05-16-2005
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/jason_massey/index.html
Double Homicide
By Katherine Ramsland
The title of this article is Double Homicide by: Katherine Ramsland. This article happened in Ellis County, Texas, on July 29, 1993. Only those who had to be were outdoors working. A road crew member smoothing the gravel on Cutoff Road that afternoon noticed something white lying about a hundred feet away in the thick foliage not far from the bridge over Smith Creek. Whatever it was, the object was clearly out of place. He and another man climbed over barbed wire and brushed past the brambles and thorns. Soon they smelled an offensive odor and then saw that the form was human, nude and female, lying partially on her back. One of the men watched over the body while the other went to the nearby town of Telico to call the police. What neither had noticed at first but had seen as they'd drawn closer was that she was missing both her head and her hands.
This article is about an autopsy at the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office, which served a number of Texas counties, indicated that the boy had been shot twice in the head with a .22-caliber weapon, and the girl had been shot in the back with a similar weapon and stabbed multiple times. Her head had been removed at the base of the neck with either a hunting knife or an axe, and there was a lot of damage to her remains that indicated that the killer had stayed with the body for quite a while. The medical examiner, Dr. Sheila Spotswood, thought it was among her worst cases. On top of the dismemberment, the female victim had extensive wounds on her abdomen, thighs and genital area, some of which appeared to be intricate carvings. There was a long, deep cut through her stomach that looked almost like an autopsy incision. In fact, it seemed that her killer had reached into the stomach with his knife to stab at other internal organs like the liver. Both of the victim's nipples had been cut off, there were numerous bruises on her body, and where she had been eviscerated, her intestines had been pulled out and exposed. At the place where the hands had been severed, some bruises suggested the use of handcuffs. It seemed to be a sexual crime, since her clothes had been removed, but there were no clear signs of sexual assault, either on the body or at the crime scene. While decomposition prevented a definitive analysis, it looked to Spotswood more like a crime of extreme hatred or anger than rape/murder. There was also an element of fascination with the corpse, otherwise known as necrophilia.
While the possibility of some kind of drug deal retaliation was discussed among the investigators, it became clear after talking with the parents that these were good kids who were usually obedient and did not make a habit of sneaking away. Brian had been bored lately, but there was no evidence that he was hanging out with the wrong crowd. Everyone who knew him liked him.
The author wrote this article because Jason Eric Massey, entering a world where he had no control or security, found what he needed in images of death and destruction. His heroes had done so, too. Thus he is not unique, and there may be others like him, as yet uncaught, who feel a similar need to make their mark. Massey gave out plenty of signals, but those signals were largely ignored or dismissed, and because of that, two children died. James King called him the devil, but he didn't start out that way, he became that way. Jason Massey's case can teach us why we must pay attention to anyone's obsession with harm to others. It may be the first smoke arising from sparks that could eventually become a blazing fire.
Double Homicide
By Katherine Ramsland
The title of this article is Double Homicide by: Katherine Ramsland. This article happened in Ellis County, Texas, on July 29, 1993. Only those who had to be were outdoors working. A road crew member smoothing the gravel on Cutoff Road that afternoon noticed something white lying about a hundred feet away in the thick foliage not far from the bridge over Smith Creek. Whatever it was, the object was clearly out of place. He and another man climbed over barbed wire and brushed past the brambles and thorns. Soon they smelled an offensive odor and then saw that the form was human, nude and female, lying partially on her back. One of the men watched over the body while the other went to the nearby town of Telico to call the police. What neither had noticed at first but had seen as they'd drawn closer was that she was missing both her head and her hands.
This article is about an autopsy at the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office, which served a number of Texas counties, indicated that the boy had been shot twice in the head with a .22-caliber weapon, and the girl had been shot in the back with a similar weapon and stabbed multiple times. Her head had been removed at the base of the neck with either a hunting knife or an axe, and there was a lot of damage to her remains that indicated that the killer had stayed with the body for quite a while. The medical examiner, Dr. Sheila Spotswood, thought it was among her worst cases. On top of the dismemberment, the female victim had extensive wounds on her abdomen, thighs and genital area, some of which appeared to be intricate carvings. There was a long, deep cut through her stomach that looked almost like an autopsy incision. In fact, it seemed that her killer had reached into the stomach with his knife to stab at other internal organs like the liver. Both of the victim's nipples had been cut off, there were numerous bruises on her body, and where she had been eviscerated, her intestines had been pulled out and exposed. At the place where the hands had been severed, some bruises suggested the use of handcuffs. It seemed to be a sexual crime, since her clothes had been removed, but there were no clear signs of sexual assault, either on the body or at the crime scene. While decomposition prevented a definitive analysis, it looked to Spotswood more like a crime of extreme hatred or anger than rape/murder. There was also an element of fascination with the corpse, otherwise known as necrophilia.
While the possibility of some kind of drug deal retaliation was discussed among the investigators, it became clear after talking with the parents that these were good kids who were usually obedient and did not make a habit of sneaking away. Brian had been bored lately, but there was no evidence that he was hanging out with the wrong crowd. Everyone who knew him liked him.
The author wrote this article because Jason Eric Massey, entering a world where he had no control or security, found what he needed in images of death and destruction. His heroes had done so, too. Thus he is not unique, and there may be others like him, as yet uncaught, who feel a similar need to make their mark. Massey gave out plenty of signals, but those signals were largely ignored or dismissed, and because of that, two children died. James King called him the devil, but he didn't start out that way, he became that way. Jason Massey's case can teach us why we must pay attention to anyone's obsession with harm to others. It may be the first smoke arising from sparks that could eventually become a blazing fire.
posted by wannita at 8:07 PM
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