European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 15, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Jessica Carr 7, was Riding a snowmobile with her Friend Shannon when she was struck by a Bullet shooting death of a playmate continued from Page 13 Yards away. Shannon Ratti said she did not hear the shot. She and Jessica Best friends were Riding a single snowmobile with Shannon at the front. Quot All of a sudden she started leaning against me. I asked her not to and she kept leaning. Suddenly i figured something must be wrong with her Quot Shannon said. She turned to face a suddenly grotesque figure. Quot her eyes were roiled Way Back into her head Quot Shannon said. The Bullet had torn through the Middle of Jessica s Back propelling her Forward. Within minutes her Short life was ended. The Rattis and the Carrs did t know what was going on at first. They thought a gunman might be Loose in the neighbourhood and Richard Ratti telephoned Cameron to get Back to the Ratti House so he would t be alone. When Cameron returned to the House the other children were crying As Jessica Lay mortally wounded in the living room. Brian Ratti said Cameron remarked Quot if you Don t think about it a. A a a Quot he does t understand or accept the tact that he fired the shot that killed her except in so far As what other people have told a or. Martha Turnberg treating psychiatrist a kill out of vindictiveness the you won t feel bad then he went Back to playing Nintendo Jessica s Mother said. What to do with an 11-year-old killer could this boy of impeccable background education and manners a never before in trouble admired by teacher minister cub scout Leader implied motive could this even tempered boy who it is said never struck out Al anybody understand the magnitude and finality of such a deed or was it Quot All just a terrible mistake Quot As a state police investigator quoted him As saying. Cameron initially lied to state police telling them he had been sleeping when the shooting occurred. He gave two different versions of How he Cut his forehead it was later determined he was Cut when the Rifle s scope kicked Back. His explanations of what happened on that Winter Day have varied. Or. Harris Rabinovich a child psychiatrist testified for the prosecution that Cameron told him he was playing Hunter and the Rifle discharged. But or. Martha Turnberg the treating psychiatrist testified for the defense that Cameron told her he was looking through the scope at the Trees and Snow and he did not see any children. He denied intentionally firing the gun. Under Pennsylvania Law a murder charge must be filed in regular criminal court. A child Between the Ages of 7 and 14 is presumed incapable of committing a crime. But the prosecutor Mark p. Pazuhanich said he is ready to present evidence to overcome that presumption. The trial judge Ronald e. Vican denied a defense motion to Transfer the Case to juvenile court where real confinement Likely would be avoided and there would be no adult criminal record. Vican said it was a Quot deliberate and wilful killing Quot and that Cameron shows no remorse. Quot we customarily associate the crime of murder with adults or at least older juveniles Quot Vican said. A Young children do kill. Homicides involving child killers Are increasing at an alarming rate. Neither society nor our system of criminal Justice is sufficiently prepared to satisfactorily handle situations involving Young Cameron a attorney appealed to the Pennsylvania supreme court arguing that the boy is innocent because of his age that he is unable to understand the charges against him and is not competent to stand trial. Quot if there was anything that he did and in a saying a big if his that resulted in the death of this Little girl he does t connect it intellectually Quot said the attorney Charles Hansford. The Pennsylvania supreme court agreed in june to hear arguments probably by the end of this year on whether Cameron should be tried As an adult in criminal court or As a child in juvenile court. Although it is unlikely Cameron could face a mandatory life sentence if he is convicted of first degree murder. The prosecutor said that he will not decide until the approach of any trial whether to seek a first degree conviction. But he said at the very least he will seek a third degree conviction. Sentencing would be largely within the discretion of the trial judge ranging from probation at Home to Long term confinement. Pazuhanich has received hate mail from some who object to Cameron s prosecution Quot there a no question i m taking heat Over it Quot he said. Quot there is certainly substantial sympathy for the a Public trial As opposed to closed proceedings in juvenile court could be devastating for Cameron said or. Marshall Schechter a defense psychiatrist who examined