GUILTY Canada - Marc, 42, Debra, 48, & Jacob Richardson, 8, slain, Medicine Hat, 23 Apr 2006

[Amraann]

Did he know she was 12? She looks like she could easily be mistaken for 14, which is Canada's legal age of consent.

IMO the age of legal consent is irrelavant..
At 23 why would he even be interested in a 14 YO?

I did not see her picture but I can only imagine that at age 12 to look older she would need much makeup and inappropriate clothes..
So who was letting her get away with that? Who purchased such things for her?

 

[CyberLaw]

She was convicted after three hours of jury deliberation.

 

[gman20001969]

My daughter is sixteen and she's mentioned a lot of the girls are putting on their myspace that they're bi-sexual. She said most aren't and do it to get attention. Probably the same with the wiccan. They think it sets them apart, makes them more interesting I guess. Certainly not the kind of attention you would want in my opinion but then I'm not twelve.

OMG! This girl gave wiccans a bad name too. In my opinion, goth chic+promiscious personality+make-up that makes you look 18+older men=danger!

This is why I'm glad I don't have a daughter. It's hard to punish Daddy's little girl. In my opinion, she should get nothing less than the death penalty...after she turns 18. Who plots to kill thier own parents and stab thier younger brother???

 

[Kellee]

The most she can get is 6 years imprisonment and 4 years of supervision. She will be totally free by the time she is 22 or 23.

 

[lovebites]

Don't think so. She is a child, like it or not. As was mentioned earlier (by Amraann I believe) if her parents were truly parenting her, there would have been no sneaking around. Certainly no excuse for killing them, but 12 years old is still such a baby. The so-called-boyfriend had been of adult age for 5 years.....since she was a mere 7!!!

Sorry to tell you this, but you're off base with regard to this. My niece dated Jeremy before he got involved with this 12 year old (he was even here in my house - scary) and he's certainly a strange young man. He likes them young - when they started dating my niece was 14 and he was 20. Anyway, the girl in this case was just as sick as he was. She'd been working on convincing Jeremy to kill her parents for quite some time. When it was done she was overjoyed and has never hidden the fact that she has absolutely no regrets. She may only be 12 but she is no innocent. They both deserve the harshest sentences possible IMO.

 

[eleven]

Sorry to tell you this, but you're off base with regard to this. My niece dated Jeremy before he got involved with this 12 year old (he was even here in my house - scary) and he's certainly a strange young man. He likes them young - when they started dating my niece was 14 and he was 20. Anyway, the girl in this case was just as sick as he was. She'd been working on convincing Jeremy to kill her parents for quite some time. When it was done she was overjoyed and has never hidden the fact that she has absolutely no regrets. She may only be 12 but she is no innocent. They both deserve the harshest sentences possible IMO.

Your 14 year old niece was "dating" a 20 year old man, who by your own account was a "strange man who liked them young" (AKA a pedophile), and everyone was OK with this situation? How was this sort of thing even allowed or permitted to play out? He even visited your home? I cannot fathom allowing my 14 year old daughter to date strange men who liked 'em young. There is no way I would open my home to a strange grown adult man who desired my 14 year old child OR my niece. Wouldn't happen. No way, no how. Over my dead body.

Back to the thread topic, I am not questioning her guilt in the killing of her parents. What I do question is why this man was given such access to a young girl in the first place, to the point that they were referred to as boyfriend and girlfriend! Geez, talk about a pedophiles dream! Lax parenting + a child with obvious psychological issues + a sick perverted pedophile waiting in the wings who is basically being allowed to have his freedoms with the child = MAJOR PROBLEM. I'd be willing to bet that if this pedophile had never been granted the opportunity to mess with this child in the first place, the parents just might be alive today.

 

[txsvicki]

Sorry to tell you this, but you're off base with regard to this. My niece dated Jeremy before he got involved with this 12 year old (he was even here in my house - scary) and he's certainly a strange young man. He likes them young - when they started dating my niece was 14 and he was 20. Anyway, the girl in this case was just as sick as he was. She'd been working on convincing Jeremy to kill her parents for quite some time. When it was done she was overjoyed and has never hidden the fact that she has absolutely no regrets. She may only be 12 but she is no innocent. They both deserve the harshest sentences possible IMO.

I hope that no one knew that the plot was in the works and did nothing, other than the millions who could have read his My Space entries where he was talking about killing the parents before it happened and how the parents were causing his girlfriend such misery or however he worded it. I don't think I'd take his word or excuses about anything now. Sounds like it was right on that he's a pedophile.

 

[Bobbisangel]

Well, I'm not going to blame the parents for their own murders because they didn't have more control over their daughter. I read in one blog where the parents had tried to get help for their daughter and failed. That happens more than we know. Then when the kid gets into something horrible people blame the parents for what the kid did. We know nothing about the parents and what they went through with their daughter. They did lay the law down and told her that she was not to see him....it got them dead including their little boy.
We have no idea what they tried before they told her that she couldn't see him.

