Secrets of the City

Was Chris Jenkins the fool who dressed like a Native American and got thrown out the Lone Tree on Halloween? I guess I better RTFA.

Wow. Holy conspiracy theory. I have a hard time taking people like these two detectives seriously. I have an extremely hard time taking KSTP seriously.

I was wrong. Wrong drunk college kid.

And yeah, nice conspiracy theory. Serial killers who are friends/associates with other serial killers killing drunk college guys. Right.

Definitely doesn’t pass the old Occam’s razor test.

I thought the same thing, until the bit about the smiley faces and the graffitti in Wisconsin leading to a body in Iowa. And if you watch the interview with the two reporters, they talk about how Jenkins’ body was found with his costume completely intact, arms folded across his chest and on his back, which is highly inconsistent with a drunk person who falls in the river and drowns.

Doubtful.

I think he was the kid who dressed as the Indian and went to the Lone Tree. Why does that make him a fool? Pretty typical college kid I would say.

kc – you’re thinking about the right guy.

Kevin – I can’t watch the videos at work. I agree that the graffiti thing was weird though.

The motive isn’t there Kevin.

They said they are doing a press release in NYC soon, and that they have names of people involved. Should be interesting. The smiley faces and the ’sinsinawa clue’ are definitely a scary component.

probably not true, but I like conspiracy theories. I also like how the smiley faces become a bit more stylized. Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

So if his costome was intact then he wasn’t tortured in his van like his mom believes?

Coo coo!

Same kid, wrong day in my head. Why was he wearing a costume in February?

And he’s a fool because he a) dresses in a culturally insensitive manner, then b) gets loaded and kicked out of a bar then c) walks around a city where people of the culture he chose to mock live.

I have little doubt he was murdered, but my guess it was by some pissed off Natives.

His mom said he was driven around for hours and ‘mentally tortured’

This job is ‘mentally torturing’ me today.

why hold a press conference announcing the names of people involved instead of continuing to investigate them?

the smiley faces and sinisnawa seemed a bit too convenient. me thinks they’re fishing for a book deal.

Same kid, wrong day in my head. Why was he wearing a costume in February?

I have little doubt he was murdered, but my guess it was by some pissed off Natives.

Talk about blaming the victim!!!

It was Halloween! He died on Halloween and it was like -100 below when the bar kicked him out.

He ws too drunk to stay in a bar so he walked over the bridge to get home and it was too drunk to stay on the bridge. Maybe?

The smileys look like every smiley graffitti that is by every river in a hundred cities. Proves nothing.

The smileys look like every smiley graffitti that is by every river in a hundred cities. Proves nothing.

The smileys look like every smiley graffitti that is by every river in a hundred cities. Proves nothing.

oops!

There is so much odd about this story, but I’d think that if I was too drunk to realize I was tossing myself off a bridge, then I’d be too drunk to stand upright.

Man, I have I’m having a hard time. He was FOUND in February. I thought he disapeared in February.

And Kevin, I don’t actually blame him. I blame the bar that kicked him out. If you are going to kick someone out, you should allow them to send a message to their friends and get their jacket.

I’m saying he is a dumb college kid who got himself way too drunk and put himself in a dangerous situation. Should he have died, or even been hurt, or course not, but any time someone gets that drunk there is a possibility that they will be taken advantage of or hurt.

I agree with kc! And what’s more, is that this smacks of entitled parents who believe the world is a nursey. When Jenkin’s turned up dead after making some stupid choices, his mother blames anonymous van drivers with no motive for his death. Sad. Denail is a terrible place

This sounds like perfect conspiracy theory territory to me. It has some of the classice elements: parents who want to believe something different, authorities not communicating well, and the recent infamity of serial killers.

If I remember correctly, Chris Jenkins and his girlfriend had recently broken up before his death and he was displaying some pretty classic signs of depression.

Hmm. I hope they have more to the conspiracy than a grafitti smiley face. I’ll probably watch the report but I’m pretty sceptical so far. It just looks too sensational to be taken seriously. Maybe the report will change my mind but I doubt it.
Serial killers don’t work together. Their mindset wires them to not be ‘team players.’

I will only watch if they can get Leonard Nimoy to narrate.

Read the documents on KSTP.com, Chris and his girlfriend had not broken up recently. According to her statement to police they had been dating for six weeks at the time of his dissapearance.

This is an awful, awful pattern. To make light of Chris’s death, (no matter what he was wearing) or any of these men’s deaths is horrible.

I think we’ve seen this past week just how rampid drunken behavior affects our part of the country (DUI stats earlier this week) and these young men are not ammune to that.

Having never lost a child, I cannot imagine what the Jenkins are going through as they try to find answers in any way possible.

Settle down Corky. I know for a fact kc wasn’t making light of his death nor do I see anyone else in this thread doing so.

And I do believe he was murdered, which is terrible. I’m just saying that I don’t think it was a conspiracy and I can see how it easily could have happened: he was very drunk and might have pissed off some people with his little outfit.

And a general question, why does the mom think he was shuttled around in a cargo van? I can’t imagine she has any evidence of that.

I wasn’t trying to be harsh, sorry if I came off that way.

I don’t understand why she thinks that either (about the cargo van) … it’s like she says that sound bite and the reporter never comes back to why she thinks that.

The words Dumb, and fool, have been used and show a lack of respect.

I didn’t think you came off that way at all.

I would assume the cargo van thing is one of the details that the investigators haven’t yet released.

Wow. What a stretch.

How can these asshats make claims about what happened before he was murdered? The cargo van, the torture, etc???? There’s this thing that typically you need before making claims like this: evidence.

Sounds like we got a couple glory hounds on our hands. Poor mom at least can now lash out with anger against some ghost serial killers rather than feel ashamed that her son drunkenly fell in the river and died.

Actually, the bit I remember was in the file (p 26). A said that when he broke up with his girlfriend from high school, he took it hard and may have missed some school. But that happened a couple years earlier. Another friend said that they thought he was mad at his girlfriend the night he disappeared.

I could see that the circumstances (being very drunk, according to a police officer, and possibly being mad), could have resulted in some sort of altercation. Especially if someone was trying to rob him or something. So I can believe that foul play could have been involved.

However, I do not believe in this serial killer business.

oh for fuck’s sake people drown, get over it.

I don’t even know how the word conspiracy came into play. No one’s alleging a conspiracy in any of the stories. The case is considered a murder and the investigation is still open. What they are positing is that there are trends and similiarities in a number of deaths spread over a large area over a long period of time. That’s a theory, but not a conspiracy.

It was -30 below zero that night. When it’s that cold out, there is NO ONE outside, especially in the middle of the night. No murders or robbers. NO ONE. You can’t even run from your car to your apartment door it’s so cold. Imagine trying to murder someone. Highly unlikely.

Let the poor man rest in peace.

What a bunch of insensitive jerks!!!

there is NO ONE outside

that’s not true. First, this guy was outside. Second, homeless people are outside. Third, people moving from place to place are outside.

And the police have ruled this a homocide. I don’t think they did so lightly.

Sure thing Officer tinnie.

In downtown Minneapolis, and NO ONE is outside on Halloween night? Right. Also, when was the last time it was -30 below on Halloween? Yeesh.

Hello! That was what all the controversy was about!!! The bar kicked him out and it was -30 below zero out and they didn’t let him tell his friends, call him a cab or get his jacket.

Sure there are people out when it’s that cold but they aren’t killing people! They are hustling ass!

And anyway, I don’t care and I have no idea what happened to the guy. I feel sorry for him and his family.

By the way, I’m from that part of Iowa and Sinsinawa is an Native American burial site and those are typically haunted so don’t mess with me!

What is it with this kind of attitude on MnSpeak all the time?
“And he’s a fool because he a) dresses in a culturally insensitive manner, then b) gets loaded and kicked out of a bar then c) walks around a city where people of the culture he chose to mock live.”

So people who dress in a “culturally insensitive manner” deserve to get murdered, and then mocked, and have their families mocked?

The things that get said on MnSpeak and other message boards/forums that nobody would ever say to a person’s face….how cowardly it all is, how numb, how, well, insensitive.

I’m tired of it, frankly….it repulses me. Yesterday, it was a real riot to some of you that kids were falling out of windows and dying…today, you talk about a kid who did something mildly foolish as if he was “asking for” his life to be brually taken away (possibly – admittedly, we don’t know, it might have been an accident, but still….)

The utter lack of respect for other people’s humanity, for the emotional pain of their families….who the fuck are you to say any of this? Really, WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?

Come down off your high horse – like you’ve never done anything foolish in your life. Give me a fuckin’ break.

I’m so tired of it….maybe these kids died accidentally and maybe it was murder, but either way, they died, their families are still grieving and probably will be forever….and yet you shit all over them, so bold and courageous sitting their with your laptop, feeling smugly superior to anybody who isn’t from your socio-economic/education background.

Fuck off, seriously. Fuck….off.

Yes, I know….I meant “sitting there” and “brutally”

I went to college, just mistyped it. But feel free to ridicule me and say I deserved to be murdered for my typo. Mr. Perfect.

