What a selfish (beep)

[moe.ron]

Motorist's attempted suicide kills three

Very senseless. By the way, here is the picture of the woman:

Link to the picture

[ZTAngel]

So sad. Something similar happened in Orlando about a year ago. A father was upset with his wife because she wanted to divorce him. He was taking the kids to school in the morning and made a suicide attempt. He crashed into a semi. He and all the children died and I think other motorists were killed as well.

[RedMusiq4U]

What is the world coming too........I wonder why she tried to kill herself

[Dvyne Evolushun]

Originally posted by moe.ron
Motorist's attempted suicide kills three

Very senseless. By the way, here is the picture of the woman:

Link to the picture

Dumb. Why slam her car into another car as a form of suicide?

[RedRoseSAI]

The company that the victims worked for (Shure Audio) is a vendor for my company. It just so happens that I didn't know any of those guys, but still, it hits close to home.

And I agree, what a selfish (beep).

[Rudey]

Originally posted by RedRoseSAI
The company that the victims worked for (Shure Audio) is a vendor for my company. It just so happens that I didn't know any of those guys, but still, it hits close to home.

And I agree, what a selfish (beep).

Can you hook me up with some of their headphones for free?

-Rudey

[RedRoseSAI]

Originally posted by Rudey
Can you hook me up with some of their headphones for free?

-Rudey

No.

[squirrely girl]

its just as bad as that guy in cali who got himself stuck on the train tracks and killed all those people... grrrrrrrrrr

- marissa

[texas*princess]

Originally posted by Dvyne Evolushun
Dumb. Why slam her car into another car as a form of suicide?

No kidding... why didn't she just drive off a cliff or something... that would have been a sure-fire way to get the job done.

I hope she doesn't get the death penalty (since obviously dying was her ultimate goal).. that would be too easy for her. Normally I'm a big advocate of the death penalty... but in this case I think she should stay alive so she can live with this grief for the rest of her natural life.

[greeklawgirl]

Originally posted by squirrely girl
its just as bad as that guy in cali who got himself stuck on the train tracks and killed all those people... grrrrrrrrrr

- marissa

The guy who did that also drove his car onto the tracks to commit suicide, except he got cold feet in the last few minutes and got out of the car in time.

So he's fine, but 11 innocent people--2 of them my co-workers--died that day. Bastard.

[sugar and spice]

Suicide may not have been her only intention here. Sometimes when people are in enough pain, they lash out by trying to take other people with them (either because they are mistakenly holding those people accountable for their pain, or because they are mistakenly assuming that those people are in as much pain as they are and want to die just as much). Either way, I find it hard to believe that all she wanted was to kill herself -- I think there's a clear element of homocidal intention here considering her target was another car rather than a bridge or an embankment or something.

I think it's important to remember that sane people don't usually try to kill themselves. If you've never been suicidal, obviously the actions here aren't going to make much sense to you. While her actions appear selfish to most sane people, in her own head she probably felt she was doing something good.


And before anyone accuses me of such, no, I don't think her actions were okay no matter WHAT her thought process was, and yes, she should still be held accountable.

[AGDee]

I've read all the responses here and avoided getting into this debate, but I do need to agree with S&S here... people who attempt or commit suicide are mentally ill. They are not thinking rationally. They are so depressed and hopeless that they only see one solution at that moment. They do not think about the consequences of their actions. Suicide itself is often called a selfish act, since they do not think about the consequences of their actions. However, it is a result of clinical depression, hopelessness and helplessness and the only thing on their mind at the time is that death is their only way out. This woman's depression is probably going to be worse now, knowing that she was responsible for these deaths.

I can also say, due to my experience working on psych units, that most people who attempt suicide and are saved, are relieved that they are saved, because they can be treated. Many of them talk about the events leading to their attempts as split second decisions based on the impulse at the moment. Although it might be a recurrent thought, it isn't usually planned very far advance.

Whether or not there was also homicidal intention... only she knows that.

Dee

[wrigley]

She went into court yesterday and claimed not guilty. I don't understand how she can say that when she was the one driving the car.
Also I found out that my sister-in-law knew one of the victims.

[wrigley]

I usually can't stand Richard Roeper's column but I was surprised by this one.

Is focus on blond alleged killer a model case of bias?

