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| Maddie and Kaylee were aware they were attractive. (ABC) |
What really pours kerosene in this fire, if I may use this expression, is the nature of today's media.
When I say "media," do not assume it's a reference to the old stale "legacy media." Media simply means there is a way for ambitious communicators to get their thoughts out in front of a considerable audience. And holy cow the so-called "online sleuths" of the Idaho 4 case are feeling their oats. It has been nonstop.
Over a year has passed. Our molasses-like legal system tries to do its thing. But the online world waits for no one.
How the Internet has evolved! Some very interesting histories will be written. The Internet in its halting fledgling days could come across as a swamp. Ambitious conspiracy theorists were licking their chops as they did what it took to get online. It was more complicated then. We heard the term "geeky." You needed some exclusive qualities to get out there, get noticed. Alas, the Internet had connotations of being dodgy. And the legacy media with its need for advertising dollars loved "pouncing" on that to suggest it was just a lot of hooey. It was easy to document in many cases.
So the Internet invited skepticism. Like all systems it evolved. There may still be outright garbage online.
I get pushback when I say this but the Internet is a meritocracy - it really truly is. Either the credible stuff is at the top or it's speculative stuff that is nevertheless grounded in reasoned thought. I feel I'm getting pushback as I write this. But I stick to my guns.
The Idaho 4 case riveted my attention for several reasons. A theme in my online writing has been the questionable lifestyle of so many college kids. The "Idaho 4" victims seemed almost a caricature of what I am thinking of. Full disclosure: a part of me feels envy as I see the various online tributes to the four, full of video of when they were in their prime as the quintessential fun-seekers. Who would not want to have the sheer amount of fun they had?
Oh and "Greek life" figured in, a topic I have always tied to a "Lord of the Flies" ethos. I wouldn't touch their rituals with a ten-foot pole. And my, the arbitrary social "pecking order" that builds up - crass judgments of other human beings. All this in a college environment that is supposed to push lofty ideals. I have great trouble reconciling.
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| The murder house on King Road (Fox 13 Seattle image) |
We cannot put aside the fact that the five females of the King Road residence were, by the standards of male heterosexuals, total "babes" with their attractiveness. How did all five end up at that one residence?
Two of them - "Dylan and Bethany" - survived and will have notoriety for the rest of their lives. They had better learn to cope with it.
Obviously, the case would not be so sensational if there was not a persistent air of mystery. Interest would not still be so spectacularly high if there was a well-understood consensus over what happened, who the perpetrators were. I use the plural because there is a common belief on the U of Idaho campus that three people were involved.
That's interesting and strange. Because, law enforcement has the one person in custody, this "K" fellow, who is innocent until proven guilty yet he has already spent a full year in a cage. If this one person was in fact guilty, slicing up these four kids with a K-Bar knife and creating a mess to the extent that blood dripped right outside the house, would there not be incontrovertible evidence? So the trial would happen more as a formality? Everything would thus quiet down. Well, it certainly is not coming off that simple now, is it.
Certain "online sleuths" have risen to the top of what's out there online - not necessarily the "big names" like Nancy Grace. Mostly it's people who are unheard of, and they rise because of the sheer quality of their research and judgment. Yes, a total meritocracy! We all should be thankful for the new information/commentary ecosystem, n'est-ce pas?
No more reliance on the likes of celebrity-conscious Katie Couric. Couric had sort of a backstabbing instinct - just ask Ashleigh Banfield. Ashleigh holds her own on the "NewsNation" cable TV channel. She has been a regular quite decent reporter on the "Idaho 4" case. The top ones you'll find on YouTube: either I don't know their names or I have forgotten them. One I know by first name only - "Nika" - and I have communicated with her. Her recent posts have been with a beautiful Christmas tree in the background. She lives in Chicago.
Whodunit?
My assessment of the case at present? I will need convincing to pin this whole thing on this "K" fellow. The following is a comment I submitted to a YouTube site that is of a cutting edge nature:
Can you imagine all the books that will come out about this case? I suppose authors have to hold back now because new developments such as at trial will render so much stuff obsolete. And then movies too, probably pretty well off into future. We need some well-understood answers. Once there's a consensus on the salient facts, watch the flood of material come out. We'll even read about poor ol' Jeremy Reagan! Remember him? What a gallery of personalities.
From site host: I'm sure they'll be a bunch. I'm an author, but I write horror fiction and not true crime. Thanks for your comment.
