In Fayetteville, North Carolina a community is trying to figure out why 47 year-old William Maxwell, a real estate developer and devout Christian murdered His wife Kathryn, son Connor 17 years-old and daughter Cameron all of 15 years-old before turning the gun on himself.
It is beyond human understanding why anyone would slaughter their entire family, especially someone with close ties to the community. Did William Maxwell wake uo one morning and decide to take the lives of his family? Was he suffering from mental illiness? Did his wife dicsuss the possibility of divorce? Was William Maxwell in financial trouble? No one yet, has an answer.
In these cases of family slaughter answers or excuses, especially when we know the family is often nothing more then a hidden label because of where someone lived, their education or what they did for a living. This community, in my opinion is trying to place a fancy lable on a package because the tragedy is beyond what anyone from that particular community is or could be capable of carrying out. As a society digesting the fact that this person committed murder is echoed in the comments I read on various message boards and one in particular"Billy, if you knew him loved his family. that's what makes this so tragic," said pastor John Cook.
Clearly this case is a wake call. We are faced with a national crisis that has reached epidemic proporations in this country. The slaughtering of family members has taken more lives then those lost in the Vietnman war.
The war in homes must be addressed state by state, city by city, one community at a time. But progress will not be made until we label and acknowledge the fact that this was murder, committed by a man whom is no different then that unsuspecting pillar in your communinty preparing to attend Sunday worship services this morning.
These people who slaughter their families hide behind the same designer shirt label just as sure as the mechanic whom repaired your car last week. They came in all different shapes, sizes and ethnicities, each capable of committing the most unspeakable crimes.
You can prevent a tragedy if you are willing to acknowledge that family homicide and domestic violence are real crimes. Learn the signs of trouble, abuse, stalking, domestic violence, get involved by holding community informational gatherings, post the information in the schools, business and places of worship. If you begin a dialogue you just might be surprised at how many lives will be saved in the process.
9 comments:
The Maxwell's were a good family who never had any problems. Bill swas sick he had a mengtal illiness, he snaped. the bible says we must forgive and it is not my place or your to judge anyone that is for the almighty creator, God, the father.
Shame on you for spreading this garbage!
Please have some respect for thr family and friends grieving. I agree with the above comment and add-How Dare You!
I see once again the 'witnesses' are in their boxes defending the church and "loving family man" on your blog site.
America is stubborn, since the begining of time, (including the church) unwilling to make the journey into preventing and recognize homicide within families is a crime that has reached epidemic proporations.
Beware of those who dress for success, they too, are not immune from pulling the trigger!
What frosts me is the ignorance to theses crimes. Excuses for the fact this low life erased the entire family.
With that said when domestic violence is glossed over in the media the ones left behind ask why?
A life class in 101 violence should be mandated at ever level of education including grade school.
If Mom Maxwell was informed she might have wanted to protect her children from her sick husband. No one is judging the family. Susan is spreading knowledge.
I agree, Kimmy. Knowlege is deterrence, it can save lives. Warning signs were there in this family- people just didn't see them. We put up blinders that we see only what we want to see.
I can't think of anyone who can spread the word better than Susan. People need to listen to her, to read her books.
This is an informative blog piece. People should give it 'real' thought and not just a fleeting glance before attacking its author.
We were not there we do not know what really happened. To fault someone who obviously suffered from depression only makes this worse.
You did not know the family. Let them grieve in peace. Please don't compound the tragedy.
This is an ignorant post.
The man had been showing signs of mental illness to the degree he confessed to a family friend that he couldn't remember the name of family members. Those friends met with him earlier the day of the murder and he had promised to go get mental help. I personally talked to two different individuals who had known this man since he was a child...this is a very tragic case where someone had a mental breakdown and those around him did not have the understanding of just how sick he was nor did they know of a few simple steps they could have taken-because, particularly in his social group, mental illness still carries quite a stigma.
I am sick to death of reading online strangers who have no personal knowledge of a situation using said situation to further their own soapbox-even if the soapbox is a worthy one. Please do some basic research on this case if you feel the need to continue to comment on it!!!!!!!
The issue presented by this case is not meant to pour salt in the wounds of a grieving community, but to shine light on the fact that there has been another family taken to their graves by someone they loved.
Situations like this are an epidemic in this country, and as embarrassing as it is to the family members and those who loved them, it's still a murder.
It's not about disrespect for a family, but to educate a public that keeps it's head in the sand about bad things happening somewhere else. This didn't happen "somewhere" else, it happened in YOUR neighborhood.
It's understandable to lash out in grief and fear, but it's not going to prevent the next family murder from happening. The better we educate ourselves on the facts in these cases, seek out solutions and resources, then maybe we can start positively affecting families and save lives.
Please accept my condolences for this family tragedy. I hope that someday there will be a better understanding of why this happens.
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