One of the cruelest things
that you can do to another person
is pretend you care about them more than you
really do.
~Doug Coupland
We have all seen the television shows and news
programs talking about Jodi Arias and the horrendous murder for which she was
convicted. Her actions caused shock and
disbelief that a person, who looks small, meek and mild, can exhibit such
savagery to such an extent that those who investigated the murder of her
boyfriend (many of whom are jaded, experienced murder investigators) were
floored by the gore they found.
It was a bloody, bizarre, and horrific scene. I am
not going to rehash all of the facts of this case, as we have all been
inundated ad nauseam with information since her case began. We all know that
this was an awful case, and now the decision is being made whether Arias lives
or dies.
These types of criminal acts by spurned lovers are
not unique and have no doubt existed from the very beginning of time when
people started to cheat on each other, thereby making their mate want to kill
them. There are not too many original stories about spouses or loved ones
murdering those who reject or cheat on them.
Having heard so much about Arias these past months,
has caused me to do a little research regarding strange lover’s “revenge” acts. It is interesting to me to imagine if anyone
I know were in the same position, whether they could slip into such a blind rage,
that they become set on the singular and murderous purpose of making someone
pay very dearly.
The
Pamper Wearing Astronaut
Immediately following astronaut, William Oefelein's,
divorce, he and Lisa Nowak (another astronaut who flew a mission in the space
shuttle Discovery) became involved with each other. Their love affair lasted
two years. The relationship grew stale for
Oefelein and he decided to dump Novwak.
This
turned out to be a big mistake.
Oefelein
started a relationship with Colleen Shipman, who was working as an engineer
with the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida .
Enraged because she was dumped for a new lover, Nowak
drove from Houston to Orlando , Florida .
She packed latex gloves, a black wig, a BB pistol and ammunition, pepper spray,
a hooded tan trench coat, a 2-pound drilling hammer, black gloves, rubber
tubing, plastic garbage bags, approximately $585 in cash, her computer, an
8-inch (20 cm) Gerber folding knife and several other items before driving
the 900 miles (1,400 km) to Florida .
As a further convenience, she brought a pair of diapers so that her road trip
would not have the annoyance of bathroom breaks.
Upon arriving in Florida ,
Nowak went to the Orlando
International Airport .
She waited for about an hour in the baggage claim area, and then proceeded to
the airport parking lot. She located and aggressively confronted Shipman, who
had just arrived from Houston .
Nowak slapped Shipman’s car window and tried to
open the door. Shipman rolled down the window a couple of inches after which
Nowak sprayed pepper spray into her face and car.
Nowak
was subsequently arrested at Orlando
International Airport
on charges of attempted kidnapping, battery, attempted vehicle burglary with
battery, and destruction of evidence.
Nowak
entered a guilty plea to lesser charges. She was sentenced to a year's
probation and the two days already served in jail, with no additional jail
time.
She
does not fly space shuttles anymore.
The
Deadly Dentist
David Lynn Harris was an orthodontist who owned a chain of dental offices along with
his wife, Clara Suarez Harris. The chain was very successful, and the couple
was able to afford an upscale home and expensive lifestyle. By all accounts,
they lived a wonderful, happy, and
luxurious life.
Turns
out, David’s marriage was neither happy nor wonderful. He started cheating on
his wife.
Clara,
who was nobody’s fool, hired a private detective agency to spy on her
husband. The agency notified Clara that
her husband was at a hotel with his mistress.
In a rage, Clara went to the hotel to confront her
husband. She attacked her husband's mistress. When hotel employees escorted
Clara to her Mercedes-Benz, she was very unsatisfied. She took her anger out on her husband.
When David and his mistress came out of the hotel,
Clara struck down her husband in the parking lot as her teenage stepdaughter
sat in the passenger seat. Clara ran
over her husband three times. David was pronounced dead at the scene, and Clara
was charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years.
Clara’s first parole review was 2013. It was
denied. Her case will come up for parole review again in 2015.
What is the moral, if any, to the above stories?
Before you make a decision regarding a spouse or loved one, you absolutely must
ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?” The second question you should ask is
“What would my mother think if I told her about this?”
Feel free to insert Buddha, God, Allah, Confucius, etc.
for the words “Jesus,” or “Mother” if that works better for you. Also, listen very
carefully to the answer you get when you ask yourself these questions. If you do not listen, or play deaf, you may
find yourself looking down the barrel of a gun or otherwise facing the murderous
wrath of a person whom you thought you knew.
Things can be summed up with a saying my divorce attorney friends often
tell me, “You never really get to know someone, until you dump them.” Proceed cautiously.
~
Leonardo G. Renaud
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