Mom obsesses about money, murders son. Will history repeat itself?

There's a story in the news today about a Mom who murdered her son and then killed herself as she struggled with debt. (i.e., money) Given an earlier post of mine about the late Melody Bodine's obsession with money, it seemed I should comment. Who knows... the current story might be an omen.

What would you do if you saw this murder coming? Hmmm? While you can't stop someone from killing themselves, would you try to stop them from killing others?

Same question with Andre Yates. Remember her? She was the one who drowned her five children in a bathtub. In her case there seemed to be clear warning signs. According to a media report

Andrea and Rusty had met when they were both 25. Rusty had seen her swimming in a pool of his apartment complex and had decided he was interested in her. She introduced herself to him and they dated for three years. In 1993, they were married and a year later had Noah. They planned on having as many children as came along, whatever God wanted for them, and told friends they expected six.

Yet soon after Noah was born, Andrea began to have violent visions: she saw someone being stabbed. She thought she heard Satan speak to her. However, she and her husband had idealistic, Bible-inspired notions about family and motherhood, so she kept her tormenting secrets to herself. She didn't realize how much mental illness there was in her own family, from depression to bipolar disorder—which can contribute to postpartum psychosis. In her initial stages, she remained undiagnosed and untreated. She kept her secrets from everyone.

This is ominously parallel to Mrs. Bodine's background. She and her husband also planned to have as many children as God would allow and ended up with seven. They had Bible-inspired notions about family and motherhood. (Is "idealistic" a pejorative? The fact is, it was idyllic under Mr. Bodine's headship.) While I never met Melody's mom, I have heard that she was an angry woman. I don't believe in "mental illness" per se, believing it's demonic possession instead. If that's the case, then God talks about generational curses and it seems the late Mrs. Bodine fell victim to that curse. Through no fault of her own, as soon as she would become pregnant, she would become bedridden. Only now do I wonder how mentally depressing that must have been. If it was, and/or if she heard voices, she kept her secrets from everyone.

Sometime coincident to when her mother died, I (and others) who had known Mrs. Bodine for a long time had noticed a white to black change in her. She had become very, very dark, angry and hateful. Her husband was forced to confront her in love, telling her she had "an evil, malignant heart, that she had sinister and ghoulish speculations, that her thoughts were like black India ink on a white table cloth." (Quoting Mrs. Bodine at trial.)

So what do you do when you see this pattern repeating? Do you warn others about what you see, so they can keep watch because trouble may be afoot? Or do you keep quiet until it's too late and be like everyone else who said "I knew something like this would happen"?

You can't go to the police, for no crime has yet occurred. If you warn others who might be victimized and an Andrea Yates or Mrs. Bodine hears about it, you're a pariah. (Although if your children were possible victims, you would have no problem warning your children to stay away. You might even warn your neighbor kids about your suspicions too.) Even if you're right, and a woman ends up killing some children one day, you'll never really be "right." People are funny that way and would rather be in denial.

But if you keep quiet and your suspicions are eventually fulfilled, then God says blood will be on your hands. (Figuratively speaking for those of you who insist on taking what I say literally.)

Given what God says, I think it best to warn potential victims when your observations are affirmed by others. Are you willing to get involved? Make that sacrifice? Demonstrate love?

Now, you don't have to tell everyone your suspicions. You can be subtle and tell only those in authority, who can do something about the problem. Which is what I did with the late Mrs. Bodine. I wrote to warn the so-called pastor of the First Baptist Church of Prescott, Arizona, Chris Inman. At the time, Mrs. Bodine was working for the church's school (if that is theologically possible) and I was worried she might go on a rage and murder the children there, just as Andrea Yates murdered her children.

In Mrs. Bodine's case, others who had known her for a long time had also written others in "authority" at First Baptist about the change in her. So again, I wasn't the only one who saw a problem here.

You may not believe in demonic possession, but surely a christian church like First Baptist would. So I warned Mr. Inman of my concern. To the best of my knowledge, he didn't do anything except share my letter with Mrs. Bodine to use at trail against me. (Thanks, Chris. Wolf, wolf?)

Fortunately, nothing dire happened to the children at the church's school. (That we know of.) Who knows? Maybe the fact that I said something prevented the act from ever occurring? (As when you stare down someone acting suspicious around a car. Maybe you prevented a car jacking? How would you know?) As far as I know, she no longer works at the school. So, except for her own children (and grandchild), that danger seems passed.

Unfortunately, in her new incarnation as [text and link deleted as a courtesy to cease and desist letter] and the alarm bells are going off again. I'll plan to post a warning about that soon.

So, what would you do if saw Andrea Yates parallels in a long time friend? Would you speak up or remain silent? The demons (and cheating judge hamm) hope you'll keep silent.

