Wanna Blog About Crime?

(NOTE, 4/11/08: I'm going to keep this post at the top of the blog's main page for a few days. Scroll down to see any new entries.)

For a lot of reasons, most of them positive, I would like to have some co-bloggers on this site.

There are already a few other folks listed as authors for The True Crime Weblog, but they are friends who have access if they need it, and they all have their own fish to fry elsewhere. I've never expected any blogging from them in this space, and have rarely asked them to do anything here.

So I'm putting out a call for contributors to this blog, but this call for new writers is very different from any I've made before.

Here's much of what I'm seeking in bullet list format:

• First and foremost, you must write well. Excellent spelling, subject-verb agreement, good grammar in general -- they matter. So do pacing, voice, and cadence.
  
• That said, you will need to set your ego aside to some degree and understand that I always reserve the right to edit submissions to this blog. I don't care if you've got 5 books on the market, I still may tweak what you give me. Part of me hates to be this way, but when I had contributors to my blog in the past I didn't make this explicit and regretted that.
  
• You need to understand that this isn't a paying gig. Most blogging isn't, unless it's supported by a media company or publisher.
• I really want a contributor who understands that sometimes the mainstream media gets basic facts about a case wrong. Be ready to fact-check your mainstream sources.
  
• Know how to dig deeper. Be able to fact-check yourself. Sometimes that's as simple as using basic logic and strong web research techniques.
• About web research techniques -- if you think Google is the only search engine and the AP is the only wire service out there, don't bother looking into becoming a contributor here.
  
• If you trust everything you find via Google, don't bother.
• If you have no idea what Google Groups or the Usenet are, don't bother seeking a spot as a contributor to this blog.
• If your interest in true crime has more to do with the horror and gore aspect of the subject, we probably won't get along.
• I shouldn't have to put this here, but I've learned that people can have surprising holes in their knowledge -- so, please have some basic knowledge of html. Know how to link other sites.
  
• If your interest in true crime is somehow bound up with a political agenda, I don't want to hear from you. I don't mind if you vote Democrat or Republican -- I've voted both since I turned 18. I do mind if you constantly seek out stories that slant towards one set of beliefs or another and want to post them here. A true crime blog is a terrible place to try and create a bully pulpit, so don't even bother. If you think you know my politics from reading this blog, consider the following -- a little judicious searching of the blogosphere will reveal right wing blogs who have labeled me a loony liberal for something I posted here and at least one left-wing feminist blog that was convinced I was some sort of pocket Hitler. I'm proud of the fact that no one really knows my politics.
  
• I really don't mind if you have a blog of your own and think contributing to this one may be a good way to promote that blog. That's fine. But please be on the up-and-up.
  
• Pursuant to the preceding bullet point: YOU MUST BE WILLING TO USE YOUR OWN NAME OR A PSEUDONYM THAT SOUNDS LIKE A REAL NAME. I won't post any entries here from 'happypuppy69' or 'ferretwarrior5000.' I really prefer real names, but completely understand the need for some anonymity, on occasion.
  
• But -- and this is a big one -- you must be willing to let me know your real name. It's a trust issue, and I won't budge on it.
• To contribute to this blog, you must be willing to post 3-5 entries a week. Think about that -- it's more work than you may realize.
• You must be willing to interact with the people who leave comments on this site. I used to hesitate to leave comments on my own posts, but now I just dive right in. I'd like contributors to be okay with doing the same.
• Another imperative -- I admit this is a pet peeve, but I think it's a logical one -- KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACTUAL BLOGGING AND LEAVING COMMENTS ON A BLOG. I'm not going to take up space listing the differences here, but they are many. Leaving a comment on a post is not blogging. I like all the 'usual suspects' who make comments on various posts here, but they aren't contributors. They can write 10,000 word screeds on anything they like in a comments section -- they're still not writing a blog entry.
  

Just so we're totally clear, here's a list of some of the things I would find unacceptable from a contributor to this blog:

• Plagiarism -- PLEASE understand what this is. This is a good overview. The blogosphere is full of it. It's sometimes done by accident, but not often.
  
