stabbing at the landing

[Dapperdan]

How did I know this was over a woman? From the way it sounds, he just walked up and sliced his throat. No questions asked. What did he say to his wife to make him do that?

[David]

Why hasn't this received the media publicity you would think --- a murder at the highest-profile venue in the city? Has there been some sort of suppression of this story?

I think it's a terrible tragedy for this man's family/friends - and it's not good news, but it IS a factual, relevant local news story that's hardly been reported.

It's a pretty high profile news story. It's on the front page of NFL.com. The link posted to the Orlando news story has more details than jacksonville.com currently.

[Lunican]

It's the lead story on the Chicago Tribune, which owns the Orlando Sentinel. http://www.chicagotribune.com/

[peestandingup]

Here's the victim's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/william.c.pettry

Seems he grew up close to where I did (around the E KY/WV border). I bet he was a scrapper.

Are you really stereotyping someone based on the neighborhood they live?

I wouldn't call it stereotyping, just generalization from having lived there for so long. A LOT of people where I grew up are hot heads & like to fight. That's number 1. And nothing gets them going like religion or team sports. I know its hard for some people to grasp that something so silly could lead to that, but bad mouth their God or sports figures & you might as well slap their momma in the face. Seriously.

And look, this guy may have been a big teddy bear, I don't know. Just that it wouldn't shock me if thats how it started. And it usually doesn't go that far unless both parties are in some pretty heated stuff. People usually don't just walk up & kill someone flat out.

Anyways, all of this is stupid & we don't know anything. All we know is there was alcohol involved & some die hard sports fans got into some kind of altercation, leading to a death. Regardless of who did what & where someone was from, its still a tragedy & no one ever deserves that.

P.S. There are no "neighborhoods" in those parts. Like, at all.

[Steve_Lovett]

Sorry - apparently I've just missed it. It's just that as of last evening I hadn't heard anything and I checked with my wife and several friends who were also unaware of the story. And we tend to pay pretty close attention. I hope no one misunderstands, I don't wish for it to be spread further and wider than is appropriate.

It's an awful occurrence  - a terrible, terrible tragedy.

[buckethead]

After reading the story it seems like a fairly clear cut case of murder. The guy walked up and slit his throat for talking to his wife. Sad...

[Traveller]

Keeping it real gone wrong.

[fsquid]

three kids and a wife don't get to see their father come home from his first vacation in many years.  Horrible

[Seraphs]

Sick and disgusting!!  This is just so uncalled for.  Who does this crazed guy think is gonna talk to his wife now?  He better brace himself because before long she's gonna be the wife of someone else.  He's gone up the river for quite awhile. 

Prayers for the friends and family!!

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

As sure as I type this, I already know the responses this post will elicit, but here goes....

I understand how we can all look at this from the outside, how this travesty took place without as much as a second thought, but I'm making the assumption that no one posting thier anger has ever been intoxicated to the point that rational decisions are no longer 'rational'. 

I'll try to put it in perspective from the angry, jealous drunk guy (won't be too hard...    )  You're teetering on black-out drunk from an entire day of drinking, you see some dude in [insert team that is not your favorite] chatting it up with your wife and you don't even exchange words - just a 'harmless' cut to tell the dude to back the fuck up.  Did you plan to sever his artery - HELL NO!, it was just supposed to be a nick, but in your stupor, your 'nick' ended up slicing right through this other dude's aorta...  It's a game you play with your friends....  Just a little stick.   This time it went too far and unfortunately someone lost his life. 

Some guys punch, some guys play knives, hell, some guys like to pull guns - it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, right?  I'm also going to lay this out there - while the Bears fan may have had absolutely ZERO ill will or bad intention, when you think about the situation - 3 kids, wife at home, hanging with friends in another city for a FB game.....   not saying he did, but it's hard to think that he was completely without fault.  He may have been a standup guy, but let's not look past the situation at hand. 

Alcohol is a hell of a drug.

[Jax_Spartan]

"you don't even exchange words - just a 'harmless' cut to tell the dude to back the fuck up." 

"It's a game you play with your friends....  Just a little stick.   This time it went too far and unfortunately someone lost his life. "

I think you were being sarcastic but just wanted to make sure you don't actually give "cuts" out to random people. What person swings a knife at someone without even talking or plays with knives with their friends? Does anyone swing knives at their friends for fun?

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

"you don't even exchange words - just a 'harmless' cut to tell the dude to back the fuck up." 

"It's a game you play with your friends....  Just a little stick.   This time it went too far and unfortunately someone lost his life. "

I think you were being sarcastic but just wanted to make sure you don't actually give "cuts" out to random people. What person swings a knife at someone without even talking or plays with knives with their friends? Does anyone swing knives at their friends for fun?

