Has anyone heard that the killer of the coed on the Auburn campus was an Iraq War Vet?

[AzDar]

Hubby swears he just heard that on the local news here in AZ; I can't find anything much about it at all...

[Snarkoleptic]

1. I also heard this on MSNBC.

His mother apologized to the victim's family and added something like 'He was a different person when he returned from Iraq.'.

[w8liftinglady]

2. here

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23549029/
The mother of the man charged with killing an Auburn University student is offering an apology to the freshman's family. Catherine Williams says her son is an Iraq war veteran who was changed after his service. She made the apology to Lauren Burk's family in an interview with a Columbus, Georgia, television station, WTVM. A tearful Williams said her "heart goes out to her family."

[democrank]

3. Tragic

all the way around.

[orleans]

4. yes--link

"The mother of the man charged with killing Auburn University student Lauren Burk said her son was an Iraq war veteran who was changed after his service, and she offered an apology to the freshman's family.

"Catherine Williams, the mother of suspect Courtney Larrell Lockhart, made the apology to Lauren Burk's family in an interview with Columbus, Ga., television station WTVM.

http://www.ajc.com/wireless/content/metro/stories/2008/03/09/auburnarrest_0309_web11.html

[AzDar]

5. Thanks!

This is chilling.

[orleans]

13. yes it is -- very chilling. n/t

[tridim]

6. Shhhh..

It's just another inconvenient truth that the GOP water carriers in the media don't want the public to know about.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. "He was such a nice boy ..."

"and the service turned him into a murderous thug."

My BS-meter is just going to ELEVEN!!!

Sorry, not buying this story yet. Gotta wait for a more thorough investigation, but I'd bet a thug went to Iraq and a thug came back.

[BoneDaddy]

9. And you are positive of this how?

Why is it so hard to believe that war, stress, terror (both on the receiving and giving end) could not change a person? I think it is very plausible. Whether or not it is true is a different story, I just don't get your surety that he was a thug when he left.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

12. I don't remember saying I was positive

but I'm not yet buying the extreme 180-degree change.

I'm not a shrink, just a veteran. Most of the vets I know did not become murderers, to my knowledge. Changed, yes. But not that much.

Like I said, I'll wait for more investigation before blaming his service.

[TahitiNut]

10. And you speak from your vast experience with the military and life in a combat zone???

Uh-huh. :eyes: Ignorance is bliss, I guess.

[Elwood P Dowd]

8. "She loved animals, children, classic rock, and playing piano and guitar."

From the Auburn, Alabama newspaper. I live in Alabama not too far from there.

http://www.oanow.com/oan/news/local/article/hearing_set_for_accused_murderer/7687/

<snip>

He is scheduled to have his preliminary hearing before Lee County Circuit Court Judge Jacob A. Walker at 3 p.m. today, the same time the campus will hold a memorial service for the slain 18-year-old student at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., are expected to protest the campus memorial, starting at 2:15 p.m., according to its web site.
The Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery has listed the WBC on its annual of hate groups.

On Sunday, mourners paid their final respects to Burk at a funeral service at Temple Kol Emeth in Marietta, Ga.

<snip>

The person who took Burk’s life committed two unforgivable sins — murder and stealing, Lebow said. He stole the idea that this is a good world and that Auburn is a safe town, he said.

“The right thing isn’t vengeance, the right thing is justice,” he said. “So let justice be done, because only when the killer is brought before the bar of justice can the universe in some small way be repaired.”

The rabbi described Burk as someone who loved animals, children, classic rock and playing piano and guitar. He said the final feeling people are left with is despair and that despair has only one response — hope.

[lonestarnot]

11. Yes.