Murder-Suicide near Chicago

The Chicago Tribune reports on the case of a man, who shot and killed his wife and son, then turned the gun on himself. That wouldn't make it so unusual, sad to say, but this man had murdered his first wife in 1985 and served 13 years of his 30 year sentence.

Richard Wiley left a 40-page, handwritten suicide note indicating he shot and killed Kathy Motes, 50, and Christopher Motes, 17, and saying he refused to go back to prison, Wilmette police Deputy Chief Brian King said.

At his murder trial, Wiley said he suffered from a rare mental disease called "intermittent explosive disorder," but the judge rejected his claim that he was insane. Wiley reportedly called police himself after the 1985 killing and was found "leaning over the victim, hugging her and crying, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry.'"

Calling the police and crying over the body sounds perfectly consistent with "intermittent explosive disorder" to me. What do you think? Shouldn't the prison psychiatrists have picked up on something like that? Did his admission and remorse facilitate an early release?

Another thing I find interesting is the frequent refrain, "I'm not going back to prison." In these cases I suppose the deterrent factor of incarceration actually increases the violence. Do you think cases like this are outnumbered by the ones who are genuinely deterred straight?

The murder weapon is always of interest to me. In another fascinating twist to the case, he used a very special weapon. Is there anyone who could deny the fact that the availability of this weapon - what was it, an antique or a collector's item? - played a part.

The murder weapon, found by Wiley's body in a second-floor bedroom, was a black-powder, muzzleloading Civil War replica rifle that may have belonged to Christopher Motes, a Civil War buff, King said.

Wiley apparently had sawed off the barrel of the rifle, which could take several minutes to load because it requires black powder and a metal ball to be loaded through the muzzle, he said.

I'm not sure what that phrase, "which could take several minutes to load because it requires black powder and a metal ball to be loaded through the muzzle," means, unless it's to indicate premeditation and planning. I tend to think he had suffered another of those "explosive episodes," which probably don't subside until blood flows.

What's the enjoyment of these black-powder guns anyway? Is there a sensual pleasure in handling the gun powder and the projectile, actually getting your fingers dirty with the stuff? Is the exhilaration enhanced in firing these weapons, which generally have a stronger recoil than their modern counterparts? Is there something special about the smell of that gunpowder? I'm curious.

What's your opinion? What do you think about this case?