The Crime Scene

This has been one of the hardest stories to report on. I am talking about the Old Town Victorville shooting on Nov. 30.

Many of you have voiced concerns about why David Boutieller was arrested if the man killed was trying to break into Boutieller’s home. 

All I can say is that that is all the information released by investigators. I know in many cases it can be frustrating to be left with more questions than answers, but I do have to say that if I didn’t report that there was an arrest made I would be getting calls wondering why the arrest wasn’t made public.

Many times investigators do not release information because it will hinder an investigation.

Boutieller was arrested for murder and attempted murder. Obviously the investigators had a reason to arrest him. 

To those who were concerned about whether this was a gun issue alone, no. He was not arrested simply because he was defending his home.

I know this still does not answer a lot of questions, but I can say that there will be more information made available as the investigation continues.

The holiday season officially kicked off beginning with Thanksgiving. I like the holidays, but I’m not a fanatic. I tend to gravitate toward the camp that feels that the season has gotten very materialistic and the true meaning has been lost.

Case in point: The Palm Desert Toys R Us shooting and the Wal-Mart death.

Now with the Toys R Us shooting, investigators have said the argument that began with two women had nothing to do with Black Friday. These two people already had a history and when the “ladies” began arguing, their knights in shining tin foil came to their rescue by shooting up a children’s toy store.

Seriously, who feels it necessary to pack heat at a toy store? Under what circumstances is that anywhere near normal. 

Luckily no one but the two gunmen were hurt, but I bet there will be a child psychologists with a heck of a lot of new patients in the area.

In the case of the Wal-Mart stampede, it truly saddens me to think that this man’s life could have been spared if people would have used common sense and not act like lemmings.

But instead of harping on the bad, there are plenty of great organizations out there making a difference such as the Apple Valley Fire Protection District. 

They will be taking disadvantaged  children to the Apple Valley Wal-Mart to buy gifts, not for themselves, but for their families in order to instill in them the virtue of giving.

We all see the bell ringers outside different stores who raise money for needy families and people. 

The Phoenix Foundation is another non-profit organization that looks to help those who have been touched by tragedy like the families left in the wake of the Bunker murders.

While I have to report on a lot of the bad, I am interested in knowing a bit about the good going on in your neck of the woods.

I, like so many of you, was absolutely horrified when I learned of the 2-year-old who was killed early Saturday morning after he crawled out of his crib and walked into traffic.

As the mother of three, two under the age of 5, this really hit close to home and I wondered, “How could this have happened?”

Was the mother, the only parent home at the time, negligent? Was opening the door a new task the child had recently learned? Was the door locked?

It’s very easy to blame the parent, and I have to admit, the thought did cross my mind, until I remembered a stunt my 3-year-old daughter pulled.

It was the middle of the day and I came home to pick up some notes. My mother watches my children and I could hear her in the kitchen through the open wooden door. The security door was locked because my daughter liked to go outside when she heard the school children come from school.

As I approached, I heard my daughter run up the entryway happily yelling, “Mommy! Mommy!”

When she reached the security door, she reached up and nimbly unlocked the door then opened it. It stood there and watched her run out the door and hug my legs.

My mother, heard the door rattle and ran toward the front door. 

She let out a sigh of relief when she saw my little one was safely with me, but we both looked at each other and knew we had to do something.

Could this have happened at my home? I’d like to think not. I’d like to think that someone would hear the door if she managed to get it open, but I honestly don’t know.

Since that day, we installed a top latch that she, as of yet, cannot reach. 

The tragedy of what happened to the little toddler brought thoughts of my own daughter running down the street in the middle of the night wearing only her footy jammies.

I know a lot of parents have been jolted by the news and have been talking about preventative measure when it comes to their own children.

What are your thoughts?

Because of the nature of my beat, there are many times that I am not able to really talk to those affected by crime and violence. 

I was afforded that opportunity with the murder of Donald “Doc” Johnson on Oct. 15.

This could have easily become another man shot in a not-so-pleasant neighborhood story, but because the family reached out and let me in during their time of pain and need, I was able to get a snapshot of what Doc was like.

Doc was a man who raised four children on his own and still  had three at home. Like many he had some problems, which the family was quick to point out, but he had been trying to live a better life for his children.

Knowing this and speaking to his family fairly regularly during the investigation and ultimate arrest of the two men responsible for his death give me more satisfaction than just reporting the mechanical facts.

I was able to speak to his sister from Las Vegas and hear the relief in her voice when Steven Thurman and Jesse Cole were captured in Reno, Nev.

I think this is the best way to get family’s grief and message across.

I have noticed that a lot of comments have focused on the use of photos, particularly crime scene photos of deceased individuals.

Many people have commented that it is in bad taste to post such pictures or print them in the newspaper.

For the most part, we do not show any faces or identifiers in the newspaper. Typically a reader will see a yellow sheet or maybe a hand peeking out from under the sheet. And the choice of which photo to run is a collective decision made by the editors, photographers and copy desk.

Online is a different story in that more can be shown. 

We in the media have always had to do a dance when it comes to photos of this nature. If we show them a great many people become upset and say that they do not want to see such images. If we do not, we also receive input from those who say it is our duty to show them what the crime scene looks like no matter what. News many times is not pretty.

What are your thoughts on the issue? Do you think that some images should not be shown or is news news no matter how gruesome?

I love Halloween. I even got married on Halloween. 

I have a lot of great memories of my brothers and I going from house to house for hours trying to collect as much sweet, candy booty as possible.

As I have become a mom, I have noticed that less and less kids are out that night. Many parents I have spoken to say it is a safety issue.

Many do not feel that it is safe anymore to allow or even take kids from home to home asking for candy. Many of them try to get their candy-gathering mission done before the sun goes down.

That’s just sad to me.

I understand that there are great programs like trunk or treat and trick-or-treating at the mall, but its not the same.

I am curious to find out what your thoughts are on the matter. Has it become too dangerous to enjoy trick-or-treating or are parents becoming hypersensitive to a problem that does not really exist?

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