A reader of The Cellar who posts in the associated forum, going by the screen name "JoJoFox," may have put a fine point on the skepticism that naturally comes when accused serial murderers "find religion" with the following comment on the blog entry containing the quote from Duncan's letter:
"(...)bringing that little girl home. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do!"
So, in comparison, I guess smashing her family to death with a hammer, cremating her brother, torturing and raping ....I guess all that was easy...?!?
The only spirit this man listens to is lucifer.
Posts found under screen names created by Joseph Duncan after his capture were in online forums dedicated to discussions about strategies used while playing certain computer games. The relative who provided Jules Hammer and her blog readers with the quote from Duncan's letter has stated in the past that Duncan liked games a great deal and in a way, played little games with himself.
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| Shasta Groene |
Was Duncan playing a game when he took Shasta Groene to a restaurant 2 miles from the home where he'd allegedly abducted her and her brother months earlier, and murdered her family? Could his motive have simply been a thrill-seeking sexual psychopath's need to further escalate his own sense of power, of omnipotence? Until July 2, 2005, it does not appear that anyone in law enforcement had linked, even theoretically, the two missing children from Coeur d'Alene with the level III sex offender who had absconded from Fargo, North Dakota. If no one had recognized the little girl with the tall, slender man in Denny's that night — would Shasta Groene be alive today?
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| David Berkowitz |
Many accused and convicted serial murderers have 'found religion.' David Berkowitz, New York City's "Son of Sam" killer from the late 1970s, even has a website maintained on his behalf directly related to his conversion to evangelical Christianity — www.forgivenforlife.com. On the site a book written by Berkowitz, apparently titled without irony, "Son of Hope," can be purchased. There are also choice quotes by the serial killer that could almost have been written by the Joseph Edward Duncan III seen in the letter to his relative:
"(...) Jesus Christ has redeemed me. He purchased me, David Berkowitz, murderer, criminal, monster, devil worshipper, with His own blood. Who could understand a love like this, a love God has for wicked and fallen mankind? I do know that I am not worthy. I was nothing, lost demented. He put a song of mercy in my mouth that I might tell others of His wondrous love and God's burning desire to save sinners from their self-destructive ways."
Another disturbing development in this case regarding recordings Duncan is alleged to have made of himself and the Groene children was made public on October 25, 2005. Writing in the Spokane, WA Spokesman-Review, Taryn Broadwater reported the following:
(T)he public defenders office says some of the videos may already have been made public.
"We have a source inside of law enforcement that told us that he had been told some of those videos have made their way to the Internet," public defender John Adams said Monday.
Joseph Edward Duncan III's trial is set to begin in Idaho on January 17, 2006.
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