Rest in Peace, Tony Kiritsis
Last Friday an infamous Indianapolis man was found dead in his home:
Tony Kiritsis, 72, found dead of natural causes
An informative account of the incident that made him so infamous
The article said they weren't sure what he'd been doing since he'd been released from the mental hospital, but I know. He'd been going to garage sales, looking for chili recipes, buying lottery tickets, shopping at Kmart, and getting in disputes with neighbors. He lived in Speedway, a few miles from my house, on the same street as people I know from church, and I'd seen him around many times. My mom had told me about him, and when I was about 10, we were at Kmart and she quietly told me he was there, chatting with a salesperson. I guess I was really scared... my mom said I walked on the other side of her and was very quiet and looked frightened. She then told me he was harmless, and I felt better. My first criminal!
Anyway, over the years we saw him around sometimes. He came to our garage sale several years ago and asked if we had any chili recipe books or something. I saw him at O'Malia's buying lottery tickets. He had some kind of dispute with a neighbor a few years ago. He was actually a very small guy who didn't seem threatening.
I always felt bad for Tony Kiritsis, and of course for the guy he took hostage, although the hostage thankfully was released unharmed. The apartment complex where it all ended is literally two minutes from my house, although it happened in the 1970s, so I wasn't around... obviously. But my mom and dad were around- I haven't asked my dad about it lately, and I should, because he was in college studying journalism at the time, and he's worked in journalism for a long time now. He said that the people in the newsroom were sad in an odd way when they heard he'd died. My mom is an Indianapolis native, and she was at IU studying telecommunications then. She says it was just terrifying, and riveting- when he was on TV, you couldn't tear yourself away. She watched it live on the TV in her sorority house, and said everyone was watching it, shocked at what the whole thing (and the language he used)... everyone was terrified he would shoot his hostage right there. It was a "defining moment" for live TV coverage, I think. It's a very sad story, one that always fascinated me.
Tony Kiritsis, 72, found dead of natural causes
An informative account of the incident that made him so infamous
The article said they weren't sure what he'd been doing since he'd been released from the mental hospital, but I know. He'd been going to garage sales, looking for chili recipes, buying lottery tickets, shopping at Kmart, and getting in disputes with neighbors. He lived in Speedway, a few miles from my house, on the same street as people I know from church, and I'd seen him around many times. My mom had told me about him, and when I was about 10, we were at Kmart and she quietly told me he was there, chatting with a salesperson. I guess I was really scared... my mom said I walked on the other side of her and was very quiet and looked frightened. She then told me he was harmless, and I felt better. My first criminal!
Anyway, over the years we saw him around sometimes. He came to our garage sale several years ago and asked if we had any chili recipe books or something. I saw him at O'Malia's buying lottery tickets. He had some kind of dispute with a neighbor a few years ago. He was actually a very small guy who didn't seem threatening.
I always felt bad for Tony Kiritsis, and of course for the guy he took hostage, although the hostage thankfully was released unharmed. The apartment complex where it all ended is literally two minutes from my house, although it happened in the 1970s, so I wasn't around... obviously. But my mom and dad were around- I haven't asked my dad about it lately, and I should, because he was in college studying journalism at the time, and he's worked in journalism for a long time now. He said that the people in the newsroom were sad in an odd way when they heard he'd died. My mom is an Indianapolis native, and she was at IU studying telecommunications then. She says it was just terrifying, and riveting- when he was on TV, you couldn't tear yourself away. She watched it live on the TV in her sorority house, and said everyone was watching it, shocked at what the whole thing (and the language he used)... everyone was terrified he would shoot his hostage right there. It was a "defining moment" for live TV coverage, I think. It's a very sad story, one that always fascinated me.