• This is related to plagiarism -- I find quoting entire news articles from traditional media sources thoroughly unacceptable. I used to be much more loose about this, but I think doing work as a paid journalist has changed how I feel about it. It isn't precisely plagiarism because bloggers who will quote entire articles from newspapers may often link to the source. But it may well be copyright infringement. It's pointless, to me. Either quote a paragraph and give a link or summarize and add in your own research.
• Excessive Snark -- Some crime stories invite sarcasm and dark humor. To me, those are usually as plain as the nose on my face. Most crime stories are a million miles from funny, though. If you want to post here, I need to be sure you know when it's appropriate to snicker at what you're discussing, and when it's not. A big flaw I've found in some other parts of the blogosphere is how some people don't seem to get that it just isn't right to take a humorous stance towards certain stories. To see an example of a blog that's nailed incorporating humor into a true-crime discussion, just check out CrimeRant.com. If you can't do it like Gregg and Matt do it, then don't even try.
  

The bullet lists above could go on quite a bit, but in the interest of brevity I'm stopping here.

I fear I've set the bar pretty high, but I'm searching for someone who will be committed to the blog and be able to bring in original, interesting content. I don't think I need to be casual about that.

If you are interested, if you have further questions, please contact me via this page.

To be considered, you need only send me a link your own blog or send me a sample post via e-mail. Please don't try to send the sample through my contact form -- there is a character limit in the text box. Wait till you've heard back from me and send the sample post via e-mail.

I've disabled comments for this entry only to encourage communication via the contact form.

Because I'm a glutton for punishment: Open Thread Redux, The Meredith Kercher Murder

Well, since the previous thread is up to an astonishing 4,354 comments and counting, I figured it was time to let you intrepid folks who are bound to discuss the murder of Meredith Kercher last November in Perugia, Italy have a new open thread. Here you can bicker, get all nationalistic, sleuth, and generally pontificate to your hearts' content. I guess.

Though I haven't written about it, my feelings, my opinions about this crime have changed over time. For instance, while I think Amanda Knox may be a troubled young woman, possibly mentally ill, I'm more doubtful than I once was that she took part in any kind of murder plot. Truth is, we still don't know, though. Hence my willingness to let you have another open thread. (There is another entry in this blog -- about another crime -- that is just as popular, but due to the acid, ugly nature of much of the commentary, I've never even considered opening a new thread for general commentary on that case.)

FYI -- I've noticed that several posters in these threads about Meredith's murder are better-than-average writers and incisive thinkers. Please check out this post and think about what I'm asking, if you have the time.

I always reserve the right to delete any comments on this blog for any reason. Please remember that before you go off half-cocked.

As usual, please keep the following sane, civil, and on-topic.

All-American Girl: The Murder of Meghan Landowski

Meghan Landowski's stepfather came home Thursday evening to a parent's worst nightmare. He found Meghan dead inside the family home on Roberts Court in the Simonsdale neighborhood of Portsmouth, VA. The petite 16-year-old Woodrow Wilson High School sophomore had been murdered.

Police were at the home within minutes of the stepdad's call to emergency services. There was nothing they could do to help Meghan. Her body was sent to the State Medical Examiner for autopsy.

Local reporters dutifully interviewed neighbors and friends, and a charming sketch of the teen emerged. Meghan Landowski was "a very nice girl from a very nice family."

And her murder wasn't the kind of thing that happened in Simonsdale. One resident said it was a "beautiful, nice" place to live, and had "no crime problem whatsoever."

Later on Thursday, police in nearby Norfolk together with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) took a man in for questioning in relation to Meghan's death. That man was later released. Little was said about him to the press, other than that he was employed by the Military Sealift Fleet Support Command.

Naturally, Meghan had a MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/i_live_in_the_stars (mirror).

On her profile, Meghan said she was into "guys, fashion, and dance." She liked the movie Powder. She didn't watch much TV, but was a fan of American Idol and America's Next Top Model.

Meghan had 33 friends attached to the profile. Many had changed their own profile headlines to reflect her passing: "R.I.P. MEGAN (sic) NEVER FORGOTTEN,"; "R.I.P MEGHAN..."

Meghan had another profile until the end of 2007. There wasn't much left on the page, but she gave her height, 5'0", and where the profile asked who she'd "like to meet," Meghan posted, "i would like to meet johnney depp (sic), justin timberlake,and m &m (sic)."

That profile also stated that Meghan was "in a relationship."

Tips sent to The True Crime Weblog indicate that there is local talk about how Meghan died, and the possible killer. She may have been bound and cut with a sharp instrument. It has also been suggested that Meghan was assaulted in the past, but no further details are available at this time.

