Odd Circumstances Surround Jail “Suicide”

By Dennis Griffin

On February 23 1990, the Paulsboro, New Jersey police department received an anonymous phone call reporting an incident of domestic violence at 1546 South Delaware Street, the residence of 25-year-old Gerald “Jerry” Kearney and his family. When police arrived there was an argument going on between Jerry and his wife Chyrll. Although she begged the police not to arrest him, four officers removed him from the home and took him to jail. Shortly after being placed in his cell, Jerry allegedly used his T-shirt to hang himself.

Jerry grew up in a dysfunctional home and suffered abuse at the hands of his father. He and Chyrll were married on June 9, 1984. At the time of his death the couple had three children, and Chyrll was pregnant with their fourth. Jerry was excited about the pregnancy and had just received invoices and business cards for his new landscaping business.

According to his sister Kathleen Kearney, Jerry was a good, caring man who loved his family very much. But he was by no means an angel, having had numerous run-ins with the law, mainly for theft.

On the night of his death, Jerry called Kathleen and asked her to come over and babysit so he and his wife could go out. When she arrived about an hour later, she noticed tiny droplets of blood on the steps leading to the front door, and learned that Jerry had already been arrested and taken to jail.

A short time later, a police sergeant who had been one of the arresting officers came to the door. He told Kathleen and Chyrll that Jerry had an outstanding warrant for a $25 traffic ticket. Kathleen explained that all of Jerry’s warrants had been taken care of in January, when her parents put their house up as collateral to bail him out of jail. The officer said he would go back to the station and check further. Twenty minutes later he came back and said Jerry would be released as soon as the paperwork was done. Kathleen had been right, there were no outstanding warrants and they were not going to charge him in the domestic incident.

After a brief time passed the sergeant was back again. This time he was accompanied by an assistant prosecutor. They said that Jerry had hanged himself in his cell and was dead.

When Jerry was pronounced DOA at the hospital, the attending physician refused to sign the death certificate. When Jerry’s parents got to the hospital to identify his body, they were denied access. A priest, who had been called to administer last rights, was also denied access to the body.

Paulsboro is located in Gloucester County. However, the medical examiner, Dr. Claus Speth, was attending a convention in Ohio at the time and the medical examiner from Burlington County should have received the body. But for unknown reasons, the police chief placed a call to Dr. Speth and asked him to return and do Jerry’s autopsy as a personal favor. The next day Dr. Speth performed the autopsy. Afterward, he called Jerry’s parents and told them he believed Jerry had been murdered. He said he’d make a final decision after conferring with the police.

Although Jerry’s family doesn’t know for sure what happened at that meeting, they have heard that the session was recorded on an audio tape. Allegedly, one of the arresting officers stated that he’d slammed Jerry’s face into the concrete walkway. However, whatever his reasons, Dr. Speth ruled the death a suicide.

The official reports state that Jerry fell down the steps. But some witnesses say that Jerry was screaming “I’m not resisting, I’m going peacefully,” as officers dragged him down the steps by his feet, with his head bouncing off the concrete steps.

Some witnesses say they saw Jerry unconscious or possibly lifeless at the bottom of the steps. Kathleen states that the autopsy showed Jerry had two black eyes, a split lip, multiple bruises, neck injuries not consistent with a hanging, and his voice box and thyroid glands were hemorrhaged.

According to Kathleen, one of the involved officers had been fired from other police agencies for incidents involving brutality and his records were sealed after each firing. This is the same officer who allegedly told Dr. Speth that he slammed Jerry’s head into the walkway.

Of further concern to Jerry’s family, the police told them that the T-shirt Jerry used to hang himself was lost and unavailable for examination. In addition, the authorities claim the security cameras in the facility were not operational at the time of the incident.

Was Jerry Kearney’s death suicide or homicide? The family may never know for sure. 

For discussion about this case, and others where there has not been a satisfactory resolution, please visit the Crime Wire Website Forum.

