Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 25, 2007 - 05:09pm PT
I was just wondering if anyone out there remembers a climber
named luke Stong/ He did a lot of climbing in the 70s and early 80s. He went to jail in the middle 80s for killing his Grandmother. He was caught on his way to Yosemite, with his grandmother in the trunk, by the police. He was stopped in Victorville, for speeding, about 5 hours earlier. I think he was going to dump her body in Yosemite.
Luke lived with my wife and I, in Ridgecrest, from 77 til 79.
He started getting really weird in 78, and my wife told me either he left or she was going to leave. He was OUT within 3 days!
It sure gave me chills, when I heard he got arrested for killing his grandma. I started thinking about when he lived with us, and was sure glad, that he didn't off us, when I kicked him out.
The last thing I heard about him was that he was commited to an institution, for crazy people. Does anyone out there know what happened to him or if he is still in the psyche ward??
One thing I can say though, is, he was a good climber when
he wasn't taking LSD or other mind altering drugs.
He had this awful habit of looking at a person very strangely,
without saying anything, and then break into this evil chuckle,
or laugh. You always wondered what he was thinking at the time.
He would never tell you though, what he was thinking.
If you knew Luke,or know what happened to him, share your story, and your impressions of him.
Wow - sounds like your wife's woman's intuition had your back!
Frightening to think about. Do you know any details as to the stroy behind his murdering his grandmother? Maybe he was living with her, similarly to the way he was at your house....
Who knows what goes on in he dark recesses of some poeple's minds..... Oftentimes even they are unaware!
Is this the same guy known as Luke the Fluke? The guy Scott Cole and his partners found jacking their bags at the top of their fixed lines. I seem to remember there being two separate Lukes, but I can't recall now.
I know it isn't Russ. Luke had a bunch of FAs at JT. In the old Vogal Guide book, Randy had lukes last name spelled wrong. Randy had the last name written as Strong, not Stong.
One of the FAs at JT, Luke did, was a climb called, Jughead,
in the Echo area.
Yes Werner, He definitely was a thief also. A lot of my gear came up missing also, after I booted him out.
I only brought this up, because I was curious, and I was wondering if he ever got out of prison, or the looney bin.
I just never want to run into him, if he is out. He might still bear a grudge against me for kicking him out.
I still remember the time I was climbing with him on Washingtons Column and I find out 5 pitches up, he is stoned
out of his gourd, on LSD, needless to say, after I find out,
I let him know, I was rapping going down, with or without him!
I never climbed with him again after that.
that's really scary. i just want to put in a plug for this book that crimpergirl and a couple of other folks on this forum have recommended: "the gift of fear" by gavin de Becker. in this society people aren't taught that emotional intelligence is important, so it's useful to learn to listen to intuition.
Thanks SS;
I wish that book had been around in the 70s, when I climbed with Luke. I would have never had an association with him,
if I could tell that he was that crazy.
I remember him very well. He came into the shop a lot & would give you that "I'm certifiable" look. I always had the immediate fear of turning my back on him. If I remember correctly all sorts of gear was being boosted in the ditch about the time that he was around, especially fixed stuff.
Yes they are Robb.
If only us guys could have intuition, like most women have.
We'd sure get in a lot less trouble.
I figured he was weird at the time, just not killer weird.
Who knows what would have happened to us, if I hadn't listened to my wife.
I knew Luke Stong personally. He was one of my neighbors in a condo complex in Baldwin Park early '80s. He lived with his mother, Nancy. She was as crazy as he was, on serious drugs. He worked at a 7-11 for a few days and was promptly fired. This was all a year or two before he killed his grandmother. He asked me for a ride to Riverside once. He suddenly asked me to pull over near Mt. Rubidoux where he got out. I asked him "why get out here in the middle of nowhere?" he pointed to Mt. Rubidoux and said, "I'm gonna climb that mountain." I can't believe anyone remembered that freak. He's not in the California prison inmate locator. I only thought of him because of the wackjob that shot the fireman, after hearing he too beat his grandmother to death with a blunt object. What a small world!
