I just spoke to my mother this morning, who at the end of the conversation said, almost as a side note, that my brother's ex-wife's brother shot his estranged wife and then himself last Saturday. My former sister-in-law and her brother were both raised as second (or third) generation JWs. I only met her brother a few times, never cared for him (misogynist prick), but he was a JW at the time I met him. I don't know what their current status was at the time of this horrible tragedy. I will attempt to post the link to the two local stories in the paper in Hollister, California. If they don't work, hopefully someone else can fix it up for me. You may find other stories out of Salinas, Gilroy or the greater Silicon Valley areas. The Hollister paper mentioned nothing about JWs. Shoshana http://www.freelancenews.com/news/newsview.asp?c=75910 ********and*********** http://www.freelancenews.com/news/newsview.asp?c=76086
Another JW related murder/suicide
by La Capra 12 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
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maybesbabies
My condolences to you and your family, La Capra. So much for the "happiest people on earth" theory.
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Elsewhere
Murder-suicide being investigated by police
Monday, September 29, 2003
By Jed Logan/Assistant Editor
A domestic dispute turned deadly on Sunnyslope Road when a man shot and killed his estranged wife and then himself late Saturday.
The bodies of Stephanie Rodriguez, 37, and Leo Rodriguez, 40, were found on the living room floor of apartment B at 1051 Sunnyslope Road, both with what appeared to be a fatal gunshot wound to the head, the Hollister Police Department said.
Investigators said Leo Rodriguez, who was separated from his wife Stephanie, was seen by neighbors trying to force his way through her front door at approximately 10:56 p.m. Saturday.
Concerned neighbors, who heard the sounds of a woman screaming from the apartment, called police.
Four police officers arrived at the apartment complex by 10:58 p.m., according to the county?s emergency communication center.
When the officers reached the apartment, they reportedly found the front door had been severely damaged and forced open, even though there was a chair propped up against it from the inside, investigators said.
The stench of freshly burned gunpowder stung the nostrils of officers as they cautiously entered the apartment. Investigators said the smoke from the gunpowder could still be seen wafting through the air in the apartment as they searched it, police said.
Investigators said it appears that Leo Rodriguez was prepared to deal with any resistance that might have stood in his way because he was found wearing body armor; a .45-caliber handgun was found on the floor next to him; a .40-caliber handgun was found underneath his body; and a spare .40-caliber handgun magazine filled with ammunition was found in an empty holster Rodriguez was wearing.
A crime scene evidence recovery team from the state?s Department of Justice was called in from Watsonville to help collect physical evidence and process the scene, police said.
Additional information on the shooting is expected to be released later today. -
Elsewhere
Trail of abuse preceded murder
Tuesday, September 30, 2003
By Jed Logan/Assistant Editor
Murder victim Stephanie Rodriguez had been trying for months to move away from her estranged and abusive husband before he killed her.
Several neighbors and longtime friends who were close to Stephanie, 37, said she was in the process of divorcing her husband Leo Rodriguez, 40, when he apparently took matters into his own hands Saturday night.
The friends and neighbors, who asked not to be named, said Stephanie had moved back with her family in Mountain View several weeks ago with their 10-year-old son.
She was ordered by the local courts to move back to Hollister, where her husband still lived, because the custody of their son was still in question. Officials reportedly did not want her changing the youth?s school until a decision was reached, her friend of more than 25 years said.
?The court system failed her,? the longtime friend said. ?The court ordered her back here even though they knew he had beaten her before.?
The son is now staying with Stephanie?s family in Mountain View, her family confirmed.
According to state records, Leo had been arrested twice before in Santa Clara County for spousal battery.
Hollister Police said he was a suspect in a grand theft case Sept. 6 when he allegedly broke into his wife?s apartment and stole a handgun and a rifle, police said.
?Neither of those weapons were the ones used in Saturday?s shooting,? Hollister Police Capt. Bob Brooks said.
