GUILTY MI - Connor Verkerke, 9, dies in playground stabbing, Kentwood, 4 Aug 2014

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My first thought on the pills was that he maybe attempted suicide and it failed.

I guess we'll find out as reports come in.
 
The 12-year-old was eerily calm and patiently waited for police, Mr Stacy told the Press.

He only became animated when police finally arrived - and didn't immediately arrest him. Mr Stacy said the first emergency personnel went to the playground to help the victim. This upset the boy.
'Hello. I’m right here. You’re going the wrong way,' Jamarion shouted as officers arrived.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...laymate-9-death-playground.html#ixzz39l6aWCU3
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The above quote really just went all over me when I read it.. It angered me greatly!

I realize he is a 12 year old, but this, to me, screams zero remorse or even the slightest bit of care for the completely innocent, very young boy, that he'd just viciously stabbed multiple times in his tiny, little back! Not to mention this tiny victim was a complete stranger, unknown to the 12yo, and had not done anything to provoke or bring about the horrific attack he suffered ..

And even after-the-fact this 12 year olds behavior only becomes "animated" when the first responders went immediately to attend to the dying young boy! This boy even says to them that they're going the wrong way indicating they needed to be responding to him, not his dying innocent victim, who was a tiny, young boy!

It angers me greatly! That poor little boy's life was fading away and his killer was throwing a fit that the attention wasn't immediately on himself!
 
Well, I kinda saw it as the kid was desperately trying to turn himself in.

He said he didn't want to live.... I am wondering if he was in that state prior to the murder.
 
tlcya said:
I read the headlines on this one at work today and had no time to read the actual coverage. I am sitting here crying. That poor boy, all he wanted was to get home to his family. He knew he was dying and wanted his family around him.

And this 12 year old child. I cry for him too. I don't have a clue what has made him who he is at this moment but to be 12 and have that outlook is just so very sad to me.
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katydid23 said:
I feel badly for the 12 yr old too. But I'm not sure I ever want him to be walking around FREE amongst the rest of us either. :eek:
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Y'all are two members here that I respect tremendously. I have a question that maybe y'all can offer some insight for.

Have you always been able to feel empathy for children who commit violent crimes against other children? Or is it something that just gradually came into being after years of following these kind of cases?

I feel nothing but contempt and anger toward this 12 year old and others like him. I'm furious that someone as damaged as this guy killed someone as wonderful as Connor. I want him permenantly removed from society and it kind of perplexes me that I feel no sorrow for him. If he is THIS deranged and violent at the young age of 12, what chance does he have of becoming any better than the cold blooded murderer he is?

I guess I'm curious if I will ever be able to feel compassion for kids like this.
 
The mother of 12-year-old Jamarion Lawhorn’s half brother is speaking out to FOX 17.

Ashley Flint said that the child murder suspect has spent years attempting to escape what she calls “bullies”. Flint said that Jamarion moved to New York last year to live with his father.

**

“If I didn’t know Jamarion, I would probably feel exactly the same way they feel. A lot of people even on your site are saying Jamarion is a monster, which I know he’s not,” said Flint.

She said that last year, Jamarion was getting into physical altercations at his school here in west Michigan, so he moved out by his father to Geneva, New York.

“When he left Michigan, he was fighting in school and it was mainly because other children taunted him or picked on him. He didn’t think it would be like that in New York,” said Flint.

http://fox17online.com/2014/08/06/m...ther-says-he-left-michigan-to-escape-bullies/

I am guessing there'll be a lot more on his background coming out in days to come, so I'm reserving comment on this article until I see a bigger picture..

I know I wasn't among those asked, but I have to say -- I cannot despise and hate a child, even if they commit a murder. It always makes me very sad, and driven to understand why a human being so young would feel they had to kill. I cannot understand people who almost perniciously insist on seeing that as "sympathising" or "making excuses". It isn't about that at all, it's about wanting to understand two separate but intimately linked tragedies - the crime, and the troubled mind of a killer child.
 
Linda7NJ said:
I think murdering someone by stabbing them in the back...with intent...requires far more than a "time out"
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I don't know. I think that in this case, This kid seems like he was screaming for help and attention and this was a last cry in the darkness for him.

I don't know. I think he should be charged as a juvenile and jailed.
 
Ausgirl said:
The mother of 12-year-old Jamarion Lawhorn’s half brother is speaking out to FOX 17.

Ashley Flint said that the child murder suspect has spent years attempting to escape what she calls “bullies”. Flint said that Jamarion moved to New York last year to live with his father.

**

“If I didn’t know Jamarion, I would probably feel exactly the same way they feel. A lot of people even on your site are saying Jamarion is a monster, which I know he’s not,” said Flint.

