Man strangles 14 yr old stepson in Walmart parking lot

[undeterred]

MILWAUKEE - A southeastern Wisconsin man strangled his 14-year-old stepson with a necktie in a minivan in a Walmart parking lot, telling investigators he wanted to get revenge on his wife and her relatives for interfering in his business, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Charles A. Avey Sr., 37, of Grafton, was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and felony bail jumping in the death of Cody A. Reetz. Online court records didn't list an attorney for Avey, and police didn't know whether he had a lawyer.

Prosecutors said Avey killed Reetz to punish his wife's mother, sisters and ex-husband for meddling in his family's affairs, prosecutors said. Around the same time as the teen's death on Sunday, Avey's wife was filing a police report alleging that he repeatedly struck her with a hammer the previous week, the criminal complaint said.

Cody's body was found in the minivan, a necktie knotted tightly around his neck, prosecutors said. A medical examiner said the eighth grader died of strangulation.

more at link: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wi-wisconsinstepsons,0,4016449.story

Lots of disturbing things in this story...

[NJmaverick]

1. What does Walmart have to do with the story?

:shrug:

[tekisui]

3. Extra clicks?

[kestrel91316]

4. Read the first sentence of the article. It's where the crime took place.

[NJmaverick]

6. How is that information relevant enough to warrant inclusion in the headline?

[timeforpeace]

8. Interesting that so many of us had the same reaction to the headline wording.

[Tempest]

9. This is GD, not Late Breaking News

He can put whatever he wants to in the title.

He could have just as well written he was strangled with a necktie. It's his prerogative.

[NJmaverick]

12. That didn't in any way, shape or form answer my question

I asked what I believe to be a reasonable question. Your defensiveness on the other hand, seems to be unwarranted and a bit extreme.

[msongs]

13. it is merely a statement of fact. readers can spin it into anything they wish. nt

[NJmaverick]

20. Your claim strikes me as a bit disingenuous

[Javaman]

59. And your concern as to the mention of the location of the murder is odd. nt

The kid was killed in a parking lot which so happened to be at a walmart.

So your beef is?

:shrug:

[arcadian]

67. Indeed

eom

[Tempest]

68. Indeed, indeed

He's focusing on Walmart being in the subject line and doesn't appear to be a bit concerned about the strangling of a child.

[NJmaverick]

82. lol, another dishonest right wing tactic

same coin just different sides

[NJmaverick]

81. Well if a kid is killed then honesty and integrity be damned

both are no longer required until further notice! A child has been killed that's all that matters.

[Confusious]

14. Sounds like your being defensive

I thought nothing of it. It would have been the same if I had heard target, best buy, etc.

[NJmaverick]

Intellectual rigor is not defensive

[CreekDog]

38. I like how you are spending all kinds of effort talking about Wal Mart vs. the kid getting killed

i mean clearly the bigger issue here is that Wal Mart not be named!

[NJmaverick]

43. Yeah why not create a false comparison. Why should any DUer

expect intellectual honesty from DU. Why should we hold DUers to a higher standard than Freepers? A child was murder so all honesty requirements are suspended until further notice!

[CreekDog]

60. The title of the OP was not dishonest, it was a paraphrase of the lead:

"A southeastern Wisconsin man strangled his 14-year-old stepson with a necktie in a minivan in a Walmart parking lot"

You might have a point if it was nowhere in the article and the guy went to city hall and found the police report and then said it was a Wal Mart parking lot.

this is nothing like that.

save your faux anger for a real issue. :D

[NJmaverick]

76. A you couldn't even be honest in your retort

although when you are defending a dishonest act, I guess it's to be expected. The headline was Rewritten to create a dishonest link between Wal-Mart and the murder. You try and deceive people by clearly using the "lead" instead of headline. Nice try though, you could work for FAUX news with your talents.

[CreekDog]

99. Ohhhhh, now I'M dishonest

:rofl:

just add me to your list of demons! :evilgrin:

[Confusious]

102. Bullshit

You just got your panties in a bind for freaking nothing, because that's what its about NOTHING.

Why so upset about walmart being named? I could give a shit less. Evil people do evil everywhere. It seems to be life or death for you.

