This post is kind of a mish-mash of thoughts...
-it said in various articles that NL knew nobody at the party except for his cousin.. (has it been stated who the cousin is for sure, or are we just assuming it was the one guy Thomas or whatever is name is?).. in one of the articles (without enough time at the moment to find exact wording - nevermind, found it see end of paragraph), I got the impression that while NL perhaps hadn't 'met' (physically in person) the people at the party (who ended up killing him), his cousin had intro'd them at the party.. but perhaps they knew each other from online previously(?)... ie.. perhaps there was discussion about a transaction.. buyer/seller.. online.. which ended up actually transacting/being introduced in real life, at the party.. "Heald says Lush knew the accused through his cousin, and they had just met that night at the party."
-the first degree murder charges.. don't always have to mean pre-planned.. could mean.. NL was taken in the vehicle against his will.. (abducted?).. or killed during the commission of another crime?
-the wording in the news article was really weird to me in regard to the children of NL and his wife.. something like 'the children they cared for', or something.. what's up with that? "Brad Zingel and his wife Shannon — Nick’s cousin — said they were worried about the financial situation for Denise Lush and the three young kids she cared for with Nick, " (BBM)
-the prior convictions of NL.. I think it is unfair, because.. in addition to perceived victim-blaming, there is also no context.. no dates/ages.. no actual events, just the convictions.. for example.. the first thing I thought when I saw the victim's height.. was that he likely could have suffered through a lot of 'bullying' in his lifetime, even though I am being sterotypical.. I know that thugs like to pick on the smaller guys, like it or not. So if NL had weapons charges, (assault with a weapon, carrying a concealed weapon), those charges could be something totally different from what people might think when reading that.. and for all we know, 'drug possession' could have been a bit of weed when he was 18.. I'm sure we all know adults who smoke weed and seem to function okay in their daily lives.. I just think it's unfair to list those convictions without at least some background, dates, etc.
-I noticed that when it was reported the 2 incidents were related, ie the report of someone being beaten, and then that the guys in the vehicle were charged with NL's murder... it stated that a large amount of blood was found.. and this was after the 2 guys' arrests.. so it reminded me of the exact opposite being reported in the Nathan O'Brien case, where LE refused to state that blood was found, or how much of it was found. Wonder why it's ok to report it in one case but not another. ("Springbank and police said an assault reported at a highway underpass near Cochrane the next morning, where they reportedly found a large amount of blood, was connected.")
-in regard to the public fund-raising thing.. I have to admit.. I think it is such a great idea.. when I think about all of the usual fundraising organizations, and how much of those funds are spent on the administration of the fundraising itself, staffing, etc, rather than most of the funds going to the actual cause of the fundraising, I think it is great that people who may have funds they want to donate to what they perceive to be a good cause, now have choices on exactly how their money is spent. If someone might have a fabulous business plan, but they can't get a loan through normal channels... they now can try doing this fundraising thing. And for NL's family.. hopefully he had life insurance to take care of his family in the event of his death.. but failing that, this woman and her 3 young children surely shouldn't expect to be judged, or be perceived to require less support, just because her murdered husband had convictions in his lifetime? With these children, they are all young, and this woman will now need to support them all on her own. Quite a bit different than a fundraiser for adults who lost their parents (who presumably weren't supporting said adults in the first place?).. or a fundraiser for parents who lost their child (who presumably didn't provide financial support to his parents?).. this woman will actually need some financial help. I would hope that anyone wanting to help the woman with this wouldn't pass judgement on her and the children just because the deceased husband/father had a bit of a criminal history.