(October 23, 1984)
DENNIS, MABEL The body of Mrs. Garnett (Mabel) Dennis of Covina, CA was discovered in the trunk of her car recently. Her grandson, Luke Stong, 24, was driving the car and he has been charged with capital murder. Mrs. Dennis was discovered missing from her home August 15 by another former Mansfield resident, Mrs. John Kelly, a close friend and neighbor of Mrs. Dennis. Signs of a struggle were discovered in the house and her car was missing. Mrs. Kelly notified the police and the car was apprehended in Fresno. Services for Mrs. Dennis were held Tuesday, August 21. Mrs. Dennis was a sister-in-law of Erman Dennis of Mansfield and Mrs. John (Dutch Fuge) Critcher of Seymour. Her father was the late Clarence Critcher of the Odin community. She had many other relatives and friends in the area.
Originally FA'd in 1977 by Luke Stong and Tom Cowie, the routes' namesake wasn't attached until 1985 by Tom Cowie and Scott Loomis. Tom and Scott thought of the name when, in that same year, Luke Stong was convicted of first degree murder after killing his grandmother and placing her body into the truck of his car, with the intent to dump her body somewhere in Yosemite. Luke never made it to the park, only to be stopped by the CHP on the way there. Stopped for speeding along the 395, the cops soon became suspicious when they noted that Luke was edgy and nervous, insisting he needed to leave right away. A quick search of his car revealed the body of Luke's granny. CREEPY!! The same can be held true upon your arrival to Great Basin Falls and the surrounding landscape. Think 'The Hills Have Eyes' or the original crash landing scene for 'Planet Of The Apes'!
Tom Cowie and I are still Friends, Survival.
I just talked with him a couple of weeks ago.Tom and Loomis have been doing a bunch of routes together lately.
Luke always had a strange look in his eyes and had a way of getting personal with you when you didn't even know him. Knew your name and what you were up to before you were even introduced. Yes, that's the same guy who killed his granny and ripped off Scott Cole et alia.
Luke "The Fluke" was what we called him. Luke had been around the valley off and on for several years, repeatedly suspected, but never caught in the act of, a number of Gear rip-offs on El Cap and in Camp 4. Bob Williams and I lost all of our gear from a coffin in the rescue site once, and we were pretty sure it was Luke behind it, but no proof.
When I saw Luke at the top of the Zodiac talus moments before dark with an empty expedition pack I figured he was headed to work, so I elbowed Larry Zulim, my partner for Zodiac, sharply in the side and said for Luke's benefit,; "we'd love to stay and talk Luke, but we're headed to the Mtn. Room for a send off, and we want to get down the talus before dark, see ya later. We headed off into the trees below Tangerine Trip where our bivy was setup prior to lift-off in the AM and I explained the sit. to Larry.
It was never our intention to descend that evening so we waited as it grew darker, then crept out and watched a shadowy figure ascend our lines. With three pitches fixed, we figured it would take at least an hour for Luke to finish his job, so we went back to our camp and welcomed our friends who had come to see us off. We told everyone what was going down, and quietly waited until the time was right, then crept back to the base of the ropes.
We didn't have to wait long. Larry and I saw a dark blur above us getting closer and closer, and then reaching the ground two feet away from us. Luke began un-clipping from the rope and suddenly sensed our presence.
Luke was a little surprised that we were there, and he fell backwards into the boulders, his now full pack pulling him over. Larry and I stood up and said "we decided to come back up and sleep at the base, come on over to our camp, we have some beer and stuff". Playing it cool Luke followed us to camp where we stoked the fire, and rolled a joint. As we passed the dub around, people started to appear out of the darkness until there were five or six of us, and one Luke.
Luke was starting to look a little concerned when we asked him what was in the pack. He denied that he had our gear in the pack, and had just been retrieving some gear of his own. At about this point Roy began quietly chanting "kill him, kill him", which he continued to do for the next couple of hours. The crazed look in Luke's eyes should have been an indicator as to his potential for violence, and we should have done as Roy suggested, but we opted not to bloody our hands and marched him down the approach, pinned next to the wall and surrounded, then drove him to LEO, where he was arrested.
Luke spent some time in jail over that, and the cache of stolen gear the rangers found above camp 4. Eventually,as the story goes anyway, Luke decide it was time to return to the valley and settle the score with Larry and I, who had ruined his life. He asked granny to borrow her car, but she refused, so he killed her, cut her body into pieces, stuffed her in the trunk, and headed for the ditch.
If the cops hadn't seen blood dripping from the trunk there may have been a few more murders. I heard he got life, but that was long ago. It would be interesting to know where he ended up.
