Kristin Lodge-Miller Memorial

Even with the help of the people at the Rape Crisis Center, I still had trouble finding this. Originally, I was told the memorial marker was at the spot where the shrine (or pile of flowers) used to be, which was on the other side of the street, near Phillips Middle School, on Estes Drive in Chapel Hill.

Actually, it is near the driveway of the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, which is next door to Amity Methodist Church. It's tucked back a ways from the sidewalk, in the shade of some trees, and it's easy to walk by without seeing it.

When I first wrote about Kristin Lodge-Miller 2 years ago in this blog, I reported that I was unable to find very much about her on a Google search. Now there's quite a bit in there. I think the Eve Carson case had a lot to do with bringing this story back into the news of Chapel Hill. For me, this will be a part of our local history I will always remember.

Be safe out there, and remember the date of July 15, 1993.

Back to Eve

I apologize to my readers who were expecting me to blog the Eve Carson hearing. The truth is, I chickened out when we got to Day 2, when they unsealed the autopsy report.

I didn't know until then that she had been shot in the face with a shotgun. This struck me as a final insult, to rob us of her beautiful face, as well as her life.
That's where I lost it.
The report says that she was unrecognizable, that she was initially identified by her jewelry. I was outraged to think that Eve's loved ones were deprived of seeing her face one more time before burial.

SIGH!

I went to writing instead of 4th of July fireworks, taking advantage of the holiday to change the subject, after seeking comic relief from YouTube.
So there you have it. I see no way that I can write about Eve Carson objectively anymore.

Okay, I admit it. It's not like I knew her personally. I did not.
It's just that I have accepted her as "one of us."
It has been said by many that Eve Carson embodied the True Tarheel Spirit, and I myself am inclined to agree. I've always thought of her as Ms. UNC.

Just because I live outside the Chapel Hill city limits doesn't mean that I live outside Tarheel Country. Even in my rural Chatham neighborhood one still sees mailboxes of Carolina Blue, with either the "UNC" or the "Tarheel" logo on it.

Eve Carson was considered by me, my neighbors, and my friends, as a highly respected member of our community, and for good reasons.
Need I explain why?

I know I said this before. Humor me, okay?
Unlike Debbie Key and Kristin Lodge-Miller, Eve was someone we read about in the news before she became a murder victim, not just after.
We already knew she was a good person, and no one ever attempted to challenge that opinion. I'm glad.
Now I don't have to stand on a soapbox and preach about how good people can be victims of crime too. That point has been clearly made already.
That is what I appreciate most about Eve Carson.

I can tell you from personal experience that reading about her last moments alive is enough to make a grown man cry.

After confessing to a friend of my desire to execute her killers personally, I was told that this would make me no better than them.
I'm afraid I have only one defense against that, and that's this.
I'm sure I will be more easily forgiven for killing her killers, than for killing her.

Yes, I agree, the lesser of two evils is still an evil.
Still, I am willing to support any effort that promises to eliminate the greater evil, any way I can.

Today in History

It was one year ago today when this website, in its current version, made its first appearance on the 'Net. If you were to keep working back through the blog to the beginning, you will find this to be true. Those of us who can still remember past last year may recall the original Debbie Key website, in its one-page form.

The year 2007 was when we had the 10 year anniversary of Debbie's departure from us. I don't mind saying it was an honor for me to be managing the website at that time. I am pleased with the progress that has been made since then, and I'm feeling optimistic about the next year to come.

This year, the month of June began with a baking 88 degrees, making it really feel like summer. By evening we enjoyed a cooling rain.

The entire month of May, I've been hoping to get a report up here about the ID of the skeletons found in Wilmington. All I found was that they are still conducting the DNA test, and have sent the bones to a lab in Texas. Here it is.

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20080528/ARTICLE/576199540/0/NEWS 

Not saying that I was pleased with the murder of Eve Carson, but I was pleased with the fact that, this time, no one tried to blame the victim.
Unlike Debbie Key and Kristin Lodge-Miller, Eve Carson was someone we read about in the paper BEFORE she was killed. We already knew who she was when the tragic news was announced, and no one questioned her character as contributing to her death.
Honestly, I was glad to see that.
Ira Yarmolenko, just last month, provided another example of the same thing. I have not heard one single negative word about her, and believe me, I have heard a great deal of praise for this individual.

So have we destroyed the myth yet? You know, the one that says we should blame the victim? If not, I'd say, at least, that the myth has had a great big chunk taken out of it, and I'm glad of it.

One sure way to offend me is to blame the victim. Yea, it pisseth me verily!

I have had the pleasure of connecting with many praiseworthy individuals through the managing of this website, including John Allore, Todd Matthews, Doreen Prior, and my special Web Goddess, Judith Gadd. I have enjoyed the opportunity to connect with other families and friends of murder victims, and we have learned a lot from each other's stories.

Yeah, I'd say I'm ready for another year.

Another Killer Busted in Durham

CHRISTMAS MURDER MYSTERY SOLVED!
Those who were around this part of NC during Christmas may remember there was a murder in Durham on the morning of Christmas day. Way to mess up the holiday, I thought. Well, today an arrest was made by Durham Police, and the suspect's name is Kenneth Lamont Lunsford.

"Police could not confirm whether the incident was gang related, but told NC WANTED that the crime was not random."

Now here we have in one sentence an attempt to answer two questions that everyone seems to be asking these days whenever an arrest is made.
1 - Was the crime gang related?
2 - What exactly is a "random" crime?
--------------------------------------------------------
NC WANTED INSIDER-
03/20/2008

ALERT: In the early morning hours of December 25, 2007, Durham Police officers found a 1992 white Lincoln Town Car pinned against a guardrail.

