(OOC: Yes, @OldNavy1988, this is that spinoff from American Magic I talked about regarding John Kricfalusi; however, as I mentioned, there are some differences. BTW, Dirty John is the name of a real LA Times series/podcast linked here: http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-dirty-john/. Do yourselves a favor and read it, IMO.)
In 2016, Netflix aired the 10-episode documentary series Dirty John. [1] (Warning for spoilers.) It's about the life of animator and Ren and Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi and, ultimately, a retelling of the crimes that landed him in jail and ended the Trump Manhattan animation studio (and led to several lawsuits against Donald Trump himself). The documentary shows many clips from home movies/videos and photos of the Henderson family, consisting of dad Mark, mom Katherine, eldest son David, eldest daughter Karen, and youngest daughter Michelle [2] growing up, doing normal family stuff, etc. in New Rochelle, New York. The documentary also shows the rise of John Kricfalusi and his rising to be one of the top animators at Trump Manhattan. Karen and David were both interviewed for the documentary and talk fondly about their family.
However, the paths of the Hendersons and Kricfalusi would soon collide when Kricfalusi moved in next door to them in early 1995. It is widely believed that, shortly after he moved in, Kricfalusi (who had an interest in young girls, as a number of his former colleagues state in the documentary) started spying on then-14-year-old Michelle Henderson. He started by spying on her and, by the fall of 1995, had started sending really explicit messages to Michelle. This creeped Michelle out (and the rest of the family, too; David and Karen talk about it in the documentary) and caused Mark to confront John and threaten to report him to the police. This is believed to have led to his suicide attempt in January of 1996. When David and Karen talk about hearing about his suicide attempt, David says that he wishes that John had succeeded in a cold voice (Karen doesn't look surprised, as though she's heard that many times before from her big brother). This is a little shocking but, given what happened next, one can hardly blame David for feeling that way.
On the evening of June 15th, 1996, the Henderson family went out to celebrate Karen's graduation (David had graduated from Syracuse a couple of weeks earlier and was there with his girlfriend (and, later, wife) Jane [3]). Karen went off with some friends to a graduation party, while David and Jane went to visit a friend of David's from high school and Mark, Katherine, and Michelle went home. It would be the last time David and Karen would see the other three alive. The next morning, Karen, who had spent the night at a friend's house, called David, because her parents hadn't picked her up from the friend's house and they were supposed to. David came over from the apartment he and Jane had moved into recently and drove Karen into the house. When they arrived home, they didn't hear or see anyone.
It soon became obvious why this was the case. David and Karen found Mark and Katherine shot to death in their bedroom. Michelle had disappeared, apparently into thin air. The joint police/FBI investigation is mentioned in some detail, as they first assumed that an intruder had abducted Michelle after she walked in on him killing her parents. But, as the police soon realized, why take Michelle if he had killed the parents. When Karen and David mentioned their next-door neighbor, John K, and his obsession with Michelle, he moved to the top of their suspect list, especially after they discovered his "shrine" to Michelle and the fact that he owned a gun similar to the one used to kill the parents. The police soon named John as a person of interest in the murders and kidnapping.
Several Trump Manhattan animators cooperated with the police (and, during the course of that investigation, it was revealed that Donald Trump and Ralph Bakshi knew to some extent, but didn't report it/covered it up), but John didn't turn up. Until the fateful day of July 17th, 1996. On that day, a white Ford Bronco driven by Eddie Fitzgerald was pulled over by New Rochelle police officer Pete Richardson [4]. Richardson, a 31-year-old husband and father of two young children, had just started his ninth year on the New Rochelle police force. Richardson, who had been looking at John's picture in the New Rochelle Police HQ, recognized him and pulled out his weapon while calling for backup and issuing a description of the vehicle. Kricfalusi panicked, pulled out his .45-caliber handgun, and shot Richardson five times. Richardson managed to wound John K and graze Fitzgerald before collapsing of his injuries. He would die en route to the hospital, becoming the first officer to die since 1977. [5]
After a chase to Albany, the police and FBI managed to capture Fitzgerald and Kricfalusi. However, in the backseat, they would find young Michelle Henderson shot in the head in the back of the Bronco. Her death has given rise to theories that Richardson shot her by accident when he and Kricfalusi exchanged gunfire. However, the bullet recovered from her head injury was a .45-caliber, similar to Kricfalusi's weapon. Michelle Henderson was rushed to Albany Memorial Hospital where, two days later, her surviving family members, after she was diagnosed as having no brain activity, took her off life support (David and Karen both break down when discussing saying goodbye to her). Kricfalusi was charged with four counts of aggravated murder, several counts of statutory rape, and kidnapping, becoming eligible for New York's death penalty, which had just been reinstated.
