Del) Holley, and an unnamed teenage boy. The latter provided much of the testimony about what happened the night of the murder. The idea was floated that these men were members of a satanic coven lead by Ervin. The murder of Bradsberry was described as a ritual. That night, they played D&D and watched the movie…Evil Dead II.  The teenager claimed that Holley said that they were prepared to initiate him into the cult…

That is an interesting concept of hell, seeing how the basic idea of hell is that it is a place of eternal torture and torment. The belief that hell is a place where you go to party for eternity is not uncommon in our culture. And to believe in hell at all, you must believe the Bible’s claim that hell is real. The victim arrived after speaking with his girlfriend, and the group offered him the opportunity to join the cult. He was led down to a bike trail near the drainage canal. Once there, Bradsberry was handcuffed, choked, stabbed, and was thrown into the water, his head and shoulders submerged. Upon returning to the apartment, Bradsberry’s girlfriend…

Sandra Colleen Capps was a self-described white witch. The claim to white-witchcraft is rather puzzling, given that it is black magic that is being described. It was Capps who was identified as the driving force behind the murder, and she became the focus of the story. What’s a witch to do?

Of course. It’s worth a try. How many? She had…

 …six different, distinct personalities. Then new nicknames appeared for the others. Wallace became known as…Dracula; Luther Franklin became known as…Lonewolf.

Attorney Stacy Bogh countered the supposed occultic nature of the murder…

So, what happened to the multiple personality gig?

Yes, that. She proceeded to flip the whole thing around. The cult leader was Ervin…

 She also went so far as to say that the victim was complicit…

To help his girlfriend get into the cult, Bradsberry agreed to be sacrificed since he believed that she could simply resurrect him. Clever. But Capps was able to obtain a separate trial from the others.

Whatever. Eventually, the men involved plead guilty. However…

Now we’re getting closer to the truth. But there is a better explanation for what caused the murder…

Bogh said that one new theory being examined is that the killing of Bradsberry may have been drug-related.

Really?

Yes, they were taking large doses of LSD. When drugs enter the picture, all bets are off.

One of the those we’ve met…Wallace Randall Ervin, supposedly called…Dracula, stated that although he played around with the occult and had sacrificed animals on occasion, it was irrelevant to the murder. He stated that the murder was a…LSD dream. How about Luther Mays? He remembers cutting the victim’s throat, but he doesn’t recall why he did it, though he’s sure his actions were drug related. Luther Franklin claimed that he was drunk at the time. It should not be surprising that young men who are fond of the occult would also be drawn to D&D, though the latter was not central to the story. I don’t know if those involved in the murder were tested for drugs, but it is certain that what happened is more consistent with PCP than LSD.

The extent to which investigators will go in blaming D&D for suicides and murders, was made clear with the murder of…

…Joan Ann Charlton, who was attending Frostburg State University when she died in September 1983. Her body was found in a creek, and it was determined that she had been stabbed to death. A total of 19 stab wounds were noted. She was last seen on September 11, 1983, walking to her dorm. She attended a party in Annapolis Hall and used the laundromat. In something that is somewhat confusing, authorities knew right where to look for her and managed to find the body within two to five minutes of beginning the search. One is tempted to believe that the authorities knew exactly where to find Charlton’s body which, if true, they must have been given a tip.

Her body was found the following day. This case continues to engross students of cold cases, and it remains unsolved to this day. The case was a disturbing one, and so various ideas were floated.

Dungeons & Dragons?

Here we go again…D&D is NOT a board game. But why suggest that the murder of Charlton had anything to do with Dungeons and Dragons? Your guess is as good as mine. I haven’t seen anything that indicates that the victim played the not-board game D&D. And since the police had no idea who committed the murder, we have no way of knowing whether they played the game either. Was anything consistent with D&D found at the murder scene? I’ve found nothing that indicates that this was the case. Her laundry bag was found close to the body, and, according to investigators, there had been heavy rain that would have washed any evidence away, and this is particularly important given the fact that the body was found at a…

…stream. Interviews turned up nothing, and the NAACP criticized the investigation.