I can’t believe how insensitive some people can be. If this was YOUR son, wouldn’t you do EVERYTHING you could and beg police and anyone who would help to follow up on any little, tiny clue? I would, absolutely. True or not, connected or not, I am extremely glad that this case remained open and that the status is now ‘homicide’. I don’t for one second believe Chris fell into the river. He would have had to climb over a railing to do so, and I don’t either believe it was a suicide. He had way too much going for him, everyone who knew him and commented called him a ‘happy guy’.

Lastly, please, people… focus, here. Talk about the point at hand, leave each other alone. If you’re not mature enough to “speak” to one another with respect, at least keep personal attacks to yourselves. Exchange email addresses or something… no one cares to read that spew.

I haven’t said a single thing here that I wouldn’t say to his mother’s face.

Nor, have I said anything anonymously.

Nor, have I said he deserved to be murdered, I just suggested reasons why he may have been murdered that refuted the crazy theory of the story above. In fact, I have said the opposite, that he didn’t deserve to die and that the Lone Tree should have some responsibility.

Finally, I have no idea where you came up with this: feeling smugly superior to anybody who isn’t from your socio-economic/education background. What are you talking about?

And I’m not Mr. Perfect, I’m a woman.

I saw no one saying he deserved to be murdered. You’ve read too much into it.

tinnie -
You’re way off on the temperature. The low that day was 24 degrees F. People are out and about at that temperature. Especially on Halloween night. I agree that the bar should have allowed him to get his jacket and notify his friends. But you should get the facts straight if you want to figure out what happened.

Must be Over Reaction Friday.

tinnie:

The coldest recorded temp in Minneapolis for October 31 was 16 degrees ABOVE zero, and that was in 1996, not when the day of he disappeared.

“The low that day was 24 degrees F.“

Thank you!

I hate overreaction day.

“Must be Over Reaction Friday“

ORF Friday does have a ring to it.

You would describe a young person who died, either accidentally or by murder, as a “fool” and “dumb” to that person’s grieving mother’s face?

Wow, you’re even more of an asshole than I originally thought.

THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!! SOMEONE!

What they are positing is that there are trends and similiarities in a number of deaths spread over a large area over a long period of time.

Here’s a theory: People who live in areas where there are waterways tend to drown at a higher-than-average rate than people who don’t.

it’s the cavalier tone on here that really wears me out

somebody who we don’t know died, so it’s OK to guffaw about it in our little Internet geek treehouse

clique-y, mean, insensitive, smug, and elitist

yuck

is it cryday already?

in our little Internet geek treehouse

I don’t recall hearing you say the password. Maybe you should climb down and find some friendly sandbox to play in.

the password is “mnspeak”

it says so right below.

“somebody who we don’t know died, so it’s OK to guffaw about it in our little Internet geek treehouse

clique-y, mean, insensitive, smug, and elitist“

Hello, and welcome to the internet. First day, huh?

The responses keep proving my point….fuckin’ snots.

I’m not sure the appropriate response to one comment you don’t like is to insult the entirety of MnSpeak.

Although I do rather like the idea of an internet geek treehouse.

As far as I can tell there is nothing new to report in this case other than 2 former NYC detectives are trying to convince this poor family that a band of loosely organized serial killers are roving around the nation killing college aged males near rivers.

I stand by my statement that if you believe this for a second you should be euthanized. You are too gullible to continue living and I have a nice duplex for sale on Lyndale and Lowry for $1,000,000 that you may be interested in.

wait until they take ‘advanced memeology’

they’ll be posting lolcats every five minutes and trying to rick roll us.

the password is “mnspeak”

it says so right below.

Damn it. Max seriously… how are we going to keep this a super secret clubhouse if you tell everybody the password??

There’s another super secret clubhouse we haven’t told you about yet, mb.

If it’s true, it’s the creepiest thing I have heard since….Barry Obama’s last speech.

Breaking news!
Here is cell phone video of the roving band of serial killers.

See… how can we be elitist if we let bud jr in the clubhouse?

Bud was here when we all got here.

Hmm… I would be lying to say I wasn’t a little askeered of your initiation rights Maxie.

The pain turns to pleasure very quickly.

Must be Over Reaction Friday.

The fuck it is! Take it back! Take it back right now you sonofabitch!

My comments were not directed at the entire MnSpeak community….but they were directed at a hell of a lot of the schmucks who consistently post mean, rude comments on here that make light of other peoples’ tragedies on a regular basis

they know who they are

i’ve been on the Internet for a while, that’s why I’m so particularly fed up with this kind of syndrome….you see it everywhere, it’s become a disease, a sad sign of the times….a numbness to other peoples’ misfortunes and miseries

it’s lame and it sucks, and no amount of joking about it makes it go away….but maybe if more of you called out the worst of the extremely callous statements, it’d be more fun to joke around about stuff that isn’t blatantly offensive and hurtful

Kevin, don’t get your pleated pants all in a bunch you crazy bastard.

And I’m not a sonof… I have a vagina you know.

Hey depressing, I think people are making fun of the theory that there is an organized illuminati network of pods of serial killers

Not the death of Chris Jenkins

There are millions of places to go and post if you don’t like it here. Some people even go outside of the treehouse.

TGIORF!

This is great! May I enter the clubhouse?

Making fun of the serial-killer theory: fine

calling young people who have died tragically “dumb” or “fools,” to the point that it starts to sound like you’re blaming the victim: not fine

real simple

My comments were directed toward the latter category, not the former

I wonder how many people are out right now spraypainting smileyfaces near water.

Wait a minute! A member of our community died too you know! Do you think any one of us would have grabbed Chris by the Native American costumed collar if we would have met him on the bridge that night and said, “Don’t do it, buddy! You have so much to live for!” Yes! Yes, I think everyone of us would so buck up depressing! Throw on some Elvis Costello and remember, not everyone is as depressing as you!

Don’t euthanize me, bro.

While I’m not sold on the story, it is interesting that they connected all of these deaths – stretchy as it may be. I don’t think the two guys who are investigating would use their own money and put this much into it if they were just looking for fame.

I think the mom thought he was tortured in a van because the detectives told her that. The parents of these kids may be misguided, but if it was my kid I’d look into everything whether others thought it was outrageous or not.

I admit that I’m guillable. Now excuse me while I go check in my million dollar swamp.

Show vagina first.

Say, will Magnets be covering the new trend in vagina-lifts?

Perhaps the pods of killas are actually Muslim terror cells. That is the only group I can think of with motive.

Kevin, don’t get your pleated pants all in a bunch you crazy bastard.

And I’m not a sonof… I have a vagina you know

My pants are crisply ironed. Can I see your v*gin*?

I still blame the new stadium at the U.

Kevin! Be a gentleman. Ask her out on a date first.

Kevin! Be a gentleman. Ask her out on a date first.

Must…stay…on topic. Annnnyhow…

I’m torn by what you’re saying, depressing. On the one hand, I agree that there are too many people that think they have a right to be an a-hole online and off, but the main problem is nobody wants to step up and throttle these people when they’re being an a-hole offline. I wish more people would, but whatchya gonna do?

On the other hand, if you’re not able to detach yourself from people’s death that you don’t even know, how miserable do you have to be all the time?

Eh, I guess I really don’t have a point.

since I’m the one who called this kid a fool and dumb, I will again defend my self.

Chris Jenkins did a foolish thing: got drunk and kicked out of a bar, then didn’t wait around for his friends. He also chose to wear an outfit that might anger some people. This makes him a fool.

And I didn’t outright call him dumb. I called him a dumb college kid. I call every person who is in college and between 17-24 a dumb college kid. Because that is what they are. I was a dumb college kid.

But of course, I see your point, so from now on I’ll call him an exceedingly intelligent college student who got drunk, kicked out of a bar, wandered off, and somehow ended up in the river.

I don’t know what you are so worked up about depressing. Dumb is wearing a Native American Costume. Foolish is getting kicked out of a bar for being overly intoxicated. Calling a spade a shovel is not disrespecting his memory or his parents. Everyone says he was a likeable kid, not culturally insensitive or a sot as his actions suggest.

People do dumb things all the time. Most of them don’t die.

Please stop the pointless banter. Let’s get this case solved!

I piss on your clubhouse.

The roving zombies did it! In the conservatory! With the… what was that… Lunch says it was with the spade!

i still think my theory makes sense:
humans, when completely drunk and out of their minds, are drawn towards water. Their bodies are dehydrated, and their subliminal calls them towards bodies of water on a quest to rehydrate.

Baker…it is definitely more plausible than roving bands of serial killers.

I don’t know, Brown has a lot of alumni

I’ll bet that kid from Wisconsin that was driving around setting off homemade bombs a few years ago is involved.

Wasn’t he trying to make a smiley face on the map?
I think the Project Mayhem crowd is involved too! They made that smiley face on the side of that office building.

Once you get going you can tie anything together.

Speaking of schools in that part of the world… What is with Brandeis? That place was in a perpetual state of paranoid lockdown.

Simpleton, you are very cynical today. They (the dectectives) may very well be crackhead crazy, but they need something to do in their retirement.

They think they’re alone until they realize they’re in it, now
fear is here to stay, love is here for a visit
They call it instant justice when it’s past the legal limit
Someone’s scratching at the window, I wonder who is it?

