GUILTY CT - Barry James, 59, stabbed to death, Fairfield, 28 Aug 2006

Jeana (DP)

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Lawyer Stabs Neighbor Believed to Have Molested 2-Year-Old Daughter
Wednesday, August 30, 2006

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — A lawyer climbed through a neighbor's bedroom window and stabbed him to death after being told by a family member that the man had molested his 2-year-old daughter, authorities say.

Barry James, 58, was stabbed in the chest nearly a dozen times Monday. The lawyer, Jonathon Edington, 29, was jailed on $1 million bail on charges of murder and burglary.

Capt. Gary MacNamara said Wednesday that police had not received a complaint about the child being assaulted before the killing, and "we have no indication it's true or not true."

Edington's attorney, Michael Sherman, said the information came from Edington's wife. "The daughter gave the mother information which was alarming and disturbing. The mom relayed it to her husband. That was the spark," Sherman said.

James' 87-year-old mother discovered his body. When officers went to Edington's home a short time later, they found him standing by his kitchen sink with blood on his hands and arms, authorities told the Connecticut Post. Officers said a large kitchen knife was next to him on a counter.

"He's in shock," Edington's attorney said. "This is the most unexpected turn of events one can imagine with this young man's background."


more at:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,211323,00.html
 
I just hope the molestation story was true, gawd, that sounds awful but, he killed the guy. I don't know how more parents keep from taking this action when finding out something like this...I would likely react the same way. I'd loose it, and someone would physically have to restrain me from hurting someone that has hurt one of my children.
 
I'm not sure a 2-year old could give enough detail to be absolutely, 100% sure that something actually happened. Without a doctor's visit, nothing???? Wouldn't someone whose used to having the facts before him want to at least know "something" had definately happened??? I think we're going to hear more about this one.
 
Jeana (DP) said:
I'm not sure a 2-year old could give enough detail to be absolutely, 100% sure that something actually happened. Without a doctor's visit, nothing???? Wouldn't someone whose used to having the facts before him want to at least know "something" had definately happened??? I think we're going to hear more about this one.
I agree with you on that.
 
Wow! I get the intensity of emotion that led to this crime, but that's why we adults have to be adults. That 2-year old may have been molested, but now she is likely to lose her father. That fact is the only thing that would probably hold me back from killing someone if they molested one of my kids - I hope I would be sane enough to know that my kids are better off if I am not in jail.

I couldn't get away with murder....I'm not lucky in that regard like some folks...

And a two-year-old is a two-year-old....I would want a little more proof. I bet that mother is regretting that she told her husband.
 
I absolutely agree. This dude snapped for sure. Maybe some sort of diminished capacity plea????
 
Jeana (DP) said:
I absolutely agree. This dude snapped for sure. Maybe some sort of diminished capacity plea????
Ditto, he snapped.......:eek:
 
I don't understand how a 2 year old could describe such things and I further wonder when this man would have had oppurtunity?
 
Amraann said:
I don't understand how a 2 year old could describe such things and I further wonder when this man would have had oppurtunity?
I, too, wonder about when James would have had the opportunity to molest the child. From articles I'm reading, James had been acting odd for months. The father had even reported that James was visible through the window in a state of undress (or something like that). So both mom & dad surely were in a heightened state of awareness and would not have allowed the child near the man. I'm rather puzzled. But if it is proven that the child was indeed molested...well...
 
The source for some of the info in my previous post:

Police had gone to the neighborhood before, when Edington called to complain that he could see James through a window, police said. "Either he was partly clothed or revealed parts of his anatomy that were inappropriate," MacNamara said.
http://tinyurl.com/fwbmr
 
Amraann said:
I don't understand how a 2 year old could describe such things and I further wonder when this man would have had oppurtunity?
Some older two year olds can communicate quite well.

If it had been one of my girls, they would have been able to tell me if something really bad happened, and who did it. I spent a lot of time helping them learn words and how to make the right sounds to pronounce them. They were so thrilled when adults actually understood what they said!

I'm sure they would have told me immediately and since they would have had no way of knowing how to describe a molestation unless it really happened, I would have believed them.

In my opinion, a lot has to do with how well adults in her life communicate with her, and how well they listen. If you speak in "baby talk" to them and don't really listen when they try to speak, their verbal skills will be lacking.