the boy. Schechter found Cameron suffering from depression and Post traumatic stress disorder a delayed trauma associated mainly with Vietnam veterans whose symptoms include anxiety and difficulty in relationships. Over time he said Cameron could become suicidal. Patricia and Keith Kocher escort their son Cameron into Monroe country courthouse in Stroudsburg pa., for arraignment in August 1989 on charges of criminal homicide committed in March 1989 when the boy was six weeks shy of his 10th birthday. It v a lit it a s \ of % As a it y / All of a sudden she started leaning against me. I asked her not to an she kept leaning. Suddenly i figured some Hii must be wrong with Shanfal it a Ratti Girlfriend of Jessica Carr oppressed by fears that others would hate him for what he had done he might have trouble making friends last year the boy attended private school under an assumed name after the shooting Cameron withdrew wanting to hang around the House ashamed and fearful of going into stores needing to be close to his Mother to the Point where he would sit on her Lap. Kocher said her son was frightened and cried about the possibility of being taken away. His sleep was restless interrupted by those unsettling dreams. Quot he has a very limited understanding Quot of death said Turnberg. Turnberg said Cameron is sad about Jessica s death. Quot As far As remorse meaning he accepts responsibility that he intentionally caused her death no. He does t under stand or accept the fact that he fired the shot that killed her except in so far As what other people have told Cameron a is not the Only life that lies in ruins. Cameron a parents Keith and Patricia Kocher also Are victims they Are working class folks a he is a labourer she a seamstress. They took a second mortgage on their raised ranch Home and spent the $25,000 they had scraped together for Cameron a education for his defense. Page 14 a a a the stars and stripes they put up their Home As Security for Cameron s $50,000 bail. Jessica s parents have since divorced. Her father Claude Carr retreated to his native Maine to seek Solace. Her Mother Donna withdrew into a new Home and a new life with her share of $300,000 from the Rochers insurance company. She cries at the memory of Jessica and fled into the House in tears when a reporter mentioned her name. The Ratti children no longer play in the Yard where Jessica was killed they moved in May. Richard Ratti said his marriage nearly collapsed amid the stress and the press coverage. Ratti himself faces charges that he fired a Shotgun though a door of a Home where his wife had gone last oct. 31. His children Are so unnerved that their schoolwork suffered Quot my songs 13. He go Down and see his dog after a they could t sleep at night Quot said Rattis wife Trudy. They were waking up by nightmares. Shannon thinks about 11 a lot. Shell never really be the same Ever again from it. She knows How close she came to dying Shannon now 14, is filled with guilt. What if she had seeded up the snowmobile or slowed Down or stopped could she have dodged the Bullet i did no to want to Hurt her Quot she cried. A boy who stabbed his dad by George Esper associated press the boy from Beaver Falls pa., was 8 years old when he killed his father plunging a Kitchen knife in the Back of the Man who had taken him fishing and taught him How to play baseball. He is 9 years old now and though he remembers every moment of that horrible night a How his father attacked his Mother How he went to the Kitchen to get the knife How his father cried out when he was stabbed a the child does not quite believe that his father is dead. Quot he kept repeating recently he s not coming Back like he was hoping he might Quot said his psychiatrist or. Marianne Krouk. Quot he s not emotionally ready to come to terms with the loss he still has fantasies about going to reunions with his dad. He s trying to step Back from that by saying he was a no Good alcoholic and should have been at a time when he should be accumulating childhood memories of school Days and favorite pets this Light haired slightly built boy a his name is being withheld because of his age a is saddled with memories of parricide that wiil scar him for life. Quot i think there Are great consequences for the future even if he. Manages to. Do Well in his daily life Quot said Krouk Quot i think he sat risk for suicide just by overwhelming guilt and coming to terms that he took his father s life and maybe he does t deserve to it happened on March Quot my mom was sitting on the glider and my dad was about to choke her when i put the knife in his did t want him to Hurt a the boy in his statement to the police 31. The boy s Mother Monica Jones 36, testified before a Coroner s inquest that her 59-year-old husband William choked her in bed while accusing her of Quot