All we know at the moment is what others have said and what little she left behind on MySpace. Photos on Meghan's profile showed a very young-looking girl. She was 16, but looked 13.

To the eyes of some, she really was "an all-American girl."

A girl who was mysteriously murdered on Spring afternoon in Virginia, when the worst of the world should have been very far away.

This entry may be updated and revised.

Source(s):

PilotOnline.com: "Portsmouth police identify 16-year-old girl found slain in home," by Matthew Roy and Steve Stone.

True Crime Headlines, 4/08/08

Possible gunman on campus of Alfred University

From the University's website:

Police are on campus, investigating a report of a Caucasian male, possibly carrying a gun. He is described as wearing a green hoodie sweatshirt and carrying a back pack. More information will follow. 3:33 pm, Tuesday, April 8.

Update: 4:04 p.m -- Police are continuing a thorough search of campus buildings. Students, faculty and students are being advised to remain inside where they are, not to go outside until further notice.

No further info is available at this point.

An update was added to the emergency notice above at 5:09 p.m. Evening classes at the University have been canceled and the libraries closed, "at police request."

UPDATE -- IT WAS A FAKE-OUT: Again, straight from the University's website: "Police and AU campus security have confirmed that the report of a student carrying a gun on campus was false. The student who was reported to have been carrying a gun was found to have a toy gun used in a game of tag that involves students shooting each other with plastic balls. Campus is secure and safe, and faculty, staff and students may resume business as usual. Classes are proceeding as scheduled this evening."

8 teen girls arrested over taped beating

The lede and change:

(April 8) - Eight teenagers have been arrested after filming the beating of another teen and threatening to post the video on the Internet, sheriff's officials said.

Victoria Lindsay was attacked on March 30 by six teenage girls when she arrived at a friend's home, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said...

Lindsay supposedly dissed some or all of the girls on her MySpace. In the end, I have a feeling it was more about getting a record of the attack online. And the attackers being a bunch of borderline psychos who will probably get slaps on the wrist and one day, sadly, breed.

More girls vs. girls, this time in CT

The lede:

SOUTHINGTON - — A 14-year-old girl was beaten up in front of a crowd of other students at Southington High School on Monday by two female students who mistakenly believed she had reported an underage drinking party that led to their arrests last week...

"Mistakenly?" Doesn't that imply the beating would have been justified if the 14-year-old actually made the phone call? Anyway.

Girls have always committed acts of violence. But the statistics are still against males. In a 24/7 news cycle, it's just inevitable that we're going to start hearing a lot more about the females. One of the attackers in this instance was 18, so she was identified publicly as Brittany Nazario. The arrest that prompted the beat-down was apparently from a party Nazario gave that got out of hand.

Cop in Forest Park, GA accused of rape

The lede:

A Forest Park police officer has been fired after being charged with rape, sodomy and sexual assault while forcing himself on a woman in his patrol car, authorities said...

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) says 38-year-old Kenneth Schmidt stopped a woman early Sunday morning and after writing up several tickets, had the woman's car towed. Schmidt allegedly offered the woman a ride home and then sexually assaulted her. The officer has been fired from his job and he is in the Clayton County Jail.

There's a Showtime series in this story somewhere

Missed this when it unfolded at the end of March.

The Bad Girls Crime Blog posted an interesting tale of deception and fraud on April 1st. Quote:

Businesswoman, loving mom, and attractive homemaker, Erica Daniels conscientiously made time to serve as Vice President on the board of Mulberry Dixie Youth Baseball and Softball program.

But according to the Florida Department of Financial Fraud Division, the youth league baseball mother and former Lakeland real estate title agent wasn’t who she seemed. She has been accused of stealing more than $660,000 in client escrow funds to live a life of luxury...

Additonal link: "Woman is charged in theft and fraud case."

This is a post in progress. Keep refreshing to see new additions.

A Black Widow's Trail?

(A mild health issue has slowed my writing for a couple of days. The following really couldn't wait, in part because I'm sure some readers will find this unfolding story just as fascinating as I do. I decided to be careful with this post because it touches on a long-term, ongoing investigation that stretches from Missouri to Utah. Only a few names are real, the rest are pseudonyms and marked with asterisks [*]. At the moment, I only have public records and a source close to one family involved in this story to go on for background info, so some details are sketchy, but that will change. To my knowledge, no arrest has been made in this case.)