[CreekDog]

108. So was the OP dishonest for putting "strangled" in the headline?

I mean, that wasn't in the original headline.

Why demean people who strangle? :eyes:

[Confusious]

101. What Intellectual rigor?

It's not freaking rocket science. A guy kills his son in a field ( Latest in general ), a guy kills his son in walmart parking lot? That's where he did it.

For fucks SAKE?!?!?!?

Whats the difference?

[Quantess]

23. or.....the Olive Garden

;)

[kiva]

17. Because obviously teh evil Walmart caused him

to kill his step-son. :sarcasm: I expect that soon someone will report that Major Hasan had shopped at a Walmart just before his rampage.

[NJmaverick]

18. I suspect you are pretty close to the truth on this one

which is why so many are defensive

[arcadian]

29. So this whole subthread is all about you defending Wal-Mart.

Happy shopping...

[NJmaverick]

34. More like protecting intellectual honesty

and shutting down hypocrisy. We all scream when FAUX news and other right wingers pull this sort of dishonest stunt. It's the height of hypocrisy to then turn around and do the same thing.

[arcadian]

40. How the fuck is that dishonest.

The kid WAS strangled in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

[NJmaverick]

42. That sounds like the sort of argument I hear the right wingers use

when they careful word things to create false impressions. I have no use for the right wingers that do it and it would be hypocritical of me to look the other way when those on the left employ the same dishonest tactic. Your are trying to imply that Wal-Mart is at fault here even though they are pretty much unrelated to the story. THat is what is "fucking" dishonest about it.

[arcadian]

50. From your first line I thought you were joking...

but you aren't, you're serious. You remind me Winston Smith at the Ministry of Truth pouring over countless texts to make sure the party line is not being compromised. In your case it's Wal-Mart's image. What? Do you just really, really, really like Wal-Mart? Can't beat their low prices? :rofl:

[NJmaverick]

52. Sadly I knew that you weren't joking when you supported using the very dishonest

tactics we all attack the right wingers for. Unfortunately the saying about the left and the right being two sides of the same coin apply to way too many people.

[arcadian]

57. What the fuck are you talking about?

I think you're wrong, so I must be a right-winger? OMC? Is that you? :rofl: The facts of the story check out and the OP has every right to put Wal-Mart in the subject line, it's where the crime took place. Somebody call you on your bullshit and you just can't let it go, is that what we have a case of here? Because you look more and more ridiculous with every post you come back to defend yourself with.

[NJmaverick]

80. You think it's OK to use dishonest tactics to deceive

that is what makes you wrong. You can use all the profanity you want and attack me personally but both tactics are poor substitutes for honest or integrity.

[Generic Other]

90. go to journalism school where they teach ya the 5 w's

who, what, where, when, why, and how.

I don't at all the fauxrage here. Walmart is an asshole place and some of the shoppers at that place are the dregs of society.

They don't care about their neighbors' jobs and businesses as long as they can save a buck. Who cares if it destroys the economy and creates spiraling poverty in their own communities? As long as they can buy flags made in China to wave, then they must be true patriots. They saved a buck. Who cares about exploited slave labor in 3rd world countries who work under wretched conditions to produce their bargains? They care more about shopping than being responsible. Excuses and justification.

And what does Walmart's corporate practices and the amoral decisions of their shoppers have to do with crime in their parking lots? Walmart has lost court cases because they ignored their own data that indicated that they would reduce crime in their parking lots by using security cameras and personnel to monitor the lots. Women have been raped in the parking lots because corporats decided security cameras are only needed in the store to stop theft. And now a kid is strangled in their parking lot. Never mind that the most basic security in could have prevented this kind of crime. Oh no. It has nothing to do with the store. Bull shit.

[anigbrowl]

19. Because it's not the sort of place where you'd expect a murder to occur

Generally, one expects murders to take place in a more covert setting, away from where there might be many passers-by.

[NJmaverick]

22. Actually it took place in a minivan in the parking lot

so it's not as unusual as you would think

[anigbrowl]

27. your conclusion doesn't seem to follow from your premise

I'm unclear why you think this is a big deal.

