JW Mom killed in house (page 9)

Dagney

Has it been determined that he is/was an elder, or is that just hearsay

No, he is/was not an elder. He was a "brother" (hard to write that ) in good standing in the congregation from what I was told.

Sister2,

I grieve with you. I'm sure you and your family are hurting badly. The night when I first read about this tragedy, I broke down and cried. I never knew Isabelle, but what I read in the newspapers led me to believe she was a very precious person. I suspect she cared very much for others and especially for her children. I can only dimly imagine what persons close to her are going through. My love and good wishes go out to all who knew Isabelle, and especially to her children and her parents and other close relatives such as you seem to be. By coming here to express the sorrow in your heart, you have touched us warmly and deeply. We can't promise much, but we are here as your friends if ever you need an encouraging word. My hope is that you will always be treated with the respect, kindness and love that you deserve.

Frank

fjtoth

Rachel,

No, as Dagney said, Kelle Jarka was not an elder. He is the owner of Krew General Engineering. As a general contractor his specialties have been single-family houses and gradings of highways, streets and airport runways. That kind of responsibility probably kept him away from meetings and field service to the extent that he didn't qualify to be an elder. As suggested by some of the newspaper responses from his friends, he spent time entertaining other JWs aboard his pleasure boat. Possibly his debts came about from contract underbidding and having to make up the difference from his own pocket. They play with big money in his type of business. I have no evidence for it and I'm just guessing, but here's an additional thought: Men like him offer their time and equipment free of charge to such Watchtower projects as Kingdom Hall and Assembly Hall construction, and who knows how much they do this to the detriment of their business and livelihood?

Frank

GoddessRachel

So sorry for all of your pain, Sister2. Welcome to JWD. We are so sorry this is what brought you here.

If you ever want to talk, we are here for you!

PEACE,

Rachel

Quandry

sister2

I am so sorry for your loss. As a mother, I am so hurt that two children now have no mother will grow up with the painful realization that she was murdered.

I am sorry that you must grieve the fact that her death was senseless.

I will grieve with you.

lalala

"Among the scores of comments submitted by persons who are apparently not JWs, there is a lot of concern for the two children. That concern seems to be lacking in the JW comments."

I find this comment completely ridiculous. Are you implying that "JW's don't care about the Jarka kids?" I know for a fact there has been a huge outreach to the family and the children. Also this is the internet, you don't know who is a JW and who isn't but I know that pretty much any "JW" who posts comments on the internet or writes the local paper probably isn't the best example of a JW or even really a JW to begin with. In any group of people there are bound to be some nuts.

Or, giving those commentors the benefit of the doubt, maybe they were so emotionally moved to comment because they knew Kelle and like his wife were duped into believing he was a stand up guy. Maybe that’s why they felt the need to defend him. Who knows why people say things.

Although personally I tend to think it’s the former because all the people close to the family suspected him, no one even spoke to him at the services!

Also, I happen to know Isabelle's sisters and I'm sure they don't even know how to use the internet and would NEVER read or post anything on a website not endorsed by the Watchtower and especially one where people express might express thoughts or ideas that aren't exactly JW positive.

fjtoth

Lalala,

I wasn't implying anything. I was simply struck by the difference in how JWs and others were reacting to the tragedy. Those who are obviously not JWs expressed strong emotional concern for the children left behind, while those who made it clear that they are JWs, with the exception of Isabelle's relatives, make very little if any mention of the children. These are not expressions they made on the internet but in the local Murrieta area newspapers.

I think you make a poor defense of JWs when you label some of them as 'not the best example' and as "nuts." To say they defended Kelle because they realized they had been duped by him just doesn't make sense. It's the same as saying JWs will defend evil to make themselves look good, something which I happen to believe is true, based upon my life experience with them.