"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."

Food Stamp fraud and First Baptist of Prescott

There's been a lot of local (and national) news about food stamp fraud in Arizona. And that made me remember a similar fraud perpetrated on all the good saints at the First Baptist Church of Prescott, Arizona.

You need to know two things. First, the late Melody Bodine, who had served divorce papers on her husband, went to their church (First Baptist) and told them her husband was starving her and their family. And so, without investigating further, the good saints at the First Baptist Church there in Prescott started giving Mrs. Bodine food.

Now, wouldn't you think the first thing the good saints at the First Baptist Church in Prescott should have done was to gone to Mr. Bodine to see if he was indeed starving his wife? If he was, they should rebuke him. If he wasn't, they should rebuke her. They did not investigate.

As many of you men can probably identify when your wives leave, it turns out that poor Mr. Bodine was going deep into debt paying the mortgage on the family home, his new rental, family insurance, giving his wife money for FOOD, paying for her and his attorneys, etc.

It turns out that the late Mrs. Bodine was a little crazy (her attorney said so in court). She had developed a lie that she had to "protect herself financially" from her husband.

Hmmm... what was it God said about "The love of money"? Actually, at trial it came out that her husband had made the mistake of listening to her in their later financial decisions, going into debt via interest only loans. The former judge hinson called it a "scheme."

In her weird obsession, after thrusting her husband from her, she decided that she needed to be debt free, and tried to pay off all her credit card debt. All at once. And that's what she did. Which left none of the money Mr. Bodine was sending her for food. Even her kids were suffering.

And this despite money she took from him. It appears she forged her husband's signature on their joint Vanguard account and stole their money there. (That the money was gone is not at issue. It stands to reason she forged his signature to get it.) And she allegedly stole his piano (sole and separate property before marriage?) selling it for cash after asking for a few more days to move property from the family domicile she had earlier abandoned. What a piece of work.

But "starving?" Even if true (she didn't look any thinner to me), that was her own doing. I recall her acknowledging in court after she left her husband that one of the major financial decisions at issue that day wasn't reasonable.

So she filed an emergency application for food stamps. I have a copy somewhere. At issue is whether the form was fraudulent. There is some question about whether she truthfully reported the money her husband was giving her and some question as to how many dependents she claimed were in the house at the time. (She had kicked out one of her daughters and one had left sometime during this time.)

The other thing you need to know is that God, in the Bible, is quite specific about burdening the church with supplying food to women who claim to be starving. Specifically, God commands

Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds. As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list.

First, notice this applies only to widows. Mrs. Bodine was not a widow, but a married who had served papers on her husband. (i.e. was in sin). Second, Mrs. Bodine had a family. Even if her husband was really starving her, her kids could have gotten part time work to buy food for their poor, starving mother. Nor, apparently, did Mrs. Bodine tell the good saints at First Baptist about her sugar daddy. (Literally. Her rich dad. How could she buy a house while on food stamps?) Third, Mrs. Bodine was not over 60. Nor was she faithful to her husband. (Even if she hadn't committed adultery, she left him. That's not being faithful to God or her husband) At one time, I would have said Mrs. Bodine was known for good deeds, bringing up the children right (even spanking them Karen Sullivan !), showing hospitality, etc. But as God said in Ezekiel 18, when you go to the dark side, all your good deeds are forgotten.

Did the good saints at the First Baptist Church of Prescott obey God's command here?

No.

May the Lord judge them and remove their lamp stand.

Mr. Rushton's letter to David Knight at First Baptist Prescott

I wrestled last year whether to publish this private letter that I didn't write. But since the late Mrs. Bodine (now known as Melody Thomas-Morgan) and her attorney decided to enter it into the public record (despite 1st Amendment religion protections in our Arizona Constitution), here it is.

This was typical of her attorney's smear campaign against Mrs. Bodine's husband. Former judge Hinson allowed stuff like this over objections. To their credit, Judge Bluff and Judge Hess did not.

Interestingly, even though the Respondent moved to strike for religious and salacious reasons, and even though his motion nor this evidence ever came up in court, it is in the public record anyway. To paraphrase God,"What goes around, comes around."

It's case number DO-20060917 in the Yavapai County (Arizona) Superior Court if you're interested.

Below for downloading is a letter from an elder in a house church the late Mrs. Bodine used to attend with her husband and formerly lovely children. It is from Warren Rushton to "pastor" David Knight and the so-called "Board of Deacons" at the First Baptist Church of Prescott, Arizona. Click on the thumbnails to see the full sized document.

Aside from the fact that the title "pastor" does not appear in the Bible and Jesus despised such titles, this guy is a "music 'pastor'" a double negative.