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Since the 1994 film Natural Born Killers was released, several attacks suspected to be copycat crimes have been committed by fans of the film, mostly by high school students within the age range of 15 to 18. Though apparent links have been claimed between the film and most of the incidents described below, certain causality has not been proven.
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On March 5, 1995, Sarah Edmondson and her boyfriend Benjamin James Darras (both 18) spent a night alone together at her family's cabin in Muskogee, Oklahoma, watching Natural Born Killers. Two days later, they left the cabin and packed Edmondson's Nissan Maxima with blankets and a .38-caliber revolver. They allegedly left Muskogee to attend a Grateful Dead concert in Memphis, Tennessee. On March 7, they arrived in Hernando, Mississippi, when Darras killed cotton-mill manager William Savage by shooting him twice in the head at point blank range. Darras then took a piece of blood-stained fabric from Savage to keep as a token. Later, with Edmondson, he spoke openly about killing Savage. They then travelled to Ponchatoula, Louisiana, where Edmondson shot Patsy Byers, a convenience store cashier. Byers survived the attack, being rendered quadriplegic. Savage had been a friend of best-selling author John Grisham, who publicly accused Oliver Stone of being irresponsible in making the film, stating that filmmakers should be held accountable for their work when it incites viewers to commit violent acts.
In July 1995, Byers took legal actions against Edmondson and Darras, and in March 1996 she amended her lawsuit to include Stone and the Time Warner company. With the advice of Grisham, Byers used a "product liability" claim, stating that the filmmakers "knew, or should have known that the film would cause and inspire people [...] to commit crimes such as the shooting of Patsy Ann Byers." Grisham wrote in an article called "Unnatural Killers" in the April 1996 edition of the Oxford American magazine, "The last hope of imposing some sense on Hollywood will come through another great American tradition, the lawsuit. A case can be made that there exists a direct causal link between Natural Born Killers and the death of Bill Savage. It will take only one large verdict against the likes of Oliver Stone, and then the party will be over." On January 23, 1997, on the grounds that filmmakers and production companies are protected by the First Amendment, the case was dismissed, but Byers immediately appealed, and on May 15, 1998, the Intermediate Louisiana Court of Appeals overturned that decision, claiming that Byers did indeed have a valid case against the filmmakers (Byers had died of cancer in late 1997). On March 12, 2001, Judge Robert Morrison dismissed the case on the grounds that there was no evidence that either Time Warner or Stone had intended to incite violence.
In June 2002, the Louisiana Court of Appeal turned down an appeal from Byers' attorneys, and the suit was closed. [1] [2] [3]
Sarah Edmondson has been released on parole in Oklahoma after serving less than twelve years of a thirty-year sentence. Her parole will end in 2025. [4]
Benjamin Darras continues to serve his sentence at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. He has written a letter for pardoning to the Mississippi Governor's Office where he explains how his life has changed in prison. He also has a bachelor's degree in Christian Ministry from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and tutors for their Parchmen extension. [5]
The case was featured in an episode of the Oxygen Network true crime series Snapped: Killer Couples which originally aired on March 24, 2013.
This case was featured in an episode of Reelz series CopyCat Killers that originally aired March 5, 2016.