Eugenia Howell* married Dennis Spriggs in 1967. A photo made 5 years after the couple tied the knot showed a slender woman with a pleasant face, long straight nose, engaging smile. By 1972 the pair had two children, and Eugenia Spriggs was occasionally working as a subsitute teacher. When she wasn't taking care of her kids or substituting, she was involved with the Rho Delta Chapter of ESA International, a leadership and service organization for women. In November, 1972, Mrs. Spriggs received the organization's highest honor, the First Pearl Award. A local paper said the award was given for "educational and philanthropic accomplishments."

Dennis Spriggs passed away 20 years after his wife received the First Pearl Award. He was 47. There was no autopsy. Spriggs was buried with little fanfare in the Highland Park Cemetery in Kirksville, Missouri.

Eugenia moved on to Ottumwa, Iowa. She married Ray Don Ford*, became a member of the Ottumwa Chamber of Commerce. It only lasted a few years -- a petition for the dissolution of the marriage was filed by either Mr. Ford or his counsel on August 27, 1998.

Then something happened to Ray Ford. Just 3 weeks after he filed for divorce from the former Mrs. Spriggs, a new petition was filed. The court records regarding the "Guardianship of Ray Don Ford" indicate the guardianship was "involuntary." A new petition was made on December 2, 1998. This motion was to appoint a "guardian and conservator" for Mr. Ford. At 59, Ray Ford apparently could no longer care for himself.

Eugenia Spriggs Ford moved West, to Utah. In June, 1999, Utah's business journal, The Enterprise, reported that she had been appointed executive director of the Murray, UT Chamber of Commerce. The Fords' divorce was final on September 9, 1999.

That same year, Mrs. Spriggs Ford married Brice Fulton*, a fifty-something father of 6 (by a previous marriage) and an Industrial Engineer who worked for UPS.

In 2003, Brice Fulton's heart nearly gave out. After a cardiac arrest Fulton received a Left Ventricular Assist Device. He lived 3.5 more years, and died on January 4, 2007.

Just over one year later, police were in the Highland Park Cemetery in Kirksville, Missouri. They were there to dig up the remains of Dennis Spriggs. The following quote is from an article published February 27, 2008 on ABC4.com, the website for Salt Lake City's ABC affiliate:

The FBI may be on the trail of a serial killer with Utah ties. ABC 4 News has learned agents have ordered at least three bodies exhumed as part of their investigation.

One body was buried in the Highland Park Cemetery in Kirksville, Missouri. 47-year old Dennis Spriggs died back in 1992. It was an apparently unremarkable death. The local newspaper made no mention of it. But now investigators have reason to believe he may have been murdered, so the Adair County Coroner, Brian Noe, dug up the body and took it to the state medical examiner’s office for an autopsy...

Coroner Noe went on to say he had questions about Spriggs's death that needed answers. He wanted to determine "an exact cause of death."

On February 28, 2008, Kansas City, MO TV station KMBC published a similar article on their website about the Spriggs exhumation. From that piece:

The FBI in Salt Lake City confirmed that similar procedures have been performed on two bodies in Utah and that their offices in both states are working together. The FBI said the investigation has been going on for months but is expected to wrap up very soon...

Eugenia Spriggs left behind her widowhood and traveled to Iowa in the early 1990s, where she became Mrs. Ford. A few years later, something happened to Mr. Ford that left him incapable of caring for his own affairs -- just as he was in the process of divorcing Eugenia.

Mrs. Spriggs Ford ended up in Utah, married to Brice Fulton. He nearly died in 2003, but lasted another 3-plus years, passing away "quietly" at his home, according to his obit.

One woman, moving across the years from Missouri to Utah, leaving either dead or infirm men along the way.

She is said to be charming, attractive, intelligent. She's always found her way into socially prominent situations. Eugenia was a leader in the Rho Delta Chapter of ESA in the late 60s and early 70s, and some online records still listed her as executive director of the Murray CoC, though she could not be found on the Chambers' website.

When Dennis Spriggs's body was autopsied in late February, it was reported that tests on his remains may take a few weeks to come back.

Is the pseudonymous Eugenia Spriggs Ford Fulton a "serial killer," or simply one of the unluckier people you've ever heard of? Those tests may give us an idea.

*= Pseudonym