Brooks confirmed that before the shooting Stephanie had been actively trying to get the court to issue a restraining order against Leo, but one had not been served yet.
Several of Stephanie?s neighbors at 1051 Sunnyslope Road, who heard portions of the incident Saturday, said Leo had apparently been trying to trick Stephanie into going somewhere with him.
?He called her ahead of time and said that their son was in a hospital in Mountain View and that he would be over there to pick her up,? said the neighbor who talked to Stephanie earlier that evening.
The neighbor advised her to go back in the apartment and call the hospital herself to check if her son was actually in the hospital.
The neighbor said while Stephanie was on the telephone, her husband arrived and tried to convince her to go with him, but she refused, saying she was on the phone and busy.
Other neighbors said it was then Leo apparently flew into a rage and broke open the front door. Just a few minutes later, when police arrived on the scene, they found the bodies of Stephanie and Leo Rodriguez on the living room floor of apartment B.
Stephanie?s family in Mountain View declined to comment on the shooting Monday but said they may release a statement later today. Her funeral services will be held Friday in Mountain View.
Leo?s family could not be reached for comment on his death by press time.
Police said Saturday?s tragic incident was not the first time Hollister had seen a murder-suicide.
?Many years ago, in the mid 1980s, there was a lesbian couple that took similar actions on Hawkins Street,? Brooks said. -
nilfun
"She was ordered by the local courts to move back to Hollister, where her husband still lived, because the custody of their son was still in question. Officials reportedly did not want her changing the youth?s school until a decision was reached, her friend of more than 25 years said.
?The court system failed her,? the longtime friend said. ?The court ordered her back here even though they knew he had beaten her before.? "no words.
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little witch
This is most disturbing. That poor child. That poor mother, who knew the peril she was facing, and found no help.
Most tragic.
You know, often I hear in the media that a mom or dad "kidnapped" their child, and are put on wanted lists, etc.
I wonder how many of them are heros, as and not criminals?
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Special K
Such a tragic story.. so sad..
special k
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Xandria
How horrible.. my heart goes out to her family. If ever a court proceedure needed to change it would be this one.
X.
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Nathan Natas
Thanks Nelly, for that link to PinnacleNews. Here's an email I just sent to the publisher:
To: [email protected]
Subject: Dean Paton's articleI just read Dean Paton's article, "Judge ordered murdered mom back." Although I have no doubt that the court's failure set the stage for this murder/suicide, I believe that another factor was also at work here - both Leo and Stephanie Rodriguez were Jehovah's Witnesses. You might think that mentioning the couple's religion is irrelevant to the story, but I suggest it is VERY relevant.
Christian Longo, the man who murdered his wife and four young kids in Oregon, was raised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses -his father was an elder in the congregation. Longo was disfellowshipped from the JWs because he was a liar and a cheat, but the beliefs that in his mind justified his murderous behavior were beliefs he learned from Jehovah's Witnesses.
Robert Bryant and his family were all Jehovah's Witnesses until Bryant was disfellowshipped for disagreeing with Watchtower dogma. Overnight, he lost the community upon which he depended for a living, and despondent, he killed his family as they slept, then himself.
Jehovah's Witnesses are in crisis. They are an apocalyptic religion, founded at the end of the 19th century with expectations that the 20th century would bring Paradise to Earth after the destruction of the world's governments, false religions and more than 99% of humanity at Armageddon. These expectations have proven false over and over and over again, and Jehovah's Witnesses find themselves forever trapped in a world they had condemned to fiery destruction. They teach that if a person dies now -- either a natural death or as the victim of violence -- they are assured a resurrection into Paradise, where they will have a chance to prove their loyalty to God. Also
resurrected will be murderers and suicides -- Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in Hell or any kind of conscious eternal punishment, only the "sleep" of death and the resurrection.When people's spiritual underpinnings fail them, they may find the world too difficult to bear and long for a way out. The doctrines taught by Jehovah's Witnesses -The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society - can give such a person poisonous thoughts.