A former co-worker, about 70 years old, shot himself on station property early this morning. Apparently he was about to be charged with molesting his grandaughter.

He also seemed a nice old guy. Worked sales for the station for about a decade before severe health problems made him retire two years ago.

I have no idea if he's guilty of this crap, but have heard that he confided the truth of the matter to his daughter last night. Whatever it was he told her, she freaked and bolted out his house. Cops told me he killed himself at the transmitter site to our relay tower a bit north of here.

He was going through a wretched divorce and was on a truckload of heart meds, but if he did force himself on his grandkid, no amount of drugs can validate.

I don't know. It's certainly a fucked up world when an elderly Wal-Mart greeter-type of happy, nice Frenchie guy turns out to be a sexual predator.

Couple months ago I'd had an afternoon-long meeting with the guy's son-in-law about ideas to help his (son-in-law's) wife's recording career. The son-in-law's from California and I can imagine the family might be thinking of moving back there at this point.

I haven't used this info as a news story yet. I mean, what do I say? "Guy who used to work here shoots himself in face after mongering his grandkid?"

Shit. Just shit.

a good percentage of the time they are. they doesn't mean that their lives aren't filled with problems. seems like he had his fair share.

so, did you see the crime scene?

Didn't see the crime scene. The station has three facilities. All very rural, since this is the middle of nowhere. The northern tower is about 45 miles north of the main station facilities. But it's a short distance from this guy's house. He must have had some convoluted reason for going to the transmitter hut. Haven't heard yet if there was a suicide note. The lady who does the evening show grew up down the road from this guy and says she can't remember him being anything but nice. She thought of him as an uncle and is pretty freaked about the deal.

I'm not sure I'd have wanted to see the crime scene. Seen too much death over the years. It gets worse to see, not easier, I think.

It all sounds like a Queensryche album.

Hey Now!

[quote="ye merry gentlespoon"
I haven't used this info as a news story yet. I mean, what do I say? "Guy who used to work here shoots himself in face after mongering his grandkid?"

[/quote]

Laugh to keep from crying 'Spoon.

I personally think EVERYONE is a mongering suspect. Especially "nice" old men. Sorry, but I bet dude has a dungeon and several hollowed out mattresses.

Holy shit. So who found him? And don't they lock that crap up so people can't get in?

I don't know why it's fucked up, Spoon.... it seems lately, within the last few years, I've heard more and more stories from friends, relatives, etc. about being molested as children, and it almost always involves a relative. It just breaks my heart because while we all have shit that happens to us during our lives, kids are almost like abused animals in a sense, in that they didn't ask for it, don't know how to deal with it, don't know necessarily how to keep it from happening, and still manage to trust in the person that did it to them. Nice old man, sure, but that's how they always are-- someone you wouldn't mind having around your kids. As much as I hate to do this, I have to channel Oprah on this one-- child sexual predators are all about the seduction, and it's usually from people you'd least expect.

It's sad that the guy killed himself, but sounds like he wasn't really living anyway.

He shot himself outside of the building. Cops went looking for him when his daughter couldn't find him.

I've known plenty of social workers...the vast majority of kids who are molested are molested by family members. Everyone's paranoid about strangers, but its the families that are usually doing the shit. Worse is that while if a stranger molests a kid the court throws the book at them, but family members, the closer the worse the problem is, often get little more than a slap on the wrist.

Personally, I'm glad the scum blew his brains out. Until they die, those fuckers generally just continue to ruin lives with their sick shit. I still have friends with old, thankfully now dead realitives who molested them as kids and whenever the name of one of these fuckers comes up in conversation, inevitably as in what a great person they were while the now-grown people they molested as children sit around the room, its all I can do to keep from screaming out "fuck the old child molesting piece of shit...I'm just happy he's dead!"

Yeah, forgive and forget and all that, but the people that experience the shit basically never forget and the people who do the shit very, very seldom reform. You've got a thousand times better chance of reforming a murder than a molester.

OK...ranting and raving over now...

There is the possibility the guy didn't do anything and killed himself because he was a sickly old man who couldn't cope with the idea of defending himself in a sex abuse trial.

I've known the guy for 10 years. It's a bit harder for me to jump to "I'm glad the scum blew his brains out" as quickly as it is for you. I don't have any proof of his innocence or of his guilt.

So, I'm saddened by the affair but don't know what to think about the guy.

true...shouldn't convict without knowing everything...

my comments only apply in cases where the guy actually did it...hopefully your friend didn't, and if that case it is a very sad story indeed...if he did, i fell the same way about him as i would anyone else...nice seeming old man or not

I've been through the finding-out-a-friend-was-a-monger bit before. This other guy went to jail and still wanted to be friends when he got out. Said he'd turned his urges over to God and had been forgiven. Yeah, well, I'm not God, so it ain't gonna happen.