Someone’s scratching at the window, I wonder who is it?

Probably Teucer’s mom. That b*tch can never remember her keys.

It’s just like watching the detectives

I’m always cynical. I was thinking today they shut down the Lowry Bridge early to try and capture additional funding for the replacement and likely some sort of kick back from the demo contractor. I wonder who is getting the money for all that scrap steel? American Iron?

Doesn’t it seem odd that the demo contractor is going to be able to start on Monday when the bridge wasn’t supposed to be closed for months?

You ever try to get a contractor to do anything on a two days notice?

Do fucking lazy reporters ever question what politicians tell them? Doesn’t seem like it.

Saw him at the Annex that night, he was drunk. I didn’t see him get kicked out or anything. I was probably down stairs. He was a nice kid.

Apparently they have a ton more evidence they can’t release. I hope they do I think we will know more this weekend. They actually believe they have names of suspects belonging to a certain “community”, and know the “ethnicity” of those involved. If that all pans out this is a pretty big deal.

I haven’t posted here before but it seems an awful lot like a 6th grade playground the way many of you attack a family like that. Yeah poor costume decision. It happens.

Why don’t you wait until they release all the evidence before making a statement that the evidence is bogus.

Welcome to ORF during Teach Mnspeak a Lesson Week.

Okay, I never attacked that kid’s family. Where the hell did that come from?

“I haven’t posted here before but it seems an awful lot like a 6th grade playground the way many of you attack a family like that.“

Welcome to MNspeak.

I haven’t posted here before but it seems an awful lot like a 6th grade playground the way many of you attack a family like that.
No one attacked the family. Re-read the posts, no one attacked the family, or the victim. They called his costume choice unfortunate, and said that the family would be clutching at anything they could to explain their tragic loss. Pretty reasonable stuff, the real venom came from the overreacting folks with their obscenity.

Why don’t you wait until they release all the evidence before making a statement that the evidence is bogus.
Because then we would not have anything to jaw about.

Some the the tenor of the conversation this week and the ensuing criticisms hearken back to the Winter Storms of White Death ‘08 and Buttass Horrible Spring of Feb/March where everyone was bitter, acerbic, angry, ruthless, and temperamental.

Maybe when (if) we can emerge from our cocoons of misery and wintery depression we’ll re-gain our collective sense of decency and good humor.

Good Humor Bar… haven’t had one of those in awhile.

I’m curious about what “ethnicity” is responsible for supposedly murdering 40 college students and spray painting happy faces next to them. What sort of ethnic “community” is supposedly targeting popular college students, abudcting them in vans, torturing them, and then positioning them by the water so they look as though they had drowned.

MNWILD17, you have a weird sort of nerve casting aspersions to people who are theorizing in this thread when you are simulateously injecting a bizarre, unsuppoerted, and entirely incredible, ethnic or racial component into the case.

The Portuguese are not responsible, despite your allegations.

Yeah! What Max said.

It’s those nasty Norwegians.

I TOLD YOU, IT’S THE MUSLIMS

I’m curious about what “ethnicity” is responsible for supposedly murdering 40 college students and spray painting happy faces next to them.

I don’t know the answer to that question, Max, but it brings to mind my fav quote from Jeremiah Johnson

NO! IT’S THE DENIMS!

It’s the welsh, I tell you! Not enough sheep in this neck of the woods!

IT COULD BE THE REPUBLICANS TOO.

PROBABLY THE FRENCH CANADIANS

I NOW THINK IT’S THE MILLE LACS BAND OF OJIBWE

“I NOW THINK IT’S THE MILLE LACS BAND OF OJIBWE“

No, no, it can’t be them. After all, they welcome me!

THEY ONLY WELCOME YOUR MONEY. Someone should see if this dead guy won at the casino before he died.

I’m going with pirates. It’s always the pirates.

Pirates are not an ethnic group. Ninjas, however, are, as most are Japanese.

Are the Albanians still around the St. Paul area? It could be them.

ok, but then why are the detectives “crackhead crazy” and the family gullible for listening to their drivel.

Wouldn’t you want to know who killed your kid? There is more to this than they let out I hope. If not then I may change my opinion.

We may as well stop then, if it’s Ninjas. Those guys kill without ever being seen, much less caught.

I would like to know who killed my kid.

What about robots? I just renewed my robot insurance, so I’m safe though.

Perhaps there is a multi-state bust going on right now. If the FBI is involved, someone has to go to prison.

ROBOTS YOU SAY?

You could be on to something. That new King 3000 is supposed to be very good with it’s hands

From my MNSpeak experience, there has been more sympathy for the Block E killer than Chris Jenkins, victim of an apparent homicide.

When I see someone describing the decedent as “culturally insensitive,” the whole “elitist” debacle in Pennsylvania suddenly makes sense to me.

Oh well! When KC dies, we can say s/he was “insensitive” without the “culturally” qualifier.

So retired Detectives from NYC now get to see closed MPLS police files?

Where in any of the KSTP info did it say there was any new release of information about the Jenkins case? Especially from the Minneapolis Police. Did everyone leave their critical thinking skills at the bar last night?

Did they find a smiley face somewhere in the downtown, dinkytown, St Anthony Falls, marcy-holmes neighborhood?

From my MNSpeak experience

Which is obviously limited given your attack on one of the nicest regulars on here.

People have a definite reading comprehension deficit around here. I wrote “Everyone says he was a likeable kid, not culturally insensitive or a sot as his actions suggest. ” It is called nuance you toolbag. If you weren’t so bitter, you’d get it.

Glad I’m an elitist…

“MNWILD17, you have a weird sort of nerve casting aspersions to people who are theorizing in this thread when you are simulateously injecting a bizarre, unsuppoerted, and entirely incredible, ethnic or racial component into the case.”

You’re correct, I should wait until the evidence is out there, before spreading rumors one of which I swear was on the initial broadcast last night.

I could swear that I heard they had suspects and knew the ethnicity at some point, but can’t find it anywhere now. Maybe I was imagining things. I apologize if that is the case, and it doesn’t pan out.

This Block E murderer, Tate? Not seeing a lot of sympathy.

Hm, rereading that thread, though, I recall your extended thesis that somehow all black people were collectively responsible for the shooting because they’re all a bunch of babbymamas and gangsta wannabes who create a culture of violence.

So, I guess, for you, the opposite of “intolerance” is “sympathy.”

Which is obviously limited given your attack on one of the nicest regulars on here.

If referring to a homicide victim as a “fool” is considered “nice,” I can’t imagine mean.

People have a definite reading comprehension deficit around here. I wrote “Everyone says he was a likeable kid, not culturally insensitive or a sot as his actions suggest. ” It is called nuance you toolbag. If you weren’t so bitter, you’d get it.

Glad I’m an elitist…

I was referring to the first “culturally insensitive” reference. But, by assuming it was about you, you’ve reinforced your “elitist” status.

Hm, rereading that thread, though, I recall your extended thesis that somehow all black people were collectively responsible for the shooting because they’re all a bunch of babbymamas and gangsta wannabes who create a culture of violence.

No, I leave collective blame to the Israelis.

That’s not elitist, that’s narcissistic.

Not that you’re a narcissist, lunch…

No, I leave collective blame to the Israelis.

Touche. Wait, I mean:

What?

If referring to a homicide victim as a “fool” is considered “nice,” I can’t imagine mean.

I’m done with the pissing match you’re trying to start. Go back to lurking if you’re not going to read the thread and actually TRY to comprehend what people were saying.

TGIORF

ok, but then why are the detectives “crackhead crazy” and the family gullible for listening to their drivel.

Dude, please read the entire thread – not just skim before you get all apoplectic about it.

The crackhead crazy comment was mine *raises her hand* and I wasn’t calling them… nevermind.

It’s funny how you tell others that they need to wait to see evidence, but you can throw out statements about “ethnicity” without caring how that is preceived.

And anyway, it’s those damn polynesians that are to blame. Bringing their tattoo and canoeing rituals to the mainland. It’s what started it all.

I think Tate hates the Jews, Max

It’s always like that around Passover time. The blood libel starts getting kicked around again, people get all angried up …

I blame the Chinese.

preceived – perceived.

Jeez.

Now, instead of grabbing a drink to celebrate a project breakthrough, I’m going to have to drink to forget this thread.

Damn, mb! I’d freakin’ marry you if I was a dude.

As many of the victims were intoxicated, you can blame ethanol. If they left the the bar to have a smoke, you can blame the smoking ban.

So I guess it’s me.

I was referring to the first “culturally insensitive” reference. But, by assuming it was about you, you’ve reinforced your “elitist” status.

I actually am awesome, and my statement stands, as kc only wrote:”dresses in a culturally insensitive manner.” Turn in any claims to credibility as you close your browser window. There is a reason the elite make all the money and decisions, you prole.

you can blame ethanol

Children of the Corn??

Cat, I’ve always wanted an Asian trophy wife…

After scanning this thread one word comes to mind … idiots … you’re ALL idiots. What a worthless, insensitive thread on a once great site that has gone to s h i t.

I heard it was better when Rex was here.

So by scanning the thread you come to the conclusion that we are ALL idiots?

I believe you may be part of the problem.

Sure, god forbid you’d actually read it.