Whenever Luke would walk up to you and start addressing you on a first name basis, even though you'd never met before or even been introduced, I always thought it was suspicious. People who utilize familiarity they aren't entitled to as an entre always make me nervous about their bad intentions. I wonder why no one so far has pointed out Luke's odd physiognomy: large boned, large hands, with a big strange over-sized head and a blank stare. I know there's not supposed to be anything that one could classify as a criminal skull shape, but Luke looked like the classic 19th century definition of a criminal. Always felt I needed to take out some calipers and measure his skull shape, especially when he came up without warning and started calling me by my first name. Maybe those 19th century French criminologists were on to something that modern forensics have overlooked? In any case, Luke sure had a way of making you feel uneasy.
Bruce Morris, now that you have added that description of Luke, I actually DO remember this guy!
I had run into he and John "The Scrutinizer" (talk about an interesting looking pair) at the base of Pinched Rib one day. I was climbing with Tim Wagner at the time, and as we walked away, I remember being startled by some words Tim had for that guy....as Tim NEVER talked down about anyone.
Clearly, the looks of that guy creeped Tim out...and as I said, paired with The Scrutinizer, that was a sideshow to behold.
John Hayward,(the scrut) and I were good friends, Crag.
Remember the green capri he drove around in?
The guy never did much leading but he sure could follow.
Someone has deleted a couple of post, on this thread since it was
last viewed before the recent revival.
They were saying if I remember right,
That Luke was out of the crazy house and among us.
Well put about him just suddenly being there, Bruce.
I was in the back of a group of friends heading to the Mountain Room Bar at dusk, when this guy appears and falls in like one of the gang. "Hi I'm Luke" he says.
I tend to take people as good until proven otherwise, so I said hi. I was immediately given admonishment from friends who knew the score, to not talk to him, he was a thief, he was weird, buzz off Luke, etc,etc.
I had heard the story Scott posted and how the rangers were incredulous that he didn't "trip" once or twice down the trail before being delivered to them.
Walt Shipley's well deserved rep for telling stories was extra chilling one night when he was talking about "remember that Luke guy ? he got busted and you won't see him anymore. Guess who was in the trunk ? HIS GRANNY!"
Pshycho Kenny was an unstable climber dude around Boulder back in the 80's from what I remember. He was bonafide allright. He ended up rapping off the end of his rope at Peanuts wall and died a really graphic and hideous death.
edit-
Psycho Kenny and Luke the Fluke are the only climbers I have known crazy enough to actually kill someone. The rest are just a bunch of poseurs.
That's excellent, but I'm sure there's others. Gotta' be.
Climbing in the 80's had a purity of notion that's hard to come by in middle age. It was a freak show for all the good reasons. Some were good, some were bad but some went too far and chopped up their granny and stowed her in a trunk...
Why ? How? How come why? There's no explaining levels of reason I guess for the affected who deliver psycho killer effect.
I do believe the world is good and almost all the people in it are OK, reasonably, regardless of a preponderance of C- life scores in ethics...
I was thinking a while ago about how fresh and chill the Joshua Tree air was, holding promise at sun rise.
I googled the snot out of him and hist grandma's name but came up empty except for a mention in a geneology page. I'm not sure I got the names right.
I was in the valley during that time, but never even heard of this. I wasn't exactly clued in, though.
I do remember the gear thefts. It got so bad that every week you would hear of someone getting their racks stolen from leaving them at the top of fixed lines.
One of Layton's partners killed a woman and got busted after she was in the trunk of his car for 4 days, and one of the climbers who made a very early ascent of the Nose killed many people.
Inmate locator is not always right, one Chula Vista killer is not listed, but I know where he is.
From CCCman's photo, it does appear that the folks in Colorado were Stong's parents.
Yikes:
One of Layton's partners killed a woman and got busted after she was in the trunk of his car for 4 days, and one of the climbers who made a very early ascent of the Nose killed many people. Quote Here
If alive, more likely Napa, or residing in a locked, secured residential care facility. His criminal case went to the Cal. Sup. Ct in 1993, but they denied review.
Ron, she actually froze to death. He shot her, she survived, and they found her frozen and clearly in the act of crawling out of his van. He was a few hundred yards away and in fact shot himself but survived. He's out of Canyon City. In fact I met him last Summer. It freaked me out for very personal reasons. The abduction happened in front of my college advisors house and he was the guy that called the police. He still lives with the guilt of that call not saving her life. She was 19. Anyhow just felt I should clear that up a little and not to call out you by any means.
I seem to remember Kenny pulling a block off on himself. That was a bad year for the Boulder community. Lots of carnage.
