I met a murderer before he murdered his girlfriend (maybe it was fiance but it was at least girlfriend). I barely remember him. Boring guy normally.

I know someone who’s a veteran, so yeah.

One of my ex co workers was in a biker gang. They’d find and beat up child abusers. He was a cool dude.

I only met the guy after he was released from prison. His violent act was murder, but he plead guilty to manslaughter so he got a shorter sentence and possibility of parole.

Anyway, before the incident, he was part of the friends group that I had more recently joined. So when he got out, he started hanging with us. From the very first time I met him, his behavior concerned me. I wrote it off thinking I was judging him unfairly or irrationally since I knew he’d murdered someone. It was like he was only pretending to be friendly, just enough to fool the people who knew him, but it was a thin veneer covering over unhinged emotions.

Problem was, initially the off putting behavior was all inconspicuous and easy enough to rationalize, so I held back saying anything to my other friends. They didn’t seem to notice, or if they did, they weren’t saying anything. So, it felt isolating.

In the end, that isolation was the opportunity this guy used to target me. Turns out his shtick (and psychopathic gift) was to manufacture drama between people and pit them against each other. He started with me, or at least it seems like he started with me – probably because I seemed like an easy target.

The first incident I remember is when someone’s favorite lighter went missing, we tore the house apart looking for it, and the murderer miraculously found it in my bedroom. I’d never even left the room until we started searching, so fortunately I was given the benefit of the doubt. But stupid shit like that kept happening, but only when he was around.

Where he really messed up is that he started pulling this same shit on others, and eventually enough of us did the math.

Yes. I have (once) spoken to a guy who killed multiple people. He died by getting shot himself and was just a violent person in general.

And just recently I learned that a former co-worker is a suspect in the death of his partner.

I’m still acquaintances with someone I now know killed one of their parents. Was told by someone else and confirmed on my own, he hasn’t mentioned it.

I hope I haven’t let it impact our relationship. I don’t wholly know the context and he served his time, should be allowed a fresh start without it being dug up again and again.

This happened decades ago, but I still think about it sometimes. It’s foggy, but some details I haven’t forgotten.

One of my friends invited me to the movies. His wife was doing laundry and wasn’t interested in the movie, so she stayed home while we took off. When we got to the theater, we realized we were over an hour early. So, we decided to go back to his place to grab a bite.

When we got back, I stayed in the living room while my friend went upstairs, looking for his wife.

Then I heard everyone shouting and screaming, the sound of metal banging on the floor. Heavy thuds and crying.

The door opened to the master bedroom upstairs and another man, covered in sweat and blood, scrambled out of the house.

I went upstairs and saw the aftermath: my friend’s weight set tossed to the floor, scuff marks and drops of blood everywhere. My friend and his wife were in the master bathroom, arguing and crying.

I don’t remember clearly what happened after that, but I know that my former friend beat a man nearly to death for sleeping with his wife.

Yes, I grew up as poor white trash. I have known murders, rapist and criminals, they were the dudes my brothers hung out with.

In college a guy who in my social circle, meaning I used to party with and hang out with pretty often, got arrested for attempted murder. He was beating the shit out of his girlfriend outside of her apartment building. Two dudes intervened and he stabbed one in the heart.

I remember that thread and the guy I’m about to mention is the same guy I talked about there…

I once played in a band with a guy who was, by all objective standards, a musical prodigy. Could play anything, wrote prolifically, was an amazing singer and overall performer. He was hilarious and fun to hang out and talk with too. Except once he got to know you and trust you, he’d let it be known that he was an unapologetic pedophile.

He had done ten years previously not just for possessing CP but for using his underage niece to make and distribute his own (that’s where the violence comes in). He was on lifetime supervision and he was convinced that making it big as a musician would be his ticket out of that and doing whatever the fuck he wanted to again. He seemed to genuinely not understand the evil of what he was doing and insisted it was a perfectly natural thing and blamed the system for all his problems.

Few years after we parted ways I found out he got caught hoarding more CP and they put him away for life.

I lived in what was considered one of the most dangerous areas of my city at one point. There was a teen age kid who became part of the local gang. The local gang was sorta funny. It was actually really small and sandwiched between two larger gangs and unless you lived in a few block area you might not even be aware of them. Another thing was gangs at the time around me (not sure how much has changed) really did not recruit from high school. Usually if someone made it to high school without being in a gang they likely were not going to be. The gang sourced mostly from about junior high or high schoolers who just did not go to school. Basically drop outs. This is really disturbing from what you read about initiation rituals. recruiting sorta started in gradeschool but became serious in junior high. Now the gang leaders were adults btw. Creepy losers really although possibly with some mob connections (once in awhile a fancy luxury car would stop by and there was some talk with the leaders so im guessing here). Anyway I kid moved in and man was he just jonesing for violence. I mean most gang stuff was sorta a lot of show. Yelling and shit with larger groups and then some shooting in the air and everyone scatters. At that time handguns were illegal so gang members tossed them quick as being caught with one meant definite arrest. Pretty much they were treated like drugs. If the gang ever wanted to kill someone im sure he would be the choice for their under 18 trigger puller. Its not like I knew him or talked to him but I 100% knew he would pull the trigger with no qualms. Other kids might at least have qualms. I would not be surprised if the gang leader adults were not a bit afraid of him. Killed animals and shit for fun. Funny thing is he almost never did tagging as that was like activity to get the grade schoolers involved.

I was a big time coke head. The kind that when I call dude answers. And I knew the same dude for like 15 years as he climbed up. I wouldn’t say I was the bullk of his business but I will say I was on of those clients you don’t want going to the compition.

I say to explain these next situation.

Dude would occasionally be like “I’m out but I’ll tell MY guy you’re coming over he’ll help you out.”

Domingo over in this is a major trap house. Very well trained pit bulls all around. Guns left haphazardly around. Big guns. And a girl on a stripper pole every time who wasn’t chained but clearly didn’t want to be there. Ever seen the last part of requiem for a dream? The girl had those dead eyes.

I didn’t like going over there. I’m sure my dude has done some shit to rise. That’s fine.

I guess there’s a level to “this guy does bad things” that I’m okay with. Past that line… honestly if it wasn’t for the girl on a poll I think I would’ve been cool with him.

Not that I’m aware of. I’ve known some shady characters, a few went to jail for robbing a gas station. I don’t know of anyone being extremely violent, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

I shared an office with Frank Meeink for a week while he was in town giving lectures and speeches. Which only furthered my belief that redemption is always possible. Although since then Trump has been president twice, so I am revising that to “in most cases.”

There is no such thing as evil. With that out of the way:

As a correctional officer, I cared for inmates that had done things that come pretty close to what Elisabeth Fritzl had to endure.