Started as a joke? And just what is an…unregistered…game of D&D? Clearly, this was a suggestion born of desperation. And at the same time, far more plausible situations were noted in this article…she was having trouble with an unnamed male. Someone thought they heard her crying. And in another twist, she was not getting along with her roommate and was planning on moving into another dorm.  And! She was found nude.

So, there was at least one sexual predator prowling around Frostburg campus.

And…

…a serial killer.

Ball? He was later dropped as a suspect. But it’s clear that Charlton fell victim to a rapist and murderer. This case may go down on the list of cases that never get solved. But it is clear that D&D had nothing to do with this tragedy.

Another killing took place in Canada. On April 29, 1989…

…Vivian Bremner disappeared. Her husband reported her missing on April 30th.

Her dead body was found three days later, and…

…Timothy Harpur, twenty-two years old, became the prime suspect. He lived…

…not far from Bremner and was caught driving the dead woman’s car. When Harpur was arrested, the authorities believed that he had simply stolen the car. Personal items had been left behind, and some files were found in the driveway. Her plans that day included going to watch a touch football game. That changed…

News accounts suggest that the original crime may have been stealing Bremner’s car, and that he killed her when she came out and confronted her. This would explain the lack of any connection between the two. One source states that in the first statement Harpur made to police he confirmed that the event was driven by Harpur’s desire to steal the car. Although, going for the insanity plea, that’s not what Timothy would say later. But there was never any doubt who murdered Vivian Bremner. And…

And…

Ok, here we go again. There are no…grandmasters. This isn’t chess. However, there is a dungeon master, who designs the game and controls it. The players do not. In fact, Timothy stated the following…

This seems to be an attempt for an insanity defense…

But he did attempt to get the jury to feel sorry him…

Perhaps he’s thinking about the cancer that kills you next morning. Radioactivity! And mixed with milk. There are any number of lethal compounds that you can get that will kill you without ingesting plutonium.

So, he was drinking a lead cocktail to kill himself…so why worry about blindness? You won’t be around long enough for it to be a problem. How do you survive 70 – 80 pain killers? It would seem, at least in his mind, he was indestructible. They don’t let you have computers in prison, much less in a solitary confinement cell where you get a bunk and a hole in the floor.

Harpur’s numerous suicide attempts were attempts to find out what death was like, rather than an escape from depression.

But at any rate, the game Harpur cited was some unnamed video game, not Dungeons & Dragons. Harpur wanted to steal a car, and when the owner came out and surprised him, he killed her. He wasn’t very bright…

In examining Harpur, Ervin said he found some brain damage that may have been caused by a car accident Harpur had been in three days before killing Bremner. Stolen?

So he drove around in a manner that would put police lights in his rearview mirror every time.

This guy really shouldn’t have been driving.

Really, man? You fell for that one? How about this…

Ah, yes! Don’t throw the shoes away. And most people have more than one pair. And although he discarded his clothes, he went to all the trouble to save his shoes by spray-painting them. It is very hard to believe that this science major wash-out actually had an IQ of 135.

Christian Rogers Newbaker, 19 years old, attended Syracuse University, and lived on the 8th floor of his Booth Hall dormitory….

This is the only information I have been able to find about this case. However, the article does state that the death was an…apparent…suicide. And yes, it is quite coincidental that both Newbaker and Kevin O’Grady ended up tumbling to the ground in the same week. But O’Grady’s death was an accident, and, if one can believe the information, it was one hell of a tumble.

Now D&D has nothing to do with the fate of the hapless Kevin O’ Grady. However, it is worth noting that there is a good precedent for this. Meet my good friend…

…Eutychus. It is half-ironic that Eutychus is Greek for…fortunate.

On the first day of the week, we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and died. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.

There is definitely a shot being taken at the Apostle Paul…he droned on and on…speaking all night long until daybreak. I would have fallen asleep too, just not in the window. Maybe one of Peter’s friends wrote this story. But unfortunately, there was no Apostle Paul to resurrect Kevin. Eutychus went from being very unfortunate to very fortunate in a very short period of time. And I’m glad that Paul didn’t allow this to interfere with his dinner. But there would seem to be a hazardous configuration of furniture in the case of Eutychus and that of Kevin O’Grady.

