Spelling Bee

Martin Van Buren's Spelling Bee

Instead of our usual Journalism class, Mr. Mulligan decided to take us to our schools spelling bee in the autotorium. As I suspected, it was mostly english and writing teachers who brought their students to watch. We sat together as a class and  saw a line of chairs with students sitting on the stage. There were students I expected to see up there, and there were some I didn't. The spelling bee was opened to everyone who wanted to join. As the words started being spelt, I found myself trying to spell them in my head along with the spellers. I found that I knew quite a few of them, and that made me wish I had joined; athough I doubt i'd have the guts to. Before I knew it, the spellers were narrowed down to two. Either none of them being able to spell the word, or one of them spelt a word and couldn't spell the final. By that time the period was almost over and I was already feeling restless. I'm not sure who won the spelling bee because we had to leave, but congradulations to who ever won!

After reading "The Strongest Woman in Seattle" by Eli Sanders, I couldn't seem to find relaxing mood I was feeling earlier in the day. Although I was warned that the story was pretty graphic, I didn't think it would get to me as much as it did. Two women, lesbians, wake up with a knife over their neck, raped over and over by one muscular man; a short time from their wedding day.. It's just upsetting.. The way Eli Sanders portrayed the story also had a big impact on how the story was able to control my emotions and change my mood. The choice of words help desribe the horrid brutal acts these two women went through, with out just coming out and saying it. The way Eli spoke about the courts reactions and the choice of quotes from Butz's partner help give a sense of all the sorrow that was filled in the court room, and also in the reader. It's amazing what the choice of words an author uses to write a story can do to the reader.

Trayvon Martin

            A black teen was shot dead on February 26^th, by a volunteer captain of a Florida neighborhood watch, who claimed he acted in self-defense. George Zimmerman had a history of aggressive tactics, and neighbors of his gated community had issue complaints to local police and home owners association before the February 26 shooting.

            Trayvon Martin who was 17 years of age at the time, was returning to his father’s house, with candy for his younger brother, when he was shot. In his hand he had a bag of skittles, and a bottle of Arizona.  Zimmerman who is 28 years old, was patrolling the neighborhood in his care when he called police to report a suspicious person in the neighborhood. He was told to keep his distance, but there was a confrontation between him and Martin before the police reach the scene. Zimmerman claimed he fired his 9mm handgun in self-defense, and the teen was shot once in his chest and police had no reason to suspect he was lying. School officials say Trayvon was never a good kid in school. Always getting suspended, and always found in the middle trouble. People are using this to blame Trayvon for what happened to him, instead of Zimmerman.

            A resident expressed his frustration about previously contacting the Stanford Police Department about Zimmerman approaching his and coming to his home, he was escorted out of and emergency Home Owners Association Meeting which was held on March 1^st. There had been several complaints about George Zimmerman and his tactics in his neighborhood watch. Neither Stanford Police chief Bill Lee who is leading the investigation nor the member of city council who attended the meeting was available for comment.

             

It was lately released the voice heard crying for help on a 911 call just before Trayvon Martin was shot to death was not that of George Zimmerman, according to two forensic voice identification experts, one of whom told MSNBC on Sunday that he believes the evidence is strong enough to use in court. Zimmerman told police that he screamed for help during his confrontation with Martin. He claims the shooting was self-defense. Both experts, though, cautioned that they cannot identify who was screaming with absolute certainty, in part, because they have no audio samples from Martin. "I believe that's Trayvon Martin in the background, without a doubt,” Primeau said. "That's a young man screaming”

Because of the fact that there was no voice recording from Trayvon, officials cannot fully give the conclusion that indeed it was Trayvon who’s screams were heard seconds before he died. What these forensic voice experts can do is testify in court as expert witnesses and give their opinion on the case, and where the voice came from.

The case of Trayvon Martin quickly sparked a national firestorm. People made pictures, wrote statements, and even walked walk-a-thons while wearing a plain black hoodie, to show respect and to support Trayvon. But still, the case is not solved and justice hasn’t been served.

Mary Bell, Worlds Youngest Serial Killer

So, how old would you say the youngest serial killer could be? 13, 14 or even 15? Guess again. Mary Bell a TEN year old girl has the record for worlds youngest serial killer.

Born May 26, 1957, Mary Bell is surprisingly still alive today, so watch out!

In the beginning years of her life, her mother (Betty) who was a prostitue and gave birth to Mary at age 17, tried to kill her daughter on multiple occastions. She made sure to make all occasions look like an accident. Mary Bell was also subjected to repeated sexual abuse by her mother, who forced her to perform sexual activities with old men at the age of 4! Can you imagine that? Not long after Mary stopped wearing diapers, she was involved in multiple sexual activities with old men. 
Because of her moms prostitution, it made her absent from the home very often. Usually when mom or dad comes home from a business trip, you wait for them by the door and jump into their arms. Not Mary- she hated when her mother was home and the only times she spent with her mother were the abusive brutal times of torture.

While not technically a serial killer by definition, Mary Bell is still regarded as one of the youngest serial killers in history. She began killing at the age of 10, a day right before her 11th birthday. Martin Brown was her first victim, whom she killed by use of strangulation. Her 13 year old friend somehow came to join her in her "fun" and they confessed together to killing Martin Brown. It was seen as a Norma prank to society, and the case was let go. Not too long after, they striked again. Brain Howe age 3 at the time, was their next victim, and again he was strangled to death. They then carved the letter 'N' in his chest, which they later changed to an 'M'.
There was non given reason for these choice letters but I believe it had to do with the first letter of their names.

