The headlines roll on. They come at us from so many directions, given the unfettered nature of media now. We sift through a lot of it, then shrug in a resigned way as we accept a certain version of the news or the truth.
Older people can examine all that's happening by comparing it to past times, past values. It does take a little extra thought to do this. Certainly extra reflection, if you value that. I read about the outcome of the "Idaho 4" murder case. All over now? After such limitless sound and fury over so long?
We had the phenomenon of the "YouTube sleuths." I sampled this right along. Nothing like this existed in pre-Internet times or even through much of the Internet's history. We could not have predicted the vast reach of YouTube. I feel satiated with news, commentary and entertainment even without having a TV contract! I can engage with all the various sources 24/7.
This I notice as someone whose young years were spent with just one TV station. The station would reach the end of its "programming day." Time for bed. Nothing stimulating to keep me awake. The world slowed to a near standstill overnight. There was so little choice for news and commentary.
We heard of Walter Cronkite being "the most trusted man in America." But that wasn't even the network I watched. My family consumed "Huntley and Brinkley" on NBC. The old shows would have had pretty superficial coverage of the plea bargain that ended the "Idaho 4" case. Then again, maybe this story would have been almost wholly "regional." Wouldn't have broken beyond these bounds?
Truly it was sensational. I mean, four college kids living the idyllic college life out in Idaho, partying late and all that jazz, suddenly murdered. A guy was arrested who certainly seemed guilty right from the start. But the "army" of YouTube sleuths could not let it go like that. They weaved around and found all sorts of angles, many of which did seem intriguing for a time.
Looking back, I see better what their process was. There were early suspects or shall we say persons of interest who were eliminated by LE (law enforcement). Maybe these people were "at the wrong place at the wrong time." Like for example, hanging out by the "food truck" at the ungodly late hour, where college kids frolicked and acted like they just couldn't get enough of such foolishness.
I confess that a part of me was envious of all the young people in the social orbit of the "Idaho 4." I mean, totally "popular" and gregarious kids. To a fault, I might add. And maybe to an extent that this lifestyle courted risks.
We could see there was absolutely no end to the photos and videos of the "Idaho 4" from their hedonistic college life. Risky? Maybe. Foolish? To an extent definitely yes. How about knocking off the alcohol and going to bed early? How about going to bed at 9 p.m.? You laugh? But why not?
Anyone older than college age who was close to the notorious "food truck" - to get in the video surveillance - might be ID'd and then get attention from all the online-based sleuths. And then there was this fellow named Jeremy Reagan. You might say he got his "15 minutes of fame." He can be thankful it ended at that. All he did was cooperate for a little TV interview right after the murders. He did a perfectly reasonable interview as someone who was close by. But then you know what happened. Was this guy the guilty party or did he have some special knowledge?
Jeremy looked to all the world like the most typical college student. Bright, lots of energy. Of course he should not have gone near any TV cameras.
As someone who has blogged extensively on Wetterling and the Keystone Cops investigation with that, I know the sheer risk of even living close to a notorious crime site. Investigators need to know they are doing their jobs. And heavens, it's ditto for the media people like Nancy Grace. Grace is a holdover from the days of legacy media, in her case "cable TV news" when it was in its prime.
Cable news burst to the forefront for the O.J. trial. So quaint to remember the "microcassette recorders." The new order? The new wave of things? Oh but the media is fluid.
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"Nika's Neuro Nuggets" |
I had the illusion of some of these "sleuths" being "old friends" but of course I'll never meet them. Their work could be so sophisticated, it made me wonder where they gained all the skills for their video presentations.
It was all I could do to master the "Anchor" podcast system. I'm glad I experienced that. But the system is now gone, having been replaced by something called "Riverside." I signed in for that but the system is too complicated for me. All these "editing features." I'd like to just press the "on" button and talk! Such is not how we live now. We don't just have ordinary thermostats now, we have these funky devices that can be set in advance for when your house is empty (lower temp setting).
Lawn mowers? What kind of gas to use? "87" or "91?" When I was a kid, gas was gas. Master the basic Briggs and Stratton engine and you're set for life. Today the adaptations to new systems are unsettling. And I am fascinated to consider the following after the Idaho 4 case: How could a murder like this have ever been prosecuted in the "old days?" I mean, without the abundance of contemporary tools like DNA and video surveillance.
There must have been a way to prosecute murders. Track down suspects, get testimony and send the thing to a jury even if it's a circumstantial case which I'm sure many were. Are people willing to trust a circumstantial case nowadays? And even if there's DNA on something, well the "defense" can say the item was "planted!" And so where does that get us?
Simply weary
I think the court out in Idaho was desperate to get the "plea bargain" done because everyone had become so cotton pickin' weary. You know how defense attorneys can muck things up 'til hell won't have it. When a "defense attorney" is getting national attention like Anne Taylor was, she just has to set an example and show how "committed" or aggressive a defense counsel can be. She was still on a fishing expedition even after a ridiculous amount of time had passed.
