The things you find on the internet
Bear with me here.
I haven't been to Ancestry all week, having spent a fair amount of time working on "Skating" (which I finished the other night). I felt like checking in and looking at some of my unviewed matches, which then led to checking the matches that had common ancestors (I connect their ancestors to my tree, thereby building my tree out and hopefully connecting to other, possibly unknown matches). I then went to my grandmother's matches, and I found someone who she's connected to, along with another cousin, through a great-grandmother I don't already have in my tree.
I decided to go into my tree to see what sorts of hints Ancestry gave me about this great-grandmother, several generations back. I got waylaid by noticing little leaves on certain people, and so I clicked on them to see what hints the site had for these people, like my Uncle Stan and Uncle John's wife, since the tree was on my dad's side of the family. Clicking over into mom's side, other people I know had hints--including my cousin Lisa's ex-husband, Eric. What hint does Eric have?
Turns out, his yearbook is online. I didn't realize he'd graduated in 1997, that he was so close in age to me. Then again, she's only another two years younger than that. I also didn't realize he was from a northwest suburb, where I'd known people from camp who lived in that town, so I started paging through the seniors to see if I recognized any names aside from his. I didn't, but that's okay. Except...hey, I recognize one of the last names in the Ss. HOLY CRAP, is that the camp nurse's infamous nephew?
So, I've probably told this story before, but it needs to be shared for context. Back when I was teaching in 2004, the camp nurse popped by, likely to talk with Mr. C about camp-related stuff, and started talking to me in the parking lot. Eventually she says, oh, my nephew would've been perfect for you, except he went insane and murdered his mom!
...Wait, WHAT?
I remember thinking, what the hell kind of vibes am I giving off that I would be perfect for your insane nephew? I'm good, gee thanks.
At some point in the next six months to a year, I came across a story related to the trial in, say, the Metro section of the Tribune. Sure enough, said nephew not only had gone insane and murdered his mother, he decapitated her and put her head on the front porch like a jack o'lantern.
...And people wonder why I'm single. Ahem.
Coming across this name in the yearbook, I decided to Google the last name and murder. Okay, phew, this isn't the same person (I think the nephew is actually a year older than me, not two years younger), but then came across an article that has kind of blown my mind: ‘Nightingale’ HBO Movie Loosely Inspired By True Story Of Palatine, Illinois, Murder Case. (This is not the full title--I omitted the names, though they're in the link.) So...uh, apparently Eric graduated with the younger brother.
But HOLY CRAP there was a movie based off this situation??? Here is part of the article that details the case; again I'm omitting the names of the actual people involved.
The unusual movie, while not completely based on a true story, takes its inspiration from a true crime story that happened in Palatine, Illinois, back in 2003. That’s when [the mother] was murdered by her own insane son. The grizzly crime shocked neighbors as they learned about the case.
According to court record, [the son], who had a history of bizarre behavior and mental problems, grew angry with his mother when she mentioned the possibility of placing him a mental institution. On January 27, 2003, as soon as [the mother] walked into her home in the 300 block of North Mac Arthur Drive, 26-year old [son], took his fist and struck his mother in the face, before stabbing her to death and cutting off her head. He placed his mother’s decapitated head on the front porch, then cleaned off his body with pages torn from a bible, according to the Chicago Tribune.
He was arrested a short time later but was found not guilty by reason of insanity. [The son] was placed in a mental institution in Illinois where he has privileges which include walking the grounds freely. Family members live in fear everyday that someday [the son] will get out.
The star of the movie was David Oyelowo, who would also star as Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, also filmed in 2014.
My mind spins at all that.
...And I'm done here for tonight. All that because I thought to check Ancestry for the first time all week.
I haven't been to Ancestry all week, having spent a fair amount of time working on "Skating" (which I finished the other night). I felt like checking in and looking at some of my unviewed matches, which then led to checking the matches that had common ancestors (I connect their ancestors to my tree, thereby building my tree out and hopefully connecting to other, possibly unknown matches). I then went to my grandmother's matches, and I found someone who she's connected to, along with another cousin, through a great-grandmother I don't already have in my tree.
I decided to go into my tree to see what sorts of hints Ancestry gave me about this great-grandmother, several generations back. I got waylaid by noticing little leaves on certain people, and so I clicked on them to see what hints the site had for these people, like my Uncle Stan and Uncle John's wife, since the tree was on my dad's side of the family. Clicking over into mom's side, other people I know had hints--including my cousin Lisa's ex-husband, Eric. What hint does Eric have?
Turns out, his yearbook is online. I didn't realize he'd graduated in 1997, that he was so close in age to me. Then again, she's only another two years younger than that. I also didn't realize he was from a northwest suburb, where I'd known people from camp who lived in that town, so I started paging through the seniors to see if I recognized any names aside from his. I didn't, but that's okay. Except...hey, I recognize one of the last names in the Ss. HOLY CRAP, is that the camp nurse's infamous nephew?
So, I've probably told this story before, but it needs to be shared for context. Back when I was teaching in 2004, the camp nurse popped by, likely to talk with Mr. C about camp-related stuff, and started talking to me in the parking lot. Eventually she says, oh, my nephew would've been perfect for you, except he went insane and murdered his mom!
...Wait, WHAT?
I remember thinking, what the hell kind of vibes am I giving off that I would be perfect for your insane nephew? I'm good, gee thanks.
At some point in the next six months to a year, I came across a story related to the trial in, say, the Metro section of the Tribune. Sure enough, said nephew not only had gone insane and murdered his mother, he decapitated her and put her head on the front porch like a jack o'lantern.
...And people wonder why I'm single. Ahem.
Coming across this name in the yearbook, I decided to Google the last name and murder. Okay, phew, this isn't the same person (I think the nephew is actually a year older than me, not two years younger), but then came across an article that has kind of blown my mind: ‘Nightingale’ HBO Movie Loosely Inspired By True Story Of Palatine, Illinois, Murder Case. (This is not the full title--I omitted the names, though they're in the link.) So...uh, apparently Eric graduated with the younger brother.
But HOLY CRAP there was a movie based off this situation??? Here is part of the article that details the case; again I'm omitting the names of the actual people involved.
The unusual movie, while not completely based on a true story, takes its inspiration from a true crime story that happened in Palatine, Illinois, back in 2003. That’s when [the mother] was murdered by her own insane son. The grizzly crime shocked neighbors as they learned about the case.
According to court record, [the son], who had a history of bizarre behavior and mental problems, grew angry with his mother when she mentioned the possibility of placing him a mental institution. On January 27, 2003, as soon as [the mother] walked into her home in the 300 block of North Mac Arthur Drive, 26-year old [son], took his fist and struck his mother in the face, before stabbing her to death and cutting off her head. He placed his mother’s decapitated head on the front porch, then cleaned off his body with pages torn from a bible, according to the Chicago Tribune.
He was arrested a short time later but was found not guilty by reason of insanity. [The son] was placed in a mental institution in Illinois where he has privileges which include walking the grounds freely. Family members live in fear everyday that someday [the son] will get out.
The star of the movie was David Oyelowo, who would also star as Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, also filmed in 2014.
My mind spins at all that.
...And I'm done here for tonight. All that because I thought to check Ancestry for the first time all week.