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Ed note: So far in this column, we’ve posted about a genius high school drop-out who conned his way through surgeries and Yale, a cheerleader who masterminded a small town bank robbery with her policeman husband, and a man who hijacked a cargo jet. Today’s story is considerably more gruesome. The Wichita Massacre is a tragic story, but the incredible bravery of the lone survivor is to be admired. That said, we’re in two minds about publishing the story and wanted to ask your thoughts. Should we stick to the previous style of articles or should we continue mixing in violent crimes in the future? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
PRELUDE
Twenty-two-year-old Reginald Carr and his younger brother, 20-year-old Jonathan, already had lengthy criminal records by the time they settled in Wichita, Kansas. This story, however, begins on the evening of December 8, 2000, when the pair confronted 23-year-old Andrew Schreiber, an assistant baseball coach at Newman University, as he exited a convenience store. They forced him into his car at gunpoint and ordered him to drive to several different ATMs, where they had him withdraw money and hand it over to them. They ultimately left him unharmed but badly shaken in a field after shooting out the tires of his vehicle.
THE CRIME
Six days later, HG, a 25-year-old elementary school teacher, arrived at the triplex where her boyfriend, Jason Befort (a science teacher) lived with two roommates: Brad Heyka, a chemist, and Aaron Sander, who was studying to become a priest. HG settled in front of the TV and began grading papers when Heather Muller, a friend of Aaron Sander’s showed up. The five friends watched TV and eventually retired to their various bedrooms. HG was woken from her sleep shortly after by loud voices and the bedroom door being kicked open. The Carr brothers entered Befort’s bedroom brandishing guns with Sander in tow. (To this day, no one is sure how the pair gained entrance into the triplex.)
One brother held the three captives at gunpoint while the other roamed the complex and found Heather and Brad and brought them upstairs. The pair ordered their hostages to get undressed, and proceeded to beat the males with golf clubs while taking turns sexually assaulting the females. The brothers then asked “Who has ATM cards?” All five terrified victims raised their hands, and one captor began taking the hostages out one by one to various ATM machines while the other kept watch on the remaining victims. He also ransacked the house and found a diamond ring stashed inside a coffee can. “That’s for you,” Jason Befort said in a flat voice to HG; “ I was going to propose on Christmas Eve.”
(Jason Befort, Brad Heyka, Aaron Sander, Heather Muller) After each victim had drained his or her bank account via ATM withdrawals, the entire group was forced to get into Sander’s Honda Accord – the nude men in the trunk, the females (who’d been allowed to don sweaters) in the back seat. They were driven to a snow-covered soccer field, ordered out of the car, then instructed to kneel down in a row. One by one, the Carr brothers shot each of their captives in the head. HG recalls seeing “white stars” but not being knocked unconscious. Nevertheless, she fell down and feigned death.
HG’S INCREDIBLE STORY
When HG heard the Carr brothers drive off, she called out to her friends. Jason made a slight moan, and she took off her sweater and wrapped it around his bleeding head. She then looked around and saw Christmas lights in the distance. Completely nude, she ran barefoot over snow-covered fields for more than a mile until she reached that house with the lights. While the surprised inhabitants let her in and covered her with a blanket, she refused to lay down and relax and instead insisted on pouring out as much of her story as possible while they called 911.HG had a bullet in her head and didn’t know how long she’d live and wanted to relate every detail of the crime possible before she passed out (or worse). Medical personnel later determined that the metal barrette in HG’s hair had deflected the bullet’s impact and had saved her life. Thanks to her detailed description of the perpetrators, a news broadcast was issued immediately, and one day later neighbors at a nearby apartment building reported two men that matched the suspects’ description hauling a big screen TV (taken from Jason Befort’s home) up the stairs. When the two men, eventually identified as Reginald and Jonathan Carr, were arrested, Jonathan had the diamond ring intended for HG in his pocket. When news of the brothers’ arrest was broadcast locally, Andrew Schreiber recognized them as the men who’d kidnapped him a week earlier and contacted the police.
LOVE AND JUSTICE
The Carrs were tried for 113 crimes, including capital murder, kidnapping, rape and robbery. They were convicted on almost every count, and were sentenced to the death penalty. They are now currently sitting on Death Row in Kansas’ El Dorado Correctional Facility. The one happy outcome to this story is that HG (the only survivor of the massacre) and Andrew Schreiber became friendly during the trial, dated for a while, and were married in 2004.
Comments (50)
Comment
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The thought of those people lined up on their knees, being shot one at time . . . maybe a little more grit than I’d like on a 10 minute diversion from working.
I’m mixed. The story IS interesting, but I feel like crap having read it.
