Horrorcore rapper faces murder charges.

[Canadian_watcher]

OCM wrote:

think, ideally, there should be enough faith in humanity that we aren't so weak-minded that we do what we see - as if we had no choice in the matter. Realistically however, ideals don't always match up, and sure, unfortunately this stuff can influence weak people. Too much of anything is bad, afterall.

I say "garbage in, garbage out."

This is a favourite topic of mine, however I rarely wade into the debate because I come off as self-righteous.

Basically I do believe that de-sensitization through repeated exposure is a reality. I find a giant knot in my stomach every time CSI, or Dateline, or <insert any one of 100000 movies, shows, songs etc> shows a dead person - particularly beautiful young women - since I think to myself "is this what passes for ENTERTAINMENT????? DEATH?"

But it isn't the DEATH, is it? It's the killing. Killing is entertainment. Sex and nudity is far more highly censored on television and in movies than is psychopathic, macabre, evil, wasteful killing. It's disgusting.

.. I am a painter. The more I paint the better I get at it. The better I get at it the more I want to have an exhibition. ... After all, what am I practicing for? get me?

This kid was practicing.
Most people who can sit through Hostel or Saw are not 'practicing' murder & mayhem... But aren't they practicing liking it? Aren't they upholding the bad guy? Aren't they readying the red-carpet for him?

[Maddy]

BF: I'm pretty sure no one said he deserved it. I'm fairly sure that it was only mentioned then dropped - considering, contrary to popular "nice" opinion, that it is a fact of life that those things do happen. Sorry to be the one to break bubbles, or rip off rose-coloured glasses here.

And perhaps he does deserve it, now that you've brought up something I certainly wasn't thinking about when I responded to I_Am_Not_Mad, above. Perhaps my opinion is that people who do things to harm others should suffer for it. I don't fall for one minute for any new-age PC concepts that we can hope, wish and pray (or theraputize*) people back into the "niceness" of our little Stepford worlds, because I don't believe in Stepford worlds. If it was a Stepford world there'd be no one to go to prison, and no one harming others in the first place and leaving trails of broken lives and shattered souls behind them without remorse.


*I think I just made up a new word.

Edit: I apologize for the anger in my post, just that this subject really hits home with me.

[Penguin]

Basically I do believe that de-sensitization through repeated exposure is a reality. I find a giant knot in my stomach every time CSI, or Dateline, or <insert any one of 100000 movies, shows, songs etc> shows a dead person - particularly beautiful young women - since I think to myself "is this what passes for ENTERTAINMENT????? DEATH?"

But it isn't the DEATH, is it? It's the killing. Killing is entertainment. Sex and nudity is far more highly censored on television and in movies than is psychopathic, macabre, evil, wasteful killing. It's disgusting.

Ive come to think the same - and the gore level has been steadily rising. Stuff that couldnt even have been shown here 20 years ago as 18-or-over movies is now shown on primetime TV most nights (we had a pretty strict video violence law before, and mandatory pre-checks for VHS movies too).

I dont remember what thread it was, but there was a discussion about the same before, maybe a year ago or so.

[Canadian_watcher]

And it's so non-chalant, half the time. Oh ho-hum, there's a dead girl - search her pockets, make a snide remark, and let the opening credits roll.

..
I can only go by my own reaction. I can remember seeing a dead body on the news and being absolutely gutted. I had to sit down. Now it's passé. I used to hear kids at high school talking about the Faces of Death movie - Black market only because it depicted REAL deaths. A month ago I saw it on the shelf at Jumbo Video... made me nauseous.

My poor kid. What chance have I given her to make it in this world.. I stupidly raised her to be kind and sensitive. What a terrible parental mistake THAT has turned out to be.

[treeboy]

Here we reach the inevitable moment in the thread where we begin to celebrate prison rape, considering that part of the punishment of imprisonment and wishing it upon others. Such celebration is so predictable and so wrong - can we - just for once - veer left or right and not do it? It's less so here on RI than other places, but nonetheless, it seems to happen spontaneously and bring such enjoyment to so many.

I mean, you'd "guess" that would happen, right? But you're not really wishing that on anyone?

Come on, fess up. You think everyone in prison deserves to be raped, or wants to rape. They just turn into savages behind those walls.

Along with elfismiles, I want to thank bublefunk for writing this.

I believe sexual assault is unconditionally wrong. The wrongness of sexual assault is independent of the subject of the assault. And it is independent of any crimes or wrong doings committed by the subject.

