Tuesday,Oct 28 2008, 04:04:16 PMMy nephew's killer is claiming self defense :(

I don't know how many of you were here in June of 2007 when my 15 year old nephew was beaten to death by a 20 year old man, but if you're not familiar with this story, I wrote a journal at that time you can read for the back-story.

 Today I opened the newspaper to find this evil beast is claiming slef defense, even though he was older and more than twice Christopher's size. There is NO WAY this is true. It makes me sick to my stomach! If you go back and read the statements made right after this happened, it's plain to see. Here is the article from today:

Accused murderer claims self-defense

VALPARAISO | An attorney for Mark Easter, on trial for murder, told a jury Monday his client was trying to help the deceased on the night he died.

Easter, now 21, of South Haven, was attempting to point an intoxicated Christopher Janus in the direction of his home when Janus became combative, Merrillville defense attorney Herbert Shaps said.

"He acted in self-defense," Shaps said.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost painted quite a different picture as the murder trial got under way Monday afternoon.

Frost said Easter believed Janus was flirting with his girlfriend, so he chased the 15-year-old neighbor boy down and beat him unconscious on June 8, 2007, in South Haven.

Easter then walked up to a nearby house, announced, "I think I killed him, don't call police," and then returned to further punch and stomp on Janus' lifeless body, Frost said.

Both sides seem to agree Janus was at Easter's South Haven home on the night in question with a group that was drinking alcohol.

Frost said Easter left the room and overheard something on his return that angered him enough to order everyone to leave.

Shaps said Janus was bragging about a fight he planned to take part in, which shows his predisposition for violence. Easter had enough of the talk and ordered Janus to leave.

Frost said as Janus left the residence, Easter chased him down to a nearby backyard, where he beat and kicked the boy to death.

Shaps said Janus made a couple of attempts to ride his bicycle home, but failed because he was so intoxicated. He said Janus fell on his stomach and face.

Janus provoked the violence as Easter attempted to help him, Shaps said.

Shaps said Easter was distraught when he learned the boy was dead and made no attempt to hide from police.

Frost said Easter told police on his way to jail that Janus was flirting with his girlfriend.

"And he killed him for it," Frost said. 

 http://nwi.com/articles/2008/10/28/news/top_news/docd6dcc714d6a6e65e862574ef00817c7d.txt

*UPDATE*

Man claims no memory of fatal beating

VALPARAISO | South Haven resident Mark Easter told a jury Wednesday he does not remember beating and kicking 15-year-old Christopher Janus to death last summer.

Easter, who is now 21, said he struck Janus once after a "scuffle" broke out on the night of June 8, 2007, and the next thing he remembers is telling the boy to wake up.

Easter did not offer much of a defense when asked by Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost why he had told police at the time that he struck Janus 10 times, with a good number of the blows coming after he realized the boy was unconscious.

The testimony wrapped up the evidence portion of Easter's murder trial and Porter Superior Judge Roger Bradford instructed the jury to return at 9 a.m. Thursday for closing arguments and to begin deliberations.

While on the witness stand Wednesday afternoon, Easter also gave a different explanation as to what led up to the beating.

He reportedly told police last summer he chased Janus and beat him because he felt the boy was flirting with his girlfriend.

Yet he told the jury Wednesday he became "stern" with Janus and ordered both his girlfriend and Janus to leave his house on the night in question because he was upset that Janus kept boasting about being paid to beat up one of Easter's friends.

Janus, who Easter described as intoxicated enough to fall off his bicycle twice, was leaving the area, but Easter said he followed after him because he did not want the boy trespassing on a neighbor's property.

"I was worried," Easter said. "I didn't want him to get caught in that backyard."

Despite these concerns, Easter said he followed Janus into the backyard and attempted to help him get over a fence. When the boy fell back into him, he said he pushed back.

He said he struck Janus because he thought the boy had picked something up from the yard and was coming after him.

"He was looking at me and I thought he was reaching for something," Easter said.

Frost again pointed out Easter had not told this version of the story to police. Easter repeatedly said he was "nervous," "scared" and "freaked out," on the night of the incident.

"Your express purpose was to kill him," Frost said.

"No sir," Easter replied. 

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2008/10/29/updates/breaking_news/doc4908dd4e90af0442842057.txt

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Sunday,Jun 8 2008, 05:24:47 AMJoin the Zorpian Gallery with me!

Just wanted to invite all my friends to join a birthday gallery, created by my friend Bruce. It will be a different video each month, highlighting the Zorpian birthdays of that month of all who choose to participate. He's had experience doing this project before... here's a sample of his work: ...

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Sunday,Mar 2 2008, 01:08:02 AMMy life with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

This is VERY long and not for the faint of heart, but if you'd like an educational experience, or would just like to understand me and what my life is like, then read on at your own risk!



I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Type III - Hypermobility (amongst MANY other things)... my son has it too, and my dad had it and his mom had it (it's autosomal dominant)... you can Google it if you want to know more about it, but basically the genetic structure of collagen in my body is weak so it stretches and tears easily, which means all of my tissues that are made ...

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