[NJmaverick]

46. My premise is that Wal-Mart is an unrelated fact that was included in the headline

so that the dishonest connection could be made between the story and the murder. I can't stand when the FAUX news and other right wingers pull this crap and it would be hypocritical of me to think it was OK because the tactic was employeed by the left. So I guess my point is we should be honest and show more integrity than the sleezy right wingers.

[Electric Monk]

53. Do you get upset about unnecessary words in headlines often, or just Walmart?

from LBN:

"Retired military officers cash in as well-paid consultants"

why not "Retired military officers cash in as consultants" They wouldn't really be cashing in as poorly-paid consultants, would they?



"West Virginia's Byrd becomes the longest-serving member of Congress"

Is the "West Virginia" part all that important? Why not just "Byrd becomes the longest-serving member of Congress"


I could find more examples, but I think I've made my point. Do those headlines upset you greatly as well?

[NJmaverick]

55. don't play coy

you know there was a dishonest attempt to link Wal-Mart to this murder. You would have been one of the first to scream FOUL if the right had employed such a dishonest tactic. Where is your integrity? How can you have a different set of rules for the left than you to the right?

[arcadian]

63. You can't be serious. You really think people thought Wal-Mart had a hand in this.

Because of that OP? You need to get out more...

[NJmaverick]

72. You need to learn that there should be one set of rules for everyone

if you we are going to start offering up unsolicited advice

[undeterred]

64. Your intellectual rigor has had a little too much Viagra.

Maybe you need to consult a doctor, if its been 4 hours...

[arcadian]

66. I think his intellectual rigor has the shakes.

Get thee to rehab!

[NJmaverick]

77. Perhaps refusing to be a hypocrite is considered an illness to you

I think it's sad and quite telling of your own character or lack there of.

[undeterred]

92. You do take yourself seriously, don't you?

A little too seriously, I think.

[NJmaverick]

97. I'm not a hyprocrite

if you think that's makes one too serious, so be it.

[Confusious]

111. I think its the

Stress of the economy bringing out the anal retentiveness.

[Confusious]

104. No this is very telling of your character

To get ones panties in a bind over minor things.

You must be rockin' fun at parties. :sarcasm:

[NJmaverick]

73. ahhh... humor when caught

typical and not very funny

[Confusious]

103. Oh please

Is this what you stoop to for "intellectual rigor?"

[tonysam]

69. Wal-Mart isn't even mentioned in the headline.

The actual headline reads: "Wis. man charged with slaying 14-year-old stepson"

The Wal-Mart reference is in the first sentence, or the lead sentence.

NJ Maverick has a point.

[NJmaverick]

74. Thanks

It's good to see there are others that do the right thing and not just demand it of others.

[anigbrowl]

84. I've already stated why it was relevant

the fact that the killing took place inside a minivan doesn't obviate the fact that the minivan was parked at Walmart - that is the premise to which I refer. It does not create or suggest any liability on the store's part, it's just that a parking lot of a popular store is an unusual place for someone to be murdered, and underscores the brazen nature of the crime. Murderers generally try to carry out their crimes in less public locations.

[Generic Other]

91. Are "Big Box" retailers knowingly putting employees and customers at risk for violent crime?

J. R. Roberts, Security Strategies thinks so.

For me, this sad story was in the words of the immortal Yogi Berra, "Déjà vu all over again." Just the year before I had been consulted on another case involving the abduction and brutal rape of a young college girl from the parking lot of a Wal-Mart. Again, no security was present and no one patrolled the parking lot. The young woman displayed enormous courage in fighting back against her attacker, screaming and struggling as she was seized from the Wal-Mart. She survived the attack managing to flee bleeding and naked to a nearby home. Her assailant is still at large. The Wal-Mart parking lot where the attack took place had been the scene of two violent homicides only a short time before.

So is the fact that Wal-Mart parking lots offer a disproportionate opportunity for criminals come as a surprise to Wal-Mart?

"Three years ago management conducted a survey that looked at crime statistics for a one year period on Wal-Mart properties. The survey showed that 80% of crimes at Wal-Mart were occurring in the parking lot.

