R.I.P. Christopher O’Leary
Ξ February 4th, 2008 | → | ∇ 90041, 90042, Highland Park, Press |
Postings here at York Blvd have veered into the serious lately, and we’re not quite ready to turn the page. It would be an agregious case of denial to ignore the recent murder of Christopher O’Leary near the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Avenue 46. We won’t belabor the details, which the Times summarized in their front-page article last week. This killing has garnered more attention than usual for several reasons (the good Samaritan status of the victim for example), but what has me troubled is the pure randomness of the crime. I can’t understand how the official story of this adds up. An all round good guy was shot once in the chest while walking to the store to buy some smokes around 1 PM by a kid who had only been in town for a week? I’m not ignorant of the murders that occur in Los Angeles every day, but the majority of those have some modicum of logic behind them. Murder/suicides are crimes of passion, and gang members are often killed over drugs and money. Maybe I’m just troubled by something that cannot be settled with logic. Still, based on the lack of conviction in lead detective’s quotes and the grumblings I hear from the LAPD (we’re not the Times but we have our sources in the community too), I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Until then, my heart goes out to the victim’s family and all those affected by this tragic and seemingly senseless homicide.
See the O’Leary story here.
Read the LA Times’ Murder Blog (one of the most troubling and informative local sites on the internet) here.
See you all tomorrow at the polls, and we promise to get back to the lighter side of the news soon.
on February 5th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
You might want to change the headline of your post if you are being serious.
on February 5th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Thanks…terrible brain lapse on my part.
on February 5th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
anyone know more about this one? do they have any other evidence? a motive?
the randomness is definitely freaky here
heartbreaking story.
on February 5th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
i read this story in the paper on friday and thought it was disgusting. and not because a man was killed. i thought it was disgusting that the only time i’ve seen an article of that length dedicated to a murder in highland park happens to be a caucasian male who recently moved to the area. please, these acts have been occuring in the area forever. even the writing was disgusting, smoking was their occassional guilty pleasure and he went around the block to avoid being seen by neighborhood kids, so god damn fulffy. i can’t tell you how many times i’ve seen occurances like this in the area and no one takes notice, not until one of the yuppies gets killed and then they put a photo of his widow cuddling their stupid dog.
on February 5th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I agree that it’s upsetting to see the press only cover a HP killing if the victim is white, but beyond race they are highlighting a totally random killing in the neighborhood. Murders in our area are actually pretty rare, and when they do happen it is usually gang related, between people who (excuse me for avoiding all socio-economic reasons) have entered into a lifestyle where getting shot is a real possibility.
Also, in recent history the press has most definitely covered murders of non-whites, as in the several senseless killings of African Americans in our neighborhood a few years ago.
I would certainly say ANY killing is tragic, but a man (of any race) walking down the street on a Sunday afternoon, getting shot in broad daylight for no reason, hits a special chord. And that really doesn’t happen here often at all.
on February 6th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Thanks, Jean-Paul. Like you said, this is highly unusual, and past random killings have also been covered in considerable detail in local media. Not that the media is perfect, but to call racism on this is just silly and frankly more than a little bit sick. Plus, the guy was a public servant working to help poor people with STDs… since when and in what warped world does that make one a “yuppie”?
Dianne, I appreciate the fact youre sensitive to injustice in an injust world, but I think you’re really barking up the wrong tree in this case.
on February 8th, 2008 at 9:21 am
I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop as well, and I’m not yet buying that this was a total random act or a gang initiation. I can say with confidence that Chris was not involved with anything illegal–he was a straight-up guy, and yes, he really would go around the corner so kids wouldn’t see him smoking a cigarette–so I ask: who benefits? I’m sorry this happened in your neighborhood. He would have been a wonderful force in any neighborhood he lived in. He certainly was when he lived in ours.
on February 8th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I asked the Times to write an article - and thats the only time they became aware of the story. there hadnt even been a homicide report in the paper until a friend contacted the paper a week after his death. this case was actually not getting any attention at all.
youll also notice the point of the longer article I answered questions for (and about 10 other people) I think was that he was an organ donor “he woke up prepared to save lives”. A little dramatic but thats media and they want to promote organ donation. I also thought, erroniously, that they might include mention of plans to start a neighborhood dog park with swings for kids, to turn this into something better for our area.
I just added to the LA times blog and another comment is waiting to be posted. there is evidence not disclosed, as the Times article mentions. lets stop conjecture so the case can be sucessfully brought to trial. And by the way, he actually was like tht with smoking. He occasionally would have one at the house in a spot to the side totally hidden- we have 2 curious kids next door. He wasnt ashamed of telling the adults what he was doing but not the kids. He also didnt want to make it easy for himself to smoke - behavioral intervention you know - so he would sometimes walk around the corner, one direction or the other, and sit away from people’s houses.
Chris made his life about inclusivness, loved our house and our area. He was a PHD cultural anthropologist who loved diversity and could have gone the ego and money route but didnt. He lived in mexico and Brazil and asked me a few weeks ago to call him Cristobal, which was actually his given name before changed on his birth certificate at the hospital. be careful with your words -I do believe you are trying to combat racism with you blogs, even you that are writing about “whites”- Its racist to assume he had it all come easily because he was white. he was a testiment to overcoming poverty and the product of a particularly young teen mother. But look what he did for himself and who he became! he loved his younger siblings and he was also the most devoted dog daddy. And he pretty much did it all on his own. And as an adult, he was happiest at work when he felt he was making an impact, if teaching diabetics or helping to create more effective interventions for people at high risk for STDs. He wasnt perfect but darn close and if you are suspect, I suggest you actively work to get some better people in your life. they are all around you! Let the case unfold in court and then it will make more sense I think. As for the police, as far as I know this case was a big question mark the first 2 weeks but they have the answers. This conjecture is just making imaginations go wild and create spectacle of the death, rather than the life. And the conjecture isnt going to be accurate. Lets put this energy into our neighborhood and the antiracist ideals I believe your blogs are trying to demonstrate So shhhhh and peace
on February 16th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
I met Chris’s wife, Michele at orientation at Umass Amherst. I immediately felt comfortable with her. This was 16 1/2 years ago and we have been friends ever since. We have had our arguments, we have butted heads. Neither of us are perfect. But our friendship is one of the most genuine I have ever had. Michele is opinionated, has so much energy that it’s unbelievable. She is also one of the most generous people I have ever met and I can tell her anything. How many people in your life that you think you are friends with all of the sudden give you the cold shoulder. So many of us go with the mainstream and become involved with people they feel like “they should” not who they want to. Michele is the salt of the earth. She grew up priveledged but her parents are lovely,kind and all inclusive. It’s hard to believe but her and her whole family are as genuine as they come.
I got the privledge of knowing Chris who of course I met through Michele upon a visit of his to NY where he was going to his friend’s weddding and Michele could not make it. Chris was not only brilliant but so down to earth. Like Michele, you could tell him anything and he would not judge. He was full of life. Our birthdays were so close together. I don’t know if Michele realized she married a somewhat male version of me. However, Chris reached his potential more than I ever did. Yes, he was that nice. I could see him not smoking in front of dogs. It is hard to believe people can be that nice. Losing Chris is a loss for the world. You can be kind and successful. I wish I had more people in my life like Chris and Michele. I live in NYC and Michele is determined I will move to LA. My parents are in Massachusetts and elderly and I don’t want to leave them. Michele is ready to move them both out to California to live in her house and trust me, she would do this.