19 y.o.boy accused of killing his sexually,physically,& verbally abusive grandpa, in GA
Joe1orbit
Hello,
Over in Georgia, a 19 year old named Billy Crowder is under arrest,
along with his mother, sister, stepfather, and a 17 year old friend. All
of them stand accused of participating in the murder and body disposal of
Bill Crowder's grandfather, a 64 year old man named Thurman Martin. Billy
is apparently the one who actually killed Thurman, pumping a .22 calber
bullet into his head inside of Thurman's home. He then passed the rifle to
his stepfather, who also shot Thurman. The two women, Billy's sister and
mother, helped to clean up the bedroom, and to bury the body under a bunch
of Tomato plants.
Thurman was a violent and abusive man, accused of sexually assaulting
Billy's mother, physically abusing Billyand verbally abusing his now-dead
wife. Two months ago, Billy's mom filed four legal warrants against her
father, accusing him of sexually assaulting her. Say's Billy: "I swore
since I was 10 or 12 years old that I'd kill that man". Well, Billy
certainly did keep his vow. But it's a shame that he couldn't cover up the
crime better, and an even bigger shame that he got 4 other people involved
in the murder, including his mom & sister & stepfather.
You know what they say: "The family that slays together, stays
together." But unfortunately it looks like all 5 people are facing murder
charges in the case. I can understand that charge being levied against
Billy, even though I fully believe he had every right to kill his
stepfather, if his stepfather truly did physically abuse him as a boy. But
all his mom and sister did was clean up the blood from the bedroom, and
help to bury the body in the yard. Certainly this does not warrant any
murder charge, not even 2nd degree murder. But of course there never was,
and there never will be, any logic in this ridiculous society and
irrational judicial system.
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of today's Associated Press news wire:
LUDOWICI, Ga. (AP) - Billy Crowder told police that for years, he had
wanted to kill his grandfather, a man relatives say would abuse family
members sexually, physically and verbally.
Now, Crowder, three relatives and a friend are charged with murder,
accused of shooting Thurman Martin while he slept two months ago and then
burying his body under the tomato plants outside his cinder-block home.
Investigators found the body July 3 after Crowder made a reference in his
police interview to the movie ``The Last Supper,'' about five students who
poison political extremists and bury their bodies beneath a tomato plant.
``Maybe they had a right to kill him, but if they did they should have
called the law,'' said Joyce Calvert, a resident of this rural town about
50 miles south of Savannah. ``They shouldn't have buried him and planted
tomatoes over him.''
Crowder, 19, was arrested the day the body was found, along with his
friend, Jason Jordan, 17; his mother and stepfather, Diane and Joseph John
Stanton; and his 18-year-old sister, Katie Crowder.
The family had accused Martin, a 64-year-old retired trucker, of sexually
assaulting his daughter, physically abusing his grandson and verbally
abusing his wife, who died in February. In May, Mrs. Stanton took out four
warrants accusing him of sexually assaulting her.
Crowder told police, ``I swore since I was 10 or 12 years old I'd kill
that man,'' said Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Ron Brooks.
During a bond hearing Monday, Brooks said the five defendants, dressed in
camouflage pants, went to Martin's home the night of May 18. He said
Crowder aimed a .22-caliber rifle at Martin's head and fired, then passed
the gun to his stepfather, who also fired.
Investigators say Mrs. Stanton and Ms. Crowder cleaned the bedroom to
cover up the crime, while others buried the body in a shallow grave under
the tomato plants.
Brooks said the plot came to light when Jordan confessed to a friend.
``The Last Supper,'' an independent art-house film released last year, is
a satire that focuses on five graduate students who decide to rid the
world of anti-abortionists, white supremacists, homophobes and others with
extreme views. They invite their unsuspecting victims to Sunday night
dinner at their house and attempt to talk them out of their views. If the
``guests'' hold firm to their views, they're poisoned and buried in the
backyard beneath a tomato plant.
AP-NY-07-29-97