Before we get into today’s True Crime Thursday post, I received an email from another friend of Joe Hartlaub’s who just learned of Joe’s passing. Justin L. Murphy asked me to include his tribute message to Joe. Justin’s words:

Could you please add these comments to the memorial post for Joe Hartlaub on KillZone blog earlier this month? I was late in learning of his passing — only discovering so last night after no email responses in the last couple of weeks.

As writers, Joe Hartlaub and I became close over the years and exchanged many emails. He not only recommended me for a short story contest (which I didn’t win), but was there for me when my grandmother passed several years ago. This is a tough one.

I last received an email from him May 28th, only to discover he died the next day. It’s sad we didn’t get to talk further. In one of our last emails, he discussed learning how to play “When The Saints Go Marching In” on the piano as well as his past playing guitar in local bands. We both mentioned our love for cooking Zatarain’s and his past trips to New Orleans. As well as his love for music from Memphis and Mississippi. He also called me “an observant fellow” and sent me hilarious articles on women getting too close to Bison at Yellowstone, being mauled and trampled as a result.

One of the last things he told me “You and your family have had more than your fair share of challenges, but reading between the lines of your accounts of daily living, I take the sense that you mom is strong, wonderful person and she has two terrific sons. The three of you help and love each other. That is more than many, many people have. Stay the course and thanks for being my friend.” He sent this to me after checking on us and asking “Are you OK?” when a storm hit a nearby area. My response in the subject line was, “For a tender hearted Catholic lawyer who cares”. To clarify, I’m a disabled adult with Cerebral Palsy who helps care for an Autistic adult brother.

He also relayed having chest pains and that his ex-girlfriend was dying from cancer. Joe remained in touch with her, but was having difficulty. As well as having chest pains and would be getting medical exams. Yet was overjoyed over his granddaughter’s graduation. In his couple of emails, he concluded “Love to you and your family” and “Thx Brother”.

I love you too, Joe. Thanks for all you shared with me and I wish you still were here.

Photo credit: Chuck Evans CCA 2.5 generic

by Debbie Burke

In a 1911 poem, Rudyard Kipling wrote:

“The female of the species is more deadly than the male.”

That seems to hold true with the female black widow spider. After she mates with a male, she sometimes eats him. Here’s Wikipedia’s explanation:

The prevalence of sexual cannibalism, a behaviour in which the female eats the male after mating, has inspired the common name “widow spiders”.^[11] This behaviour may promote the survival odds of the offspring;^[12] however, females of some species only rarely show this behaviour, and much of the documented evidence for sexual cannibalism has been observed in laboratory cages where the males could not escape. Male black widow spiders tend to select their mates by determining if the female has eaten already to avoid being eaten themselves.

The term “black widow” has come to mean a woman who kills her mate.

Praying Mantis – public domain

Although the praying mantis also engages in sexual cannibalism, “black widow” sounds scarier, doesn’t it?

In 2013, a 25-year-old man named Cody Johnson married 22-year-old Jordan Graham in Kalispell, Montana. Eight days later, he disappeared.

As early as the day after the wedding, Graham had second thoughts about the marriage which she expressed to friends.

Johnson’s friends had also been concerned because he was deeply in love with Graham but his devotion didn’t seem to be reciprocated.

When Johnson didn’t show up for work, a search was launched. He was last reported in Glacier National Park, recorded on a security cam in a car with Graham. She claimed they had driven to the Big Bend on Going to the Sun Road where a steep cliff drops off sharply to the valley hundreds of feet below. There, she said, friends of Johnson’s had arrived in a different vehicle, and he had left with them.

Because the park is on federal land, various agencies including the FBI investigated the case. They questioned Graham multiple times. Each time, she offered a different excuse for why Johnson had disappeared.

Going to the Sun Road, Glacier National Park, Montana – public domain

Her behavior was suspicious, sometimes giggling and other times withdrawn. While searchers risked their lives on steep dangerous mountainsides, she exchanged texts with friends about dance moves.

She soon produced an email purportedly written by a friend of Johnson’s who claimed Johnson was dead and to give up the search. It didn’t take long for investigators to trace the email to a computer at the home of Graham’s parents.

Johnson’s battered, broken body was found at the bottom of the cliffs below the Big Bend. Because the terrain was so treacherous, specialized lift equipment was required to recover the body.

Graham was charged with first and second-degree murder.

During her 2014 trial, she pleaded not guilty. The evidence against her was significant but not beyond a reasonable doubt. Her attorney characterized her as “child-like” apparently a bid to convince the judge she didn’t understand consequences of actions.

For several days, Graham continued to protest her innocence. Then right after the defense rested, Graham stunned the court and changed her plea to guilty.

She admitted driving with Johnson to the Big Bend where they got out of the car and argued at the edge of the cliff. She said she didn’t think people would believe her about an accidental fall so she gave various excuses for his disappearance.

Under questioning by the judge, she finally admitted that, when Johnson had turned his back on her to look out at the view, she used both hands to push him over the side.

The judge doubted her remorse and sentenced her to 30 years in prison.

TKZers: Kipling seemed to be correct in this case. What do you think of his opinion?

~~~

My new book The Villain’s Journey – How to Create Villains Readers Love to Hate features stories about dangerous Black Widows and Femme Fatales from fiction and real life. To learn more, please click on the book cover.