Thank you for that drive by insult, Justice. But mostly, thank you for your anonymous, cowardly input.

idiots … you’re ALL idiots

That’s four words. Or at least three. And an ellipses.

Isn’t there some kind of “Troll Be Gone” spray we can use??

Mb: I think that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.
I’ve always wanted to be a trophy wife.
*wipes away tear*

“No, I leave collective blame to the Israelis”

Oh, way to finally put the nail in the coffin of this tiresome thread.

That’s it, game over.

That was perhaps the most unnecessary injection of the Middle East debate into a MnSpeak thread that I have ever had the displeasure to witness.

Finding hypothecial killer(s) will not bring the deceased back from the dead.

two lesbian, w/ an asian twist, comments in 15 mins… HELLO??? Is this thing on?

Is everybody at the bar already?

For the record…My brother and I have many friends that are Native American and were always brought up to respect them. Take a visit to my grandparents farm and you will see all the artifacts and how the culture has influenced our lives. His costume a mockery….HARDLY.

Chris was also wearing clog shoes that were still on his feet. How in the world did they stay on? Every go cliff diving up north?? It doesn’t work that way. Try wearing shoes with no heels in a pool and kick your legs around, do they stay on?

Chris was not drunk. He had a blood alcohol level of .1 after 4 months of decomposition in which a body is turned into a distillary it’s likely he had hardly any alcohol in his system at the time of death (according to Dr. Michael Baden). Chris was kicked out of the bar because a married Minneapolis Police Officer who was working off duty at the bar had interest in his date that was wearing that officers uniform (funny Chris’s date never got home that night and was with the officer somewhere). Chris’s date worked at the Lone Tree so he wasn’t just some kid at some bar he was the date of an employee that worked there.

You are all encouraged to speculate but you don’t have the facts if you did you’d be outraged that police departments are overlooking this and our loved ones are being killed. You’d be outraged that someone like Chris was pegged as a case closed with no investigation. You’d be horrified that a police department gave evidence bags to a family before a case was closed. You’d be horrified to see that in that evidence bags was a wad of hair. A wad of hair that was in the palm of Chris’s hand when his clenched hand was pried opened. This hair was not tested it was instead given to our family.

One of Chris’s murders is in prision reason, well he killed a man using 10 weapons including an electric drill and then set the guy on fire.

This is a most unbelievable story and unfortunately it has become my life. We never asked for this but we did choose to do the right thing to prevent others from falling victim to the same fate.

*sigh*

I am sorry your brother died, Sara. I hope your family finds solace and comfort, and that the truth will out, whatever it may be.

Sara- Truly, I am sorry for your loss. You should take solace in the fact there are so many people out there who seem to care what happened to him. That speaks volumes louder than anything said on a silly site like this.

It does sound as though there are a lot of unanswered questions in this case, Sara. Hopefully the truth will emerge.

One thing I forgot to add. Chris was not drunk when he died. He had been drinking that day and night. It’s an indication of the amount of time he was held.

I am so sorry about the loss of your brother, Sara.

Although I have never lost a loved one through such horrible circumstances, I do know what it feels like to lose someone you love. My prayers are with you!

…a married Minneapolis Police Officer who was working off duty at the bar had interest in his date that was wearing that officers uniform (funny Chris’s date never got home that night and was with the officer somewhere).

Sounds like the sort of thing that used to happen to me. Before I quit dating, that is.

Wait… no apology for insulting her parents up above tinnie?

Classy.

Put your name to it or let it go, I would.

I am sorry.

Wow, I leave work and go shopping and all this happens.

sara- I’m truly sorry for you loss.

lunch, mb, etc.- thanks for sticking up for me in my absence.

Ummm…. http://www.rememberchrisjenkins.com/staticclings.html

Seriously?

Keep this in mind when these threads pop up. Your comments may well be read by a family member. Remember the pizza guy who got shot? His brother showed up in the thread about him.

Then the pizza guy showed up.

And the biker who got hit by the lightrail? A sibling showed up in the thread the next day.

This ain’t that big a town, or an internet, folks. Even if your point is well-considered, rather than a drive-by joke, use care in the way you express them.

I don’t think this thread was especially egregious. On first blush, the case does seem like a drunk college kid drowning. The case the detectives are making seems awfully far-fetched. This is a far cry from people making cheap jokes at the expense of a child who plummeted out a window, which happened a few days ago.

But its worth remembering that you don’t always know who your audience is going to be.

No offense to the family, but that website it VERY poorly designed. The face page needs to contain the basic story. I have never heard of Chris Jenkins, and yeah, I could Google it, but when I look at a website that’s supposedly put together by his loved ones, I shouldn’t have to ask: what’s more important to them, selling static clings or telling their version of the story, RIGHT ON THE HOME PAGE, FIRST THING? Not everyone is familiar with this case, and if they want support so bad, they need to open that website with a basic profile about the case. Maybe in Q&A form, like Who Was Chris? What Happened?

I know I suck for criticizing a grieving family, but it seems weird.

I am sorry they lost him, and would lend my support if I knew what the hell happened and what their side of the story is.

It sounds like KSTP needs ratings…

I bet NOTHING ever comes of this story. Nobody will be arrested.

How in the world would his mom know he was mentally tortured?? I need more evidence.

I’m inclined to believe that something is seriously amiss with these drownings. If you look at all the drowning deaths in the country for several years plotted on a map and insanely abnormal amount cluster around 94.

Also, I hate when “articles” are really video stories. I was reading this from my blackberry and now I’m on the internet using my blackberry as a modem.

40 athletic and well liked men successfully abducted and murdered? NO witnesses? NONE of those men were able to fight back and break free? Don’t serial killers usually work alone? Seems like a stretch. KSTP sucks.

achick -
According to this list, one guy did make it out alive (#10, Cullen Fortney). I googled his name to get the story. He doesn’t remember anything from the time that he left the bar until he woke up in the water. Freaky. Sure, he may have been really drunk. But there is some speculation that something was slipped into his drink.

Actually, now that I think about it, I’m not sure why he’s included on the list, when he wasn’t killed like the others. But maybe he is the one who was able to fight back and break free.

Yeah, the whole thing seems far fetched. But I think that there is enough uncertainty about these deaths that someone (FBI?) should at least examine the evidence that the former NYPD detectives have gathered.

Bixby, I think there’s something amiss here too… but bear in mind, there’s a lot of colleges clustered along I-94. There also are a lot of waterways near colleges. So what seems like a pattern, could very well just be a coincidence.

Or it could really be a pattern, I don’t know. I just think it’s too easy to say, Look! It’s a cluster along I-94! They all involved waterways! And college kids! And drinking! Of course, there’s no question the police took the easy way out on this case from the beginning, and that’s the second biggest tragedy in all this. You can’t go back in time and recapture the stuff that was botched at the start.

Is it sweeps again?? Was drunkeness part of the indian costume.

As Sara Jenkins husband, I have been very upset on how people on this site are critical of the Jenkins family. This was a city and state that the whole Jenkins family loved.

When I meet Sara, I was a police officer in the Cincinnati area who was trained as a crime scene investigator. When I first heard of Chris’ murder, I too was skeptical. I thought this family was reaching for something. I too thought that he jumped from the bridge. I was that way because I was a cop. Were trained to be that way. Believe no one until they can prove Im wrong. I became complacent because I thought Ive seen it all and the obvious was clear, with doing much investigation. Ive since left the profession after 10 years of service.

Over the course of several years, so much information and evidence has come forward that I can see where these NYPD retired officers built their case on. If you heard all of the evidence, which there is a TON of credible information left out of KSTPs report, you would have to think that these guys really have a good grasp on whats happening. They have names, details, you name it. But because of the greater good, they are holding back hoping that one of these cases might make it to court. They have interviewed people that have factual evidence of the murder, yet to be shown. Just wait and see.

And as for the website and the whole static cling thing&NO one from the family sits on the board of directors. The foundation was brought about to make a difference. The foundation, which is non profit, funds for scholarships for lacrosse players the U. of M., a sport and school that Chris loved. It also supports families of missing young, college males. They arent selling these things to make money. The website was made for family, friends and the remote chance that someone who knows something might step forward and do the right thing.

While as much as the murderers are to blame, how the MPD treated the Jenkins family after the fact is sickening. This is the agency that protects you? They have gone through years of investigating their sons death. Something the cops should have done in the first place. We have a 2 year girl. I wonder if I would have the guts to do what they have done.

While as an officer, after I meet Sara, I would go on missing people calls. After learning of Chris disappearance, I would take a moment and think, is this a case of something gone wrong? Or is it theyll be back soon, which happens 99% of the time. Its that 1% that had my gut turning thinking that this isnt going to turn out great. And because I never met my brother in law, Id check out everything I could just to make sure so that my soul could rest. Your police department didnt do that. Instead, they told the family he hooked up with some chick and would be back soon. I cant even fathom telling someones family that, even if I was confident they would turn up soon.

My point is that dont always believe what you hear. Trust your gut. Thats what they did and give them credit fo

“40 athletic and well liked men successfully abducted and murdered? NO witnesses? NONE of those men were able to fight back and break free? Don’t serial killers usually work alone? Seems like a stretch. KSTP sucks.”