Still, what a tragedy!

I'm thinking temporary insanity.

Susan
 
I can understand the anger - but this is so, so wrong. Vigilante justice - what justification for it there is, is for when the police fail, not when you fail to call them. And an involved person should not choose the punishment - was this crime really punishable by death? If it's rape - OK, I'm good for turning a blind eye - because those types are sick and will keep doing it - they need to be put down like a rabid dog. But if it was just him exposing himself to her - it's bad, deserves jail time, but that does not deserve death.

He's a fool, and deserves jail time. It's too bad that he's going to effectively punish his little girl a second time that way.
 
I agree that a 2 year old is not too young to tell her mother or father if she was being molested. Most 2 year olds can speak full sentences, can identify people by name, etc. My kids could at that age, anyway. Did this girl just turn 2, or was she 2 1/2, or close to 3? Either way, I don't think it's too young at all.

I agree it is a very sad situation, but I can understand the anger and emotion behind it, and if my child had just relayed information on being molested, I know I definately wouldn't be thinking clearly. I would be in the "Act now, think later" mode--as wrong as that is.

If the guy really did molest this child, then I hope the Dad gets off and serves no jail time. Just my opinion...don't flame me!:D

Edited to add: If it was simply indecent exposure, then yes, the Dad went waaaay too far, and he does deserve jail time.
 
I have to wonder how & why the 2 year old was "left alone enough" to have been molested? Not saying it's not true, but way back in the early 60's when I was in 1st grade and there weren't "monsters around every corner", we had a recently paroled child molester next door living with his sister and her husband. My Mom never allowed a situation where we would have been vulnerable to him even though she worked full time.

This is going to be an even more horrible tragedy if it turns out the child wasn't molested. Yes the neighbor had issues that needed to be addressed, but death is rather an extreme penalty if all he did was walk around inside his own home with not enough clothes on - though yes that can lead to much worse. Heck, I forgot to lay clothes out the other morning so went through my own home with a skimpy towel so if someone had WANTED to spy, they'd have seen a bit more then I wanted anyone to!
 
I don't agree with what this guy did, and I do agree with the fact that he is punishing his daughter a second (and possibly even a third) time.
During a time when she needs the love and support of everyone around her, Daddy won't be there. And how is she going to feel when she finds out that he Daddy was put in prison because of what happened to her.
At the same time, I can understand why and how great the temptation. I agree he snapped.
Is this guy a defense attorney? If so, he most likely has dealt with sex offenders before, he has defended them even when he disapproved of what they did. He has seen the victims and seen what they went through in court. Now suddenly, he sees his daughter- a victim.
 
Its been a while since I had a two year old in the house, so I'll defer to those of you who still know what its like. However, even in that instance, wouldn't you take her DIRECTLY to the hospital to be checked out? Has this even occurred? Dad just breaks into the house of the guy and stabs him to death??? Something just doesn't add up for me. This isn't some hairly neanderthal dragging his knuckles on the ground. This is an allegedly educated man with a law degree. I can't get from point A to point B with this limited info.
 
Malapoo said:
I have to wonder how & why the 2 year old was "left alone enough" to have been molested? Not saying it's not true, but way back in the early 60's when I was in 1st grade and there weren't "monsters around every corner", we had a recently paroled child molester next door living with his sister and her husband. My Mom never allowed a situation where we would have been vulnerable to him even though she worked full time.

This is going to be an even more horrible tragedy if it turns out the child wasn't molested. Yes the neighbor had issues that needed to be addressed, but death is rather an extreme penalty if all he did was walk around inside his own home with not enough clothes on - though yes that can lead to much worse. Heck, I forgot to lay clothes out the other morning so went through my own home with a skimpy towel so if someone had WANTED to spy, they'd have seen a bit more then I wanted anyone to!
I'm not doubting the 2-year-old in this case. Both of my sons talked constantly when they were two and sometimes they even made sense! They would have been able to tell me if someone touched them in certain places at 2.

However, they are still 2 and you need back-up in the form of a drs exam. And - as several posters have pointed out - IF you are on a heigtened alert b/c you think wour neighbor is a perv (as the parents in this case obviously were) when would you allow the perv the opportunity to molest your child.

So, this man obviously snapped, but what were the circumstances beyond what has been reported?
 

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