Simply put, rape is wrong and it is always wrong no matter what. And I believe it follows that it is wrong to celebrate or call for rape. Even in a situation where an individual has perpetrated viscous, horrifying crimes.

[Jeff]

Most people who can sit through Hostel or Saw are not 'practicing' murder & mayhem... But aren't they practicing liking it?

I dunno, but that's an interesting thought.

The old debate about "snuff" seems a bit silly now, if you ever look at what's being posted daily online. There's the odd murder committed for camera, but more often, the accident victim lying unaided in the streat but thronged by camera phones.

[barracuda]

4 Va. slaying victims died from blows to the head

FARMVILLE, Va. — Four people found slain in a small Virginia college town were killed by blows to the head, and the aspiring California rapper suspected of killing them will likely face more charges, authorities said Tuesday.

Richard Alden Samuel McCroskey III, 20, is already charged with killing one of the four — Mark Niederbrock, a pastor at a Presbyterian church in central Virginia.

At a news conference Tuesday, the other victims were identified as Longwood University professor Debra Kelley, 53; Emma Niederbrock, 16, the daughter of Kelley and Mark Niederbrock; and Melanie Wells, 18, of Berryville, W.Va.

The bodies were discovered over the weekend at Kelley's home in Farmville, about 50 miles west of Richmond. Debra Kelley and Mark Niederbrock had been separated for about a year.

Prince Edward County Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Ennis would not reveal what kind of weapon was used nor a possible motive. He confirmed that McCroskey was staying in Kelley's home during his visit to Virginia and called the investigation "unparalleled" in the small college town.

He said there was no indication that anyone else was involved and would not give a timeline for when the victims died.

He said it would take a significant amount of time to get through all the forensic evidence.

"We are going coast to coast on this investigation," Ennis said.

Additional homicide charges are anticipated at some point in the future, but not until more forensic evidence is processed.

Sarah McCroskey has said her brother was a meek and kind person who never fought back when picked on and wouldn't do anything unless provoked.


Suspect’s sister expresses remorse in Farmville slayings

FARMVILLE -- The sister of the California man suspected in the slayings of four people near Longwood University said she failed her younger brother and wishes she could ask him what happened.

In an e-mail yesterday, Sarah McCroskey, 21, described Richard Samuel Alden McCroskey III, who rapped about killing people and disposing of their remains, as a boyish 20-year-old who avoided trouble, walked away from fights, and rarely showed emotion.

Police arrested him Saturday at Richmond International Airport after finding the bodies in a Longwood professor's home. A Prince Edward County judge appointed an attorney for him yesterday at an initial hearing.

"He's sweet, he's talented, he's like the best brother anyone can ask for," Sarah McCroskey said in a phone interview, adding that he was troubled by their parents' recent separation. She also apologized to the victims' families.

Early yesterday morning, she said, authorities in Alameda County, Calif., raided the home she shares with the suspect and their father, seizing their computers and other items, including a Halloween costume of Joey Jordison, drummer for the heavy-metal band Slipknot. Alameda officials confirmed they entered the house about 1:30 a.m. PDT while no one was home and that they stayed until about 6 a.m.

"My house is trashed," Sarah McCroskey said. "It's upside down."

She said her grandmother's ashes are missing.

Farmville authorities still have not positively identified the four victims found Friday at the home of professor Debra S. Kelley, or discussed how they were killed. Police tentatively identified one of the victims as Kelley's husband, Mark Niederbrock, pastor at Walker's Presbyterian Church in Appomattox County.

Friends and associates identified the others as Kelley; her daughter, Emma Niederbrock; and Melanie Wells, a friend of Emma visiting from West Virginia. Emma was the suspect's girlfriend, Sarah McCroskey said.

Police discovered the bodies Friday after an officer smelled what he believed was human decay. Officials say the victims might have been killed on different days, although they have not presented a timeline.

[Canadian_watcher]

it follows that it is wrong to celebrate or call for rape. Even in a situation where an individual has perpetrated viscous, horrifying crimes.

Allow me to add a missing variable, here.
It is wrong to wish that someone else commit a crime to exact the revenge that you desire. In addition to the act that the victim will endure, in wishing for prison rape or any other sort of offender-on-offender 'justice' one is actually wishing ill on two individuals.

[monster]

Along with elfismiles, I want to thank bublefunk for writing this.