Hi, I heard this discussed tonight on Coast to Coast.

To respond to a couple points in this post:

“40 athletic and well liked men successfully abducted and murdered?”
One serial killer, (I forget his name) used to focus on killing people in the military who were on leave.

“NONE of those men were able to fight back and break free?”
Presumably they were all drunk and may not even have been aware of what was going on.

“Don’t serial killers usually work alone?”
1.Kenneth Bianci and his partner in California, I forget the other name, or the name they were given for their murders.
2.The Manson Family

Looked it up
Kenneth Bianchi was the Hillside Strangler along with Angelo Buono Jr

The biggest serial murderers who work together (of course they have ‘practical’ motives) are the Mafia and other such gangs. Certainly there are differences, but the idea that people who kill won’t do it as part of a gang does not appear to stand up to evidence.

C’mon guys actually read the evidence before jumping to conclusions. If you read the police report one witness says Chris was mugged outside the tobacco shop. After that Chris stumbled away and the witness noted he was followed by an individual who was not involved in the mugging. The witness recognized the original muggers as indivuals who are normally outside the tobacco shop and named them. He was not able to identify the man who followed Chris AFTER the mugging. Someone who followed him at a distance.

The body was found face up in the water with arms crossed across his chest. Very unlikely for someone who drowned themselves etc.

There are other details that lead any reasonable person to believe he was murdered. I challenge you guys to actually read the stuff.

Its sad that you guys leave such ignorant responses.

dKevin, the Manson family were not technically serial killers. While it’s true that the Hillside was a team effort, I think you would be hard pressed to find another example of serial killers working in teams, which is why some on this board (including myself) find the “pod” angle particularly difficult to believe.

I’m awfully sorry for the Jenkins family for what they’ve endured and I do hope they find the answers they so deeply need.

There are other details that lead any reasonable person to believe he was murdered. I challenge you guys to actually read the stuff.

Very few, if any one (I’m not going to go back through 200 comments) here, has rejected the possibility that he was murdered. They’re skeptical of the “pod” angle.

And as for the website and the whole static cling thing&NO one from the family sits on the board of directors. The foundation was brought about to make a difference. The foundation, which is non profit, funds for scholarships for lacrosse players the U. of M., a sport and school that Chris loved. It also supports families of missing young, college males. They arent selling these things to make money. The website was made for family, friends and the remote chance that someone who knows something might step forward and do the right thing.

Ummmmm…okay…….you lost me about halfway through that.

No one from the FAMILY, not one person – had ANY say what went onto a website about their slain loved one. Seriously?

You say “the foundation was brought about to make a difference.” WHAT foundation? Brought about how? By who? To make a difference in what?

If the website was really made with a purpose to make a “difference,” they could do JUST THAT by TELLING THE STORY from the FAMILY’S POINT OF VIEW on the FACE PAGE instead of selling static cling stickers.

Again, I mean no disrespect. I’m trying to provide you some constructive feedback here, as someone who has never heard of this case until now who looked at the website for the first time. The website seems to put commerce before truth, which gives a VERY strange impression of the family. It seems callous and careless.

You don’t need to sell things to make enough money to run a website these days, most online blogging sites are totally free. Is the money going to a scholarship in his name or fund for investigation and legal expenses?

And if it’s a real “foundation,” they need to make their tax ID and 501c3 numbers public information. A legitimate and well-run “foundation” would ask for donations, have a Paypal link to make donations on the face page, and only offer the stickers and a tax receipt in return for a donation.

I’m only trying to help. You might get a better response if the website was better, that’s all. If my loved one was murdered and someone wanted to set up a website or foundation that mentioned their name EVEN ONCE, you can bet I would be the PRESIDENT of that board of directors, or at least have 100% control of what went on that website. 100%. Why don’t you?

And if some of you think I’m being too harsh on this grieving family by being critical of the website, I can respect your opinion. I probably am being too harsh. But it comes from a place of concern and experience, not criticism. My father was murdered in 1982 and the case is still open, and I do marketing for non-profits as my full-time job. So I’m not just talking out of my ass, here.

I would simply like to hear the the story from the family’s side, and think the website is the best and most appropriate place to post it, and post it clearly. Selling stickers is NOT an appropriate use of that website. Sara Jenkins’ husband’s tone of passivity about the website seems strange. I’m concerned the family, and Chris, are being misrepresented by that website, and hope my feedback is more helpful than harmful.

“dKevin, the Manson family were not technically serial killers. While it’s true that the Hillside was a team effort, I think you would be hard pressed to find another example of serial killers working in teams, which is why some on this board (including myself) find the “pod” angle particularly difficult to believe.”

That is true that the Manson Family were not serial killers. However
1.They did commit at least 3 other murders besides the Tate-La Bianca (Greg Davis, Shorty Shea and Gary Hinman) and likely at least a half dozen more, as well as at least one attempted murder. Like the Mafia, all of these were done for ‘practical’ purposes and weren’t random. However, several members of the Manson Family did state that if they weren’t caught they did plan on doing additional random killings. So, it’s certainly possible that they had hoped to become serial murderers.

2.If you look up serial killers in wiki, you’ll find a whole bunch more teams (and if you look up under other websites, there are several additional teams not mentioned)

1.Martha Jule Beck and Raymond Fernandez – the Lonely Hearts Killers, killed at least three women and one child in the 1940s but suspected in up to 20 murders

2.Michael Bear Carson and Suzan Carson- Nomandic Hippie Killers who claimed to be warriors for God on a jihad to kill witches like Ronald Reagan, Johnny Carson and anyone who stood in their way. They were suspects in 12 homicides. In 1983, they began life sentences for three murders.

3.Ray Copeland and Faye Copeland- oldest couple ever sentenced to death in the United States at the age of 69 and 75. Ray and Faye were convicted of killing five men. Their modus operandi was to hire unskilled drifters as farm hands and later kill them.

4.Dean Corll , Elmer Wayne Henley and David Brooks ; committed the Houston Mass Murders (An example of 3 serial killers)

5.Leonard Lake and Charles Ng ex-marines and survivalists, killed at least 11 people and perhaps as many as 25; collected and murdered female sex slaves

6.Leonard Lake and Charles Ng ex-marines and survivalists, killed at least 11 people and perhaps as many as 25; collected and murdered female sex slaves

The recent development since many of these killers times is the rise of the internet. I certainly don’t see why it isn’t possible that these so-called ‘happy face killers’ couldn’t have met up in a chat room dedicated to serial killers and decided to ‘team up’. That is something that could not have happened even 20 years ago (unless the killers were also freenet experts) but has been possible for the last 10 years or so when the killings were theorized to start. I don’t see why it is so bizarre that all sorts of like minded groups that could never meet up before can now do so due to the internet, including potential serial killers.

Zebra murders…google it.

1. Zebra murders: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_murders

…Too tragic and sad for words.

————————-

2. So is this recent news in the Ukraine:

“Ex-schoolmates murdered 21 in four months”
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=448489

————————-

3. I heard about the “Smiley” issue on Coast to Coast AM. I’m from Wisconsin (and fit the victim profile) so this immediately caught my ear since there’s been several drownings in the news under similar circumstances, most of which didn’t make much sense.

The people flat-out dismissing this “Smiley Face Killers” topic need to look into it. It’s hard to cope with these types of things being possible. But the reality is that the world is filled to the brim with violence and tragedy (slavery, genocide, sex slave trade, serial killers, gangs, cults, random/senseless violence, etc.).

You need to hear the interview.

Overview: http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2008/04/25.html#recap
MP3 Download: http://www.torrentportal.com/details/3167767/coast_to_coast_am_2008_04_25_fri_48k.mp3.torrent

The MP3 downloads via a torrent, so you’ll need a program like uTorrent to download it. Or post it to Rapidshare or something. The main topic starts at about 00h:14m:15s and goes for a couple hours.

Obviously, not every drowning is going to be a murder. I’m naturally a skeptic too; however, these look too connected and not all “accidents”. None of these people fit profiles of guys who’d commit suicide. And when was the last time you were really drunk + able to walk a distance + wanted to go into cold water? Something isn’t right. Some local police seem too eager to close cases either out of laziness or not wanting to scare communities.

So is it serial killer(s)? A cult? Initiations of a gang? Another “Zebra murders” group? Mere coincidence? Who knows but at least some detectives actually give a damn and are looking into it.

Anyway, it’s easy to get stressed about stuff like this. Just remember that there’s also good in the world too. Hopefully, some justice will prevail soon.

You know what? When the economy turns bad and people are afraid of their futures bullshit like this always starts to rear it’s insane head.

I don’t questions that Chris Jenkins death was not accidental. Part of a multi state serial killer spree. Never. Lets plot every death of a male under 40 with odd circumstances over the last 20 years and I bet you will see an even distribution of deaths with relationship to the population density.

Why do you think in the 70’s when gas prices were soaring through the roof and interest rates were so high you couldn’t sell your house that shows like In search of… and Project Blue Book were so successful? Does this sound familiar?

The majority of humans when faced with uncertain futures start to look to conspiracy theories and sinister plots to try and reassure themselves that most events in the world are not random and they actually have some control over their lives.