Goedecke is dead
Morse is still in prison, doesn't show up in locator
This article profiles 12 murderers identified by prosecutors and police officers as truly evil due to their lack of remorse, their killings of police officers, their being a police officer who killed, or their multiple murders.
Abstract: Brenda Spencer was 16 years old in 1979 when she shot and killed an elementary school principal and custodian and wounded eight children and a police officer. Veronica and Ivan Gonzales abused and tortured their niece to death and became the first married couple in California to go on death row. Other offenders in this group include triple murderer Joseph Bernard Morse and murderers Robert Alton Harris and Raymond Goedecke. Charles Tyberg and Joselito Cinco killed police officers and were sentenced to death. California Highway Patrol Officer Craig Peyer strangled a 20-year-old woman. Cleophus Prince, Jr., was prosecuted for the stabbing deaths of six women in 1993. Other serial killers profiled include David Lucas and Brandon Wilson
Luke Stong is still alive by the lookup that reveals Goedecke is dead.
One of Layton's partners killed a woman and got busted after she was in the trunk of his car for 4 days, and one of the climbers who made a very early ascent of the Nose killed many people. Quote Here
ha! So its starting to look like more than a few screws loose after all! What the hell is with the car trunk sh#t? In the usual continental us climate isn't that like putting her in the slow cooker? And just who the hell is this very early ascent of the Nose guy who "killed many people"? I don't remember reading any of this stuff in Chris Jones history book!
I take it all back - you guys really do need your guns!!!!
Poor old Luke spent his time stealing climbing gear at the top of fixed ropes and then ultimately murdered and cut up his grand mother so she would fit in the trunk of her car he then stole.
Mental illness for being wierd only, as described and sometimes cured, is a long way from proper state sanctions for working one's amateur butchering skills on an old woman and stuffing her bits in a trunk...
As the California Supreme Court powerfully stated in _People v. Morse_, the jury "looks at the individual as a whole being and decides
if he is fit to live," 60 Cal.2d 631, 637. In making this awesome
decision, the jury is guided by the instructions of the trial judge,
which define a reasoned process for approaching what remains a
profoundly moral decision about the value of a human life.
If, upon weighing the applicable aggravating and
mitigating factors, you conclude that the
appropriate penalty is life imprisonment without
the possibility of parole, then it would be a
violation of your duty as jurors to return a
verdict of death out of fear or concern that the
Department of Corrections or its Director may fail
in their responsibilities under law to provide the
defendant with psychotherapy or other care which
may be needed to achieve rehabilitation or prevent
future acts of violence."
Consider the source! That's for sure Ron. Funny you should mention the other guy. The last route I did this past fall is one of his. Absolutely classic 5 inch offwidth to a scary face protected by two bolts he drilled something like 40 years ago. His Platte routes are all genius.
"Abstract: Brenda Spencer was 16 years old in 1979 when she shot and killed an elementary school principal and custodian and wounded eight children and a police officer."
When asked why she did it, Brenda replied, "I don't like Mondays...."
Later, the Boomtown Rats rock band had a hit song titled I Don't Like Mondays ...based on the Brenda Spencer shooting incident
I seem to remember Kenny pulling a block off on himself.
I remember hearing this story and a bunch of others about Kenny in the late '80s in Boulder. Didn't the Shield in Eldo get renamed "Psycho Killer" after he pulled the block off?
Harris was twenty five years old when he shot two San Diego teenagers to death. Prosecutors told the jury that Harris taunted the victims before they died, laughed at them after he pulled the trigger, then calmly ate the hamburgers they had bought for lunch
His last words before dying in the gas chamber:
"You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everyone dances with the grim reaper." (from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure no less). Doesn't appear to by a lyric in anyone's song.
Robert Harris had a violent and unhappy childhood that started in the womb. He was born three months premature after his mother was brutally assaulted by his father who kicked her in the stomach. Both parents inflicted frequent beatings on young Robert who suffered a broken jaw at the age of two after a punch form his father. For sport, his father would load a gun and tell the children they had 30 minutes to hide outside the house, after which he would shoot them down like animals.
You guys are scaring me silly! I figure most folks are selfish and that's the reason they do bad stuff. Most are not truly evil, just extremely short sighted. This guy, now that's evil.
May I and the folks I love, heck even the folks I dislike... May they never have the experience of dealing with someone who is truly Evil.
was'nt there another guy that was kinda of a killer among us climbers? ken black or something?