She said that last year, Jamarion was getting into physical altercations at his school here in west Michigan, so he moved out by his father to Geneva, New York.

“When he left Michigan, he was fighting in school and it was mainly because other children taunted him or picked on him. He didn’t think it would be like that in New York,” said Flint.

http://fox17online.com/2014/08/06/m...ther-says-he-left-michigan-to-escape-bullies/

I am guessing there'll be a lot more on his background coming out in days to come, so I'm reserving comment on this article until I see a bigger picture..

I know I wasn't among those asked, but I have to say -- I cannot despise and hate a child, even if they commit a murder. It always makes me very sad, and driven to understand why a human being so young would feel they had to kill. I cannot understand people who almost perniciously insist on seeing that as "sympathising" or "making excuses". It isn't about that at all, it's about wanting to understand two separate but intimately linked tragedies - the crime, and the troubled mind of a killer child.
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Thanks for your insight, ausgirl. I don't hate children that kill other children, but I do despise them. At the same time I do want answers and I do want to know what life events led up to the act of murder. I have never and would never accuse others for sympathizing with a child who murders. However, I'm not convinced that all can be rehabilitated and regardless whether they can or can't be, they need to receive an appropriate sentence for their crimes. Children can be sociopaths, too.
 
They really can be sociopaths, I agree. But I think the vast majority of kids who kill are suffering other issues which might resolve once they're removed from whatever environment caused them to want to lash out at another human being violently, and are responding to treatment. And there's just no way of knowing which they are, or how likely they may be to reoffend, without extensive observation while they're doing appropriate time for their actions.

But yes, then there's people like Ed Kemper - killed both his grandparents with a shotgun as a teen, was charged as a juvenile and released as a young adult -- and the rest is sickening history.
 
SmoothOperator said:
The above quote really just went all over me when I read it.. It angered me greatly!

I realize he is a 12 year old, but this, to me, screams zero remorse or even the slightest bit of care for the completely innocent, very young boy, that he'd just viciously stabbed multiple times in his tiny, little back! Not to mention this tiny victim was a complete stranger, unknown to the 12yo, and had not done anything to provoke or bring about the horrific attack he suffered ..

And even after-the-fact this 12 year olds behavior only becomes "animated" when the first responders went immediately to attend to the dying young boy! This boy even says to them that they're going the wrong way indicating they needed to be responding to him, not his dying innocent victim, who was a tiny, young boy!

It angers me greatly! That poor little boy's life was fading away and his killer was throwing a fit that the attention wasn't immediately on himself!
Click to expand...

I take that statement more as him screaming : seriously???? I just stabbed and probably killed some random kid, I called you and confessed and STILL I am not noticed or someone's FIRST priority??!

Apparently there was ZERO beef between he and Connor. Like zero. He did this in front of a park full of witnesses and immediately called the cops and confessed. I am not sold on him being a psychopath because some neighbor thought the perp/child eyed his open garage too long, KWIM?

My heart breaks for both families. I have a family member with serious behavioral issues. I don't know if this kid exhibited any prior to this, but I know the struggle of parents and families who have a child with serious issues.

I love that child. He scares me. But I love him. Because he is not broken beyond repair. I know it about the child family member with all my heart. And maybe this kid is not beyond repair or the ability to be something other.

That is why this case hurts so much.

Alysa Bustamante, I knew. I knew that child was beyond fixing and could never ever be trusted in society again. This one. I have to wait for experts to weight in and more info before I get there.
 
Ausgirl said:
They really can be sociopaths, I agree. But I think the vast majority of kids who kill are suffering other issues which might resolve once they're removed from whatever environment caused them to want to lash out at another human being violently, and are responding to treatment. And there's just no way of knowing which they are, or how likely they may be to reoffend, without extensive observation while they're doing appropriate time for their actions.

But yes, then there's people like Ed Kemper - killed both his grandparents with a shotgun as a teen, was charged as a juvenile and released as a young adult -- and the rest is sickening history.
Click to expand...

From my time spent rotating through a children's state psych ward, it did not seem there was much room for improvement in the children that were significantly mentally ill, most of which had not murdered yet but would have if they were not in a secure facility. Unfortunately that was the reality for mental illness that begins so early and this little boy must have some form to do something like this.
 
I feel badly for him because my first thought is that he was victimized too, or he would not be so callous, cruel, and violent. But it is not always the case. Some kids are just bad seeds, imo. But usually, they are abused themselves, and their violence is learned behavior. Many ra[ists wrre raped themselves as children. Doesnt mean that they should get a pass. I was raped as a child and I don't abuse children. But I still feel badly for any child it happens too.
 
Thanks for weighing in, all of you.

I guess I feel like a sociopath when it comes to the kids who kill kids or anyone who abuses animals. I am devoid of all empathy when I think of them. Zilch! I just want them gone.