They also found a bullet hole in the car. The driver – Jalil Stokes, 21, of North Elizabeth Street – had been shot. He soon died.

Durham PD has just announced an arrest in this murder case. NC WANTED is investigating the possibility of gang ties.

For more, go to www.ncwanted.com


THIS SATURDAY NIGHT ON NC WANTED: They were once labeled as 'Missing and Endangered.' Now, authorities in both cases suspect murder. This Saturday night, join NC WANTED for the latest on the death investigations of Pamela Mikels Waldher of Fayetteville, and Jimmy Nelson Davis of Dunn.


NC WANTED airs Saturday night after the 10 O'Clock News on FOX50, and after WRAL's 11 O'Clock News on WILM-TV in Wilmington
---------------------------------------------
Thanks, NC Wanted. Now tell us when you'll be showing the Debbie Key episode. I'm sure we're all looking forward to that.

IN OTHER NEWS...

Judge Craig Brown says, "NC Needs Anti-Gang Laws Now."
Check him out at
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2581231/

And in the News and Observer, staff writer Ruth Sheehan has written an article comparing the murders of Eve Carson and Kristin Lodge-Miller. This one is certainly worth checking out.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/987355.html

We have a Full Moon in Libra, Good Friday, Purim, and First Day of Spring, all happening on the same day. Now let's get ready for Easter!

Remembering Kristin Lodge-Miller

During 1993 and into 1994, I drove every morning down Estes Drive in Chapel Hill. My attention was often drawn to a pile of flowers I would see there, near Phillips Middle School. I say "pile" rather than "arrangement" because they appeared to have been tossed there by people walking by. Every once in a while it would look like someone had spruced it up a bit, making it more into an arrangement. But every day the display got bigger and bigger.

I knew what that was about because I was reading the Chapel Hill Newspaper. On July 15, 1993, a jogger was gunned down at that spot. Her name was Kristin Ann Lodge-Miller. She was 26 years old, and she worked as a speech therapist.
Her killer was an 18 year old student at Chapel Hill High School. Anthony Georg "Tony" Simpson was known as a very troubled young man. He was riding his bicycle and carrying a concealed .32 caliber handgun. At around 6:00 AM on a busy street, Simpson assaulted Lodge-Miller on the jogging trail, and got pepper-sprayed for it. Enraged, he pulled out his handgun and shot her 5 times. This he did in daylight in front of many witnesses. The 5th time he shot her was in the back of the head as she lay dying. He was arrested almost immediately afterward.

Since then, artificial flowers, sometimes in baskets, sometimes casually tossed by people walking by, and at least one styrofoam cross, appeared on or near that spot. It was interesting to watch it grow every day. As shocking as it was to know that such a crime of senseless violence could occur in such a peaceful town, it did my heart good to see that people cared enough to make a shrine for her.

Every day for the rest of that year, the pile of flowers kept on getting bigger. Then one day, when it was decided that the jury for Simpson's trial should be taken to see the scene of the crime, the whole display was removed. It was supposed that the jurors shouldn't see that, though I didn't really understand why. It was said that it might somehow "bias" the jury. I thought it made a pretty good statement.

I was hoping the flowers, baskets, crosses, and other memorabilia would be saved and put back after the jury completed their tour, but I was told it all got trashed. This made me sad, but I noticed another display had begun soon afterward. In time, it too became pretty large.

It was early the following year that the trial was concluded. Not a single person I knew was happy about it. The killer pleaded guilty. The charges were reduced to second degree murder. Why? Because the killer was provoked by his victim's attempt to defend herself. As you can best believe, it seemed the whole town was outraged.

I was pretty upset myself, and was compelled to add a basket of flowers to the new display. It seemed to me that it was the Orange County Rape Crisis Center who took issue with this more than anyone else. There is now a permanant marker on the spot, and on a nearby tree, courtesy of the OCRCC. They have an office across the street from there, next door to Amity Methodist Church.

It is now 14 years later, and there was a renewed interest in this case when it was announced that Tony Simpson would be eligible for parole. It looks like he didn't get it. A recent Google search on the name "Kristin Lodge-Miller" didn't show much in results. I was disappointed I couldn't even find the old newspaper stories I've read before. But I did find two articles by Dennis Rogers with the News and Observer, that I thought were quite relevant. One is dated Dec. 11, 2002, and the other May 10, 2003. I have sent an e-mail to Dennis Rogers asking for permission to post them here, and I am still awaiting his reply.

My friend Joy works as a volunteer at the Rape Crisis Center, and I support her efforts whole heartedly. Violence against women is not just a women's issue to me, but a citizen's issue. I get the feeling there is a lesson to be learned here that we haven't learned yet.
Does anyone else feel that way?

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT - Part 1

Bill Widman said...
10 Year Anniversary

This year, on December first, will be the 10 year anniversary of Debbie's departure.
I think an observance is due to commemorate the occasion. What do you think?
Here's what I had in mind.
Does anyone remember that jogger who was killed on Estes Dr. back in the early 90's? It was near Phillips Middle School. What I remember best about that was the arrangement of flowers on that spot that kept getting bigger as more people went by. I remember the day the jurors for the killer's trial were taken to the location, and they cleared all the memorabilia away so as not to "bias" the jury with the display. Then the very next day the flowers and baskets began to appear and grow again.
Well now I was thinking we could make one of those, right here, on this website. Maybe we could get people to send in pictures, stories, and other Debbie memorabilia and arrange it together on a page. Let us make a shrine to Debbie.

If anyone else has any ideas, please don't keep me waiting.
Bill the Wildman