Bruce Morris thank's for the detailed story.
i'm not old enuf to have seen or met any of the climbers back in the 80's.
Yikes! Dick Cilley SWEARS he saw Luke in JT a couple of years ago. I'll refrain from posting until there is certain proof he is behind bars, still. Scary stuff with him on the loose.
You guys are scaring me silly! I figure most folks are selfish and that's the reason they do bad stuff. Most are not truly evil, just extremely short sighted. This guy, now that's evil.
Trust us, they're out there. The number of sociopaths on the loose is pretty scary, and you have to trust your instincts.
I worked with another ER nurse who went on to medical school. Everyone liked him, but I always thought he was really creepy and scary - never trusted him. Five years later he was sentenced to 25-30. He was working as an intern, went on the Ob/Gyn floor, injected Valium into a young woman's IV line and then raped her.
And Google Michael Swango (the psycho MD) if you want to see how easy it is for these types to blend in and do harm.
There has to be a Luke Stong mug shot published or available someplace in a newspaper or elsewhere? Anybody?
I notice in the Colorado obituary that Luke's mother died of Alzheimer's at the ripe old age of 61. And his father died of the Big C at 65. That sounds like there are some errors in his genetic code, doesn't it? What's that 1930s movie called, "Bad Seed"? Sure doesn't come from a robust blood line in any case.
Sociopaths often flourish in corporate environments. Just gotta keep from killing grandma and get that MBA. Make all your most profane financial dreams come true. When life gives you lemons and all that.
I think Dwain said it about as well as it gonna get said. From what can be determined, he is still alive, but he's taking his private thoughts to the grave.
He had this awful habit of looking at a person very strangely,
without saying anything, and then break into this evil chuckle,
or laugh. You always wondered what he was thinking at the time.
He would never tell you though, what he was thinking.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA Plaintiff
VS.
LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI Defendant
HON. CLAYTON W. HORN Judge
The defendant is charged with a violation of Section 311.3 of the Penal Code of the State of California. Defendant pleads Not Guilty. The complaint alleged that the defendant did willfully and lewdly print, publish and sell obscene and indecent writings, papers and books, to wit: "Howl and Other Poems."
...
The theme of "Howl" presents "unorthodox and controversial ideas." Coarse and vulgar language is used in treatment and sex acts are mentioned, but unless the book is entirely lacking in "social importance" it cannot be held obscene. This point does not seem to have been specifically presented or decided in any of the cases leading up to Roth v. United States.
Here are some V2s I built in 2007. Rescued three complete classic Revell kits from the basement of a home in Burlingame in 2007 right after the owner collapsed and was whisked off to ER. No medical insurance so it was being demolished.
Johnny on the spot! Doesn't place me in Luke Stang's league though.
You guys are scaring me silly! I figure most folks are selfish and that's the reason they do bad stuff. Most are not truly evil, just extremely short sighted. This guy, now that's evil.
Steven Stayner memorial bronze in Applegate Park, Merced.
Credit: GI
This was the most bizarre scenario. Boy gets kidnapped, becomes a hero, dies in a motorcycle accident, and his older brother becomes a serial killer. Murder In Yosemite is quite a good book, it is a gruesome story, though...
Did this guy have blonde hair, shoulder length? I can remember an @$$hole acid eating climber in '73 that latched onto a climbing circle. I woke up in the middle of the night in my tent cabin at Camp 6 and he was leaning over me chantin weird mantras. A real pyscho...
Cool thread. Crazy sh#t if this dude is in JT, although there are probably far worse characters creeping around the basin.
My ex-girlfriend’s mom and aunt met Cary Stayner at the Cedar Lodge. They were staying there for a couple of days while visiting the park. Apparently there was something wrong with their room – I forget what exactly, the shower wasn’t working, or something. Anyway, they call the front desk about the problem, and the desk sends over the handyman. Stayner comes in, takes a look at the problem, and says he’ll need to come back with some different tools, or a part or whatever. My ex’s mom got such a bad vibe from the guy that she told her sister she couldn’t stay there any longer and had to leave. They packed their stuff and went to another motel. The way she told it, she was trembling when they left, but couldn’t figure out why. She just knew she had to get out of there. Later it came out that he had killed some of the female guests that stayed there. Always good to trust your spidey-sense!
Patient information and medical records are not public records
and are subject to HIPAA disclosure protections and requirements
as well as California Welfare and Institutions Code §5328.