I defer to the majority.
posted by EV on 8-15-2008 at 10:54 am
Wow, Mental_Floss brought me from indifferent about the death penalty to mildly against the death penalty (see the botched executions thread from yesterday.) To dead set for the death penalty in two days time! (pun intended) These two need to be executed!
That being said, I think I prefer the previous installments of True Crime better. Don’t get me wrong it was very well written and interesting, but I liked the semi-quirky crimes better than reading a story of a man who told his girlfriend he was about to propose only to die naked in a field that night.
posted by Witty Nickname on 8-15-2008 at 10:54 am
Well written and painful to read. Maybe you should stick the the less grusome.
posted by Beth on 8-15-2008 at 10:55 am
I would agree w/ EV…not very light or more importantly enlightening… more disheartening than anything, not fun fodder for friday morning…
posted by Julia on 8-15-2008 at 10:59 am
I have no problem with MFloss posting this kind of article. It is good to learn about all things, no matter how gruesome and sick. As a side note, I would like to commend HG and her bravery during this ordeal.
posted by Ian on 8-15-2008 at 11:03 am
I liked it. Not in the way that they were killed or that it happened. But learning about them gave me a hint of someone’s life that needs to be remembered and at least sent out a prayer for them and they’re families, both victims and assailants.
posted by mexichica on 8-15-2008 at 11:07 am
I don’t mind the gruesome so much; sometimes it helps to realize there are people like that in the world, and HG’s story is pretty inspiring.
I do mind the “ATM machines” reference, though. RAS syndrome is a pet peeve.
posted by 8rustystaples on 8-15-2008 at 11:10 am
I feel it is a bit too gruesome. Having to hear about women getting sexually assaulted and then shot in the head pretty much ruins my whole morning.
posted by DanB on 8-15-2008 at 11:34 am
I think it is a nice change up. I am always switching between here and CNN.com to get all the news. I think it is a great idea.
PS Loved the story that is insane. I can’t imagine how she feels today thinking back. Its gotta be very scary
posted by Nicole on 8-15-2008 at 11:41 am
Yea… I think true crimes shouldn’t involve anyone being murdered. Kind of brought down my Friday.
posted by Kelly J. on 8-15-2008 at 12:07 pm
A few years back, the day after Christmas, a similar thing happened in my home town of Richmond. The musician Bryan Harvey (House of Freaks) and his wife nd two daughters were murdered in their home by criminals on the run from Philly.
I’m really baffled by people who can do that sort of thing. Murder in a fit of passion is at least understandable, but this kind of thing…
posted by BassMan on 8-15-2008 at 12:11 pm
I liked the story and have no problem with gruesome things.
posted by Jill Harness on 8-15-2008 at 12:11 pm
You know, this just isn’t the reason that I subscribe to Floss – the magazine, or the blog feed, really. For me, I purposefully weed out things like this – and, hopefully, Mental Floss will help get the garbage like this out of my head.
It’s not particularly a happy thing to think that people found love as a result, either. That’s more creepy, actually.
posted by DaviMack on 8-15-2008 at 12:12 pm
I’m actually from a suburb of Wichita and my high school went into lockdown the day the police were searching for the Carr brothers. As well as this post was written, it hits a little too close to home for me for a couple of reasons. I’d rather this segment was less gruesome.
posted by Kate on 8-15-2008 at 12:12 pm
Put me in with the folks who prefer their Mental_Floss toned down, some. We can get our RDA of brutality elsewhere; give us an oasis!
posted by Holmes! on 8-15-2008 at 12:18 pm
I’m here for variety of trivia and interesting stories. I presume there will be some gross, violent and scary ones in the mix. Keep up the good work!
posted by Mr. Chris on 8-15-2008 at 12:19 pm
I’m from Wichita, too. We lived in the neighborhood behind the soccer field where the victims were shot. And, just for accuracy’s sake, the suspects were turned in not by helpful neighbors, but by a disgruntled girlfriend. I’d rather not relive that portion of time (you left out another of the Carrs’ murders, that of a musician). And I’d rather not read about it on Mental Floss.
posted by loripop on 8-15-2008 at 12:28 pm
Apparently this is ruining everyone’s Fridays. If that’s the case, maybe you should post stuff like this on Monday mornings instead.
Joking aside, I did enjoy the article and don’t mind one bit reading this type of material. I always watch The First 48 on A&E which is a very fascinating show about the first 48 hours of a homicide investigation, and this is along the same lines.