To combat this outdoor crime a team of loss prevention members tested a new parking lot security program in 1994 at several Florida stores. The results have been outstanding. During the four months of operating the patrol vehicles at that store (in Tampa Florida which experienced 226 stolen cars from the parking lot previously) the reported incidents dropped to zero. The patrol program costs Wal-Mart $45,000.00 dollars per year per store."

Loss Prevention Racks Up Success, by Dave Gorman, then vice-president of loss prevention Wal-Mart Bentonville, Arkansas

Yet the overwhelming majority of these facilities open 24 hours a day, accommodating up to 2,000 parking spaces on an average, who's shopping demographic are a majority of female customers still do not provide security to their patrons where they know they are vulnerable.

"A quick review of reported cases reveals that Wal-Mart parking lots are a virtual magnet for crime"

-Justice Starcher, West Virginia Supreme Court Doe v. Wal-Mart, Inc. 210 W. Va. 664, 558 S.E. 2d 663 (2001)

http://www.jrrobertssecurity.com/articles/wal-mart-parking-lot-crime.htm

[RaleighNCDUer]

36. It is a VERY public place. It would be just as relevant if it was a

Best Buy or Costco or any other large parking lot with lots of people coming and going.

[NJmaverick]

44. A mini-van is not the most public place

and where in the lot would determine how many if any people came and went.

[RaleighNCDUer]

51. Strangling does not go down easy, like in the movies (though you

might remember the strangulation scene in 'No Country for Old Men'). Somebody being strangled can make a REAL racket - it is almost inevitable that someone in a parking lot would have heard it happening, even if they didn't see it. That's what makes this so unusual.

[NJmaverick]

54. Most people in a closed car with the airways closed up

are in capable of making much noise at all. It's Wal-Mart we can make up whatever we like.

[RaleighNCDUer]

65. You don't need to breathe to KICK - and I promise you, if you are being

strangled you ARE going to kick. In a closed space like a van, it would be like kicking inside a kettle drum.

It has nothing to do with WalMart - it has EVERYTHING to do with the public parking lot, and you (as a great WalMart defender) know how there is no such thing as an empty WalMart parking lot.

[NJmaverick]

75. I am defending honesty and integrity

while you are defending deception and dishonesty all in the name of a good cause. The Wal-Mart defender comment was a nice touch though. Reminds me of the right's FILL IN THE BLANK lover attacks.

[Generic Other]

93. BULLSHIT!! YOU ARE THE ONE DEFENDING DECEPTION AND DISHONESTY

Crime in Walmart parking lots has been a major issue.


Among the findings of the “Is Your Wal-Mart Safe” study are:

* Wal-Mart stores analyzed do experience a high rate of criminal/police incidents;
* Based on a sample of “high incident” Wal-Mart stores, Wal-Mart stores experience a much higher rate of reported criminal/police incidents than nearby Target stores;
* National estimates indicate that almost 1 million criminal/police incidents occurred at Wal-Mart stores in 2004 – or 2 criminal/police incidents per minute in 2004;
* Wal-Mart could implement roving security patrols at all stores nation-wide at an estimated cost of 4 cents a customer visit.

http://walmartcrimereport.com/crimereport.html

http://www.walmartcrimereport.com/

Husband of Woman Abducted in Wal-Mart Parking Lot Sues Company
http://www.securityinfowatch.com/root+level/1281154

More Mayhem and Death At Wal-Mart
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/al-norman/more-mayhem-death-at-wal_b_148922.html

WalMart the high cost of low price.

'WalMart is aware that more than 80% of crimes happen in their own parking lots. While there are lots of security camera inside of WalMart, outside of WalMart there is nothing. Even when there are some of security camera for outside, nobody watches the camera.'
http://wrice.blogspot.com/2009/01/walmart-high-cost-of-low-price.html

YOU ARE THE ONE DEFENDING DECEPTION AND DISHONESTY

[NJmaverick]

98. There is a certain irony that you would post a dishonest report

while trying to accuse me of dishonesty.