However, it is worth noting that in the case of Christian Newbaker, Booth Hall appears to have a malevolent force within it…

A student who survived a four-story fall from a Syracuse University dormitory window last year died of a drug overdose hours after another Syracuse student fell to his death from another dormitory, police said Tuesday. The overdose sufferer was identified as Patrick Smart, 23, Rowley, Mass., a paraplegic since his fall from Booth Hall.

So, three falls in a relatively short period of time, with only one being an apparent suicide?

On May 30, 1988…

…Melissa Ann Myer was murdered. The trail led to…

...Jason Wayne Rose, who had an accomplice named John Ray Jones.

Arioch is a figure from the Old Testament, a king named in Genesis 14, where he is clearly nothing more than a mortal ruler. Somehow, he morphed into a demonic entity…

 362 On each wing
363 Uriel and Raphael his vaunting foe,
364 Though huge, and in a Rock of Diamond Armd,
365 Vanquish'd Adramelec, and Asmadai,
366 Two potent Thrones, that to be less then Gods
367 Disdain'd, but meaner thoughts learnd in thir flight,
368 Mangl'd with ghastly wounds through Plate and Maile,
369 Nor stood unmindful Abdiel to annoy
370 The Atheist crew, but with redoubl'd blow
371 Ariel and Arioc, and the violence
372 Of Ramiel scorcht and blasted overthrew

You may recognize that from Paradise Lost, VI: 362-372. Originally, Arioch was the guardian angel of the ancestors of the offspring of Enoch, appointed by God, along with Mariock, preserved the Enochian writings. It was later that he got sucked into the wacky, weird world of demonology…the flip side of Angelology, though they both meet in the middle. He became a demon of vengeance and was summoned in this capacity…

Nobody ever said that Arioch isn’t a good-looking guy.

By Rune Stones, the idea is most likely…

…miniature stones which are included in do-it-yourself occult collections that includes tarot cards, crystals, bloodstones, crystal balls, etc. The actual…

…rune stones were large stones raised primarily to mark the grave of an important person, or to commemorate heroic deeds. The carvings on the stones are runes, and there are different runic alphabets. The small runic stones known today and used in modern paganism and the occult allow one to throw the runes and get some sign or other. They predict, curse, or bless, among other things. The runes became associated with the pagan religion of Wotanism, as described by…

…Guido von List, who used runes to discern and predict. Unfortunately, a link was formed between von List’s symbols and those of right-wing political parties in German, including the German Worker’s Party (DAP), and then its offshoot…National Socialist German Worker’s Party…the Nazi party.

Kooks and crackpots like Rose, have made the runes into symbols of evil, with this view of the runes possibly influenced by the Nazis’ use of them.

I must admit that I’m not sure what the “Seventh Gate” is. I do know of a legend about The Seven Gates of Hell. The gates are to be found in a wooded area in Hellam, Pennsylvania. By passing through the gates, with the final one being the Seventh Gate, you will find yourself in Hell. Why you’d want to end up there…I don’t know. The legend also states that no one has ever gotten past the Fifth Gate. So, if Rose is talking about this, then he would be the first to reach hell by that means.

Another supposed influence that was cited to the jury was the movie…Faces of Death.

The movie was made in 1978 as a documentary, and it was banned in many countries. It is a film that contains authentic death, post-death, car accident, and autopsy footage, along with a bunch of fake scenes. Still, I do not recommend viewing it. But one should note that the movie ends on a positive note, including the song…Life…by Gene Kauer. Convicted killer Rod Mathews, who killed his friend with a baseball bat, claimed that Faces of the Death was a strong influence on him. But this was rejected, Rod Mathews showing all kinds of psychiatric issues as a child.

It's hardly surprising that different claims are made. What does seem clear that Rose, his accomplice, and the victim were at an itinerants’ makeshift campsite on a hill in east Springfield. It seems clear that the three were known to each other.

However…

So, first a machete, then a choke hold, and now an eight-foot spear.

So many possibilities…

Was Rose disturbed? Absolutely. Did he immerse himself in dark things? No doubt about it. But he would go on to claim that he was forced by the police to make a confession and a tape of how the murder occurred. This was something that came up in a prior case. Was this murder a human sacrifice? This certainly is the claim made ad nauseum. However, the different statements about how the murder occurred do not support this. Oh, this was how it went down in the history books, and Rose, quite possibly coerced into making this claim, has lived with this all his life…and always will.