M= MARY
N= NORMA

These young serial killers would eventually get caught in August 1968. The trial was set against Mary and Norma, charging them both with two counts of manslaughter. Norma was luckily excused of the charges but Mary Bell was convicted of both counts of manslaughter.
At the age of 23, Mary was let out of prison as a new person, and later settled down, had a daughter, and is now living hapily with grandchildren.
Is it possible years in prison could really change someone so violent?

Nannie Doss, One Of The Most Profilic Serial Killers In U.S. History

See this jolly woman in the photo above? She looks like such a sweet lady doesn't she? Yep, she does. How could such an innocent looking old woman kild her husband and a boat load of her family? What could drive her to do such a horrid act?

Nannie Doss was born on November 4, 1905. She spent most of her childhood avoiding the wrath of her father who controlled her family with what they called "an iron fist." She was often pulled out of school to work on the farm her father owned at home, and by grade 6 she dropped out of school. At the age of seven, Nannie was on a train that suddenly stopped causing her to lose balance and fall forward. This fall caused her to hit her head and later lead to her suffering with major migranes, headaches, blackouts, and serious depression. As a teenages, her father James Hazle refused to allow his daughters to do anything to enhance their appearance. Pretty dresses and makeup were not allowed along with friendships with boys. It wasn't until Doss got her first job in 1921 that she had any real social interaction. Instead of going on class trips and prom, she spent her days working in a factory with her face burried in magazines.

While working at the factory, Doss met Charlie Braggs they hit off a five year relationship that soon lead into marriage. If Doss thought she was ecaping her troubles from not being near to her father, she was wrong. She soon learned that Charlie was very manipulative and controlling.

The Braggs had their first child in 1923 and three more followed one for the next three years. Doss' life had become a prison of raising children, taking care of her demanding mother-in-law and putting up with Charley who was an abusive drunk. To cope she began drinking at night and managed to get out to local bars for her own adult fun. By this time, her marriage was way down the drain and there was no fixing it.

Soon enough two of the middle children died from food poisioning and Charlie's mother died aswell. Doss remained in the Bragg home until a year later when her husband showed up with a new girl friend. The Braggs divorced and Doss left with her two daughters and moved back to her parent's home.

Once again Doss got married to another man named Frank Harrelson, soon to find out that he also was a heavy drinker and got into many bar fights. Doss tells the story of that day he came home drunk and raped her. She told everyone the next day that she poured rat poison in his corn whiskey jar in act of revenge. She then watched him die a painful miserable death.

Doss had 3 more husbands after that, and as usual, things went wrong and people just happened to die. Death was nothing new to witness in Doss' life. Most of the deaths later found to be by Doss herself. She was later convicted for several acts of murder, and died of leukemia in her jail cell.

Lavina Fisher, First Female Serial Killer

               

The legend of Lavina Fisher will vary from teller to teller but the gist of the story goes like this. Most say she was the first woman serial killer, but others say there could have been ones before her that were never exposed. Married to a man named John, Lavina and him owned an inn on a lonesome road outside Charleston, South Carolina. The building was well maintained and was a welcome sight to weary travelers, but it was rumored that sometimes guests checked in and did not check out. People thought it was just a tale made up by the bored young ones in the town. One night a fur trader named John Peoples stopped at the inn and was warmly greeted by the Fishers. The beautiful Lavinia Fisher was especially friendly. He thought the Fishers were being a little too friendly and, suspicious of their intentions, he went to bed early.

People's suspicions grew and he could not sleep. He decided not to lie in the bed but to sit in the corner facing the door so he could see if anyone came in to attack him. Suddenly, his uncertainties were confirmed when a trapdoor sprung, dropping the bed into the cellar where he saw John Fisher ahead of him waiting with an axe. Peoples escaped quickly and hurried back to Charleston to tell the authorities. John and Lavinia were arrested and their property was searched by officials. Human remains were found, including many bodies in a lime pit in the cellar beneath the trap door. The Fishers were convicted of murder and sentenced to hang.

The unrepentant, Lavinia Fisher was sent to the gallows in 1820 wearing her wedding dress. John Fisher put all the blame on his wife, but it did no good, he was hanged along with her. Some say Lavinia's ghost now haunts the Old Jail on Magazine Street in Charleston as well as the Unitarian Cemetery.

Amelia Dyer - Baby Farm Murderer

So far, this blog has only consisted of male serial killers. I think its time for us to see the wickedness of women too.
In addition to having by far the CREEPIEST photo ok wikipedia, Amelia Dyer was a crazy sick woman.

 Amelia Elizabeth Dyer, born in 1838 is one of the most notorious "baby farm" killer. Believe it or not, she was responsible for more than 400 murders of infants in her care. At the time, newborn babies, especially those born after marriage were commonly “adopted” by others in return for a small fee from the parents, paid in portions or upfront; depending on the situation. Amelia Dyer’s baby farm was a horrendously dirty and unpleasant environment where babies were starved and neglected. As you can tell, Amelia was not very wealthy, and she starved the babies to save money.

As Dyer’s ruthlessness increased over time, she began to murder infants immediately after she received payment from parents. The bodies of the babies were disposed in a river near by or some sort of water body, She moved from town to town to aviod suspicion as her practices continuted for over 20 years.

In 1896, a barge traveling on the Thames River discovered a package containing the body of an infant who had been strangled to death. Authorities searched the river and found at least forty more children who had been murdered in the same manner. This lead to great investigation. One of the parcels contained a name and an address which led investigators to Amelia Dyer’s doorstep.
Tried in the Old Bailey courthouse in London, Amelia Dyer was convicted of killing seven infants whose corpses were immediately connected to her. Investigatiors and police were sure she was responsible for dozens, if not hundreds, of other murders of infants. Amelia Dyer was hanged on June 10th, 1896, three weeks after being convicted.