You actually had the nerve to post a report that was so dishonest as to try and say Walmart had more crime because the Walmart located in Dallas TX (1200+ violent crimes per 100,000 people) had more police calls than a Target located in Mesquite, TX (371 violent crimes per 100,000 people. That's as dishonest as it comes, and I am not even going to go into the size descrepency of the stores. I am beginning to wonder if you even know what honesty or in this case intellectual honesty even is.

[Confusious]

107. I'm being to doubt you even know what science is

You can't compare population sizes and crime.

The way every statistician does it *IS* to compare crimes per population. Number of crimes per large group.

That's why California, even though they have a large number of murders, have a lower murder rate then some other places where guns are easier to get.

You have *NO* idea what you are talking about.

[Confusious]

106. I am defending honesty and integrity

Hah!, that's a laugh.

[anigbrowl]

86. Where was this minivan parked? In the parking lot of a popular retailer.

The point is not that the retailer bears any responsibility (they don't) but how brazen the murder was.

[Confusious]

105. Yes, but a walmart parking lot is very public

It wouldn't have been as shocking in a minivan in a cornfield.

[anigbrowl]

85. Exactly. I did not read it as an attack on Walmart in any way. .nt

[kestrel91316]

39. It's probably quite relevant to the community it occurred in, and

there is no particular reason to omit it.

Is your last name Walton, by any chance??? You sure seem to have your panties in a twist over this.

[NJmaverick]

45. There is that reason that one should put the only relevant facts in the headline

isn't that basic rule enough

[baldguy]

94. Any publicity is good publicity.

[arcadian]

28. Leave Wal-Mart alone!

[NJmaverick]

35. Stop demaninding honesty!

what are we a bunch of ethical liberals or something?!?!?!

[Beaverhausen]

33. For what it's worth, Wal Mart spends more money on cameras pointed at its employees and shoppers

than security cameras in it's parking lots.

http://www.walmartmovie.com/crime.php

http://www.walmartmovie.com/crime_parkinglots.php

[NJmaverick]

41. Maybe I am too much of a stickler for intellectual honesty

but where are the comparison for the number of cameras inside and outside the stores? Beyond where are the crime comparisons of the areas these stores are located in, so that they can be put into a proper context? For that matter where are the comparisons to other large stores? This reeks of the intelletual dishonesty we constantly knock the right wingers for.

[Beaverhausen]

47. I'm guessing you never watched Robert Greenwald's movie on Wal Mart

[NJmaverick]

48. What does that have to do with honesty and integrity?

I can't stand Wal-Mart but I will be damned if I will employee the same dishonest and deceptive practices that I knock those on the right for. I would be guilty of the same hypocrisy I constantly knock the right wingers for.

[tonysam]

70. The killing just happened to have occurred at a Wal-Mart

It could have happened anywhere including Costco, Whole Foods, or more politically correct places.

[NJmaverick]

78. If it did, then the headline wouldn't have included the store's name

there were not dishonest political points to be scored. Rest assured though every person defending this dishonest practice would have screamed like a stuck pig if FAUX news had done this sort of thing because it was in a Costco parking lot.

[anigbrowl]

87. Sez you. I would have mentioned that.

As I read it, the point is to bring the home the fact that a murder could occur in some place many people visit frequently and think of as safe, whereas the stereotype of murderers is that they seek to carry out their crimes in obscurity. I have not seen one person suggesting that Walmart are in any way at fault for this crime, and your protests about intellectual honesty ring hollow given that nobody is attributing blame to them.

[Confusious]

109. My rule is

The people that crow about things, such as the evils of sex, usually have very, very, very messy sex lives.

Guess where you fit in.

[lame54]

37. neckties are cheaper there

[ima_sinnic]

83. lol! (n/t)

[ZombieHorde]

56. Wal-Mart is a hot topic on DU, including Wal-Mart in the subject line may inspire more thread views.

[Orsino]

58. It makes the affair more tawdry. n/t

[La Lioness Priyanka]

62. it happened in their parking lot?

[NJmaverick]

96. why not mention the make and model of the van?

[Brickbat]

2. SO sad. That poor kid.

[undeterred]

Killing a child to get revenge on the wife and relatives.

Unbelievable.

