Reading some of these horrible stories in this thread has reminded me of quite a few friends that became murderers, were murdered or otherwise died too soon. It got me to looking around and there's quite a few articles online about their stories.
Alvin Barr a childhood friend of mine invited a friend and I to go swimming with him and some buddies down at the beach. He never came home that day. He was caught in a riptide and drowned.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1990-06-20/news/9001140746_1_undertow-al-gordon-rescuers
Jason Coe was an older middle school classmate of mine. Got into an argument over a basketball game with an even older kid. The older kid got his hands on a baseball bat and struck Jason in the head killing him right there on our middle school basketball court.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1990-03-20/news/9001300395_1_baseball-bat-jason-coe-detective-sgt
Alfredo Sanchez was a middle school friend of mine. He was a good kid. Never hurt nobody. He even helped me with an art project one time when I was drawing some cars even though he hung out with the cool kids. He liked working on cars like customizing them with sound systems or making them lowriders. He was outside one day detailing his ride when he was murdered by Peter Alejandro a little league baseball team mate of mine in a drive by shooting.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/19...ime-sanchez-sanchez-s-mother-sanchez-s-family
Travis Smith was another middle school/high school friend of mine who was shot and killed only one block away from my childhood home by Robert "Bubba" Demps. Robert was a football team mate of mine. I previously had a run in with Robert after practice one day when he sucker punched me in the back of my head from behind because I took his spot as defensive captain. I swung my helmet around and cracked him in the head. He hit the ground and I took off running before his 5 friends could jump me. I never saw him again.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2002-02-12/news/0202110594_1_travis-smith-davie-shopping-center
Apparently, years later after serving his time for the murder of Travis Smith, Robert Demps got out of jail and was still living that life. He himself was shot and killed.
Live by the gun, die by the gun.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/20...ing-20140326_1_shooting-death-davie-drug-deal
Bobby Jimmy Cook. What a piece of shit sub human this kid turned out to be. We called him "BJ" growing up. He was one of the younger kids always trying to be down. He ended up getting terribly addicted to oxycodone. My ex girlfriend just sold her recently deceased (heroine overdose) mother Betty's house for $750,000. (Betty was also a good friend of mine) My ex moved back to Florida and hooked up with BJ. I told her it was a really terrible idea. He used her and abused her. Then he dragged her down to his level of addiction. The daily goal was chasing the dragon. Then once he spent her entire inheritance he left her. Three quarters of a mil gone. But it's probably the best thing that could have happened to her. About a year later he shot and killed a woman about two blocks behind my childhood home for $5,000. It was supposed to be 5 up front and 5 after. He got caught, the guy who hired him got caught and now they're both facing life in prison.
murderer
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Hollywood-Man-Arrested-in-Womans-Murder-Was-Hired-To-Shoot-Her-for-10000-Authorities-225558902.html?amp=y
Crissy Grant was a friend of mine that introduced me to her brother who became my lifelong best friend. Crissy was in an abusive relationship with a guy named Ralph. We didn't know about the abuse. We also didn't know that Ralph had previously been charged with stabbing a former girlfriend years ago. Ralph murdered Crissy in a fit of jealous rage one night. It was a really hard time for us. We plotted revenge, my friend went into a really dark place for a couple of years. We stopped talking for a while. It's been a really long time and while I haven't forgiven Ralph my friend has. I don't recall but Ralph may be up for parole or maybe he was already. I'm not sure. I never want to think about him again.
http://www.gainesville.com/news/20050909/fayson-guilty-of-killing-girlfriend
Robert Allen Slick was football buddy of mine. He was a really great guy. Super funny, always clowning around. He was a young father building his life. Around 2013 he died in his sleep. Possible oxycodone overdose. A family member speculated there was some foul play or some responsibility rested on others but nothing was ever discovered. Slick was a good person who made his own choices that night. Sadly he passed away.
No article
Jason Baltzley was a great friend of mine growing up. "Slim" was a super skinny cat but nobody ever fucked with him because we all had his back. He was a young father too. One day while at work he was working on an air conditioning unit he stepped on some loose material covering a hole of some sorts and accidentally fell three stories to his death. A mutual friend of mine suggested he was on oxycodone while at work that day. I don't know if a toxicology report was ever released. It's sad either way. That one hit me pretty hard too.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/20...ir-conditioning-unit-hollywood-man-girlfriend
All of this reminds me that our lives are too short and you never know what the day will bring. Love your family and friends and cherish the moments you share together. You may not have that person in your life forever and they may not have you.
Thanks for reading.
Best Regards,
ThEoRy