And when was the last time you were really drunk + able to walk a distance + wanted to go into cold water?

That’s easy–October of my junior year of college. A friend of mine visiting from out of town and I were walking back to my place after a party. I lived a couple blocks from a lake, and he mentioned that we should do a polar-bear swim. Since I also had the hots for him at the time, I was all for it, even though I knew it was a stupid idea. We didn’t do it, mostly out of laziness.

The fact that there’s smiley face graffiti near many of the places these men drowned does not convince me. The smiley face is one of the most recognizable images from pop culture and appears in graffiti and doodles all the time. There needs to be a stronger tie (as well as that smiley face not found in areas where young men haven’t drowned) before I’d start to get suspicious.

Ever read “ULTIMATE EVIL” ? This book describes in detail, the satanic cults that exist all across the country. They commit ritualistic kiilings for revenge, or profit or initiation rites. Usually around specific times of the year.
There is also speculation that Nazi organized crime or prison gangs participate or run some of these cults. Around for years, there are several killings attributed to them, not just the college torture-drownings.

Speculation being the operative word.

I find it awfully convenient how people can write an editorial to your major newspaper that thousands more people would see that includes your name, but you choose to leave an anonymous comment that only a handful of people actually read. With some of the strong opinions relayed in this blog, I would think you would proudly put your name to it. For the record, I read every single comment left, and I think that some of you were being disrespectful to Chris Jenkins’ family. If something ever happened to one of my children, and I had the resources to do so, I would follow every lead, hire anyone who may be able to help, push for an answer at any cost. Just because they have the money to do so, why would you fault them for that? This is a horrifying story.

I live just up the river from La Crosse, Wisconsin, where there have been 8 drownings in the last nine years of young college males. The details were always the same. They were at the bars in Downtown La Crosse, most were drinking heavily, and at the end of the night they were nowhere to be found. They were found in the river a few days to a few months later. There has always been speculation that it was not just a coincidence.

I don’t know if the serial killer theory is true, but I also don’t know that it is not. And either does anyone else. Everyday we hear stories of serial killers, child abusers, rapists,pedophiles and other terrible things. Why is this so unbelievable?

Oh, and a little side note, when I was researching to make sure I got my facts right as far as number of victims and years it has been going on in La Crosse, I found Mpls Simpleton making some inappropriate remarks in a blog about the latest victim there. Interesting, huh?

“There has always been speculation that it was not just a coincidence. “

Again, the operative word is “speculation.”

I live just up the river from La Crosse, Wisconsin, where there have been 8 drownings in the last nine years of young college males. The details were always the same. They were at the bars in Downtown La Crosse, most were drinking heavily, and at the end of the night they were nowhere to be found. They were found in the river a few days to a few months later.

So drunk kids drowning didn’t seem the most likely scenario to you? What if they had all gotten in car accidents? Would you speculate that someone was deliberately driving into them?

I don’t have a dog in this hunt, Max, but it seems to me that when something apparently accidental happens again and again, it might stop appearing to be accidental.

Obviously it’s speculation. It’s speculation that these were a series of unrelated accidents, just it’s speculation that they were murders. I think it’s “more likely” that they were unrelated than not, but the people supporting the unrelated-accident theory shouldn’t kid themselves that they aren’t speculating, too.

I don’t have a dog in this hunt, Max, but it seems to me that when something apparently accidental happens again and again, it might stop appearing to be accidental.

Eight times in nine years? Don’t people get kicked to death by mules more often? I doubt there is some murderous conspiracy of mules.

If there is more evidence in these La Crosse cases, by all means, pursue it. But don’t get angry when people suspect that drunk people near water sometimes drown.

I’m not angry about anything, Max. That was the first time I posted in this thread. Like I said, I think it’s more likely than not that these are unrelated accidents, but I don’t think it’s absurd to look at a series of similar incidents and hypothesize they may be more than just accidents.

To jump off from your car-accident analogy, suppose they were all driving the same make and model car? Sure, it would be speculation to suggest the manufacturer might have something to do with the accidents (just like it would be speculation to argue that it must have been bad driving, because they were all young men) but, again, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that — especially for families and friends of the victims. If my kid was driving the ninth SUV to burst into flames in LaCrosse over the past eighth years, I’d probably be doing a lot of speculating, too….

First of all, my condolences to the family of Chris Jenkins. He sat two rows in front of me in one of my classes at CSOM; although I didn’t know him personally he seemed like a very self-confident, happy, smart young man — completely unlike someone you’d expect to just all of a sudden decide to jump off a bridge and end it all because of a girl.

Second of all, as another 20-something male who was out on that 25-degree Halloween evening, and also got kicked out of a bar; you are assuming that the management and security staff of every downtown bar/restaurant is always acting in the appropriate manner. Myself; I was kicked out of First Avenue with the explanation that I had passed out in the bathroom…..as was explained to me by a bouncer as I was….waking around, not passed out. Anyway, the point is, there are a lot of asshole bouncers who do things because they are assholes, not because it makes sense or it’s the right thing to do. To assume that Chris was so intoxicated that he would decide to jump off of a bridge BECAUSE he was kicked out of a bar is simply foolish.

Third, speaking as someone who can remember what the frame of mind I was in in that stage of my life — and based on what I’ve learned to this point, relating somewhat to Chris at that point in his life — I find it a stretch to picture him being so hung up on one girl that I would decide to end it all of a sudden because of being rejected by her.

“If I remember correctly, Chris Jenkins and his girlfriend had recently broken up before his death and he was displaying some pretty classic signs of depression” — (as a previous mnspeak.com commenter stated) and being diagnosed by a medical professional as having depressive disorder are two different things entirely. To assume that Chris had some disorder that predisposed him to suicidal behavior is a leap of logic based on the evidence that has been presented to this point.

“oh for fuck’s sake people drown, get over it.” I don’t know if you’ve ever been to the bridge in question in this particular incident, but to suggest that this is just a case of a drunk and disoriented person falling over the bridge is a pretty large leap of faith — it would take some pretty extraordinary physical circumstances for a person to die from a fall of the distance Chris purportedly fell from alone.

“Chris Jenkins did a foolish thing: got drunk and kicked out of a bar, then didn’t wait around for his friends. He also chose to wear an outfit that might anger some people. This makes him a fool.” If that’s all it takes to justify dying, then the Mississippi River would be perpetually restocked with dead fools every weekend.

“MNWILD17, you have a weird sort of nerve casting aspersions to people who are theorizing in this thread when you are simulateously injecting a bizarre, unsuppoerted, and entirely incredible, ethnic or racial component into the case.” As an “editor” of this website, I would hope that you would be attempting to maintain some sort of objectivity. Is there any theory — either that has been established as factual or without fact — related to race or ethnicity — in this specific case, that would lead a rational, unbiased person to any specific conclusion? It appears, in my opinion, that the mnspeak.com community and editor are overly consumed with appearing and behaving in a a politically-correct manor rather than interpreting facts as they become present.

Finally, my rough theory — Chris was in the wrong state of awareness, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and had the wrong response. I think he got kicked out of the Lone Tree, decided to walk home rather than wait for the friends that he couldn’t get a hold of for whatever reason, got mugged on his way home, and decided to fight back, like a lot of self-confident, strong young men would do — especially after a few drinks. That is how he ended up dead, in the river. I don’t think there will be a Hannibal Lecter – like serial killer who will turn out to be responsible for this and every other river-proximate college male death in the last decade; it won’t be wrapped up like an episode of Law & Order.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

As an “editor” of this website, I would hope that you would be attempting to maintain some sort of objectivity. Is there any theory — either that has been established as factual or without fact — related to race or ethnicity — in this specific case, that would lead a rational, unbiased person to any specific conclusion?

I was responding to an earlier comment which suggested that a specific ethnic group or community was being investigated as being responsible. I have not seen any discussion of that elsewhere, and have yet to have anyone point out where it has happened. I am not sure what your objection is to me questioning it, except a strange sense that part of my job is to enforce a scientific objectivity among the commentors on MnSpeak. I assure you, that is not part of my job at all.

The phrase “politically corrected” is such a useless bugaboo, and I am totally clueless about how you are applying it. It seems most of us think Chris probably fell in the river and drowned, although we are almost all open to new evidence, and feel that there are unanswered questions in this case. I’m not sure how political correctness plays into that.

Max,

Give it up. People emotionally involved will never be convinced that their veiw point isn’t the end all be all correct one regardless of the evidence.

Trish Van Pilsum had this part of this story 2 yrs ago…….

I had really never heard of this case before, but was completely unimpressed by the inductive logic of “The Detectives”.

MY THEORY, through what I have read:

It seems to me that Chris Jenkins was scr*wed royally by the situation at the Lone Tree, either by his “girlfriend” or the bouncers, or both(including moonlighting cops). Quite drunk, he was sent out into a very cold night with no way back in, pi**ed-off and betrayed by his “friends” and wearing really nothing to keep him warm on a 24 degree night. At some point, either around the bar or on a miserable walk/jog back home, he was targeted(stuck out like a sore thumb) and mugged; either by scumbags who hang around that area, or by a murdering “Good Samaritan” offering a ride on a cold night. Either way, Chris fought back and was strangled/incapacitated in the attempt….ala, sleeper hold…and tore out a chunk of his own hair attempting to release the hand on the back of his head. The vehicle was in the vicinity of Henepin Ave. Nicollet Island…they dumped him off at the nearest convienient spot…either off the island itself or further upriver at Boom Island in shallow water on the river bank, where he, unconcious but not dead(the crossed arms)….froze to death. I think that MPD knows who was responible but lacks evidence. I also think that the perp is already in jail…..How’s that for innuendo?