Luke Dennis Stong's case went to the California Supreme Court in 1993 and was denied review. This was an appeal from 2nd Appellate District. His attorney was in San Luis Obispo, making it a good guess that Stong was in Atascadero. However, from Court of Appeals case:
Stong, Luke D. : Defendant and Appellant
Patton State Hospital
3102 E. Highland Avenue
Patton, CA 92360
Since his grandmother lived in Covina, his case would have been in Los Angeles Superior Court. For about $5.00 you can look it up at the court's web site.
I got a catalog request from him a long time ago from some "facility". Never sent it though as "wall climbing" gear is the last thing I'd be sending out to him.
I might have kept the request.... I'll look around and post it up if I find the letter.
Might want to call the forensic pay and ask if Luke is eligible for parole? If so, when? Or being held until a shrink states he is no longer a danger to the community?
If you find out, you might want to post that too.
Lots of murderers (even ones once sent to death row) get paroled after 25 years (or so) in prison.
Edit ex post facto:
PSP, responding below, tries to make me look stupid; however, a lot of murderers on death row win appeals, get new trials, and then the prosecution throws in the towel on the death penalty and they get resentenced to life imprisonment, and viola, they become parol eligible and get out. I can cite a specific example if anyone doubts me.
The Sierra Madre, CA- based sheep buggers don't want to take any credit for Luke's early development, but apparently Luke was a grade-school and Boy Scout mate and could tell stories if they were so inclined.
Not sure what he was like as a teen but likely pretty much a younger version of ratshit crazy evil person he grew up to be.
He isn't on the Vine network either, which seems wrong. If you get thrown into the loony bin for killing grandma, you should be under the same public disclosure laws as a criminal, and not a private patient.
"Whatever Happened to Luke Skywalker" is from Greg Childs book "Postcards From the Edge" and the story was published in Climbing magazine in 1998, I believe. That story as published in Climbing had a photo of the guy (Luke Strong) . I threw out my copy of that issue about 3 months ago
Raymond Goedecke, one of the Chula Vista family killers, got out on parole and married a woman he'd met through a "jailhouse romance". Not sure of the time frame, but once out, he killed his wife and went back to prison where he died.
Joe Morse, the first CV family killer, on the other hand, killed a trustee not long after he was jailed in a dispute over cigarettes. He's still alive and writes and edits the prison inmates newslettter.
They never seemed to get that lovin' feeling we hear about.
Yeah, Linfield and Luke, did a few FAs together, Jim Thoen also.
I don't think Linfield parted on good terms with Luke either.
Cosmiccragsman
CosmicCragsman - Jim Thoen and I use to climb together in a group from the San Diego area in late 70's. I've been trying to find a mutual friend, Ken Marsh. If you're in contact with Jim, please pass this on.
Justifiable.....only if the victim had started a political/religious thread. Too many of them and they need culling. Nurture climbing thread launchers....an endangered species, they are.
Raymond Goedecke, one of the Chula Vista family killers, got out on parole and married a woman he'd met through a "jailhouse romance". Not sure of the time frame, but once out, he killed his wife and went back to prison where he died.
This is some bizarre material. Who murders their grandmother?
I'm curious if any older Wyoming climbers remember a crime in the 1970's ...a member of the climbing community, with another man abducted two sisters, beat and sexually abused them and threw them from a bridge over a deep canyon..
My folks told me of the crime, but I don't recall any names...one of the sisters survived the fall and found a lapse in the canyon walls and crawled out with several skeletal fractures. She identifiedv the men, they were found guilty, but their death sentences were overturned.
The surviving victim had difficulty struggling with the emotional wreckage in her life and jumped from the same bridge years later ...and was killed. A grotesque series of events but factual...
Funny,I think I posted several factual Stong stories years ago on this thread.Maybe Luke deleated them.I definately saw Luke in JT.years after he was sent away.He greeted me by name but I didn´t stop to chat about old times.
Funny,I think I posted several factual Stong stories years ago on this thread.Maybe Luke deleated them.I definately saw Luke in JT.years after he was sent away.He greeted me by name but I didn´t stop to chat about old times.
Only yourself, a mod or an admin could delete your older posts.
Besides your claims, there is no evidense that Luke is anywhere other than the loony bin
Sewellymon - care to explain your "Sierra Madre based sheep buggers" remark earlier in the thread? As a life long resident of that town, i don't recall a Luke strong in town...and in a mile square town, you basically either know, or know of, everybody.