running she denied it. Quot in a going to kill you tonight Quot he told her. A a a a. they drove to the Home of a Man who the husband said had told him he was being cuckolded. The Man denied saying it and before the Joneses left mrs. Jones told the Man her husband was going to kill her. A we went Home a mrs. Jones said. Quot he threw the keys at me wanted me to put the key in the lock and i would t. He choked me. He said a you want to put the key in and i Shook my head yes. He let me up. I screamed hard and he grabbed me again and we were on the glider and he choked me his mothers screams awakened the boy from a Couch in the living room. He told police he thought Quot she was going to get Hurt or something. I thought he was going to get the gun like he did last time Quot when Jones pointed a Rifle at mrs. Jones head last september while the boy watched. The boy said he did not look outside to see what was happening but ran into the Kitchen and got an 8v2-Inch filet knife. A my mom was sitting on the glider and my dad was about to choke her when i put the knife in his he said he feared for his own safety As Well As his Mother s Quot i did no to want him to Hurt Quot he said he said mom he put a knife in my Back Quot the boy told police in a taped statement. Mrs. Jones recalled that she looked up and told her son to get help. She picked up a baseball Bat and hit her husband across the shoulders so he could t go after the boy. Quot he was going to get up Quot she said. The boy ran to a neighbor s House. Quot i ran because i did t want him to come after me. I saw the Light Over there so i Wen there and said a my dad was beating up my mom and they let me in so i could Call the police i did t want to go Back outside because i thought he still might be out Jones was dead at the scene. The coroners jury cleared the boy in the stabbing authorities urged a finding of justifiable homicide and the stories told by the boy and his Mother were corroborated by a pathologist s testimony that Jones was legally intoxicated and that mrs. Jones had bruises on her neck and Chin. Seeing his father in death at the funeral Home the boy said he looked As he did All the time. Krouk recalled that the boy Quot kept saying he just looked like he was sleeping a like he was wishing he would get that the boy would Grieve for such a father might be surprising to some. But there is evidence that William Jones was not always a monster mrs. Jones testified that her marriage had gone downhill just in the past two years when her husband s drinking had increased baseball tied father and son together. They had planned for the father to coach his son s Little league team this season and the boy still regrets that it never came to pass. But he also remembers the time he tried to explain to his father How to play a Nintendo game. Apparently threatened by his songs facility with the game the father did not want to hear about it. He slapped the boy Quot he can t understand Why he would Hurt him Quot said Krouk. The killing and its aftermath have been especially hard a for this Little boy because he wants most of All to do Well. His third Grade teacher Vada Damaska says he is an avid Reader who moves baseball and football stories a Well liked clean Cut boy who made All a s and b s. Quot i used to tease him that he could take Over for me Quot she said. Quot he knew what was going on in the classroom because he always paid close Quot he s very concerned about getting a a doing Well and he does no to enjoy being perceived As a bad kid. Said Krouk. Quot he has a Well developed conscience that he is going to suffer i think with recurring after his father s deals the boy acted up in ways he had never done before. He screamed at his Mother and was unwilling to do daily chores. Quot he does have a lot of anger that Borders on rage Quot said Krouk. Eventually the doctor says he May revile his Mother because she did not shield him from a Quot situation where he was forced to witness abuse and violence and hear a lot of things that a kid his age should t have to Deal and eventually Krouk says the boy will ask himself Quot How could i take another life Quot he is at risk for suicidal depression on the one hand and alcoholism and antisocial behaviour on the other Krouk says. For now he is trying to get on with his life. He joined that Little league team that his father had intended to coach his new coach told the other kids that he was there to play Ball and that was All they were going to talk to him about. Talk of the stabbing would mean dismissal from the team. He was taken out of Damaska s class and he finished out the third Grade at a private school in a nearby town. But he would be devastated to know the nickname he has been Given by the kids in his old school. They Call him the stars and stripes a a a Page 15