Since submitting my comment I have learned that an eager book author has already come forward. So we learn of "Why Idaho Slept" by J. Reuben Appelman. The book's full title: "While Idaho Slept: The Hunt for Answers in the Murders of Four College Students."
Appelman previously wrote "The Kill Jar." His new book "tells the inside story of the 'University of Idaho murders,' offering a memorable, thoughtful dive into our societal fascination with true crime, the media's seeming blood-frenzy, and the future of homicide investigations, while cultivating an intimate look into the minds and hearts of the victims and their suspected killer alike."
Appelman is struck by the phenomenon of such widespread public interest and how this seizes on new media tools to create a phenomenon. It does remind of an earlier chapter of media evolution, that being the "O.J. trial," remember? It was a phenomenon through "cable TV" as the news channels really exercised their chops with the likes of "Larry King." Very quaint to remember. In so many ways the old media model was still at work.
Today the whole system is fundamentally changed. Will we learn that "Eric" was really the perpetrator? Holy cow.
Topical music
Early-on in the Idaho 4 case I wrote a song. Checking it now, I found some of the lyrics to be dated. I shared my initial version on my blogs. So I shall share my new revised version below. I removed references to Nancy Grace because she seems to have all but disappeared, as we are just not wowed by celebrity any more, pilgrims.
"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
You might want to dance
I should add that my idea of rhythm for the song is unconventional: disco. Seriously. And why not? It would be different. Disco died because it got overdone. Or was it because of the song "Disco Duck?" Different theories are out there. Aesthetically I find the disco feel to be quite appealing, energizing. It calls on us to dance!
My song is "strophic" in structure: one melodic idea repeats itself throughout. I like writing songs like that. There is a risk of monotony, yet some classic songs have been written this way. Let me add that singers like it: it's simple! "By the Time I Get to Phoenix."
Could I have my song recorded? Probably not, as people might accost me on matters of taste. Also, if the case actually does reach resolution in the next few months - don't hold your breath - it will become dated. Such is the problem with a lot of "topical" songs. I never had my George Floyd song recorded. My lyrics were with the premise of the cops being the "bad guys" in the story, but now we are seeing some shades of gray re. that, at least. Topical songs can be dicey.
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| "Nika" |
The remainder of this post will present two comments I submitted to the YouTube channel of the sleuther "Nika." She's such an agreeable person.
Nika, it is unfortunate that the sheer mystery persists in this case, over so much time. You share persuasive observations. If we had more faith in the justice system here, we wouldn't look for so much insight from people like you. I think the public is looking for confirmation of whether there is a drug connection. If there is not, well then it's a crazy guy who had a crush on one or more of the girls. What is the average day like for Dylan and Bethany now? Can they ever step out of the shadow of this? I don't see how. And, if Bryan is acquitted, is released from custody, and if the public remains convinced he's guilty, my goodness what can he do? Where can he go? He'll need something like a witness protection directive. Another thought: Is the cost of college tempting kids to get involved in dangerous things? Like drug interaction? Or for attractive girls to market their feminine attributes? It's unpleasant to say that, but it was Arianna Huffington a few years ago who taught us about "sugar babies." So I guess it's real. And dangerous. These kids don't want to graduate with a mountain of debt. If this scenario is true, it would be a wakeup call for the public to realize the daunting cost of college. Is there a better way?
Thanks for your vigilance Nika. But why can't we just rely on LE? That is the way the system is supposed to work. Algorithms are pushing a lot of the same material to people now, so my updated thoughts may be typical among the case followers. So I'll state that LE may be involved but NOT in a sinister way. OK, what I mean is that drug task forces operate largely out of the shadows, even out of the complete awareness of standard LE. Or if there is awareness, these matters may not inspire pride or approval among them. So what I mean, as I'm trying to cut to the chase, is that kids who get caught with drugs can be induced to become informants, right? And it's not really a "choice," not the way it's presented. Can I assume that informants can get a target on their back when outed? "I told Adam everything." Remember the guy pushed out of the helicopter in the movie "Scarface?" People then say "well sir how does Bryan K. figure in." At this point I'd have to be more conspiratorial. Was there an involved scheme to have the guy set up as a "patsy?" I read once that "it was common knowledge" on the UI campus that three people were involved. Common knowledge? What's going on here? And time just passes. And we keep hearing from Nika, bless you. Make us some pancakes sometime.
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| (King 5 News image) |
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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