[maryellen99]

16. Here in the Detroit area

a father shot his 15 year old son execution style because the father's girlfriend told him that his son was acting inappropriately with her 3 year old daughter. The father came over to the house,beat him, and took him out to a nearby field and shot him as the son pleaded for his life. The father then got in his car and drove off. The boy's family members witnessed it.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

5. A reverse "Medea" ---

So sad for that poor kid. :(

[Echo In Light]

7. "Next, on...

[WI_DEM]

10. what an asshole-I bet he felt like a big man.

[lukasahero]

11. That poor child

Unconscionable.

My god what the fuck is wrong with people?

[GreenPartyVoter]

25. Seriously. I can possibly imagine accidentally killing a child out of rage, but

this was planned in cold blood.

[phasma ex machina]

110. +1 nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

15. IBTL.

We're not supposed to make fun of Walmart customers anymore after that "people of walmart" website.

[ginnyinWI]

21. local Milwaukee news said

that he did it to get back at his wife, not her family. The boy was her son, and they had three other kids together. The one he called was his ex-wife, who he confessed to and asked that she drive him to the police. He told her that he was paying his wife back for all the pain she caused him.

Now one innocent child is dead and three others will have no dad outside of prison. Or maybe outside of a mental institution?

I don't mind using Walmart in the post title because that is how the local reporters are identifying it. This way we know it's the same story.

[undeterred]

49. Thank you.

I was just giving the location.

Some people just love to argue and project their shit onto others.

[Iggo]

89. When I read your headline all I thought of was location.

Of course, I was probably doing a little projection of my own since, in my neighborhood, the Wal-Mart parking lot is the same parking lot as the Borders, Bed Bath & Beyond, McDonalds, Sam's Club, Payless Shoes, plus about 20 other little stores.

But I could've read "McDonalds parking lot" and still all I would've thought of was someone strangling a kid in a van. Not that Wal-Mart is mean to their employees...lol.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

71. This is one of those few cases in which the kids are better off

with an ABSENT father, given that he also attacked his wife with a hammer. Who knows what else he's done?

[TexasObserver]

24. I am going to blame the Walton family until they prove it wasn't their fault.

Walmarts are an attractive nuisance. It's impossible to drive by one without thinking "that makes me want to choke someone."

[cherokeeprogressive]

26. Fucking Walmart. It just goes to show ya...

Shop there and risk being throttled by a step-relative.

[TwilightGardener]

30. Weird to see jokes in this thread. Not really a moment for comedy, IMO.

[havocmom]

79. Yep. More interested in gotcha games than contemplating the problem of violence

and mental health care in this nation.

:banghead:

[DU GrovelBot]

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[Selatius]

32. The guy is completely unhinged. He has rage issues and could kill again if allowed to roam free. nt

[JonQ]

61. That's nothing

consider the honor killings carried out by muslims in other countries to get back at disobedient family members. That is far worse than this. So we shouldn't really criticize.

[flvegan]

88. He beats you with a hammer and you let him take your son the following week?

I'll take into consideration that maybe she didn't know about the outstanding homicide charges. Poor kid. Poor woman.

[Toucano]

95. Poor child.

I hope this family finds peace.

[AsahinaKimi]

100. just wondering

Why this was not in GD or was it? Are they pushing stories like this into the lounge? Just curious...

[rcrush]

112. "WHY YOU LITTLE..."

[dembotoz]

113. son's classmate-going to the funeral tommorrow

Kid was apparently fairly well liked at school despite the mohawk haircut or perhaps because of it.
Cody was really close to one of my son's friends.
While not best of friends themselves, they were on pretty good terms--at least for 14 yr olds.

Looking like most if not virtually all of the 8th grade at John Long Middle school will attend the funeral.
Candlelight vigil tonight.....
Stepfather sounds like a real piece of work....

just sad

[keroro gunsou]

114. before the inevitable derailment

and wal-mart bashing, i quote detective francis xavier pembleton, "a man is dead." that should be all that matters.

[dembotoz]

115. went to the service with my son-just very sad

he had lots of classmates there.
I think there were a lot of life lessons being taught there that day