The roving “pods” of the “Smiley Face Gang” are a laughably stupid waste of time….and are bones thrown to the grieving families who want answers and a focus for their rage. The “Detectives” seem mad as hatters, with this theory, and I cannot decide what motivates them. On another level are the media peabrains who exploit the family for ratings and sensationalism. Kristi Piehl’s “ahmahgahd” sorority sister approach to this story is comical, and when she talks in an online video about how she needed to be convinced by facts about this case…well, they are giggle inducing at least.

This case has been thrown to the whackos….I don’t know if it’s solvable or has been solved, but this latest media incarnation is an embarrasment and a further indictment of TV Newz.

aaach….typos…

That sounds reasonable, chump.

Anyone know when are they planning to release all of the information, and confront/arrest the people whom they apparently know by name?

Here is the official statement from La Crosse (WI) Police Chief Ed Kondracki in regards to the news report:

Following a recent Eye Witness News report, various individuals and media representatives have contacted the City of La Crosse Police Department. The Eye Witness News Report involved two retired New York police detectives who say theyve discovered a link between a Minnesota death and the drownings of at least 40 other men in 25 cities in 11 different states according to the news report. The report claims that city after city, when theyd find the spot where the body went into the water, they would find something else: the symbol of a smiley face. The news report goes on to indicate that the detectives are convinced that its a sick
signature the killers leave behind.
I would like to take this opportunity to once again remind and assure our community that the eight river drownings which occurred between 1997 and 2006 have been thoroughly investigated. The La Crosse Police Department requested the assistance of the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation who participated in the investigations and conducted an indepth review of all the drownings. The La Crosse Police department further requested that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, Behavioral Analysis Unit also conduct a thorough review of the drownings. Following the investigations by the La Crosse Police Detective Bureau, the FBI and DCI, no link between the drownings was discovered. The investigations concur with the findings of the FBI, it is not unusual that many of the victims died of accidental drowning with alcohol intoxication as a contributing factor. It is also important to note that no symbols of a smiley face were discovered at any of the La Crosse drowning cases.
It is also important to note that drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional death in the U.S. Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional death for persons age 5 to 44 years. Males represent 81% of all drowning victims. Males make up 90% of drowning victims aged 15 to 24 years.
The La Crosse area river drownings are tragic and unfortunate accidents. The lowest blood alcohol content of the drowning victims was .20 with the highest being .44.
The La Crosse Police Department has been in contact with many of the other jurisdictions where young people have drowned and, of course, we remain open to any new and relevant information. There is no evidence at this time to connect La Crosse area drownings with any other deaths around the country.

Well, the MPD went way out on a limb in a news conference about a certain, already jailed, individual in 2006(do a Google search for Jeramy Alford). Either they are completley incompetent(possible), or they couldn’t nail this guy’s ass down with enough evidence for the DA. This happens all of the time. The victim’s sister has made it clear that she thinks this particular perp was involved. It certainly sounds possible that this arsehole was a possible perp in this case, given his penchant for capricious violence. I know nothing other than what I have gleaned from the “internets” But, like I said upthread, this BS about pods of serial killers, only serves the to obfuscate the real crime here. This was random and therefore scary to all. I’d rather have the local ‘Five-Oh” concentrating on the local shit-birds they know about, who do 99.94 percent of the crimes rather than phantom killing squads the media fabricates along with grieving families.

Has anyone noticed……that the red “Happy Smiley Face” in part 1 of the KSTP story does NOT have horns, but the red “Happy Smiley Face” in part 3 does have “horns”????

Pay close attention to the upper left “horn” that isn’t there….then is there in part 3!

Pretty smooth editing KSTP! What a joke…..they are now doctoring photos to create drama and drive ratings!

KSTP and the invesigators are a joke if that is the BS they are trying to pull!

Give me a break!

I think they need to put out a warrant for the arrest of “Al Chohal”

Addendum:

As for the blood alcohol info as commented upon by OJ’s Michael Baden; Chris’s Mom reports the result as .12. (their website). Baden has apparently fed them the idea of the body as a “distillery” during decomposition. The existence of this process is a fact, however, it’s rate is dependent upon temperature. After looking at the weather from the time of his disappearence to the time of his discovery it is obvious that the body was frozen within a few days, if not the day, of death, and continued to be frozen up until a few days prior to Feb 20th, when the body was first observered caught in the trees near the horseshoe dam. The witness who noticed it on 2-20-03 remarked that the top portion of the corpse was covered with snow and precluded the witness from observing the the object was, in fact a corpse.

My theory(and whoodafukami) is that he was drunk, as would anyone who was partying for the time that Chris was.

0.12 may be loaded to many of us, and if it was higher(which I think it was) so what? It’s not an indictment of the man and did not cause his death. (The fucking bouncers should have called a cab…shit he was with people who worked at the bar!?)I think that he was probably loaded, per the witnesses…Let’s say .20 or more. What does it take to metabolize alcohol?…A walk for at least a mile with no coat might knock it down a bit…anger…yep…and the massive adrenaline kick of being assaulted and murdered…yep!

Many of us have been in this kid’s shoes…shitfaced drunk and vulnerable in the “big city”….most of us wake up the next day and shrug it off a few days later.

I wish I could do something to dissuade the family from going down this “woowoo” path. Their son deserves more than this kind of nonsense. He seemed like a logical kid from what I have read. I have noticed that his sister posted to this thread…..I would like her and her family to have peace…not this BS….

As probably the only mnspeaker who’s worked homicide cases, I would only say that a) you never know, b) I hope the family isn’t paying too much to get something that makes them feel better (nothing will) and c) the theory of the case being presented is so outside what we know about killings, it’s highly unlikely (but not technically impossible).

“Nationwide network of murderers” – meeeh, I don’t know. If the hair was someone else’s, maybe. I just have a sinking suspicion that there are people taking the Jenkins family money without any real reason. But this is all very armchair quarterback. We haven’t seen the file, so it’s hard to say what went right and what didn’t.

WATCHMEN is an upcoming movie (Watchmenmovie.com) based on a comic book of the same name. The poster for the movie has a remarkable resemblance to the picture of the red smiley face graffiti with the cross on the forehead. The poster has a large smiley face with a cross of red blood splattered on the forehead.

Perhaps this is where the “Detectives” got their cockamamie idea. BTW, fanboy, this story is about a real kids murder not a comic-book maturbatory fantasy….someday you (and the “Detectives” and KSTP, ABC…)may be able to tell the difference. Is that you Kristi?

…nubnuvtedgeek…typos again…errrgh.

It is plausible that one could be made to drink more alcohol (either under threat, coercion, or false pretenses). That could act as a pretty simple cover-up. Just because someone has a high intoxication level doesn’t mean there’s no foul play or that it’s an accident.

I don’t understand why some people are so quick to disregard the possibility that some of these might not be just drunks falling off of bridges. And that some of this could be connected. The detectives are looking at the areas where something might have occured, not the so-called “crime scene”. Sure, a lot more facts/evidence will have to come out to the public. No one denies that. But if they’re even coming out so far with this info then it’s likely there’s more to it.

I bet no one thought the “Zebra murders” would end up being connected to some cult/club, but that’s what happened. Being objective means being open to all possibilities and skeptical of all sides. The fact is, f’d-up things are sometimes reality.

It is plausible that one could be made to drink more alcohol (either under threat, coercion, or false pretenses). That could act as a pretty simple cover-up. Just because someone has a high intoxication level doesn’t mean there’s no foul play or that it’s an accident.

It’s possible. In this instance, I don’t know about plausible.

glad this didn’t get added to the list…

Two men planned to end their lives this weekend by jumping into area rivers, La Crosse police said Monday.

Police reserves patrolling Riverside Park as part of Operation: River Watch found a 21-year-old male about 12:45 a.m. near the Logistics Health Inc. buildings.

He fled north from police through Riverside Park to the curb of the levy. Police called to the man to back down from the ledge and lay down, which the man did.

He told officers he planned to jump into the river to commit suicide, police said. The man registered a 0.23 percent preliminary breath test and was taken to a La Crosse hospital for a mental health evaluation.

The second incident occurred about 4 p.m. Sunday when a male jumped into the Black River near the Rivers Edge Apartments on Gillette Street, police said.

He later climbed out of the water, where someone found him soaking wet and called a friend who took him to a local hospital. He was taken for a mental health evaluation and told officers he was trying to kill himself, police said.

The man refused a breath test, but officers said he was intoxicated.

Police were eager Monday for us to print these events in Tuesdays Tribune, but the newspapers stance is that it does not print such incidents, with exceptions made for a suicide of a public official or a suicide that occurred in a public place.

Still, we thought the public should know about the incidents, given the citys history of intoxicated men drowning in area rivers and subsequent fears of a serial killer.
.