On February 2, 1996, in Moses Lake, Washington, 14-year-old Barry Loukaitis entered his algebra classroom dressed as a Wild West-style gunslinger and was wearing a black duster. He was armed with a .30-30 caliber hunting rifle and two handguns (.22 caliber revolver and .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol) that belonged to his father and was carrying approximately 78 rounds of ammunition. He opened fire at students, killing two, Arnold Fritz and Manuel Vela, Jr., both fourteen. Another student, 13-year-old Natalie Hintz, sustained critical gunshot wounds to the right arm and abdomen, and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Loukaitis then fatally shot his algebra teacher Leona Caires in the chest. Teacher and coach Jon Lane entered the classroom upon hearing the gunshots to find Loukaitis holding his classmates hostage. He planned to use one hostage so he could safely exit the school. Lane volunteered as the hostage, and Loukaitis kept him at gunpoint with his rifle. Lane then grabbed the weapon from Loukaitis and wrestled him to the ground, later assisting in the evacuation of students. He kept Loukaitis subdued until police arrived at the scene.[ citation needed ]
Loukaitis was said to be obsessed with violent books and movies, including Natural Born Killers. He rented the movie seven times and would often quote it to friends. [6]
On December 1, 1997 in West Paducah, Kentucky, 14-year-old Michael Carneal went to school carrying four .22 rifles, 2 .30-30 Winchester rifles and a Ruger .22 handgun. Upon arriving at the school, he inserted a pair of earplugs and opened fire with the handgun at a prayer meeting, killing three of his classmates and wounding five others. After he was finished shooting, Carneal calmly dropped the gun and surrendered to the school principal. Carneal was charged with murder and attempted murder and initially sentenced to three life sentences for murder plus 150 years for five counts of attempted murder. Following appeal, this was altered to life in prison with no possibility of parole. In April 1999, Jack Thompson, attorney for the parents of the murdered children, filed a $33 million lawsuit against Time Warner, Polygram Film, Palm Pictures, Island Pictures, New Line Cinema, Atari, Nintendo, and Sony Computer Entertainment. Specifically mentioned were Natural Born Killers and the 1995 film The Basketball Diaries , as well as the video games Doom , Redneck Rampage , Nightmare Creatures , Resident Evil , and Mortal Kombat . Thompson argued that the films and games had encouraged Carneal to act the way he did, and that Doom had provided him with excellent target practice. In July 2001, the US Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's dismissal of the case. [7]
On April 20, 1999, students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered twelve students and one teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The massacre ended with both perpetrators committing suicide. Both Harris and Klebold were fans of Natural Born Killers. Prior to the massacre, they had used the initials 'NBK' as their code. In a journal entry dated April 10, 1998, Harris wrote: "When I go NBK and people say things like 'Oh, it was so tragic,' or 'oh he is crazy!' or 'It was so bloody', just because your mommy and daddy told you blood and violence is bad, you think it's a fucking law of nature? Wrong, only science and math are true, everything, and I mean every fucking thing else is Man made. Before I leave this worthless place, I will kill whoever I deem unfit for anything at all, especially life." Harris also referred to April 20 as "the holy April morning of NBK", and in an undated journal entry, Klebold wrote "I'm stuck in humanity. Maybe going NBK w. Eric is the way to break free". [8]
On April 23, 2006, Jeremy Allan Steinke (23) and his girlfriend Jasmine Richardson (12) murdered her parents, Marc and Debra Richardson, as well as her 8-year-old brother, Jacob, in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Steinke and Richardson were arrested on April 24 in Leader, Saskatchewan, and were charged with three counts of first-degree murder. According to Richardson's friends, her parents had punished her for dating Steinke [9] due to the age disparity [10] and forbade her from visiting him. [10] Shortly after her arrest, Steinke proposed marriage to Richardson, which she accepted. [11]
On July 9, 2007, Richardson was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to ten years in prison, which is the maximum penalty for an individual under 14 years of age. On December 5, 2008, Steinke was also found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and on December 15 he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility for parole for 25 years. The Natural Born Killers connection was that Steinke had allegedly watched the film the night before the incident. He also spoke to friends of "going Natural Born Killer on her [Richardson daughter] family". [12] [13]
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On September 13, 2006, at Dawson College, a CEGEP in Westmount near downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Kimveer Gill began shooting outside the de Maisonneuve Boulevard entrance to the school, and moved towards the atrium by the cafeteria on the main floor. One victim died at the scene, while another 19 were injured, eight of whom were listed in critical condition with six requiring surgery. The shooter later committed suicide by shooting himself in the head after being shot in the arm by police. He listed the movie as one of his favorites on his blog.
Natural Born Killers is a 1994 American romantic crime action film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Sizemore. The film tells the story of two victims of traumatic childhoods who become lovers and mass murderers, and are irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.
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James E. Edmondson is an American Judge who has served on the Oklahoma Supreme Court since his appointment to the Court's 7th district by Governor Brad Henry in 2003.
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