Dennis Griffin is a nationally known true crime author and part of the Crime Wire Team.

www.dennisngriffin.com

Dedicated to Those Who Still Have a Fighting Chance

By Lyn Twyman

It's been almost 11 years ago that I met a beautiful young man who was dying of cancer at the tender age of 18.  I had heard about his struggle with cancer in the local newspaper and new that someone needed to reach out to him and his family.  I was working a full time job then so I asked my preacher at the time if he would pay this young man a visit and he promised me he would.  After 2 or 3 weeks had gone by, I learned that my preacher had not kept his word and I became livid.  'Why am I giving this man my tithe money when he can't even get his ass in the car and visit someone who is sick as the rest of us are at work struggling to make a living?' I thought.  

I then made the decision to make the visit myself and I asked another church member, who knew the family of the young man, if she would go with me to visit them after I got off from work.  She agreed and in the cold and chill of December, we drove down an old, back country road to a white cottage in the darkness of the night out in the woods.  Once we arrived at the home, we were met by some of the friendliest of people, given the circumstances.  The new friend that I met that night, who I always call now my Charlie, was laying in the living room on his hospital bed, connected to a morphine pump as his source of pain relief and sustenance. 

What happened that night I have never forgotten as I watched this young man, who did not have much left to his frail being, wake from his sleep  and he began speaking to me, though he couldn't see me as the cancer had taken most of his sight.  We talked and I learned about his favorite instrument, his favorite sport, even his favorite flower.  I also prayed with him that night asking God to be by his side and Charlie received assurance that he would go to meet his Maker.  Minutes later, he drifted back to sleep but before he did, I gave him a red Bible. 

Charlie died three days later on December 26th and after speaking with his mother after the funeral had taken place, I learned that he was buried with the same Bible I had given him.  I also learned from his mother that the visit I had paid him gave him renewed strength that she had not seen from him in a while.   He was a more cheerful person in his last three days, making mention of me several times and wanting to know where his Bible was.  On Christmas day, after weeks of not eating because of the effects from the morphine, he awoke asking to get dressed and ate his last meal ever with his family.  I didn't know that the time I had left to reach him wasn't that long.  I didn't know that Charlie was on the verge of death the night we went to see him.  The local newspaper had minimized the state of his condition. 

Just like my angel, Charlie, whose life was claimed by a gruesome disease called cancer, there are many victims of domestic violence who are also on the verge of death.  If you and I don't get to them, don't talk to them, don't reach out to them soon, and just wait for other people and organizations to do the work when you and I are just as capable, then it just may be too late.  If we can save them or offer some kind of hope to help them move on and be empowered to take the next steps, then we've doing our job. 

I know my Charlie died, but he needed someone to come to him and give him some kind of hope as his fate was near.  For those who are being victimized by domestic violence, they still have a fighting chance, however, and that's the point I want to get across today. 

 So I challenge all of us who are fighting for the rights of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault to crime victimization, please remember that each person deserves the help and support.  It’s not too late. Each person deserves to be kept safe from their abuser and out of harm’s way with whatever it takes.  Judges, prosecutors, police officers and advocates reading this, ask yourselves are your departments doing all they can do to protect victims?  Politicians and legislators, are you passing laws to keep victims safe or what’s holding you back from making the right decisions to protect your citizens?  Is it that one little clause in a bill that needs to be modified that’s preventing you from voting on it?  If so, then for Heaven’s sake come to a compromise, get it changed and pass that bill!  And family, friends, co-workers, what’s keeping you from talking to the person you love or know about getting help as they are being abused? 

If all of us wait for the next guy to come around, just like the lazy preacher I once had, what we’re called to do by Divine Intervention, Providence or Karma will never happen.  So let’s take the time to make this coming holiday and new year a time to be more proactive in our fight for all of humanity.  There are some things we just know we must do that are right.  Someone needs you.  Don’t let anything hold you back.

~Dedicated to my Charlie.  Called home to be with his Maker December 26, 1999.~

There Is No Freedom Without The Truth

By Karen Rae Elkins

Abe Lincoln said, "How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg". There is no freedom without the truth. Violence is a crime. Love doesn't leave bruises, fractures, or warrant the taking of a life. There are no exceptions to this fact. For the next year I pledge to share my thoughts, views and information as I, SOS, (search out solutions) concerning domestic violence through the blog at Time's Up!