Meyer’s role in the murder?

But could there be a different reason for killing Melissa Ann Meyer? Perhaps…a more tangible one?

Robbery! Money! These are age-old motives for murder and have nothing to do with the occult. Another possible reason? Ah, for the love of money…

Yes! Hitmen for hire. Money, Money, Money…forget D&D and the occult. These were two very practical young men, and both were convicted of first-degree robbery. But the question can be asked yet again…could there be another reason, an equally practical one?

And there it is. Whenever drugs enter into the story, the whole story is about drugs. So, Rose was into drugs, apparently deeply into drugs. Most likely, he owed a drug dealer a lot of money. Drug dealers are not known for patience. When ripped off, you have to use violence, often excessive violence, to save face in the underworld of drugs. You must make an example of people. This dealer was looking for them, which was a good reason for going out into the forest. But Meyer also knew this dealer. She fell out with Rose and his accomplice, and threatened to go to the dealer and tell him where he could find Rose. Then, there was nothing else that could be done…she had to be killed. John Ray Jones named a person who was out to kill them…

All the rest, the occultic nonsense, was concocted to steer the case away from drugs and the murderous intentions. And what of Faces of Death? Arioch? Nonsense.

…Odinism? I was surprised to hear that you can get occultic items like rune stones in prison. And given the tendency for prisons to ban dice for fear of gambling, I’m surprised that he ever had his D&D stuff in jail to begin with. He fought for it…why not…do you know how boring prison is? Well, when you’re not too busy trying to avoid being shanked that day? Very boring. And what incited Rose to murder? Rune stones, which are to be found in D&D, for the obvious reason…a Middle Earth setting for most of the action. But they are simply another source of magic…one of a plethora of magic items.

Rose’s partner…John Ray Jones, was a minor at the time of the murder of Meyer…

…of course he was. His defense presented a situation in which Jones was a young accomplice being manipulated by Rose. When Jones’s house was searched…

Police seized a book entitled Necronomicon Spellbook during a search of a mobile home in which Jones lived in Springfield, according to one search warrant. The book is a ritual guide for people interested in communication with the dead and in magic with the aid of a dead person.

Necronomicon? Now we’re talking! And it shows what a dope Jones was.

The Necronomicon is also known as…the Book of the Dead, not to be confused with the ancient Egyptian book of the same name. And what is it? A fictional grimoire that served as a prop in the works of H.P. Lovecraft. It was a fake book. And just how seriously did Rose take the black magic and occult thing…

Rose supposedly drew that in his cell. This is clearly the Baphomet sigil, adopted as the symbol of the Church of Satan…

However…

Ha-ha-ha-ha…all you idiots who have no idea what you’re talking about!

On November 1, 1982…

…Carol Mudd, a Bardstown store clerk, was found stabbed to death with a three-foot broadsword and a dagger. She had also been beaten. She died of a severed aorta. There’s no doubt that it was a very violent murder.

And…

Yes, you would. However, the case remained a mystery for two and one-half years. At that point, a Marine lance-corporal named…

…Anthony Gowin was blamed. The evidence was flimsy. Much was made of part of a stick pin that matched one worn by the victim. It was claimed that Gowin took it as a souvenir of the murder. However…

What did he say?

So much for the proof. What else is there? Bloody footprints on the victim’s throat and around her body. And after two and one-half years were matched to Gowin? Please. They could not trace this Gowin.

Well, someone was railroaded, something we’ve seen plenty of times before. At the time of the initial investigation, Gowin had been interviewed, and he even passed a lie detector test. So he was ruled out. But what happened? Well, no motive was identified…Mudd wasn’t sexually violated and nothing was stolen. This led the prosecutor to conclude…

…that the murder was part of satanic sacrifice. Of course, the murder didn’t resemble that. The motive may have been a falling out between the victim and someone she knew personally.

Now we’re on to something. What changed in Gowin’s story? Your guess is as good as mine, seeing how this isn’t discussed in the article.

