9 October 1997
Green and Red
Multiple Choice. Who was murdered in Greenville, Ill., (pop. 6,000) on August 12?
• (A) Thomas Meyer, a 67-year-old attorney.
• (B) Justin Hudson, a 12-year-old mentally handicapped boy.
• (C) All of the above.
For anyone who has visited the picturesque community of Greenville, located 50 miles east of St. Louis, any of the answers would be hard to believe. The answer, however, is (C).
On August 12, 1996, Kelly McGinnis shot Meyer, his ex-wife’s lawyer, whom he partially blamed for the outcome of his divorce case. McGinnis made an unlikely killer. He was a dedicated father and a member of his church choir.
Exactly one year later, Justin, an outgoing boy with the mental capacity of a 5-year-old, disappeared from his front yard. Three hours later, his bloody and bruised body was found in a field next to the Bond County Fairgrounds. DeAngelo Jones, a convicted child molester on parole, has been charged with the murder.
Before the murders, Greenville seemed like a ‘90s version of Mayberry. Residents left their houses and cars unlocked. The town recently got its first stoplight—the only one in Bond County. The police department’s biggest hassles were pranks by youngsters from Greenville College, a 900-student Christian institution that prohibits alcohol and on-campus dancing.
How did Greenville’s greatest crime problems change so rapidly from stolen construction cones to brutal slayings? No one really knows.
Despite the eerie coincidence of both murders occurring on the same date, the crimes were not connected. The day of Justin’s death, McGinnis was in prison, serving 60 years for shooting Meyer. (He was also sentenced to an additional 10 years for shooting up the Vandalia office of his former lawyer.)
The attorney’s death resulted from McGinnis’ twisted notion of justice. The boy’s death resulted from a person’s horrific perversion and cruelty. Both are inexcusable.
The murders remind us that no one is truly safe—not even in one’s office or front yard. Despite a decrease in crime in places like New York City, violent crime will never be completely eradicated. The story is as old as Cain and Abel.
Can we do anything? We must attempt to spot dangerous behavior and rhetoric from people like McGiniss, and then we must make every effort to get them help. Yes, we must mind our neighbor’s business. If we look out for one another, perhaps, the next abductor might be stopped before a child is killed.
Meanwhile, the residents of Greenville hope that their verdant city will never again be associated with the color of blood.
Links to other sites on the Web
Back to Jeff Finley's Newsstand
Get your own Free Home Page