Although disturbing for some, others do appreciate the interesting reads.
posted by Paul on 8-15-2008 at 12:35 pm
For me, there are more than enough violent stories in the current news. I don’t feel the need to read up on ones that I might have missed, no matter how unique the crime or how well written the article.
posted by HeyBeckyJ on 8-15-2008 at 12:39 pm
I liked the article, and have no problem with the gruesome nature!
posted by Amanda on 8-15-2008 at 1:05 pm
I absolutely love true crime stories. Keep it up!
posted by nicky on 8-15-2008 at 1:17 pm
I like the different mix. And to be fair to Kara she did warn readers twice. Once with the title: “The Wichita Massacre” pretty much sums up what you are about to read. Also, her editor’s note touches on the subject and lets us all know what we are about to delve into. So we all knew that we were going to come away with a little less spring in our step.
Great job mental floss, once again you have us all debating a great subject:)
posted by Jenn on 8-15-2008 at 1:18 pm
This was absolutley terrible. Not only was it gruesome and painful to read and think about, the “happy” ending really isn’t all that happy when put in perspective. I come to Mental Floss for bits of trivia and interesting diversion from work, nto have my entire psyche crushed. This is just appalling
posted by Tara on 8-15-2008 at 1:20 pm
I agree with the last few posts. Not everything in this life or world we live in is pleasant. Very informative. I would suggest to warn the readers if something like this were to be written again (although the warnings apparently didn’t register for some of the readers).
I’m not big on the death penalty, but in situations like this, I hope their stay on death row is short. Prayers out to all involved in this one.
posted by Steven on 8-15-2008 at 1:46 pm
I prefer a less gruesome version of True Crime. While I agree with remembering the victims & the crime in some way, reading the details on a normally entertaining, light-topic trivia site is a little too jarring. I would rather treat these incredibly serious and tragic crimes more delicately by reading or watching something more in-depth. Otherwise, I feel like it’s a different version of 48 Hours, which just feeds treating these tragedies as spectator entertainment.
posted by anna on 8-15-2008 at 1:48 pm
“Today’s story is considerably more gruesome.
Did everyone who got upset after reading the article miss this sentence? Also, it’s called “The Witchita Massacre” which seems like a pretty obvious clue to the content of the article.
I, for one, liked it. Those who found it “appalling” should maybe read the disclaimer and title a little more carefully next time.
posted by Kay on 8-15-2008 at 2:05 pm
I found the story to be very interesting and was glad to read that the monsters who would do something like that were caught. I think that there are plenty of articles on Mental_Floss daily and if someone didn’t like that type of story they could just skip to the next.
posted by Christina on 8-15-2008 at 2:13 pm
I find all of these stories equally interesting. This one may have been a bit gruesome, but I vote for keeping these in the mix.
posted by pam on 8-15-2008 at 2:17 pm
Although it was a terrible story to contemplate, I had no problem with its inclusion on the website … I think Kara gave ample warning and as long as there is some notice upfront so the thin-skinned among us can move on, there is no reason not to include stories like this.
posted by Sherry on 8-15-2008 at 2:31 pm
I don’t think there’s a need to dismiss or criticize the people who were disturbed by the article. Yes, they saw the word Massacre and read Kara’s warning, but they were asked to provide their opinions about it, so that’s what they’re doing.
My opinion: too grim for mental_floss. If I want a true-crime fix I can go to the Crime Library. This story doesn’t floss my brain; it mucks it up and makes it sad.
posted by Jenny on 8-15-2008 at 2:43 pm
I don’t mind the gruesome aspect of this story, but there was nothing quirky to this story. I like the quirky side of Mental Floss, so if blood and guts happen to be part of a quirky story, no problem.
There just wasn’t an extra interesting element to the story. It was just sad.
posted by Karen on 8-15-2008 at 3:06 pm
I am from Wichita and this was a major news story. However, what this article does not detail is that the Carr brother killed another individual prior to this a member of the local orchestra. This was within a month of these murders.
The other fact that is left out is that one of the Carr brothers was on parole and his parole had been improperly calculated by the State of Kansas. He had been arrested in Western Kansas prior to all the murders but was relased on bail because he was no longer on parole. However, had his parole time been calculated correctly he would have been in custody at the time of the murders, as his arrest would have been a parloe violation. There were several lawsuits against the state which I believe were settled for their improper calculation.