I hope the people who have said some really awful, insensitive things about the Jenkins case (and subsequently other cases), feel some actual remorse. It’s sad that the anonymity of the internet leads to such terrible things being said.
There are too many coincidences to be overlooked as just kids getting drunk and falling to their deaths. What are the odds that not one in over 40 men wouldn’t be, say overweight. Or 5 foot 5? And what about the fact that no women have died this way in these towns, when the amount of young women drinking to dangerous levels has exploded in recent years? If 40-50 young women in college towns died this way, greater action would be taken in insuring that something like this wouldn’t happen. There are actually over 100 young men that fit the drunk-drowning profile, but to actively have clues to connect 40-50 of them? Frankly, that is a little suspicious.

The clues are mysterious at best, disturbing at least, and guess what idle interweb groupies? We don’t even have all the clues. We’re on a thread discussing things that we really can only speculate upon.

disturbing: The detectives requested that 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS hold back some key details of the murders such as motive and the identities of the informants. They hope that information will someday be used to file criminal charges.

….why wait??

Because if they release the details now then no one will buy their book.

i dont understand how this “evidence” such as the body being face up and river tidal patterns support their theory. lets not forget that it was four months in minnesota in a frozen river. i’m not trying to be insensitive but its impossible to make any conclusions about what happened to anything, let alone a human, after four months of decomposition in a frozen river.

http://msp.blogs.com/brianlambert/2008/04/kstps-psycho-ki.html

This story makes me think of Jimmy McNulty tying red ribbons around the wrists of dead homeless guys…

It’s sad that the anonymity of the internet leads to such terrible things being said. You are just terrible!

When I go to the “laturvatory” to “maturbate” I can check for you chumpsie. I know you wanna see it
Until then, I hope your “real life (no, reaaally, like fer real dude, not plastic) kids” the families of the deceased men my find peace.

What the? This conversation is going off the rails. Please reign it in.

If you watch all the interviews, the investigators say they have a witness to one of the crimes (maybe Jenkins murder?). So they feel they have enough evidence to have other cities look at their old cases.
The more forums you read, the more people have similar stories about victims who weren’t drunk, who were excellent swimmers, or who didn’t have easy access to just “fall in” the water. In NYC, the guy would have to cross several lanes of speeding highways, city blocks, climb over fences and rails, and hike a rocky hillside to “stumble in.” And this man was known to be a very kind charitable person, that night he had waited on the street to escort a college girl home from the city on the subway, but vanished and his body found in the river.
These families deserve answers.

As for the local police, we all know how helpful they can be in matters of serial murders.
It was the local police who found a naked crying boy on the street and brought him back to the waiting arms of Jeffrey Dahmer.
A “lovers spat” they called it. Dahmer drugged, raped, tortured and ate the boy.
“To Serve and Protect”

More on the incompetence of the police and FBI in the Dahmer case: http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/dahmer/2.html

It is my understanding that the theory about Chris Jenkins being driven around and tortured for four hours came from a previous detective the family hired.

This detective used two different blood hounds on two different days within a week of the disappearance to trace Jenkins’s scent to an underground parking garage near the bar. On another website, I read that he was possibly suffocated with saran wrap and this is why there was little water in his lungs.

After the Jenkins family’s investigation gained publicity, the NY detectives contacted them, because they saw similarities between the Jenkins case and their own case from 1997 (Patrick McNeill) and hoped to make a connection.

The motive of the detectives, according to most reports, is to fulfill a promise Gannon made to McNeill’s mother that he would find McNeill’s killer. It is also my understanding that they do not accept money from the victims’ families.

My personal opinion is that the detectives are grasping at straws with the smiley face angle (although I may change my mind if they ever present their evidence), but if the publicity they are getting leads to further investigation into all of these alleged drownings they will have accomplished something.

Hey KG….I laugh in your general direction(hah)…Your response proves that I’ve obviously hit a nerve.

ditto
or in your speak: dotto

Wow. You guys in the Midwest are awfully sensitive. Here in Philly you can dress like an Indian and stick feathers up your ass and no one would find that “culturally insensitive”. It is what Indians wore-BFD-it is no more insensitive then dressing like Ben Franklin and wearing a white wig. Chris Jenkins was murdered, probably given GHB or some other such drug-his blood alcohol was not that high and he was never kicked out of the club-read the police reports. He wasn’t despondent and Idoubt that he wanted to go swimming. If it feels better to live in denial, then go for it, it doesn’t change the truth.

plain jane-your “truth” is purely your speculation and it is clear that you are the one in denial. Just because the case was changed to homicide does not mean there is a band of serial killers running a muck. I’ve read the case reports—there is little to support that this case is even a homicide. GHB? Where did you come up with this one? And his blood alcohol level was not that high? Um, yeah after four months in a frozen river–Quit watching CSI and believing what privately hired (and paid) “detectives” are saying; maybe then you can know the “truth”.

I have no problem believing that young men are getting too drunk and dying tragic deaths without it being a mass murder case. If you’ve worked in a college dorm, you see it every night of the week. Instead of pouring money into this investigation, there is a lot more we can do to help these kids realize their behavior is self-destructive and find out why they are drinking so much in the first place.

What about all those guys missing from British Columbia that have very similar demographics plus there’s more than smiley faces there’s writings that point to a group/cult,etc. some of it seems to point to native american writings (like quotes from a book, forgot the author but I found it on a website that had a lot of pictures of the “smiley face killers” symbols, not just the smilies, which personally remind me of son of sam for some reason) but that could all be a rouse/distraction, search for it on google/youtube/wikipedia. All the evidence is so overwhelming and that there’s connections all across states, particurally La Crosse,WI. There’s some evidence that the killings go back before ten years ago, also there was one thing I heard was that the same time Chris Jenkins went missing on the same weekend one in NY who was actually originally from MN and then Chris Jenkins-pretty sure it was Chris Jenkins if he was the one wearing the Native American costume for Halloween, many sources suggest that maybe it had to do with the Halloween costume. There’s so many theories including that the young men had been stalked without them knowing it since a lot of their academic lives our similar. Also not all of the victim’s were white and I think that it’s more than one killer that they’re all interconnected and that as the years past their perfecting their techniques so to speak.BY the way this is from a freshman college student who is interested in Criminology and has been watching America’s Most Wanted and court tv/tru tv for over 13 years now. Also some of the streets have something in common I think it’s where some (or maybe just 2 can’t quite remember” of the guys go missing the street name has the word “high” in it. and then there’s the Sinsinawa that can be taken as that or as an anagram of some sort with the words sin. And then of course there’s the anticapitalist route, maybe all these men represent something that the killers hate such as capitalism in America. Anyway odds are that those killers haven’t just killed in the Midwest region or Canada but as years go by have gotten bolder in their killings. What do you all think?
-Charleston Girl.

Also it’s kind of weird that at the same time blonde haired girls/prostitutes/showgirls having ties to LV all/most of their bodies are being found on I-94. Not saying it’s connected but in that case it’s all woman the drownings are all athletic pretty good looking college guys or maybe there’s something special about Michigan or that area that draws killers to it-once again son of sam’s talk of Michigan.
Also I read somewhere that there has been a survivor of course his name wasn’t released he just woke up in the river, struggled around, found his way to shore, was all muddy and crap, got to a hospital but he couldn’t remember anything, once again suggesting a drug like GHB or maybe a sedative could’ve been involved in all of these cases. Of course once there’s more leads in these cases I think it’s going to shock Americans to the core, not that it doesn’t scare the shit out of people already just knowing the circumstances of all of those young guys dissapearances and in many cases a recovery of the body…and then the whole Sinsiwaw(sp.?) leading to another body thing. probably the serial killer/killers statement of “oh you think these deaths are accidental well take a look at this I just led you to a body with the word Sinsiwa(sp.?) which happens to be the street right near a river where one of the guys was found later, coincidence-no way. The FBI needs to do more with this case seriously, also a lot of the public in the US(not the people living in the midwest but those in the south or central parts of the country) wouldn’t even know what your talking about when you mention the “smiley face killers” and I bet if the FBI opened older cases that were deemed accidental death by drowning etc. and not just in the midwest but also in Canada/around the border of Canada/hell even across the US, especially in the last 20 years a hell of a lot more cases would come up being connected to this. It’s horrible that it took this long and thank goodness for those 2 retired NYPD guys to actually examine things and say hmm this isn’t right, besides I can understand accidental drowning but not in these cases, in fact there could be multiple people/killers involved in this, and of course the water destroys a lot things including dna. If these cases are ever solved/closed that would be a huge mystery solved and the families would finally have closure and I for one think that that would be a really great thing, but who knows the statistics on this being solved and when it is solved knowing just how many people were murdered, it could be in the hundreds for all we know. Personally I think to do those horrible things to those young men you have to be on a power trip and probably be a really narcisistic bastard, or maybe not maybe all the killers are really cowards, we’ll never know that either but what we do know is that there’s still missing young men whose disappearances are thought to be linked to this but they haven’t been found in rivers or lakes and those are the families that I really feel for the not knowing if their alive, thinking they could be dead,etc.

When did they stop teaching how to create paragraphs?