At Kricfalusi's trial (which was moved to Binghamton due to extensive pretrial publicity), several animators came forward to discuss his overall creepiness and fondness for young girls, and the investigation was detailed. One of the more disturbing pieces of evidence was a recording John K made of himself and Michelle where she begs to go home and see her family again and he tells her she will love only him and to shut up. [6] Eddie Fitzgerald would get a 40-year sentence for kidnapping and being an accessory to murder (it is thought that the reduced sentence was due to his cooperation; he would have gotten 25 years to life otherwise). John Kricfalusi was convicted on all counts and got the death penalty for murder (this would later be reduced to life without parole after New York ended the death penalty). Ralph Bakshi was convicted of failure to report and criminal negligence and got the maximum sentence, and his career was effectively ruined. As for the Trump Manhattan animation studio, it went bankrupt from the lawsuits from the Henderson and Richardson families (not to mention John K's legal bills) and Donald Trump himself would be sued by David and Karen Henderson and the widow of Pete Richardson (with those lawsuits being settled out of court). Within five years, Trump Manhattan would be forced to merge with RKO Pictures as a result of declining business.
Indeed, many would never forgive Trump for his enabling of John K (the continuing fallout is thought to have been the reason for his Shakespeare in Love movie losing Best Picture to Good Will Hunting; when that was announced, there was a standing ovation that went on for several minutes). When he tried to run for governor of New York in 2002 as an independent, well, the less said about that the better. David and Karen tried to move on with their lives and both now have families of their own, but they are still scarred by what happened to their family. Many of John K's former colleagues have guilt at what happened to the Hendersons, and still wonder if they could have done more. Overall, it is a fascinating and disturbing look at a crazed mind.
(OOC:
[1] This is TTL's Making a Murderer for Netflix.
[2] The names for the family are fictional, of course.
[3] Again, a fictional name.
[4] Again, fictional, of course.
[5] IOTL, a New Rochelle police officer was killed on February 14th, 1977 while trying to stop a neo-Nazi shooting up his workplace (he killed five other people as well) who eventually committed suicide.
[6] The inspiration for this recording is from a rather infamous case in Britain in the 1960s.)
In 2016, Netflix aired the 10-episode documentary series Dirty John. [1] (Warning for spoilers.) It's about the life of animator and Ren and Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi and, ultimately, a retelling of the crimes that landed him in jail and ended the Trump Manhattan animation studio (and led to several lawsuits against Donald Trump himself). The documentary shows many clips from home movies/videos and photos of the Henderson family, consisting of dad Mark, mom Katherine, eldest son David, eldest daughter Karen, and youngest daughter Michelle [2] growing up, doing normal family stuff, etc. in New Rochelle, New York. The documentary also shows the rise of John Kricfalusi and his rising to be one of the top animators at Trump Manhattan. Karen and David were both interviewed for the documentary and talk fondly about their family.
However, the paths of the Hendersons and Kricfalusi would soon collide when Kricfalusi moved in next door to them in early 1995. It is widely believed that, shortly after he moved in, Kricfalusi (who had an interest in young girls, as a number of his former colleagues state in the documentary) started spying on then-14-year-old Michelle Henderson. He started by spying on her and, by the fall of 1995, had started sending really explicit messages to Michelle. This creeped Michelle out (and the rest of the family, too; David and Karen talk about it in the documentary) and caused Mark to confront John and threaten to report him to the police. This is believed to have led to his suicide attempt in January of 1996. When David and Karen talk about hearing about his suicide attempt, David says that he wishes that John had succeeded in a cold voice (Karen doesn't look surprised, as though she's heard that many times before from her big brother). This is a little shocking but, given what happened next, one can hardly blame David for feeling that way.
On the evening of June 15th, 1996, the Henderson family went out to celebrate Karen's graduation (David had graduated from Syracuse a couple of weeks earlier and was there with his girlfriend (and, later, wife) Jane [3]). Karen went off with some friends to a graduation party, while David and Jane went to visit a friend of David's from high school and Mark, Katherine, and Michelle went home. It would be the last time David and Karen would see the other three alive. The next morning, Karen, who had spent the night at a friend's house, called David, because her parents hadn't picked her up from the friend's house and they were supposed to. David came over from the apartment he and Jane had moved into recently and drove Karen into the house. When they arrived home, they didn't hear or see anyone.