Nov 9, 2005 - 11:56am PT
Kenny was a psycho but Luke was in another League.Fish and I used to scratch Kennys prize Vdub with the rivets of our Levis while looking him in the eye.Kenny wouldnt even think of saying anything.But if u looked in Lukes eyes ,u knew he´d kill u.Still I funked with him some.I´ve seen him since the Granny incident.So I cant help but wonder if its true.I kept walkin though he saluted me by name.Any sitings? http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=72406&msg=117435#msg117435
that was apparently in response to this form the Fish;
Nov 1, 2005 - 09:58am PT
It is all muddy in my brain, but to the best of my knowledge:
Luke the Fluke, Granny in trunk, aka Luke Skywalker, line jugger, gear thief. All true.
Ken the psycho, psycho, got killed on the Peanut in Eldo when his rope cut at his waist. Cops were in the parking area looking for him in Eldo as he was wanted for killing a guy in the Buttermilk while bouldering. Shallow grave.
Bullwinkle caught a thief in camp 4.... can't remember the guys name, but he got thumped and litterally dragged through the mud all the way to the cops.
Fight at the base of the Zodiac... Yo hammer used on a guys back. They ended up throwing rocks at Ken the Psycho to keep him back. The guy who got hit with the hammer I can't remember his name, but it starts with an F?? Finnegan? Flarety? Fogerty? Anyway, it was all over fixed lines and gear at the top of the lines and bailing partners.
How does any of this tie into me?
Well..... Luke the Fluke lived out by us sheep buggerers with his Granny, and we have given him rides to and from the crags before. Mistake I tell you. I also went with Dick Cilley and Luke to do an FA in Josh (Cilleys masterpiece The Living Conjunction) and Luke was to bring the gear. He had it all sewn into his sport coat..... we did not have nearly enough. All my rack was in camp, hidden.... Luke goes back early to get more gear. When we all get back, all my rack is gone.... all of it. I think Sewellymon had a climbing class with Luke in it and Karl with a K!!! unreal!!!! Anyway, I get a call from the cops in Yosemite... seems that Luke had a ton of gear and I quote "wanted to be the best climber in the world..." In the stash was my entire rack. Got it back!!!! Mark your gear peoples!!!
Next nutcase: Ken the Psycho is hangin out at JT, as we all were.... He has already told a few people that he will kill them if they touch his car..... we might have been a bit tipsy, but we used to pee on the fender and sit on his car to get rise out of him. Anyway... all my rack goes missing again from camp. Weeks pass and I see Psycho Kenny climbing with one of my biners on his rack. Keen eye here boys.... so I confront him... he says some BS about how he found it etc... no way.... so I go back to his camp when he finishes climbing with a biner chain as a weapon..... he freaks and hops in his car and blow outta there for town... the cops are doing the loop so I send JT's finest to chase him down. They nab his ass and he sings like a canary... some guy he is staying with in town has a mountain of gear in his livingroom... all stolen from JT. I get all my rack back. After this is when he allegedly killed some dude in the Buttermilk.
Moral: always mark your gear and always file a report with the Tool-deJour™™™™ I've got two full racks returned to me. this way
Otis wrote, "Sewellymon - care to explain your "Sierra Madre based sheep buggers" remark earlier in the thread? As a life long resident of that town, i don't recall a Luke strong in town...and in a mile square town, you basically either know, or know of, everybody. "
Having lived in Sierra Madre from '81- '93 and '06- '11, it seemed the people in town you got to know best were the underemployed or the retirees lounging around downtown gabbing over endless cups of coffee. The rest of us just kind of went about our business..
Otis, dunno if you knew any of the Sierra Madre climbers from the late 70's (Moonie, Fish, The Driver, Karl Runde) but I recall them saying Luke was in their Boy Scout troop at some juncture. Bet he had those scary empty eyes even back then.
Oh- and Russ's post upthread-- never had Luke in the climbing class, but Karl with a K did enroll in the class we had at Cal State.
no one ever gets out of Patton State Hospital, not even for a quick bouldering session
120 years ago Patton was built over an ancient Serrano Indian burial ground, so, naturally, the Indian spirits take up residence in the minds' of the psych inmates, making the inmates 100x more confused and dangerous!
