8-24-2000 ... he broke into a home and fatally stabbed two children with a pitchfork ...
The three girls ran about 300 yards to a neighbor's home, where they asked ... if he had a gun and could "go over there and take care of this
guy". When he hesitated, the girls called 911... Police shoot
killer after two children killed with pitchfork ...
Children's wounds detailed
Merced stabbing victims are examined
over family protest.
By Kimi Yoshino
The Fresno Bee
(Published August 29, 2000)
More than 100 stab wounds covered 9-year-old Ashley Carpenter's body: one
leg, both arms, her torso, head, neck and face. Her brother John William, 8,
suffered more than 40.
The autopsy performed Monday over the objections of the siblings' family
revealed a brutality even more shocking than last week's news that two Merced
children were attacked by a pitchfork-wielding man at their rural home.
"This was one of the most difficult deaths I've ever had to deal
with," Merced County Sheriff-Coroner Tom Sawyer said. "There was a
tremendous amount of violence. A lot of the stab wounds were post-mortem, after
death. Some were deep, some slight, but they all made identifiable marks."
Transcript
from Jessica Lynne Carpenter's call to 911
Donations to help pay for funeral expenses can be sent to the
Ashley and John William Carpenter Memorial Fund, County Bank, P.O. Box
1191, Merced, CA 95341.
The account number is 0250070190.
Donations also can be dropped off at the Fresno branch of
County Bank, 2150 W. Shaw Ave.
Services for the children will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at
the Apostolic Tabernacle United Pentecostal Church, 2745 E. Highway 140,
Merced.
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Also on Monday, Sawyer clarified that the deadly weapon was not a pitchfork
commonly used for hay, but a similar garden tool. He said it was a short-handled
spading fork with four or five tines and is used to loosen soil.
Authorities believe that Jonathon David Bruce, 27, likely picked up the tool on
the Carpenter family's property or somewhere nearby. Then, about 9:45 a.m.
Wednesday, he entered the home, where five children were slowly beginning their
morning.
Their dad, John Carpenter, was at work. Their mother, Tephanie Carpenter, had
left home to run an errand. Three other children -- Anna, 13, Vanessa, 11, and
Jessica, 14 -- were able to escape, run to a neighbor's house and call 911.
When police arrived, they tried to subdue Bruce with mace. He charged at them
with the weapon, and they shot him 13 times. Ashley and John were already dead.
Sawyer said he received about 50 calls from relatives and community members
asking that he not perform the autopsy on the children.
The children's great-uncle, the Rev. John Hilton, said: "We didn't want the
children mutilated. We know what happened. They were killed with a pitchfork.
The murderer is dead. The children are dead. Why go any further?"
As the coroner, Sawyer said he had a responsibility to determine an exact cause
of death. That cause was rapid blood loss. He also wanted to rule out any
molestation.
"It's my duty to answer any future questions that may come up. The only way
I can do that is by a thorough investigation," he said.
Sawyer said the pathologist was able to determine cause of death with minimal
invasion and no cuts into the body cavity.
Hilton said John and Tephanie Carpenter told authorities, "Our children
have been butchered enough. We've been humiliated by the tragedy of this murder.
Why do we have to suffer anymore? ... If they told [their mother] it could be
done in a nonintrusive way in the first place, she wouldn't have been quite so
upset."
Autopsies are standard procedure for all violent deaths, Sawyer said.
"I can understand the family," he said. "I sympathize with the
family. The community itself was emotionally scarred by this event."
It could still be six to eight weeks before sheriff's officials determine
whether Bruce was on drugs at the time of the attack.
They are awaiting toxicology results.
The internal investigation is continuing, though Sawyer does not expect it to
reveal any improprieties or violations of departmental policy.
Two of the three deputies involved in Bruce's shooting were placed on
administrative leave and have returned to duty.
_______________________________________________
FOR THE SAKE OF OUR CHILDREN - NEVER
DISARM !
Children subjected to Government Medical experiments -
Auschwitz.
____________________________________________
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