Me too, it always bothers me when I see people casually advocating prison rape. Not cool.

[not to imply that anyone did that in this thread, but I've seen it elsewhere, it's a pretty standard reaction.]

[Canadian_watcher]

Most people who can sit through Hostel or Saw are not 'practicing' murder & mayhem... But aren't they practicing liking it?

I dunno, but that's an interesting thought.

The old debate about "snuff" seems a bit silly now, if you ever look at what's being posted daily online. There's the odd murder committed for camera, but more often, the accident victim lying unaided in the streat but thronged by camera phones.

Gawking may be different than spectating. Not sure. Curiosity is one thing and habitual staring at gore or torture is another.

I remember defending a guy on a message board - a long time ago - who had a website dedicated to pretty young models being shot with arrows (his website was simulated violence - and very obviously so). I am opposed to censorship, full stop. I would defend him again today - merely on his right to advance his 'art'.

So... ( and here's the self-righteous part...)

I think people who choose to watch or listen to pieces of expression that are fraught with horror, torture and killing are the problem. We CAN help ourselves. In fact, we shouldn't have to help ourselves or fight with ourselves to turn these sorts of things off. My primordial reaction to gratuitous violence now that I'm a grown adult is one of revulsion at such images/words. I fully expect other grown adults to feel the same way. When they do not, I am disappointed in them.

That is not to say that I'm a pacifist - militaries are necessities. I happen to believe in capital punisment for repeat offenders and I believe I could easily be the one to pull the lever on the chair. I would smash the living shit out of anyone who set foot in my home in the middle of the night...

It's all about the circumstance.

[sfnate]

This is a favourite topic of mine, however I rarely wade into the debate because I come off as self-righteous.

Ditto. I've raised essentially these same points in other discussion forums (Slashdot, for example), and usually I'm shouted down and accused of pro-censorship or feeble-mindedness or political correctitude. It pushes buttons, as they say.

And I'm not sure why the position is so controversial, especially when you consider the ways in which human beings create the narrative structures in which they live and operate.

First and foremost, our outer condition is almost entirely the concretization of what were previously "only" imagined realities. That is, everything that we wear, ride, live in, use, etc. was first imagined, or dreamed of. Simple and obvious, right?

So what happens, then, if our mind is engaged almost exclusively in the construction of violent scenarios, gore-soaked vignettes where compassion is entirely absent and the only value that obtains is cruelty and sadism? (Yes, it's a rhetorical question.)

But it's all in fun, right? In fact it's healthy because it sublimates our savage animal urges into virtual horrors that ultimately hurt no one. Right?

If only it were that simple. De-sensitization is certainly one probable outcome of a steady diet of gore and torture, and if a benumbed state of mind and empathic paralysis were the only risks, you could probably leave it at that and let the children enjoy the Carnival of Carnage without feeling too much guilt. But there is something missing in most of these discussions--or has been-and that is the very real concern that what we are actually doing is investing our psychic energies in a future so bleak and horrible that we will be unable to imagine anything better for ourselves, because "better" will be forgotten and the technophiliac utopia of Total War will subjugate the creative energies of our most gifted artists, scientists, engineers...

In other words, the exteriorization of the nightmare is well underway, and as machine values gain superiority over (increasingly frail) human values, the landscape will transform much more quickly to resemble the zombie hunting grounds of these grotesqueries we call video games, TV shows, movies, etc.

As it is within, so will it be without.

[Canadian_watcher]

-and that is the very real concern that what we are actually doing is investing our psychic energies in a future so bleak and horrible that we will be unable to imagine anything better for ourselves-

thank you for putting it into words so succinctly.

[barracuda]

"Laveyan Satanism"? Red membership cards? Might OP ED weigh in on this one, please?

Chilling New Details Emerge in Syko Sam Horrorcore Murders Case

New revelations have come to light in the case of "Skyo Sam" McCrosky, the 20 year-old Castro Valley wanna-be rapper, graphic designer, and alleged Santanic cultist, accused of murdering four people in Virginia last week, including his girlfriend, her best friend and her parents, a professor and a priest.

Virginia law enforcement authorities have determined the four were killed by blunt force trauma. News reports have also described McCrosky's seemingly calm behavior in the immediate aftermath of the murders; despite encountering law enforcement officers on two occasions, once at the victim's house, and once while driving a car belonging to one of the victims, McCroskey was not arrested until after the bodies were discovered, a day later. And Syko Sam's sister has described him as a quiet kid who "got along with everybody," which seems very ironic considering the tragic circumstances.