But I do feel sadness and empathy when it comes to other criminals. I guess it's just how I'm wired.
 
Lovejac said:
Thanks for weighing in, all of you.

I guess I feel like a sociopath when it comes to the kids who kill kids or anyone who abuses animals. I am devoid of all empathy when I think of them. Zilch! I just want them gone.

But I do feel sadness and empathy when it comes to other criminals. I guess it's just how I'm wired.
Click to expand...

It's a very very rare occasion when I can muster sympathy for a murderer....of any age. It does happen every once in a blue moon.
An animal abuser? Never.
I don't like those that prey on the weak and helpless.

I'm not wired that way either.
 
It's ok, Lovejac --- I can feel sorry for abused kids who go on to harm others in turn, everyone's born a helpless baby deserving of love and kindness.

Yet I also want every pedo on the planet tarred and feathered, set on fire and promptly pushed off the nearest cliff.

The world would be boring if we all thought, or felt, the same way. :)
 
Tried to sit on my hands here :thinking: ; but wanted to just say that even if this Jamarion gets tried as a juvenile and is released at ,say, 18 or so, he still should have an eye kept on him via the authorities. He might be dangerous to others in the future --- if he can murder a child who is not even known to him.
Apologies if that is too unforgiving. I think this young perp has deep problems, more than just having been bullied. Something about the way this tragedy happened frightens me.
Surely there are posters here on WS who have been bullied or worse---and yet none of you harmed any children.
As always, MOO.
 
I'm curious about the bullying. Has there really been ANYTHING to document that he was "bullied" besides the fact that he continued to get into fights?
 
I haven't read anything about him being bullied so not sure if that is a factor here. Nothing has indicated it so far from the articles I have found unless it was updated with that sort of info after I read it.
 
I tend to agree with you, LietKynes.

Here's a few interesting snips from various MSM reports: (bbm)

---

Clifton agreed that the defendant looks younger than 12.

“He is tiny,” the prosecutor said.

The 9-year-old victim had been on the playground with two other children, ages 9 and 7, when he was approached by the 12-year-old suspect. There does not appear to have been any kind of argument or confrontation between the two, Kentwood Police said.

Lawhorn alleged pulled out a knife buried in playground sand and critically wounded the injured boy, who ran back to his home and collapsed on a porch.

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2014/08/12-year-old_accused_in_fatal_s.html

^ This could be bad reporting, re the knife. Elsewhere, he says he got the knife from home.

--

The boy’s explanation: “He stated that he did it because he is bad and always does stupid things, and gets in trouble a lot. Jamarion stated that he was thinking they would probably kill him for doing something like this and ‘inject stuff in his body.’”

He told police he would get mocked at school for getting in trouble, and be called "dumb" and "black."

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2014/08/12-year-old_accused_in_fatal_s.html

---

So this was an attempt at suicide by cop, 12-yr old style? He mentions pills in a report linked earlier, and my feeling is that he took pills as a suicide bid and it failed. Not verified, but that's how it seems to me. Was this his next attempt?

Of course, this has traumatised not only Connor's poor family but a whole community as well:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2014/08/for_parents_of_9-year-old_stab.html


Jason Beukema was outside Tuesday afternoon, setting up party tents for a "National Night Out" gathering at Pinebrook Village, something that seemed a stark contrast to the difficult emotions many residents were experiencing.

Beukema hoped to use the occasion Tuesday night to talk with others about starting a neighborhood watch group, "to find out what we're capable of."

He had to do something, to take action and take things in a direction from which everyone could begin to move forward.

"It's still kind of hard to wrap your head around," Beukema said.
 
tlcya said:
I haven't read anything about him being bullied so not sure if that is a factor here. Nothing has indicated it so far from the articles I have found unless it was updated with that sort of info after I read it.
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It's in here. Apparently Lawhorn was moved from one place to another to escape "bullying" that was evidenced by his continuous fighting, but in the new place he couldn't get along with kids any better and said he missed his original school so he was sent back. To stab some poor hapless child to death on the playground.

http://fox17online.com/2014/08/06/m...ther-says-he-left-michigan-to-escape-bullies/
 
“She took her heart out and tore it up and put it in the telephone. That is all I can say. We had a good cry. It is so senseless. I have a lot empathy for the family. Not my family but for the boy`s family who had this occur. There is something wrong with a family when that happens,” Nunemaker emotionally explained.

SNIP

The great-grandmother says she is sending prayers from Indiana for both boys.
“We feel it was not right, not just for us, but for the other family to have to go through all of this,” said Nunemaker.

http://fox59.com/2014/08/06/michigan-boy-12-charged-as-adult-in-fatal-stabbing-of-9-year-old-boy/

What a lovely lady.
 
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