commentary by Patrick H. Moore
Although it is wrong to marginalize or stigmatize sub-groups within our society, the fact remains that if you are a parent and if you are truthful with yourself, although you probably do not actively discriminate against members of these sub-groups, you might secretly hope that your son or daughter not join any of them (this list is far from complete):
A terrorist; a methhead; a violent gang member; a murderer; a thief; a homophobe; a ne’er-do-well; a prostitute; a cop; an arsonist; a metalhead/headbanger; a right-wing racist; a psychopath; a bath salt addict; a user of Krokodil; a teenage porn star; a serial killer or mass murderer…
OOOORRRRR:
A Goth Rocker.
Our society is full of these types in varying numbers. There is little doubt that some people can slide into and out of one or more of these identities with relative ease. On the other hand, there are cases where one may be trying on one of these identities – and through a combination of bad luck and/or bad judgment – the adventurer crosses over the line and finds himself or herself in a jam from which, unfortunately, there is no going back.
With their need “to belong”, teenagers, with their need to “be cool”, are particularly susceptible to “getting lost” in one of these identities and not finding their way out until it is too late. This is precisely what happened to 16-year-old Arizona Goth rocker Jessica Burlew.
Sasha Goldstein of the New York Daily post writes:
Jessica Burlew, 16, has been charged as an adult with second-degree murder in 43-year-old boyfriend Jason Ash’s death.
A 16-year-old Arizona girl says she strangled her 43-year-old boyfriend with an electrical cord during rough, consensual sex — and that he died when it got too intense.
Jessica Burlew pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder Wednesday in a bizarre case of murder, self-mutilation and heavy metal.
The Arizona Republic reports that the 43-year-old boyfriend Jason Ash was found dead on Jan. 19 in the Glendale home of Burlew’s mother, Tracey Woodside.
Displaying a pleasing forthrightness, Jessica explained to the cops that she used an extension cord to strangle Jason as a prelude to sex. Apparently, adepts at this gentle art have agreed-upon signals to resort to in the event things go sideways or otherwise get a little haywire, but instead of giving Jessica the signal, the so-called “safe” word, on a timely basis, Jason hesitated too long and passed out instead. In this case, truly, “he who hesitates is lost.”
Once Jessica realized that Jason had ceased breathing, in desperation, she resorted to “cutting” him with a razor blade hoping the shock would revive him. It did not because Jason was already too far gone. According to the court charging documents, once Jessica realized that Jason was not going to wake up, she reports that she continued “cutting” him to “alleviate her stress from the situation”.
Like all good 16-year-old Goths rockers must do when they realize they’ve ventured into deep and unnavigable waters, Jessica eventually called her mother to say her older lover, who went by the tag “gothadelic” on social media, was dead.
At Jessica’s court appearance Wednesday, her mother Tracey wept as she told a KPNX-TV reporter that the girl was innocent and that the death was an accident.
Nonetheless, in the spirit of thorough and unbiased reporting, it’s probably only right to provide a bit more information about Jessica and Jason and their arguably unsavory ways. Keep in mind that Jessica is only 16, and had this horrific accident not transpired, she might well have grown out of this phase much as many of us have grown out of various phases as we stagger through this treacherous thing called life.
Here are certain salient facts about Jessica:
- She went by the handle ‘soultaker11′ on a website called Vampire Freaks and called herself Xenia Nex on other websites.
- Jessica sang dark songs with creepy lyrics and posted them to YouTube. The songs had names like “Golden Age of Death” and “Poor Little Victims”. She posted videos of her singing the dark lyrics on YouTube. “She starts to decay from the demon that’s raised,” Jessica warbles in an off-key voice. “It takes away the demon that lays. And now she decays.” (Ah yes, there are few things better than the devil and decay.)
- In her various Facebook postings and YouTube clips, Jessica appeared with dark, heavily applied eye makeup, her hair various shades including teal and blue, resplendent with piercings through her eyebrows, nose and lip; in short Jessica presented as a rather stylish albeit grim, confused, and death-obsessed teen.
It can be reasonably hypothesized that Jessica apparently shared her Goth lifestyle with poor deceased Ash, who quoted disturbing lyrics on his Facebook page.
“I like to dissect girls … did you know i’m utterly insane?” Ash wrote just five days before his demise.
That same day, he posted, “Your throat, I take grasp, can you feel the pain?”
* * * * *
Although Jessica can perhaps be forgiven to some degree based on her youth, immaturity and conspicuous teenage angst, you have to shake your head in dismay and perhaps horror over a “grown-up” like Ash babbling about “dissecting girls” and being “utterly insane” while carrying on sexually with a confused and self-destructive 16-year-old.
The irony is that Ash is dead and Jessica is very much alive to face the music.
Her next court appearance will be in March.
Update:
Andres Jaurequi of the Huffington Post reported in July that the court ordered that Jessica, who apparently has a history of mental imbalance, be evaluated to determine whether or not she is sane enough to stand trial:
The court appointed Dr. Jacqueline Worsley and Dr. Joanne Babich to evaluate Burlew, who pleaded not guilty to the crime in February. The doctors will offer their expert opinions about Burlew’s metal state and her ability to understand the court proceedings related to her case and actively participate in her own defense.
If Burlew, who remains in custody, is found competent to stand trial, her case will go forward.
Should she be found incompetent and restorable, she will be sent to the Correctional Health Services Restoration to Competency (RTC) program and re-evaluated at a later date. Depending on that outcome, Burlew’s case could move forward, or she could be considered “not restorable” and possibly eligible for civil commitment.
I was unable to find any further definitive information about Ms. Burlew’s case other than the fact that certain conservative groups are insisting this could not have happened was it not for the alleged contemporary breakdown in morals.