I have had some interesting conversations after recent radio interviews (separate from my work). I received a call from someone who asked me to look into a murder that occurred before I was born. On January 26, 1960, an unsolved murder occurred in Paynesville. Rick and Bob Johnson owned an Ever Ready gas station, just off the main drag. A couple stopped in at 7:00 a.m. and waited for Rick to fill their car with gas. They honked the horn and he still didn’t respond. They could see him sitting in the chair inside. Rick was a nice guy, and he opened the station at 6:00 a.m., so they thought they’d give him a little grief about falling asleep. When they entered they saw Rick had been shot 3 times and was dead. The till drawer was open and empty. Rick had died for $123. Ironically, the safe behind Rick was open, and no money from the safe was taken. This may be because Rick fell back when he was shot and partially rested over the safe door, so the killer may not have even seen the safe there. Was it a stranger passing through in the early morning, or a local? He didn’t know of the safe, but the gas station wasn’t on the main drag. A couple people drove by after he opened, but I’m not aware of anyone offering useful information. The problem with this case is that it is now 59 years old, but I’m putting it out there in case anyone has advice. I did a blog months ago on a murder in Fargo. I have a theory of who committed the murder, but have been requested to say nothing more about it. Knowing who committed a crime isn’t the same as being able to prosecute it. Further, without access to the Murder Book, I wouldn’t want to publicly identify the individuals. The consequences of being wrong are severe for the accused. Some statistics on mass shooters: When politicians say it’s a mental illness issue, I don’t argue. But the next question should always be, “If that’s the case, why do we continually cut funding for mental health services?” We do have a mental illness issue, in that we generally incarcerate them and leave them without access to treatment. Being mentally ill is scary. For one thing, you’re 5 times more likely to be murdered. -More than 50% of individuals who engage in mass shootings have a history of domestic violence. -Individuals with a previous act of violence against a partner are 7 times more likely to be violent. -Individuals who abuse alcohol or illegal drugs are 7 times more likely to be violent. Violent behavior usually starts with:
Violence is most closely associated with mental illness when there is:
THREATS (mnemonic). If someone has a better T word to describe alcohol and drug abuse I’m open to suggestions. T = Take seriously H = History of violence R = Recent stressor (relationship, money, housing, work, injury, illness) E = Externalizes blame (takes no responsibility) A = Agitated (or hostile style) T = Toxins (Drug or alcohol abuse) S = Suicidality (or increasing hopelessness) An interesting statistic: The homicide rate is actually significantly lower today than it was in the 1980’s. While less people are being murdered, more are being murdered as a result of mass shootings. The answer is to get people to talk to each other, which is a challenge in today’s world when it’s so much easier to be divisive. The favor I’m asking is that you not be part of the problem. Thank you Mike and Terri Binder for taking Brenda and I out to eat, and giving me the opportunity to talk about Murder Book with a large book club in Rosemount. After a year of speaking on The I-94 Murders it was a nice change. Lots of great questions and a great time! It’s been a great summer! I’ve enjoyed many wonderful conversations with a variety of people all over the state. I’ve sold a ton of books at the Arts Festivals in Brainerd, Detroit Lakes and Battle Lake. One conversation in particular at a class reunion brought me to Superior Thermowood in Palisade, Minnesota. John Bieganek runs a crew that gives specialized treatment of wood that Gibson is now using in their guitars. John and I discussed wood instruments. I shared how Antonio Stradivari made violins in the 1600’s by using wood that had soaked in water for a century (which cleaned all the resins out), and then dried the wood. John shared he has a kiln (which is bigger than my kitchen) they use to produce the same effect in weeks. I have included a picture of me standing by the kiln door. Thanks for listening, Frank James Vietch is an individual who enjoys responding to the variety of misdirected emails and spam messages. Here is an example:
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AuthorFrank F. Weber is a forensic psychologist specializing in homicide and sexual and physical assault cases. He uses his unique understanding of how predator’s think, knowledge of victim trauma, actual court cases, and passion for writing true crime thrillers. His Award Winning books include "Murder Book" (2017) "The I-94 Murders" (2018) "Last Call" (2019) and "Lying Close" (September 2020). Archives
April 2024
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