« "When one has only a hammer ... | Main | How NOT to talk to a judge »

February 28, 2008

First impressions -- Ian Mercado

Last weekend the town of Yorba Linda, California was rocked by the gruesome murder-suicide of the Cho family. Like most Californians, I read the first reports with sadness for a family where the dysfunction had gone so wrong. In the original stories, the husband-murderer's cousin, Jun Cho was quoted:

"This is not the person I know," Jun Cho, 41, said in a telephone interview from Hawthorne. "He was a hard-working person and a good family man. He was never appreciated."

He said Orland, who grew up in Manila, was valedictorian at Morningside High School in Inglewood and then joined the Navy. Orland Cho worked day and night shifts at Los Angeles International Airport in the cargo department as a supervisor before selling cell phones for AT&T and getting in to life insurance sales, Jun Cho said.

But no matter how much he worked, Jun Cho said, Orland Cho felt it was never enough to please his wife.

Pretty pitiful, huh? Grasping wife drives overworked husband to such dispair he cannot think of another way out but to take a shotgun and splatter his family from doorstep to bedroom.

But a funny thing has happened since Sunday. That part of the story, while residing on Google search terms has pretty much disappeared from the "updated" newspaper stories, with no explanation. :::POOF:::

And in one of those 6-degrees-of-separation instances, I find out why when I receive the following emails from "K", my sister's best friend (uncorrected for typos)

Hi everyone, All is well with me and my Mom is still hanging on. God Bless her.

By now you have all heard about the murder of the family in Yorba Linda. This is such a tragedy because I was friends with the wife Maricel Cho and I new the kids.

Maricel was mom's caregiver for the past four years. She was very special lady and mother. It takes a special person to take care of the elderly and Alzheimer patients. We grew close through the years. The news papers painted her badly because his family talked to them and wanted him to look good. The newspaper has no idea what she did for a living and that she made more money than him. She was painted as unappreciative. He was controlling, verbally and abusive to her. She kept it together for the kids but he threatened her if she kicked him out. He just got fired from his new job at UPS because the back ground check came back with a conviction of a illegal fire arm. Yeah he snapped alright. The kids were so smart and well mannered,and this is due to Maricel. she was so proud of them.

You can sure tell that I am mad , why couldn't he just take himself out!

The family, her mother, sister, nieces and nephews are devastated. They also take care of Mother and do a great job. Maricel's son who has made it through this, will live with her sister. He asked today "where will I live now". Pray for them. There is a fund set up for her son Ian Mercado at Washington Mutual so pass it on and tell your friends.

Yes, those J-school trained, objective, thorough reporters get hold of the murderer's cousin and never stop to put any caveats about Jun Cho's claims in their "story". Just let the first impressions of blame-the-victim stay.

K sent this note yesterday

Heard tonight that Ian will have another surgery on the other leg which is the right. He won't be able to walk for six months or more and lots of physical therapy. I saw yesterday some pictures of Nicole from last weeks music recital. She was playing the cello. The parents of one of her friends took them and brought them by.

Ian has a very rough time ahead of him, even after he physically heals. A fund has been set up for him:

Washington Mutual
2500 E. Imperial Hwy, Suite 194
Brea, CA 92821
Phone: (714) 672-0130
Acct # 3954785497

Technorati: murder, Yorba Linda, ,

Posted by Darleen at February 28, 2008 06:09 AM

Comments

My God, what a horrible story! And the media! That's just DESPICABLE how they've allowed the poor victims to be maligned!

ARGH! Special place in hell!

Posted by: Beth at February 28, 2008 07:49 AM

Please tell K that she, her mother, and the surviving family members of the Cho family have my heartfelt prayers. What a tragedy!

Posted by: Beth at February 28, 2008 07:50 AM

After every one of these incidents, the press seems to want desperately to understand the motives of the killer. Here's your motive; they were a$$holes. If your life is so offensive to you, then you may consider suicide, notwithstanding the effects of such a narcissistic act on anyone who is close to you, but when you decide to eliminate others in order to assuage your misery, then you have embraced evil.

Of course, I feel quite comfortable distinguishing between good and evil. Our intelligentsia, not so much.

Posted by: Chris at February 28, 2008 08:37 AM

We were neighbors with the Cho's in Hawthorne. Maricel was such a sweet lady and her kids were all well mannered. We used to attend Bible Study every Wednesday. I introduced Maricel to my freinds who needed baby sitter. I feel bad that the cousin in Orland just assasinated the charater of Maricel. Orland's family were the ones who didn't have nice attitude and had not been nice to Maricel way back then. I cannot believe that they were trying to justify the brutality of his crime. He should have just committed suicide himself instead of killing Maricel and the kids. What a coward and selfish and how dare her husband's family say those things about Maricel.

Posted by: Virgo10 at March 8, 2008 06:44 PM

We were neighbors with the Cho's in Hawthorne. Maricel was such a sweet lady and her kids were all well mannered. We used to attend Bible Study every Wednesday. I introduced Maricel to my freinds who needed baby sitter. I feel bad that the cousin in Orland just assasinated the charater of Maricel. Orland's family were the ones who didn't have nice attitude and had not been nice to Maricel way back then. I cannot believe that they were trying to justify the brutality of his crime. He should have just committed suicide himself instead of killing Maricel and the kids. What a coward and selfish and how dare her husband's family say those things about Maricel.

Posted by: Virgo10 at March 8, 2008 06:44 PM

We were neighbors with the Cho's in Hawthorne. Maricel was such a sweet lady and her kids were all well mannered. We used to attend Bible Study every Wednesday. I introduced Maricel to my freinds who needed baby sitter. I feel bad that the cousin in Orland just assasinated the charater of Maricel. Orland's family were the ones who didn't have nice attitude and had not been nice to Maricel way back then. I cannot believe that they were trying to justify the brutality of his crime. He should have just committed suicide himself instead of killing Maricel and the kids. What a coward and selfish and how dare her husband's family say those things about Maricel.

Posted by: Virgo10 at March 8, 2008 06:45 PM