But those aren't the most disturbing details to emerge in this macabre case. According to Paul Calcagno, McCrosky was part of a Satanic cult who engaged in ritual music videos and idolized David Berkowitz, the 1970s NYC serial killer who called himself "the Son of Sam." Calcagno is the author of a blog in which he describes meeting Syko Sam in 2006: "As a result of my personal experience with Sam and his affiliated "Horror Core" rap artists, I believe that New Mexico Rap Label "Serial Killing Records" is behind the grisly mass murder. Basically, I was an actor in one of their music videos. In the video they killed a priest, a Rabbi, a Muslim Cleric, and the Pope. Sam McCrosky killed a PASTOR IN REAL LIFE (Virginia pastor, Mark Niederbrock. )"

Calcagno goes on to claim that "the video was actually a Satanic ritual itself. The filmmakers were all members of the Church of Satan (they showed me the red membership cards)."

He also embellishes the connections between Berkowitz and McCrosky, who also went by the name Lil Demon Dog; a reference to Berkowitz' insistence that he took his killing orders from a demon dog named "Sam." He also alleges that Serial Killin' Records honcho "Sicktanik and company often joked that if any of them were to go out and "pull a Manson", that they should "blame it on Jesus," before pointing out that McCroskey allegedly told a reporter "Jesus told me to do it" following his arrest.

Although SickTanic has claimed his music was simply a form of expression, his MySpace blog lists his "experience in the world of the occult," which he claims sets him apart from other "Satanic Rap" artists. On it, he says he has conducted both Satanic Baptisms and Satanic Masses. Creepy.

More details have also emerged about the victims and the lifestyle they and McCrosky engaged in, which apparently included heavy doses of sex, drugs, and occult practices. A video comment posted Monday on "LilDemondog"'s YouTube channel by "XxKinkySuicidexX," says, "i dont know what to think... i thought u loved her... u said u loved me 2.. u would of killed Me too wouldent you?! you had the chance u had the oppertunitys Why them? i dont understand!? " And there are several messages from Melanie Wells on "LilDemonDog"'s MySpace page, which make references to the concert she apparently attended with McCroskey before her death, as well as afterparties "in multiple hotel rooms." On June 9th, Wells wrote, "I can't wait to get druuuuunk."

Melanie Wells' MySpace page--which has been filled with poignant tributes from friends in the past few days-- describes her as an "SKR Unholy Disciple" - a reference to SickTanick's Serial Killin' Records, who McCroskey allegedly promoted for. She also calls herself a believer in "Laveyan Satanism," notes "McDonalds, cigarettes, caffeine and drugs keep me alive and healthy," and proclaims, "I'm a sinner and I repent not."

Ironically, Wells' site also lists a poem, in which she fantasizes about killing a cheating lover:

You're screaming and bleeding lying on the floor
I can't help it, I'm aching for more gore
Slowly I make an incision in your main artery
I feel the blood rush, gush all over my body
It's going deeper and deeper, your life is slowly fading
Your eyes roll back and your body starts shaking

[Nordic]

Speaking of "Dexter" and not to go all HWM on everybody's ass, but it seems to me to be a rationalization for being murderers.

And we all are murderers, at least the Americans here, and everybody in America is an accomplice to murder, multiple murders, mass murders.

But it's okay, right? Because we're getting them before they get us, we're killing other murderers, or at least we think they're murderers, or they live in the same villages and have the same religion as those murderers, so it's just "collateral" and it's really okay.

The most important thing is that we're the baddest of the bad, the meanest motherfuckers on the planet, and we'll smile while the blood drips on our head.

It's the perfect American fable. And Dexter is the perfect archetypical American.

[lightningBugout]

Most people who can sit through Hostel or Saw are not 'practicing' murder & mayhem... But aren't they practicing liking it?

I think it was Lisa Carver in an issue of Rollerderby way back when who pointed out that when you're a kid watching a scary movie (aka observing the evil in this world) you can negate the fear by identifying with the slasher. I'd wager that the collective trauma in which we are daily inundated and now wholly ensconced is being mediated this way through films like Saw or Hostel or Base Moi or my older fav, Cannibal Holocaust. Not at all by associating torture with pleasure, rather managing one's given terror through identification with the killer.