Talk:Michael Bethke

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Verify needed[edit]

There was a murder by one Michael Bethke, but it does not match the description given in the article. [1]. -- Ze miguel 16:57, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

No idea what I was thinking at the time, since I don't see sources for it right now...since it's a hopeless stub at best, I say we just delete it? Sherurcij ^{(talk) (bounties)}

Actually, this is really strange: all the killers on the Macabre album Sinister Slaughter are real (I found sources for all of them), and this one seems fake: I would expect such a gruesome killing to be all over the web, and yet absolutely nothing turns up, except links to the song. And then some guy with the exact same name kills someone 12 years after the album is released ? Huh !? I just asked the question here, just in case: [2] -- Ze miguel 22:27, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, all I can find are the references to the song. I'd actually assume (without actually remembering) that I used the lyrics to write the stub to fix a red-link on their article...but it's just too bizarre that nothign else exists...except an apparently completely unrelated Bethke who actually killed somebody over a pizza box (also an 'odd' murder) Sherurcij ^{(talk) (bounties)} 22:30, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Hum, now we have a problem: does killing someone for a pizza make you notable enough for having an article on Wikipedia :) ? -- Ze miguel 10:42, 13 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Verified[edit]

Here's the info I posted on the Reference Desk page in answer to a question about this guy:

Michael Bethke does exist. I found a short reference to him in the May 21, 1993 issue of the Chicago Tribune at page 3. The story states that Michael Bethke of Calumet City, Illinois was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the slaying of 49 year-old Joseph Lesinski and that a hearing regarding his mental condition and future prognosis would be held on June 3, 1993. The story also states that the slaying occured on June 6, 1991, slaying of Joseph Lesinski while both were working at the Burnham White Hen Pantry. According to the story, "Bethke admitted to decapitating Lesinski with a knife when the victim bent over to get a pack of cigarettes." The July 9, 1993 issue of the Tribune reports that Bethke was ordered to spend up to 49 years in a state mental institution.

There are several other stories to be found in the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times archives. Bethke was described by Assistant Public Defender Paul Brownlee as suffering from "chronic paranoid schizophrenia." He used a 14 inch kitchen knife to behead Lesinski. A detailed report of the crime scene can be found in the June 8, 1991 issue of the Sun-Times, at page 12, which noted that the victim apparently had the word "repent" scrawled on his forehead. No mention of a price tag. Hum. Someone should probably add all this to the Bethke article. (I have now added some of it.) Crypticfirefly 05:21, 14 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I should also add that the June 7, 1991 issue of the Tribune, at page 1, also has a detailed article about what happened. Crypticfirefly 05:38, 14 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks a lot, Crypticfirefly, that was some data mining :) -- Ze miguel 07:54, 14 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Indeed, very impressed by the thoroughness of your work, wasn't a 5-second google-search! Much thanks! Sherurcij ^{(talk) (bounties)} 07:59, 14 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]