Speaking of weirdos in the Valley, a few years ago I was bouldering on what I think is called the Bridwell Boulder near the road, enjoying the sun, and this older man in his 60s comes over dressed in a one piece mechanics suit, carrying a tiny knapsack, says he is from Modesto or some place just outside the Valley. Once we finish our initial hellos, he starts getting real angry at me about Obama, so I had to agree with whatever he said as i thought he was going to assault me. Once he finally left me alone I saw a police or warden(?) pass by and stopped him and told him the incident. The officer seemed uninterested however.
Sewellymon - thanks for the explanation. Looks like I didn't know as many people in town as I thought. After reading the links, I'm glad i didn't. Our Sierra Madre boy scout troop, #384, was disbanded by BSA for nefarious deeds.
Moral: always mark your gear and always file a report with the Tool-deJour
In my opinion this is mandatory. If ever threatened, even if just implied go straight to the cops and make a statement. At least if you suddenly disappear they'll know where to start looking.
This worked in my favor when I revealed to the antagonist that I had made a cop statement. His next ugly move would then be fraught with peril, which I think accounted for him backing off and paying what he owed me. Caution with this move however, as psycho's don't necesarrily think like us.
I tell my kids exactly the same thing. Anyone threaten you go straight to the cops and insist on a written statement. It is your right and it is why they exist, at least in theory.
Here’s what happened to me, when I went to the authorities after being threatened.
I work in a tough industry, I own a large drywall contacting company and we are always hiring . I’ve had three death threats against me over the years by various psychotics, but the last one a few years ago was the most disturbing.
Being short of money one of my subs decides that I should pay him considerably more than we agreed upon. Things escalate over the weeks, to the point where he leaves me a cell phone message, that he wants his “F-ing money and he wants it F-ing now, and don’t F-ing forget that he is F-ing Italian and I should watch my F-ing back and maybe some of my F-ing job sites may F-ing burn down.”
I transfer the cell phone message onto my business answering machine to save a copy to play for the authorities, under outgoing message 2, ( didn’t have one of those old tape recorders) and contact the local RCMP who advise me to get a restraining order after listening to the tape. This guy was already known by the cops.
I speak to my Lawyer Darryl. He tells me his story, “ I had a guy come in my office and point a handgun at me and tell me my days are numbered, the RCMP advised me not to walk in front of any windows for a while.”
We agreed that my business good name, and life where worth more than aggravating the crazy sub and escalating the whole situation, so I offered him a portion of his demands, which he cheerfully took, and said I should call him if I had any more work! WTF.
Later that afternoon, I was outside gardening with my wife, working off the stress, when the business phone rings, before I can run in, the answering machine message kicks in, “I want my f-ing money, I want it F-ing now, and don’t forget i’m f-ing Italian , etc.”
I looked at my wife and we both break out in hysterical laughter, guess I didn’t get that customers job.
Psychos abound Rolf, regardless of the pecking order.
Recently a steel stud framer decided he was going to slap me down and step on my face. This arose out of me being pushed by the client enough that I had made a mistake in layout.
All I could think of was, I can't let this unbalanced individual get the upper hand or I've truly lost control of what I was responsible for. So I did the "what was that you just said ?" routine and he thankfully backed off.
Holy f*#k, and whatever, seemed to rule the moment.
Rolfr, being from Chicago I can assure you that your 'Italian' was a bogus
wannabe. Real wise guys don't make idle threats, luckily for you. :-)
A few years ago I was back there visiting the rels. My cousin, not Vinny,
told me of an incident from the Things Don't Change Department. His lawyer,
a friend, had dropped by his office, mainly just to chat. Dale took a call
from his accountant who was pressing him to collect on an outstanding
bill from a local roofing company. His lawyer's ears perked up as he listened
to the conversation. When Dale hung up his friend said,
"Dale, as your lawyer and, more importantly, your friend I don't think you
should push too hard on collecting that bill. Just write that one off."
Later that afternoon, I was outside gardening with my wife, working off the stress, when the business phone rings, before I can run in, the answering machine message kicks in, “I want my f-ing money, I want it F-ing now, and don’t forget i’m f-ing Italian , etc.”
I looked at my wife and we both break out in hysterical laughter, guess I didn’t get that customers job.
I am actually very scared of the Luck Stong(s) of the world. I plan to stay in my little corner, safe with my son and listen to my husband since he has a bigger clue about the world than I do.
I like my boring, small, nothing interesting is here, life. I'll chew my leg off to just keep it this way.
Anastasia...Reilly is right.... For once... I just cleaned my litter box and will drink with lawyers only if they buy....as for climbing with one , no dice....RJ
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