I go to school in Hastings, where there has recently been much talk about the murders of a couple: Peter and Patricia Niedere. Initially, I was a little curious; I mean, c’mon. It’s Hastings for crying out loud!
So, I knew that a couple was murdered by their son and one of his friends.
This morning when I came downstairs for breakfast, my dad slides the Strib over to me and asks me if I know that they arrested another kid involved with the murder; which in itself was strange because he didn’t know that I knew anything about it.
So I looked. The headline said “3rd teen is held in Hastings slayings”; and there were the pictures of three teenage boys.
The third face was familiar.
Oh, yeah, I recognized it. It was a face of a boy I had gone to kindergarten and 1st grade with. I checked the name to be sure. Jamie Patton? Yup. I practically had a fit on my dad, who was still a little skeptical. *sigh*. Okay. Turn the page. Skim through it a little ways. Here we go, the proof I was looking for: “…attended Calvin Christian School…” The school I went to in said grades. Oh. My. God.
How would it feel to wake up one morning to find that a little boy that you had ridden to school with, played games with, went to Dairy Queen with, that you haven’t heard from ever since you switched schools — is involved in a murder conspiracy? It would feel like a little piece of your world had just crumbled and hit the ground. Sheol! The year our school had Noah and the Ark as the school play, he and I were the two zebras together!! We were pretty close, especially considering that boys have cooties!
I know I’m not very closely connected at all, but at one time, he was a part of my life. I kinda wish I could’ve talked to him before this whole situation ever took place, if only just to find out what he’d been doing with his life before he basically chucked it out the window. I guess I’m a little confused but no one’s going to give me an explanation. Not that I really need one, money was involved, after all. Would he even remember me?
Today I dug out my sheet of kindergarten pictures, and there’s his picture, right next to mine.
Murderer? You wouldn’t think so.
That’s really scary. What changes us from being an innocent zebra into an accused murderer?
I knew a kid throughout grade school, and though he was a year behind me I knew him pretty well. We were in Boy Scouts together. Hell, we shared a tent on numerous occasions. Cool kid.
I graduated. We lost touch. I found out later he joined the Army.
Years later I read in the newspaper he’d been arrested for murder in Germany, where he’d been stationed.
Robbed and killed one of his fellow soldiers. He’s currently serving a rather lengthy sentence in Leavenworth.
I know exactly what you’re feeling.
A kid I knew at one of the schools I work murdered two high school students in school; it turned out the murderer’s baby picture was in the local paper the very morning of the murders in one of those “remember when” pictures..
Irony can be cruel, at times..
The state of Michign has something called OTIS, whichi lets you look up a person’s name and see if he is in prison. I did that once with someone I knew a long time ago, but had lost track of about the same stage that the Mall Diva lost track of her zebra friend. Sure enough, breaking and entering, and the state lock-up.
The Michigan site is here: http://www.state.mi.us/mdoc/asp/otis2.html. Other states may have a similar service.
Mall Diva:
Interesting post. Scary, too. Would you mind calling me? I’d like to pick your brain about something.
Frederick Melo, staff writer
The Pioneer Press
fmelo@pioneerpress.com
651-228-2172