Until, I think, it was just driving everyone nuts.
Don't people realize that all these people in the justice system have other important work to do?
But the big shiny object was the multiple murder case from a college community. Of course we want very much for justice to be done. But have we really progressed so far because of all the forensic tools? I mean, when the defense side can just try to shoot holes in everything? And get a receptive audience doing so?
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The murder victims |
I contacted the guy with the "Harsh Reality" YouTube site, actually a guy from Australia, to in effect "welcome him back." I wondered with him how some of the other channel hosts were doing. Like the "Southern Logic" guy. So many of these sleuths, e.g. "Nika's Neuro Nuggets!"
And in the end with this case, we really saw "Occam's Razor" at work. Yes, the simplest explanation was borne out. A lone psycho with an obsession just showed up at those kids' house ("King Road") in middle of night. Looks like there wasn't even a drug dealing angle.
I did my own very small part in the online "sleuthing." I had my "Anchor" podcast account going at the time. I wrote a headline referring to "Jack S." who was one of two "Jacks" being bandied about as a suspect soon after the murders. With some of these early suspects, well they sure prompted interest.
All Jeremy Reagan did was an innocuous and uneventful, brief, TV interview. And then a few days later he landed on the "Ashleigh Banfield" show on NewsNation (TV). Truly amazing.
But anyone who closely followed the Wetterling investigation here in Minnesota should not have been surprised. Pretty soon I read that the family of "Jack S." had "lawyered up." So I deleted that podcast episode.
There was a "Jack D." also, a boyfriend or former boyfriend of "Kaylee." The four kids were the epitome of "popular" college kids. It came natural for them. I would be forcing things if I had tried living like that. Oh they were beautiful kids. The photos and videos of them are endless! Media tech has made this the norm. All the images would have been unheard of in my young years! And we take all the new things for granted, don't we?
Now we hear about "ChatGPT" and "AI music." I'm being left behind.
We can always count on zealous defense attorneys being around. They are a blessing but only up to a point.
The days of "circumstantial" legal cases had foundation IMHO. A jury can decide. An innocent person can passionately step forward, not just sit there like B.K. did - a bump on a log.
I will reprise here the lyrics to my own original song about the "Idaho 4" case. Originally posted in December of 2022.
"The Idaho Four"
by Brian Williams
Respects to the Idaho Four
Alas they are with us no more
So fragile is life, we can see
So give thanks for all it can be
Their faces will stay in our heads
As if they were family or friends
But really they were common kids
The salt of the earth in our midst
They set out one evening for fun
To circulate with everyone
In college there is no restraint
So do not regard that it's late
With Xana the smile stays true
With Kaylee the glamour endures
With Madison everything's cool
And Ethan just stays in the groove
The food truck remains in the lore
As we all remember once more
The kids as they just milled around
A typical night on the town
A night that would get lost in time
Just memories all left behind
Frivolity, yes it was true
So what were they trying to prove?
They must have had time for their school
Their lives must have been like a zoo
They even had time for a dog
So Murphy was there right along
The four were all victims of fate
The worst you can have on your plate
So what on Earth came 'round the bend
The night when they all met their end?
The questions just swarm in our heads
How kids could get murdered in bed
The cops were not called right away
Now what on Earth does that convey?
The mystery deepened so fast
As everyone looked for the facts
With so many eyes on the case
Could we see the end of this chase?
The world affixes its glare
The Idaho sleuths are aware
They comb through the myriad clues
To find one that would go and prove
We wonder if they're even close
The sound and the fury just floats
Will this end up like JonBenet?
We wonder with each passing day
In Moscow the college means much
A place that the denizens love
So much of a virtuous place
At least that's the way it should rate
We'll let the police do their thing
It's justice we hope they will bring
While always we keep in our hearts
The love that we strive to impart
So Xana and Kaylee stay rich
In images shared bit by bit
With Madison right by their side
The girls are vivacious and smile
There was just one boy in the bunch
His legacy gives us a rush
The four of them will not depart
From memories close to our hearts
We must contemplate what they did
The college kids with how they lived
Too wild and stupid or worse
So much, it became a big curse
And while they are not ones to blame
They should have been living more tame
To be in the swing as adults
Would prop up their welfare so much
So is there a big wakeup call
For parents to maybe install
A better sense of how to live
To stop all the foolishness, kids?
When kids get their high school degree
Is it so essential to leave?
To leave the affection of home
Before they are ready to roam?
It is not required to bolt
To make an escape from your folks
You still can find ways to advance
With time you will join the big dance
If only the Idaho Four
Had heeded my words to their core
They might not have gone so astray
And they'd be alive to this day
I'd like to implore them with verve
How "Greek life" is crude and absurd
How it can be "Lord of the Flies"
Now why can't this just up and die?
Respects to the Idaho Four
Alas they are with us no more
So fragile is life, we can see
So give thanks for all it can be
Respects to the Idaho Four
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com