# some assholes beat one of my coworkers to death last night. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 2, 2001, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102 "2001-11-02T09:53:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/21 "2001-11-03T04:38:04Z")
I’m getting a 404 on the link, but I just had to say how horrible I think this is. I believe that whoever did this will get what’s coming to them. ---
**Author:** ![J4KH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@J4KH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J4KH)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/22 "2014-03-02T03:38:10Z")
Wow. I came across this thread while researching the Kent Heitholt murder case. I have read a lot of tribute to Kent over the years, but I was really grabbed by the raw, unfiltered emotion of this post. This was written the day after the murder, which was brutal and shocking enough. But who could have foreseen the bizarre saga that followed? The case has been covered by Dateline and 48 Hours, and Andrew Jenks (who was 15 when this happened) is making a documentary about it. schief2, on the off chance you are still reading (and by chance, I’m thinking we’re well into Jim Carrey in Dumber and Dumber “So you’re saying there’s a chance?” territory here), I’d be curious if you kept up with the case and have any thoughts on it. For anyone else interested, there is a Facebook group devoted to Justice for Kent. All these later, the question of who did this to him and why remains unanswered. [https://www.facebook.com/justice4kentheitholt](https://www.facebook.com/justice4kentheitholt) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/23 "2014-03-02T11:24:10Z")
> [@J4KH](#): > > schief2, on the off chance you are still reading He’s not been here since 2001. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/24 "2014-03-02T12:29:52Z")
In fact, the post at the top of this thread was his last ever. ---
**Author:** ![J4KH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@J4KH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J4KH)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/25 "2014-03-02T15:08:12Z")
Thanks, folks. Yeah I could see he had been inactive. Only thing I could think of was that he was operating under a different user ID or something. If anyone is interested, 48 Hours will be doing an update on this case next Saturday - March 8th. If you are into true crime/murder mystery stuff - this case is a must. It’s beyond the imagination of any fiction author. Here’s one of the better articles about it: [http://www.crimemagazine.com/one-murder-two-victims-wrongful-conviction-ryan-ferguson](http://www.crimemagazine.com/one-murder-two-victims-wrongful-conviction-ryan-ferguson) I feel terrible for Kent’s friends and family. This whole thing has been caught up in the arrest and conviction of 2 innocent kids who had nothing to do with the crime, while the true killer remains free and for all we know has claimed more victims, leaving others with the same awful feelings schief expressed at the top. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/26 "2014-03-02T15:20:04Z")
> [@J4KH](#): > > Thanks, folks. Yeah I could see he had been inactive. Only thing I could think of was that he was operating under a different user ID or something. We assume not. If he had applied for a name change, then his new name would be the one appearing against any of his posts, even those made before (but his old name would appear inside someone else’s post if they had used the quote button). If he were operating under a different name without leave, that would be a banning offence without the option, and he probably would not admit to it even if he had successfully hidden it from the moderators up until now. It is theoretically possible that he could have applied to TPTB for permission to re-register under a new name for reasons that they agreed were so compelling that no-one would know about it, but - so far as we know - this has never been done. ---
**Author:** ![elninost0rm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ed655f/32.png) [@elninost0rm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elninost0rm)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/27 "2014-03-03T15:25:48Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > We assume not. If he had applied for a name change, then his new name would be the one appearing against any of his posts, even those made before (but his old name would appear inside someone else’s post if they had used the quote button). If he were operating under a different name without leave, that would be a banning offence without the option, and he probably would not admit to it even if he had successfully hidden it from the moderators up until now. > > It is theoretically possible that he could have applied to TPTB for permission to re-register under a new name for reasons that they agreed were so compelling that no-one would know about it, but - so far as we know - this has never been done. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/28 "2014-03-03T15:58:16Z")
> [@schief2](#): > > I suppose I should first start off with an obligatory [link](http://www.showmenews.com/News/20011101News006.asp), since it’s too painful to type out the particulars myself. For the surfing-impaired, the gist is that a coworker of mine, the sports editor at the newspaper i work for, was attacked, beaten to death, and apparently robbed as he stopped on his way home late last night to feed a stray cat in the employee parking lot. :eek: That is one mean cat! What, too soon? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/29 "2014-03-03T16:08:19Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > It is theoretically possible that he could have applied to TPTB for permission to re-register under a new name for reasons that they agreed were so compelling that no-one would know about it, but - so far as we know - this has never been done. I’m pretty sure it has happened at least twice and those were ones that were ‘found out’ so I’m sure there are several more that have flown under everyone’s radar. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/30 "2014-03-03T20:03:56Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > It is theoretically possible that he could have applied to TPTB for permission to re-register under a new name for reasons that they agreed were so compelling that no-one would know about it, but - so far as we know - this has never been done. When I changed my username no one ever told me I had to announce it to the world. Also Tuba never asked me for a reason why I wanted it changed. So I’ll bet it’s been done lots of times. Also you’re coming off as an asshole. Doing that to a new poster, which happens way too often on this board, just makes this whole board look like assholes. And I don’t see why I should get labelled as an asshole because of you, dickface. I can do that just fine all on my own. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/31 "2014-03-03T21:04:09Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > When I changed my username no one ever told me I had to announce it to the world. > > Also Tuba never asked me for a reason why I wanted it changed. > > So I’ll bet it’s been done lots of times. > > Also you’re coming off as an asshole. Doing that to a new poster, which happens way too often on this board, just makes this whole board look like assholes. And I don’t see why I should get labelled as an asshole because of you, dickface. I can do that just fine all on my own. Looks like it’s about time for you to smurf your ass onto the water wagon, **Drunky.** It’s a twelve-smurf program. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/32 "2014-03-03T21:22:46Z")
> [@J4KH](#): > > If you are into true crime/murder mystery stuff - this case is a must. It’s beyond the imagination of any fiction author. Here’s one of the better articles about it: > [http://www.crimemagazine.com/one-murder-two-victims-wrongful-conviction-ryan-ferguson](http://www.crimemagazine.com/one-murder-two-victims-wrongful-conviction-ryan-ferguson) Reading through that article is a real eye opener on how bad the justice system can be. The police, prosecutor and the judge only seemed to interested in one thing - obtaining a conviction. They didn’t give a shit if the kid actually comitted a crime, they just wanted to lock someone away. I guess there must have been an upcoming election. ---
**Author:** ![HookerChemical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@HookerChemical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HookerChemical)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/33 "2014-03-03T21:45:26Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I’m pretty sure it has happened at least twice and those were ones that were ‘found out’ so I’m sure there are several more that have flown under everyone’s radar. I’m sure it happens. I started here around 1998 or so under one user name. I went on several years hiatus, couldn’t remember my old name, and registered again. After a while, I found my old user name. (I was reading an old thread and thought, “Hey! That guy’s opinion is just like mine.”) Since then, the accounts have been merged. Moderator reaction depends a lot on how it comes to light and what the circumstances were. The use on my accounts never overlapped (by years), and I came privately to the mods with the issue and asked for the merge. So it’s certainly possible to have multiple accounts and never get caught. In my case, I had a new computer, lived in a new state, and used a new email address. None of the usual IP/email/cookie stuff could catch a completely new slate. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/34 "2014-03-03T22:36:06Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Reading through that article is a real eye opener on how bad the justice system can be. The police, prosecutor and the judge only seemed to interested in one thing - obtaining a conviction. They didn’t give a shit if the kid actually comitted a crime, they just wanted to lock someone away. > > I guess there must have been an upcoming election. And this reinforces those threads about why you don’t talk to the police. > [@](#): > > Ferguson repeatedly pleaded his innocence. Knowing he had nothing to do with Heitholt’s murder, he felt he did not need an attorney during the interrogation. And fer god’s sake, get a lawyer! If they have arrested you, they ALREADY think you did it. You’re not going to look any guiltier if you get a lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/35 "2014-03-03T22:50:24Z")
NM Zombie ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/36 "2014-03-04T20:21:59Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > When I changed my username no one ever told me I had to announce it to the world. > > Also Tuba never asked me for a reason why I wanted it changed. > > So I’ll bet it’s been done lots of times. > > Also you’re coming off as an asshole. Doing that to a new poster, which happens way too often on this board, just makes this whole board look like assholes. And I don’t see why I should get labelled as an asshole because of you, dickface. I can do that just fine all on my own. Indeed you can. Well, all I can say, as I’m also saying in another place, is that I was offering to be helpful, not to be an asshole to a new poster, but certain people have found it necessary to project and shit, apparently under the impression that if someone says something not quite the way they’d have said it, they’re doing it to be a pretentious showoff. If you changed your username the regular way, Tuba-approved and all that, then surely your old posts appear under your new name. The poster who started this thread made the post, AFAICT, under the name that appears at the top there, and as it happens it was his last-ever under that name. If he’d made any under a new name, but still on the same account, then the post up there would not be showing as his last ever. If he socked up, he probably wouldn’t want to blow his cover if he’s got away with it for this long. If he opened a new account _with_ mod approval then presumably they’d have agreed this needed to be kept a secret and the rest of us don’t know about it. I don’t know if this has ever actually happened. The more likelihood is that **schief2** bailed 13 years ago and hasn’t been back. Sheesh. Some people ain’t got nothing better to do than look for some reason to get offended on someone else’s behalf. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/37 "2014-03-04T20:45:47Z")
I failed to read the date on the OP, ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/38 "2014-03-04T22:33:14Z")
The thread title reminded me of the murder of a co-worker of mine that happened back in 1977. Al Manning was about as likable a guy as you’d ever want to meet. We had only worked together a few months so I didn’t know him well, but my wife and I did have dinner with him and his co-victim and girl friend, Toni Schwenn, a few weeks before their murder. They were the first murder victims of Joseph Paul Franklin who went on to kill upwards of 20 people and also shot and crippled Larry Flint. He hated mixed race couples and Al was African American and Toni was a very blonde while woman. They made a handsome couple. I remember speaking with Toni Schwenn’s parents at Al’s wake. Of course they were terribly broken up. Their daughter had recently promised to bring him home to meet them, but they never got to meet him in life. I, and some of my co-workers, tried to console them to the best of our poor abilities with what a fine person their daughter had picked out. > **[Doug Moe: A grim saga's final chapter](https://madison.com/news/local/columnists/doug-moe/doug-moe-a-grim-saga-s-final-chapter/article_dbf58777-c64c-5ae1-a3fd-827b77bfe3b0.html)** > > Joseph Paul Franklin is scheduled to be executed later this month in Missouri I’ve known for some time that Franklin had been sentenced to death in Missouri for a murder he had committed there. This thread made me check his status and I found out he was executed last fall. I’ve often wondered how I’d feel if a murderer, whose crime I was affected by, was put to death. Now I know. I’m neither over joyed nor saddened. A bit relieved, I think. Glad his was finally caught and convicted. There is no doubt about his guilt as he had confessed to many of his crimes multiple times. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/39 "2014-03-04T22:40:44Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > There is no doubt about his guilt as he had confessed to many of his crimes multiple times. I’m not sure this is the thread to use a confession as the sine qua non of guilt. (not that I have any reason to doubt Franklin’s guilt, just saying its pretty obvious from the OP’s case and others that we need to view guilty confessions with more skepticism then juries have in the past). ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2014, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102/40 "2014-03-04T23:43:10Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I’m not sure this is the thread to use a confession as the sine qua non of guilt. > > (not that I have any reason to doubt Franklin’s guilt, just saying its pretty obvious from the OP’s case and others that we need to view guilty confessions with more skepticism then juries have in the past). In the case of Franklin he not only confessed, he provided details and more or less bragged. He was also found guilty of murders in at least three different states. I’m not well read on the various bits of evidence outside of his confessions, but my understanding is there was also strong physical evidence. For example, in the Madison Wisconsin murders, the killer left his had on the road and sped away. DNA on the hat would link Franklin - etc. I agree that some “confessions” are far less solid and I am not claiming anything absolute about confessions in general. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-assholes-beat-one-of-my-coworkers-to-death-last-night/91102.md?page=3)