The first truth I'd like to share is, "No one has the right to hit you, regardless". If you are a victim, tell yourself what he or she is doing is a crime. You are living with a criminal. I have issues with the the dirty little words "domestic violence." Domestic violence is assault, regardless of whether you know the perpetrator or not. These acts of violence are magnified by the fact that they are carried out by someone who claims to love you.

Second, you know your offender better than anyone. There isn't a one plan fits all situations when leaving. Every situation, every reaction is different. There are safety nets out there to help you end the cycle of abuse.You must become the General in the war within your home.

Not everyone plays by the rules. Stand up for yourself. Make no mistake in thinking justice is blind, fair or balanced by the evidence. Our justice system can often compound the problem. Justice is often corrupt and upheld by the leaders in your community. Sometimes when you stand before the judge, the charges will dumbed down. I believe these options should be taken off the table. If you have the police report, photographs, and medical records what gives any judge the right to decide in favor of releasing a rabid violent perpetrator?

Attitudes must change from the bench down. Judges should be removed for making it easier to commit this crime over and over. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if a judge is held accountable when the results of his decision leads to the death of the victims of domestic violence. He too, is responsible in part for the war within our homes. Justice served would be a shared jail cell with the person he released to commit murder.

I am a believer in the 2 strike rule penalty. If a violent abuser crosses the line twice and strikes again, he shouldn't get a "get out of jail free card". He should go straight to jail for no less than 3 years with no reduced sentence for good behavior. This give you, the victim, time to rebuild your life. His assets should be seized, sold, and given to you as victims compensation, not only for the torment you have suffered, but financially it can ease dependence on organizations for temporary housing. Three years will give victims time to heal scars and rebuild their life free from abuse.

The person who hits you or forces you to have sex would be sitting in jail if he tried the same on a stranger. Not the second time, but the first offense. He can't beat the server at a restaurant because he ordered a steak medium rare and cuts into a well done piece of meat. He can't force a sales clerk into sex, often deviant sex acts, just because he thinks she should want it. So why should a judge make a ruling based on the fact that you know the perpetrator? It's a crime, plain and simple. This type of criminal enjoys inflicting pain. He is a predator with a killer instinct. He wants to kill all that is good in you.

I want to compel those living with abuse to step into the journey that will lead them to a place of safety. The transformation will not be an easy river to cross as you move from victim to survivor to warrior... Hell bent on beating the odds. Your life will be riddled with danger, obstacles, stigmas, and discrimination. Are you worth it? Certainly. Can you do it? I did. When you cross the turbulent waters, you will love yourself.

One of the first mistakes you may have made is in the thought, "It isn't that bad, or I can control it." This thought could prove to be fatal. Trust your instinct. Fear is your friend. You are fighting a war. Don't negotiate with the liar who claims to love you and raises his fist to you. Cut off all contact. Be strong and develop your strategy for victory over abuse. Will you win every battle? It's doubtful, but keep your eye on winning the war.

Truths are easy to understand, sometimes not pretty, and often hidden right under our nose when they are discovered. How do you discover the truth concerning domestic violence? You survive it... and then one day share what you've learned with others trying to process the costly results of abuse.

I've adopted a phrase written by Maya Angelou "I can be changed by what has happened to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it". Amen.

By the time you read this blog, I will be working the production side one of the largest celebrated bass fishing events. An event when the top 100 anglers in the world compete for $500,000. 00 dollars and the title of Champion. These men are hero's and mentors in my world. They've welcomed me into a world where I can live my dreams in the present. One day, maybe I will get the opportunity to fish such a prestigious event.

Whatever your dream is, take the chance. Be safe, be informed, be strong enough to ask for help and live your dreams. Life is too precious to live with the horror that can tear you apart piece by piece, moment by angry moment.

Until next time I write, I will be fishing steady for the little green monsters called the black bass and I'll be fishing for you! I'm hoping to pull you out of the deep waters of abuse.

Much love, courage and peace to you. karen

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