Hi Beyond Belief,
The case is upsetting to me too, I'm trying to learn from the "if onlys" in it (on both sides.)
If only the old man had put up a fence, but maybe he didn't have the money for that. If only he had put up no trespassing signs, but how do you enforce that? The one article says this:
>>"It's been going on for five years," he said. "I've been being harassed by him and his parents for five years. Today just blew it up."
He added: "Kids just been giving me a bunch of (deleted), making the other kids harass me and my place, tearing things up."<<
Also...
>>There is no official documentation of a dispute, but Gaviglia said officers remember twice talking with Martin about neighbor disputes.
In 2002, Martin called police because some weed killer had been sprayed on his lawn and he was upset, Gaviglia said.
In September 2003, Martin went to the police station and said he wanted to speak to an officer about neighborhood problems.<<
People have said, "Why didn't he call the police." But he went, he discussed with them, and perhaps he was told what we were when our neighbor dumped nails in our easement, put a chain across it, dumped gravel in the middle of it. When they cut off the electric and water to our tank. "This is a civil issue." i.e. take it to court. If you don't have the means for that - what can you do? There is no use going to the police over and over when they have already told you your only choice. You will only hear the same thing again.
If only the old man had thrown it in and moved...but he may not have had the means or the courage. Or maybe, at his age, he felt bullied...and dug his feet in.
If only the old man would have given up caring about the property OR offered to make a footpath shortcut across it. If only he would have called someone to take him for a drive when he was obsessing over the problem (he obviously had an obsessive streak.) If only he had called someone to come and get his guns when he started having stupid thoughts. If only he had gotten a counselor or friend to let him vent and help him balance his thinking or offer him ideas of what to do to help with this? If only he had shot into the ground only.
In one news article a few people were quoted:
>>Neighbor Joanne Ritchie, 46, said Mugrage was known as "a good kid," and that she always considered Martin to be friendly.
"The older gentleman was always riding his bike and tending to his yard," she said. "He would wave at kids and adults. He always had the perfect yard and he worked in it a lot."
Sean Fritts, 16, who also lived nearby, agreed that Martin's lawn was his pride and joy.
"He was real protective over his yard and mowed it a lot, and sometimes even measured the grass with a yardstick," Fritts said.
Still, Fritts said he wasn't aware of any disputes involving Martin.
"I never had any problems with him, and I don't know that anyone else did," he said.<<
Yet...today...
Newspaper article
>>After a Clermont County public defender requested bond on the aggravated murder charge, Assistant Clermont County Prosecutor Darrell Hawkins suggested the high dollar amount, saying Martin is dangerous.
"(Mugrage's) family is fearful for their lives," Hawkins said. "He has made threats to their lives before.<<
Evidently the Mugrage's have stated that he has threatened their lives. At this point in time, there is certainly no doubt that Martin is dangerous and shouldn't be released (bond of 2M was set.) If he cracked once to the extent that he did, no way.
But who was a witness to either the harrassment to Martin or the threat to the Mugrage's? The neighbors interviewed so far seem to think that all was well, though at least one said Martin was odd. Picking off birds with a BB gun seems odd to some, but not to certain rural people - to them it is a natural way to control pests. But...the neighbor who said he was odd said, "I just stayed away from him."
Martin broke down...would he have done it anyway? Did he have Alzheimer's? Did a doctor or family member see this coming and do nothing? But what could they have done? Did the man have friends to laugh with, to help him to lighten up? Did his world become so small...it obviously did.
And on the other side, there are also many if onlys...
Too sad... I thought about one or the other of these people moving. I wondered if they had disclosure laws.
The most horrible of damage has been done and can never be fixed, but I'm trying to figure out what I can learn from this personally (as an older person) and what I can teach my grandchildren.
Wrinkles
) - and people walk all the time on my grass - I'm right next to a park - they shortcut across my lawn to the park! Could be annoying maybe - doesn't actually harm the grass, doesn't bug me - but if it did, I'd put up a little fence. Now what I really hate is when the kids play baseball in the park, using my fence as a backstop, which means that whenever the ball goes a bit high, it hits the house. I've had to go and ask them several times to knock it off. Nothing to kill over, nor threaten, nor whatever. At the worst, I might not let them go into the back yard to retrieve their ball (but I usually do anyway). Give me 20 years of the same behavior, and I still can't understand killing over even that! No matter how many of my pretty darn expensive cool windows are damaged or broken (pretty much my prize posession of my house).
.I got out of work a short time ago and not alot of people are around at this time.