Florida Teen Machete Murder

Hello readers, It's been a while.

In 1993, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, seven high school friends plotted against, and killed, their classmate and friend.  They beat him, stabbed him, slit his throat, and hit him on the head with a bat.  They tried to dig a shallow grave and hoped alligators would eventually finish up any trace of the body.  The story made national news and was made into the book "Bully: A True Story of High School Revenger" by Jim Schutze as well as a movie.  What was alarming back then, and to readers of the book, was the amount of drug use, casual sex, and detail they put into this murder.

Fast forward to south Florida on June 28, 2015.  Five students at the JobCorps campus in Homestead, Florida plotted against, killed, and buried in a shallow grave their 17 year old classmate.  The story shares many similarities with the Bobby Kent murder in 1993.  At-risk teenagers, drug use, sex, plotting, and planning.  The current victim, Jose Guardado, was killed with a machete because he allegedly owed some drug money to one of the attackers.  The killers were described as bullies at the school.  One of the arrestees in this murder, a female, was allegedly upset that she missed the initial machete strikes because she was using the bathroom in the woods.  After the murder, while 3 of the attackers returned to their live-in school, she and the ring-leader of the group, a supposed rug dealer at the school, had sex in the woods close to where their victim lay dead in a shallow grave.

These teenagers all burned the body, attempted to hide evidence, and even burned their own clothing in an attempt to destroy all evidence.  Jose's body was found by his family members who were looking for him a few days later.

The story has come back to light due to the Miami Herald obtaining and releasing police interrogation videos of the suspects, seen here.

Bullying By The Numbers

Opponents of statistics often say that numbers can be skewed to prove whatever point is trying to be driven.  While this may be the case, there are some numbers that speak for themselves, and in this case, I believe I found some.  Here are some very alarming statistics on suicide, bullying, and bullycide.

1. According to the CDC, suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among young people, resulting in approximately 4,400 deaths per year.
2. For every "successful" suicide, there are reportedly at least 100 attempts.
3. Over 14% of high school students have considered suicide, and 7% have attempted it.
4. Bullying victims are 2-9 times more likely to resort to suicide according to a Yale University study.
5. According to the above study, 10-14 year old girls are at a high risk.
6. According to a recent ABC News report, 30% of students are bullies or victims of bullies. (this number appears low).
7. The same ABC report reported that 160,000 kids stay home from school every day in fear of bullying.

And many people still believe bullying is a fad or a right of passage. 

Bullying Maybe???

Today in Grapevine, Texas, a 15 year old 9th grade student had to be air lifted to a local hospital after a possible neck injury.  Events like this are all too common during football practices and games, however in this case, the victim was merely in the school hallway. 

According to this brief report, a 16 year old classmate

""blindsided" the freshman about 1 p.m. today, knocking him onto his back"

All the details have not been released, however the 16 year old is in custody in a juvenile detention center. 

It is easy to speculate at what the reasons were behind this "attack".  Maybe the boys have a history of aggression towards each other.  Maybe they were involved in an argument over a Facebook status.  Maybe they were fighting over a female.  Or maybe the aggressor in this situation is a bully and the 15 year old was just another target for him. 

Either way, head injuries can be devastating.  There are many videos online which show the effects of students getting slammed onto their head.  Some have laid on the ground unconscious and seizing, others have barely been able to walk away. (see Richard Gale, the bully in Australia who was slammed by his victim) The true effects sometimes are not known until a few days after the event.  And what may start as a mutual fight or an aggressive bully taking advantage of his opportunity can end with very serious consequences. 

Video Game - Bully

As mentioned in the previous post, the first video game I am going to highlight is called “Bully”.  Bully is made by Rockstar Games, the same company who is responsible for the Grand Theft Auto series of video games (next post).   

Here is a brief intro from makers themselves, which can also be read here; 

“As a mischievous schoolboy, you’ll stand up to bullies, get picked on by teachers, play pranks, win or lose the girl, and ultimately learn to navigate the obstacles of the worst school around, Bullworth Academy - a corrupt and crumbling prep school with an uptight facade.” 

The gameplay is what earned this game a spot in Yahoo! Games top 10 most controversial games of all time.  Since the game is centered around a school, naturally taking classes is needed.  When you excel at the classes, you learn to talk the police into letting you off the hook or how to make firecrackers.  “Playing pranks” as mentioned in the overview involves sling shots, bats, and bottle rockets.  Fighting and bullying are also a central theme of the game.  Winning some fights, hence beating someone up, is needed to advance in the game.  Violence against females, smaller children, and teachers is also possible. 

The game also some sexual content, and allows the player, a male character, to kiss both male and female students. 

Bully is available for the PlayStation 2, the Nintendo Wii, the Xbox 360, and there is a PC version.  The game has been rated from T (teen, 13 and up) to M (mature) and won several awards upon its release.  While it may be an entertaining game to some, it is also very inappropriate for the younger consumer.