In reality, the prosecutor found out that Gowin had been interested in Satanism, swords, and knives. And there you have it. I’m puzzled that anyone would be surprised that a guy going into the military would be interested in weapons. How knowledgeable about satanism can you be if you can confuse Disney with the Devil?

Barlow had bought a bill of goods, and decided to sell them to whoever would listen. Of course, the murder occurred on November 1st.

 One witness will testify that Gowin frequently drew pictures of the devil and scenes of decapitation and death and that he was infatuated with broadswords and knives, Barlow said. Searches of Gowin’s house in Bardstown and his quarters at Camp LeJeune revealed such pictures and artifacts as well as books and writing that referred to October 31st as the Day of the Dead…the highest testament of Satan. The literature called for sacrifice of animals to Satan to commemorate the day.”

None of this makes sense. First, we can’t accept that this one witness was reliable. In fact, we can narrow down the identity of two witnesses…two former girlfriends. And we all know that spurned lovers make the most objective witnesses when it comes to charges made against the person they once had been involved with. Surely there would be no axes to grind there. October 31st is the Day of the Dead. It’s Halloween, for crying out loud! Kids dress up in costumes such as mummies, ghosts, zombies, skeletons, witches, vampires, Frankenstein and the devil.

And the devil is one of the most popular costumes at Halloween parties. A popular pairing is…

…the devil and an angel. And do you know why this is? I do. Darla gave me the answer…because you get two pieces of cake…angel food, and devil’s food. And who doesn’t want more cake? The connection between the devil and Halloween is the incorrect connection between the devil and Samhain, a pagan holy day associated with the harvest. And Samhain is another great reason to…

…to play dress-up. The victim was murdered on November 1st, so Halloween is relevant? His drawings, if this is reliable, mean absolutely nothing. Decapitation? The victim wasn’t decapitated. Animal sacrifices are not human sacrifices…there is no intrinsic connection whatsoever. And I can find nothing that indicates that the murder resembles an actual ritual. The use of weapons that were not brought to the scene by the killer and were simply there at the time clearly suggests that whoever killed Mudd did not go there with the intention to do so.

None of this means anything. It is not illegal to be a satanist, nor is it illegal to own the Satanic Bible. It is simply the case that one component of the false claims made during the Satanic Panic of the 1980s was that devil worship meant human sacrifice. This was shown time and time again to be false. What about real proof?

Bond also said that physical evidence, such as fingerprints and fibers, could not be traced to Gowin.

In fact, defense attorneys knew the identity of a man whose shoes fit the prints at the scene, and the fingerprints did as well. But fingerprints are yet another dismaying feature of this case…

So, you have the murder weapon, and the fingerprints on it aren’t those of the accused? That should have been the end of it.

Why was he investigated after the murder? Because he was seen at the store…near the time of the murder. This led to the lie detector test, which Gowin passed.

And…

…there’s the infamous five-letter word again…drugs. And the particularly violent murders were linked to someone the victim knew? Of course they were.

Beyond the immediate suspects, who apparently have been cleared, literally thousands of people are suspects.

Irrefutable proof…

Of course, slashing cardboard boxes is suspicious…unless you’re breaking them down to throw away. And I’m sure that a lot of people were discussing the murder, and there’s nothing illegal about being morbid. And it would appear that Gowin was present, and possibly on the same day…

It’s funny how during the initial police investigation, this wasn’t regarded as relevant. And why would he be there? Are the broadswords and daggers in D&D? Absolutely there are. What was this museum/store? It was called the Stone Castle Museum, which showcased medieval weapons, toy soldiers, and fantasy figures. Pullling and Radecki got involved in this case, and although their claims have some merit, including the reason Gowin was in the store on the date of the event, they seemed to have information not found elsewhere in the media…

I thought October 31st is the day of Halloween…has it been moved to October 30th? D&D was not mentioned elsewhere as being relevant. The whole case was based on satanism. Perhaps Satan wasn’t the only spirit-being present during this travesty of justice…

Who?

Mumbo Jumbo? Anyone else?

…Maybe The Tin Soldier was guilty.