Just reading what these two wrote about themselves is scary in itself. Some children are evil and maybe this girl was just that. It takes an evil person to do what she did to her parents and her little brother. She deserved to be found guilty of three counts of 1st degree murder even if she is 12 yrs old. Even at 12 yrs old this girl knew the difference between right and wrong. She just wanted to do what she wanted to do and like other kids who have wiped out their whole families she did it so she could live her life the way that she wanted to. They are both sick young people and I wonder if this girl will ever be whole. At least the guy will be locked up for 25 yrs. To bad it won't be for life. It is a scary thought that this girl will only be locked up for a few years and then back out into society.

 

[Peter Hamilton]

If I remember correctly the little boy of 8, said "don't kill me" I am too young to die.

This girl is a young offender she will get max, 10 years in kiddie jail. Her record will never be released and then she will be let out in society. Scary.....[/quote/--this Horrendous case is a perfect example of why you Canadians need to reinstate the Death Penalty--This case cries out for it--That 23 year old should be removed from this earth--This is a crime so sickening its almost beyond comprehension

 

[LovingTheChaos]

A 23 year old involved in a romantic or sexual relationship with a 12 year old CHILD is a sick, perverted PEDOPHILE---regardless of his maturity level. I don't understand why you think this man is merely immature, and not a pedophile.

I mean, you're saying she wasn't an innocent 12 year old child because she showed a high level of intelligence (I don't know why you think that-nothing I read indicates extreme intelligence on her part, quite the opposite actually) and rebellion. So, her guilt is more solidified because she seemed older than 12? And his guilt is LESSENED because he seemed younger than 23? No, this man is a pedophile. Plain and simple. Any 23 year old man who wants to have a sexualized relationship with a PRE-TEEN is a pedophile. A sick and disgusting pedophile.

eleven, I agree with you. This story has bothered me since the beginning. The reaction of some on this board is also a little disturbing to me. This girl was a victim of a pedophile, I don't care what she looked like, a grown man took what was most likely a troubled little girl, molested her, & most likely fed her horrible ideas.
It is not possible for a 12 year old child to completely understand the ramifications of their actions.

 

[lovebites]

Your 14 year old niece was "dating" a 20 year old man, who by your own account was a "strange man who liked them young" (AKA a pedophile), and everyone was OK with this situation? How was this sort of thing even allowed or permitted to play out? He even visited your home? I cannot fathom allowing my 14 year old daughter to date strange men who liked 'em young. There is no way I would open my home to a strange grown adult man who desired my 14 year old child OR my niece. Wouldn't happen. No way, no how. Over my dead body.

Back to the thread topic, I am not questioning her guilt in the killing of her parents. What I do question is why this man was given such access to a young girl in the first place, to the point that they were referred to as boyfriend and girlfriend! Geez, talk about a pedophiles dream! Lax parenting + a child with obvious psychological issues + a sick perverted pedophile waiting in the wings who is basically being allowed to have his freedoms with the child = MAJOR PROBLEM. I'd be willing to bet that if this pedophile had never been granted the opportunity to mess with this child in the first place, the parents just might be alive today.

Your assumptions are a testament to ignorance.
1. The fact that he was dating my niece was NOT OK so don't put words in my mouth. The problem was that I, her aunt, was the only one trying to stop it. I called the police, the school counselors, social services and anyone I could think of to try and get someone to help. It's disgusting, but 14 is the age of consent here so I was told that this little pr!ck wasn't doing anything illegal. He eventually took my niece and ran off with her. I was the one who tried to file a missing persons rept but because I was "just" her aunt, I had no grounds. I was the one however who maintained contact with the police dept on a regular basis in my attempts to locate her. I even took out an ad in the newspaper begging her to call me and assuring her that she wouldn't be in trouble. Almost a year later they surfaced and due to my desperation to finally see my niece and see that she was OK, I allowed them to come over. How dare you infer that this was a situation I was OK with?! You need to think before you callously and flippantly opine about a family's plight.

Anyway, due to the fact that my niece is still friends with Jeremy, I have some inside information on the case and I can say with complete confidence that the girl involved in these murders was just as evil as Jeremy is. No doubt he is a pedophile, that's not in question, but in this particular case she is just as twisted in the head as he is and she was like that prior to meeting up with him. The people who know her (not just taking Jeremy's word for it) know that she was trouble, manipulative, even evil.
Her family was a good solid one. The parents were trying desperately to find a way to deal with her. The relationships with older men were all started online and when the parents found out about it they immediately disconnected the computer. She began meeting men in person so her parents grounded her. She began using the time she was supposed to be in school to contact these men - Jeremy was one of them. She told them that she was being abused and held prisoner in her own home when in fact she had simply lost privileges (phone, computer etc). Her parents were doing their best to control her, but........well......we know how that ended.

 

[txsvicki]

Your assumptions are a testament to ignorance.
1. The fact that he was dating my niece was NOT OK so don't put words in my mouth. The problem was that I, her aunt, was the only one trying to stop it. I called the police, the school counselors, social services and anyone I could think of to try and get someone to help. It's disgusting, but 14 is the age of consent here so I was told that this little pr!ck wasn't doing anything illegal. He eventually took my niece and ran off with her. I was the one who tried to file a missing persons rept but because I was "just" her aunt, I had no grounds. I was the one however who maintained contact with the police dept on a regular basis in my attempts to locate her. I even took out an ad in the newspaper begging her to call me and assuring her that she wouldn't be in trouble. Almost a year later they surfaced and due to my desperation to finally see my niece and see that she was OK, I allowed them to come over. How dare you infer that this was a situation I was OK with?! You need to think before you callously and flippantly opine about a family's plight.