It soon became obvious why this was the case. David and Karen found Mark and Katherine shot to death in their bedroom. Michelle had disappeared, apparently into thin air. The joint police/FBI investigation is mentioned in some detail, as they first assumed that an intruder had abducted Michelle after she walked in on him killing her parents. But, as the police soon realized, why take Michelle if he had killed the parents. When Karen and David mentioned their next-door neighbor, John K, and his obsession with Michelle, he moved to the top of their suspect list, especially after they discovered his "shrine" to Michelle and the fact that he owned a gun similar to the one used to kill the parents. The police soon named John as a person of interest in the murders and kidnapping.
Several Trump Manhattan animators cooperated with the police (and, during the course of that investigation, it was revealed that Donald Trump and Ralph Bakshi knew to some extent, but didn't report it/covered it up), but John didn't turn up. Until the fateful day of July 17th, 1996. On that day, a white Ford Bronco driven by Eddie Fitzgerald was pulled over by New Rochelle police officer Pete Richardson [4]. Richardson, a 31-year-old husband and father of two young children, had just started his ninth year on the New Rochelle police force. Richardson, who had been looking at John's picture in the New Rochelle Police HQ, recognized him and pulled out his weapon while calling for backup and issuing a description of the vehicle. Kricfalusi panicked, pulled out his .45-caliber handgun, and shot Richardson five times. Richardson managed to wound John K and graze Fitzgerald before collapsing of his injuries. He would die en route to the hospital, becoming the first officer to die since 1977. [5]
After a chase to Albany, the police and FBI managed to capture Fitzgerald and Kricfalusi. However, in the backseat, they would find young Michelle Henderson shot in the head in the back of the Bronco. Her death has given rise to theories that Richardson shot her by accident when he and Kricfalusi exchanged gunfire. However, the bullet recovered from her head injury was a .45-caliber, similar to Kricfalusi's weapon. Michelle Henderson was rushed to Albany Memorial Hospital where, two days later, her surviving family members, after she was diagnosed as having no brain activity, took her off life support (David and Karen both break down when discussing saying goodbye to her). Kricfalusi was charged with four counts of aggravated murder, several counts of statutory rape, and kidnapping, becoming eligible for New York's death penalty, which had just been reinstated.
At Kricfalusi's trial (which was moved to Binghamton due to extensive pretrial publicity), several animators came forward to discuss his overall creepiness and fondness for young girls, and the investigation was detailed. One of the more disturbing pieces of evidence was a recording John K made of himself and Michelle where she begs to go home and see her family again and he tells her she will love only him and to shut up. [6] Eddie Fitzgerald would get a 40-year sentence for kidnapping and being an accessory to murder (it is thought that the reduced sentence was due to his cooperation; he would have gotten 25 years to life otherwise). John Kricfalusi was convicted on all counts and got the death penalty for murder (this would later be reduced to life without parole after New York ended the death penalty). Ralph Bakshi was convicted of failure to report and criminal negligence and got the maximum sentence, and his career was effectively ruined. As for the Trump Manhattan animation studio, it went bankrupt from the lawsuits from the Henderson and Richardson families (not to mention John K's legal bills) and Donald Trump himself would be sued by David and Karen Henderson and the widow of Pete Richardson (with those lawsuits being settled out of court). Within five years, Trump Manhattan would be forced to merge with RKO Pictures as a result of declining business.
Indeed, many would never forgive Trump for his enabling of John K (the continuing fallout is thought to have been the reason for his Shakespeare in Love movie losing Best Picture to Good Will Hunting; when that was announced, there was a standing ovation that went on for several minutes). When he tried to run for governor of New York in 2002 as an independent, well, the less said about that the better. David and Karen tried to move on with their lives and both now have families of their own, but they are still scarred by what happened to their family. Many of John K's former colleagues have guilt at what happened to the Hendersons, and still wonder if they could have done more. Overall, it is a fascinating and disturbing look at a crazed mind.
(OOC:
[1] This is TTL's Making a Murderer for Netflix.
[2] The names for the family are fictional, of course.
[3] Again, a fictional name.
[4] Again, fictional, of course.
[5] IOTL, a New Rochelle police officer was killed on February 14th, 1977 while trying to stop a neo-Nazi shooting up his workplace (he killed five other people as well) who eventually committed suicide.
[6] The inspiration for this recording is from a rather infamous case in Britain in the 1960s.)