On February 20, 1983, San Diego police officer…

…Kirk L. Johnson was on patrol near Marion Bear Park near State Route 52. He noticed a deputy sheriff standing outside of his car in a parking lot. This area was not normally patrolled by the Sheriff’s Office, so he drove up to speak with the deputy sheriff. When he pulled up to the other car, a series of shots rang out. He took 5 bullets to the head. The deputy sheriff sped away from the scene. The sound of the shots was reported to San Diego police dispatch, and, over the radio, Officer Kirk Johnson was told to investigate. He, of course, didn’t respond, so the police went looking for him, and it didn’t take long to find his body. Investigation of the scene turned up tire tracks consistent with police vehicles, and it was found that Johnson had been shot with a .357 Magnum. This was the side-arm that police in that region carried.

The investigation was initially flawed due to insane people contacting the police to say they did it. This is very common but greatly hampers the police work since officers are stuck investigating the false claims. However, a witness called the police and told them he knew who carried out the killing, and that person turned out to be…

…Charles Tyberg. And actually, Darla was helping me research Charles Tyberg, and she found a picture of him that is way more cooler than the ones I found…

…not bad, huh? But who was Charles Tyberg? He was the stepson of a San Diego County Sheriff police officer named James Tyberg. The night of the murder, Charles dressed up in his stepfather’s police uniform and badge, took his gun, and then took his police car for a joyride. Two of his friends went with him, though it seems highly likely that they didn’t know how this would end. But clearly, the seventeen-year-old looked exactly like a cop. The kids had gone to the park to shoot rabbits. When Officer Johnson suddenly appeared, Tyberg opened fire.

Investigators were stymied by the shooting until a friend of Tyberg’s who witnessed the killing broke down and told his parents about it five weeks after the slaying.

Presumably, this friend was one of the two other boys in the car that day. Tyberg’s mother and stepfather were on vacation in Mexico at the time. Johnson’s widow sued the parents alleging that James Tyberg failed to secure his guns and police vehicle, in spite of the problems observable in Charles. But why did he do it?

The media focused on this…fantasy world…that Tyberg was caught up in when he committed the murder…

This would be repeated ad nauseum, but with one catch…nobody in the media defined what kind of fantasy world was involved.

Fantasy world, dream world, etc. This was the idea floated by the defense…

Campbell told the jury the teen should be convicted only of second-degree murder because he was…living a bit in a fantasy world that got out of control.

Ok, so the defense’s attempt to portray Tyberg as insane…didn’t work. The jury saw through an obvious ploy and resulted in a conviction of premeditated first-degree murder. Why?

Hence…first-degree, premeditated murder. However, I find this unconvincing. Motives are not always easy to get to…

So, was the motive…robbery? There is a serious problem with these claims.

So, the two boys in the car with Tyberg were Todd Boyce and Mike Holar, and Franklin was told about what happened. This is important, since these witnesses, not wanting to end up where Tyberg ended up. Great skepticism should be exercised here. But the ages of the witnesses are very important. But the defense said something else that boggles the mind…

Who?

Ok, so Starsky and Hutch are actually police detectives, and do not kill cops.

So now we find…fantasy role playing. But what kind of role playing are we talking about?

…Dungeons & Dragons. Stop! Tyberg killed Johnson in a parking lot at a park, not in a cemetery. Close friends? We know that this is probably a reference to… Boyce, Holar, and Franklin. But it is possible that other…close friends…may be included. Tyberg was 17, the other boys were younger. Stop and think about that. It seems inescapable to me that kids this age would use a phrase like…a catalyst for disaster. And I don’t find it plausible that other kids would connect D&D and the murder committed by Tyberg. In my mind, this phrase, and the connection of the unrelated D&D as related to D&D…was used by adults, adults who wanted to find tragedies and connect them to Dungeons and Dragons.

Now we’re getting information from Tyberg himself.

I think it’s likely that Tyberg dressed in his stepfather’s police uniform, complete with badge, took the gun and then the car, and picked up two friends because he wanted to impress them.

Tyberg killed Johnson for the simple reason that he didn’t want to get into trouble. And if his friends hadn’t spilled the beans, Tyberg may have gotten away with what he did. Well, at least for a while. And it would seem odd to worry about facing the consequences of his despicable crime might make him into a monster. I think it’s safe to assume that Tyberg was a monster already.