I hope it isn't true, but I tend to think that you yourself are more offended by this thread than you are by the event that prompted it. I could be wrong, and I hope I am. If you are offended, you have no one to blame but yourself. If you don't want to be hurt emotionally, I suggest it would be better to follow the Society's advice and stay away from websites that the Society doesn't endorse. I don't say that to be mean, but this is life. We have nothing but love for individual JWs. Sadly for many of them, though, JWs under the Society's direction generally don't see us that way.

Frank

fjtoth

KCAL, Channel 2, Los Angeles, California

May 23, 2008 5:42 pm US/Pacific

Cops: Murrieta Man Killed His Wife For Insurance $

MURRIETA Prosecutors say a Murrieta man murdered his wife for $1 million in insurance money.

Kelle Lee Jarka, 39, is behind bars after being arrested Thursday, according to police and prosecutors.

He is accused of killing Isabelle Jarka, 40, April 28 in the bedroom of the couple's home in the 39000 block of Tamarisk St., said Murrieta police Lt. Dennis Vrooman.

She had suffered head trauma, Vrooman said.

Weeks before his wife's death, Jarka had taken out life insurance policies on her totaling more than $1 million, and investigators believe he set up the crime scene to make it look like a burglary.

Following a nearly month-long investigation, Jarka was arrested Thursday by detectives as he sat in Family Court, waiting for a custody hearing to get his children back, Vrooman said.

The children -- a 12-year-old girl and a 7-month-old boy -- had been
staying with relatives, he said.

Jarka will be charged with murder and a sentence-enhancing special circumstance allegation of murder for financial gain.

If convicted he could be sentenced to death or life in prison, said Ryan Hightower of the District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors say Jarka murdered his wife and then staged the crime scene to look like a robbery. The day Isabelle Jarka died, her husband told police he had gone out early that morning to buy some things and when he returned he found the side door to the garage forced open and his wife dead upstairs.

Jarka's initial call to emergency dispatch was to report a burglary, and he waited 26 seconds before revealing his wife may have been murdered, Vrooman said.

During the police investigation, Jarka told officers he had gone to pick up baby formula, even though there was plenty of formula in the house, and
his other statements were inconsistent with evidence collected at the scene, Vrooman said.

The couple's children had spent the night before at their grandparents' home across the street.

The Jarkas belonged to a Jehovah's Witnesses congregation, and neighbors said they pretty much kept to themselves, except when Isabelle joined others in her congregation to knock on neighborhood doors.

Jarka is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at the Murrieta Courthouse.

fjtoth

In a "Topix" forum called "JW Murdered Mom Update," a JW defender asks, "Why is it that when a crime is committed, the church that they belong to is not newsworthy UNLESS it happens to be a JW. ... I believe the only time a criminal's religion should be mentioned is if it plays a significant role in the crime."

These are answers given by other forum participants:

"And how is that different from the crimes of churchgoers reported in Watchtower literature?"
"These types of cases are on the news all the time. It is when the person is associated with an organization that claims to be upstanding that it gets called out into the spotlight. [For example, in t]he Drew Peterson case he was a police officer, someone who is supposed to be upstanding and honest ... So don't take it so hard against your religon."
"It might have something to do with that 'only true religion' title you guys bestowed upon yourselves. Not to mention all that boasting about being the only people that will be worthy enough to avoid being annilhilated during God's wrath. Drop the self-aggrandizing, and the media might cut you some slack."
"Why? Because JW's are so holy and pure--or so they think!"

See http://www.topix.com/forum/religion/jehovahs-witness/TO2EUERIIPU0BT17T

pratt1

I am truly sorry for both families involved.

No one wants to believe that some one they love could be capable of such a horrific crime.

I don't want to rush to judgement but it certainly looks as if the husband is responsible.

It is not logical that you would come in to your home and find your house ransacked and your wife dead and the first thing you tell 911 is that your house has been broken into.

This was probably not premeditated, even though he had such a high valued life insurance polciy on his wife.

More likely it was an opportunity presented itself killing, perhaps after an argument or after a new financial setback and he did not think the entire process out throughly.

Sad, sad news.

JW Mom killed in house

Cops: Murrieta Man Killed His Wife For Insurance $

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