Anyway, due to the fact that my niece is still friends with Jeremy, I have some inside information on the case and I can say with complete confidence that the girl involved in these murders was just as evil as Jeremy is. No doubt he is a pedophile, that's not in question, but in this particular case she is just as twisted in the head as he is and she was like that prior to meeting up with him. The people who know her (not just taking Jeremy's word for it) know that she was trouble, manipulative, even evil.
Her family was a good solid one. The parents were trying desperately to find a way to deal with her. The relationships with older men were all started online and when the parents found out about it they immediately disconnected the computer. She began meeting men in person so her parents grounded her. She began using the time she was supposed to be in school to contact these men - Jeremy was one of them. She told them that she was being abused and held prisoner in her own home when in fact she had simply lost privileges (phone, computer etc). Her parents were doing their best to control her, but........well......we know how that ended.

Would you happen to know if the girl had been seriously troubled for years or more so after the contact with the older men? Some of the men may have been even older than Jeremy.

 

[CyberLaw]

The girl knew exactly what she was doing and thought she could have total freedom if her parents were dead. She ran to the ATM with their card after she killed them. If she truly had a problem with her BF killing her parents she could have easily called 911.

 

[TheWatcher]

Kids today are treated as if they have the mental and physical capacity to handle the world around them, when in fact, we lack this capacity within ourselves. Sometimes I feel that in this world of the "two-income family", we no longer have enough time in the day to protect these children from coming into contact with that which will swallow them up. We too often allow them to walk hand-in-hand with Society. When you aren't looking, Society will do what it pleases. We have become a lazy, cruel world and Society...our daycare.

 

[CyberLaw]

TheWatcher: So it is the fault of society that this girl, talked about and intended to kill her parents. Well the justice system held her responsible, not society.

This girl just wanted to do what she wanted, no rules, no boundaries, no limits, just be free of the people who loved her, cared for her, provided for her, attempted to do the "right" thing and in the end, she killed them all including her younger brother whom she felt was "too sensitive" to live without the parents.

Please.......don't blame society, blame the criminal. It is called personal responsibility and knowing the difference between right and wrong.

Children who come from very good backgrounds, make decisions that defy the logic of the parents.

 

[amynrich]

Is sickening the age of consent being 14..but of course not the issue at hand here anyway.
Remembering back when i was 12 my main concern wasn't boys at all..what has happened to this day in age where children arent children as long.
My parents were very strict with me and of course it upset me then, but my god i thank them now.. as a parent of a little girl now i completely understand the values my parents were teaching me.
Sad that she is only getting the time that she is getting, and that nothing will appear in her "adult" record.

 

[CyberLaw]

The age of consent in Canada was raised to 16. But of course there are exception for teenagers if one of the parties involved is a teenager. But if one is an adult and the other one is 15, then there are legal consequences.

 

[lovebites]

Would you happen to know if the girl had been seriously troubled for years or more so after the contact with the older men? Some of the men may have been even older than Jeremy.

No, that I'm not sure about.

 

[CyberLaw]

Well it looks like they either meet at a punk rock concert or on the vampire/goth site.

Even her friends disliked her BF.

So I would say that this girl was troubled to begin with, that she had a freak/loser boyfriend and both of them together just feed off each other.

He apparently asked her to marry him.........

 

[s_finch]

On the one hand I want to blame the parents, but on the other I have a child who has certainly been hard to understand with all her doings.
You can raise a child one way, but there's no guarantee they will follow.

Sometimes these kids have ODD, or Oppositional Defiant Disorder, or are Narcissists, or have BPD, Borderline Personality Disorder. Sometimes NOTHING the parents ever do will help. If we think back on it, I imagine we all know kids who were raised in good families but who turned out to be the total black sheep. True, no one knows what goes on behind closed doors and not all "good" families are as good as they seem, but surely some of them are pretty darn good and didn't raise their kids to be rotten punks.

My daughter has done things and said things that totally defy logic (to me, anyway) and are 100% not the way she was raised, but she's always been totally stubborn and no matter how much I reprimanded her (spanking, time out, taking away priveledges, etc...) she would look me in the eye and defy me some more. To this day I'm not sure my daughter doesn't suffer from one of the illnesses I listed above, and we've sent her to counseling and offered to go also, had her own meds,,,,,but the only way she learns a lesson is the hard way so we're having to let life teach her the hard way.

I'm sorry for this girls family, especially her brother, but in reality there may not have been anything they could have done with her short of sending her away. 12 is pretty young for the behaviour she was exhibiting, IMHO, so I tend to think she has a disorder. Course I could be wrong and perhaps she had the worst parents on the face of the earth, but if so they are all paying for it now, aren't they.