It was the fact of the improper calculation of parole which upset many individuals in Wichita. This was a terrible tragedy, but has never been referred to here as the Wichita Massacre.
posted by CMP on 8-15-2008 at 3:16 pm
As gruesome as this I think it is a good addition to Mental Floss. Perhaps you could simply give a warning before the jump that the story is somewhat gruesome so that people could make the choice for themselves. Personally I thought it was interesting. Keep it up.
posted by Marv in DC on 8-15-2008 at 3:42 pm
I’m split. The article is interesting and I liked the nice neat summary of events. So sad for these people, their families and friends. However, I can go to the web sites for any television station or newspaper and read about the same type of thing. I prefer to learn by being entertained while visiting m_f. Either way, keep up the good work everyone!
posted by Pam on 8-15-2008 at 5:32 pm
@8rustystaples
You have got to be kidding. Obviously, we were asked for our opinion on the gruesomeness, so you gave it—it doesn’t bother you. But you actually bring up machine-machine? What about the lack of a space after the period midway through the next to last paragraph? I’m surprised you were able to keep down your breakfast.
posted by eme on 8-15-2008 at 7:50 pm
This story made my life hurt a little. Still I can’t say I am sorry I read it. I have never been and will probably never go to Kansas (God willing), so this story is news to me. The semi happy note at the end was good too. I think so long as there is a warning before the jump the violent stories work.
posted by shelly belly on 8-15-2008 at 10:16 pm
If I want to read this stuff I go to crimelibrary. Please stick with more urbane content. Thanks!
posted by SpaceCowgirl on 8-15-2008 at 10:44 pm
I think Karen put it best. There’s nothing different and quirky about the story. So while I don’t mind gruesome in the name of telling a story, I’d like the story itself to be something other than stories we here daily.
One instance I can remember a post on is Elizabeth Bathory. Yes she murdered people and bathed in their blood, but the amount of time she spent doing it and the uniqueness of her crimes makes the story Floss-worthy.
posted by Tricia on 8-16-2008 at 4:44 am
I’m a crime buff and I trust mental_floss to a lot of other information sites out there to bring a real story rather than a fabrication. I think these events should be included in the profile.
posted by Emily Drew on 8-16-2008 at 11:37 am
I’m a crime buff and I trust mental_floss to a lot of other information sites out there to bring a real story rather than a fabrication. I think these events should be included in the line-up, even if they include murder.
posted by Emily Drew on 8-16-2008 at 11:40 am
I understand some people like this stuff, but there are plenty of places to get this type of story. This is not what I expect from you, nor what I want.
posted by Wichitan on 8-16-2008 at 11:09 pm
I like it. Sure, it’s creepy and uncomfortable, but life is often so. If you avoid all that is painful to hear, you avoid life.
posted by El Tigre on 8-17-2008 at 2:16 am
sorry to everyone who’s “day was brought down” but really this was a great story. painfully sad, yes- but there’s a common problem with people not wanting to be bummed out and tuning out the bad news. it’s important to take the stories of others into account to maybe learn from them and to appreciate the good you *do* have.
i think with the appropriate header of “graphic content” those who don’t want to read it can skip it, and those who do can click the link.
posted by Em on 8-17-2008 at 6:54 am
true crimes involve true brutality. while violence of this nature seems out of placein Mental_Floss, i really enjoyed reading it.
posted by chris on 8-18-2008 at 12:02 am
While these sorts of things do interest me, I have other places where I can read and learn about them. I especially prefer to read about really icky stuff in places where comments are disabled so that I don’t have to see just how bloodthirsty so much of the population can be. The story itself isn’t the only thing that’s a downer; the people crying out for blood in the comments section are, too.
It just doesn’t seem like Mental Floss material.
posted by August on 8-18-2008 at 9:53 am
I liked the other stories better. Nothing against the gore factor, but this one lacked interesting twists. Violence is okay if it’s an integral part of a very unusual crime story. This story was just sad. Robbers raping and killing people is just tragic, not fascinating. The crime stories need to be more about the plotting of unusual ways unusual capers were pulled off. They should be really exceptional criminals and complex crimes, not just horrific ones.
posted by Melissa on 8-18-2008 at 11:40 am
3 out of the 4 most recent True Crime stories are of black men – with pictures. No pictures of the cheerleaders in their True Crime article. Interesting. I don’t think I’ll rush to read the next True Crime installment.
posted by Ally on 8-19-2008 at 1:05 am
Many of you are missing the point of this story. This happened 8 years ago and was a racial crime that was barely reported in the media. This was 2 black men harming 5 white people. Had the statistics been reversed, this would have been front page news from coast to coast. However gruesome some may think this is…it give you a lot to think about
posted by Laura on 8-19-2008 at 2:27 pm
what a bunch of pansies. this story was never told on national news. be glad you were informed of this type of crime and the “humans” out there who are capable of
committing them. it’s amazing to me how almost every comment is basically, “i don’t want to know about this”.
go ahead and keep your eye’s closed but please stay out of the voting booth.
posted by moe on 9-17-2008 at 1:29 pm
The more gruesome details of this crime were left out of the story on this website. I think it’s important that people know about this story since it has rarely been reported in the media. My prayers are for all of these people and their families.
posted by Danae on 1-16-2009 at 5:00 pm