Not sarcastic as much as just stirring the pot in the other direction.  Is this something that I take part in personally.... definitely not.   Does it happen in circles that I've been part of?  Sure.  It's rates on the genius scale in the neighborhood of letting cigars/cigarettes burn out on the forearm, random branding with scorching hot bic lighters (the smiley face) and shooting fireworks at one another.  It not meant to permanently harm, just who's is bigger....   I can't make it make sense if you've never been personallly involved with these shenanigans, but it happens, it's quite common in some circles and it seems that this may have been a drastic case. 

IMO, the guy wasn't trying to kill him, really didn't even want to get in a fight, just an intentional BtFU message that went fataly wrong.

EDIT:

After rereading the post, no.  I'm suggesting that anyone does it randomly to strangers, just amongst themselves, but when alcohol is involved....   The shit you pull with your friends that seems harmless might not be when really done in anger to another person.

[BigGuy219]

It is a shame how this is being portrayed in the news. It is sad whenever someone is killed ... especially someone so young who leaves behind a family, but this is also very bad for downtown Jacksonville in my opinion.

In the stories I've read they talk about him being in an upscale area (he was) and staying at the same hotel as the Bears, which implies it was a nice and expensive hotel (he was) and their close proximity to one another.

We need to bring people downtown. Including people from out of town. Tourism is important. If we get a new convention center, conventiongoers are important. And yes, people who come in from out of town to root against the Jaguars are important.

I do not like how even the NFL's own website is playing this up. It's tragic, but it also makes us look very bad.

[peestandingup]

Its tragic & needs to be talked about, but I def don't think you can chalk this one up to "just another murder in good ol Jax". This was pretty random & just plain weird, so it really could have happened anywhere. I hope the media isn't spinning it to look bad for Jax/downtown.

Anyways, Chicago of all places REALLY shouldn't be pointing any fingers these days. http://www.businessinsider.com/this-map-of-chicagos-2012-homicides-shows-what-its-like-to-have-dozens-of-shootings-every-weekend-2012-7

[ronchamblin]

This tragedy could have happened anywhere.  It certainly was not planned.  Both fellows didn’t come into the place, one expecting to be killed, and the other expecting to be imprisoned for twenty years or so for killing.  And of course, at this point we don't know what actually happened.   

I don’t know about you guys but when it comes to a relationship with a woman, especially during a time when one doesn’t feel confident that the woman is really with you solidly, one is less able to tolerate interference or meddling from another male. 

We’ve all seen how animals fight over the right to “have” the females of the species.  The fights can be a serious business, sometimes ending in death.  There seems to be an almost irrational reaction which comes over a male of any species when it comes to certain events related to a female to which the male has given his attention or claim.  The degree to which the human exerts this irrationality depends of course on the individual, and usually on his self-confidence as related to his position with his woman. 

Of course, most fights between animals don’t end in death, but only injury.  We humans have unfortunately the habit of using tools like guns and knives to assist in fighting the opponent, and therefore a fight can end in death more often.

Knowing how I have reacted in the past, which has been with a good measure of irrationality and aggression toward another male when confronted with some kind of moves toward “my” woman, I have decided that other men are like me, and therefore have always avoided encroaching too carelessly in between a man and his woman.   One never knows the state of self-confidence in the man, his ability to remain rational, or his inclination to violence upon feeling a threat to his relationship with his woman.  And he might have a gun or a knife.  Besides, who, in an altercation, is the most pumped up with emotion and adrenalin, and therefore strength; the man casually approaching the woman, or the man who feels that his relationship is threatened?

Add alcohol to the above mix, and you’ve a situation wherein anything could happen.  I’ll just say that to engage too carelessly a woman in the celebrative environment such as after a game, might be tendered with the idea that you had better be ready to either back off quickly if you encounter her man, or you had better be prepared for some action, and possible danger. 

The problem is that, if you engage another man’s woman with a certain level of attention, you certainly do not wish to harm the man, but given a possible tendency to irrational behavior, he just might wish harm to you, or even kill you if things develop just so. 

Within the breast of a man are still some of the evolutionarily old aggressive forces when it comes to his claim to “his” female.  Be cautious.  It’s safer that way.  It prevents the accumulation of scars, and increases one’s life expectancy.  Only a fool would go around carelessly hitting on women in a festive game atmosphere without regard to the possible presence of her husband or boyfriend.  Only a fool would not back off immediately when confronted with the husband.

Again, we don’t know what really happened.  In any case, I suspect that the progress of this case will accommodate the fact that there is one hell of a difference between premeditated murder, and the kind of killing, or murder, which occurred at the club.