August 24, 2005

BY RICHARD ROEPER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST Advertisement

Note to the proprietors of OneModelPlace.com, a "Portfolio Hosting Site" with comp cards, glamor shots and booking information for thousands of models:

You might want to remove the posting for Model #52448, the blond sporting the cowboy hat, the cheap tan and the skimpy white bikini.

She's the one whose credits include the "Chicago's City Girls" swimsuit calendar for 2002 and 2003; Chicago Scene Magazine; the "Metal Form" trade show at McCormick Place; a "Kitchen & Bath Industry Show;" a Lee Jeans ad, and a Frederick's of Hollywood Lingerie fashion show.

You see, model #52448 is Jeanette Sliwinski, who is charged with three murders after allegedly ramming her red Mustang into a Honda Civic last month in Skokie.

I don't think anybody's going to be hiring that woman ever again.

***

Maybe I'm being naive. Maybe she will get work again some day. After all, there are Web sites featuring women who are behind bars for every crime imaginable.

And just because you're charged with murder doesn't mean that some pathetically misguided people won't find you attractive. Witness the love letters women have sent to the likes of Ted Bundy, Richard Ramirez and the Menendez brothers. Sliwinski could spend the rest of her days rotting in prison, and some loser will be writing to her every day and maintaining a Web site shrine to her.

***

The men killed in that horrible, insanely senseless crash were Michael Dahlquist, 39; John Glick, 35, and Doug Meis, 29.

If Sliwinski's name is mentioned in this column -- any time her name is mentioned in this column -- the true victims must be mentioned and remembered.

***

Reporter Stefano Esposito (with the aid of reporter Art Golab) crafted a thoughtful and thorough profile of Sliwinski for last Sunday's Sun-Times. The story also included details about Dahlquist, Glick and Meis, but it was mostly about Sliwinski.

It made for fascinating reading, and it was perfectly legitimate to chronicle the sometimes lurid story of Sliwinski's sad descent -- but you knew that with the paper running a front-page, cheesecake shot of Sliwinski, and the main focus of this particular story on the alleged killer and not the victims, some readers would be offended.

From Sun-Times reader Leonard Hart Jr.:

"Hey Richard, give me your thoughts on how the media is handling the Jeanette Sliwinski story. I saw her big glamor cover shots and read her 'tragic' story in the Sun-Times and I saw red. Once again it appears the media is focusing on the white, pretty, blond felon instead of the victims. She appears to be getting the soft glove treatment much like Mary Kay Letourneau. Letourneau was interviewed by Barbara Walters and had her wedding rights bought for television, for God's sake! Aileen Wuornos (the subject of the great film 'Monster') had a true tragic story, but she was treated like any other killer. Why? Because she wasn't considered attractive, I bet.

"It's like the two female soldiers injured and captured in Iraq -- one white, one black. The white one became a hero and the face of the American soldier, while the black one only gained media attention after a big outcry and it came out that the story of the white soldier was largely fabricated.

"How about the Natalee Holloway story? Nationwide exposure for her, but I just now found out about the pregnant [minority] woman whose body was discovered after she'd been missing for months. Her name was LaToyia Figueroa.

"Then there's Elizabeth Smart. Around the same time a 7-year-old black girl was kidnapped, but she managed to chew through her restraints and aid the police in capturing her kidnappers all within an hour and a half! For her troubles, Elizabeth gets nationwide exposure, tons of interviews, a hero's welcome, and a spot on People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People list. No one can even recall the little black girl's name."

Valid points, one and all.

Attractive, young, Caucasian

Does it matter that Sliwinski was a former stripper/model? Of course not. She could have been a nun, and the victims' loved ones would still have every right to wish she had just killed herself without leaving home that day.

But from a news standpoint: yes, the media (and I'm including myself) have a tendency to focus on the attractive, the young, the Caucasian. I agree with most of Hart's observations. In fact, I wrote a column earlier this year outlining my disgust over the fawning treatment given to Mary Kay Letourneau. It was sickening to watch "Entertainment Tonight" give her the celebrity treatment.

Nor is this new. In 1997, I noted the emphasis on looks in coverage of stories ranging from Nicole Simpson's murder to the "Long Island Lolita" Amy Fisher to Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, writing: "Sweet or evil, victim or perpetrator, if you're a woman in the spotlight, your looks will be a factor when the media determine just how much coverage you're going to receive."

Nothing has changed.