By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI, Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. - College senior Jaime Shockman was at home working on
her computer when an instant message popped up at the bottom of her
screen. It was an invitation to die.
"Do you think of suicide?" the stranger asked. "Do you want to die
with others," he went on, according to the instant message transcript.
Bored and convinced the message was a joke, the young woman
replied. For two hours in December, she answered questions posed by
26-year-old Gerald Krein, who is now accused of attempting to lure
emotionally fragile women to his Oregon home for what police are
calling a Valentine's Day sex and suicide party.
It's not clear whether any of the women he allegedly contacted were
sincere about killing themselves. For her part, Shockman says she
engaged Krein in the conversation as a prank.
"I was convinced it was a joke," Shockman said, who believes the man
picked her out because her screen name 'KillToriSpelling' refers to
killing.
The Portland State University student decided it was something more
sinister when he told her that a mother from Portland was coming to
his home in southern Oregon to commit suicide along with her five
kids.
Now, Shockman is one of five women from Canada, Georgia, Oregon,
Missouri and Virginia out of more than two dozen allegedly contacted
by Krein who have identified themselves to police. According to
authorities, the women were invited to the "suicide get-together" at
his house, where they were to hang themselves naked from a beam.
Krein, who was arrested Wednesday, told investigators he had been in
touch with 31 women. He was indicted Monday while deputies kept watch
over his house to make sure no one arrived to kill themselves.
"It was suggested that they come here, that they hang with him, that
they have a sex party, and if they couldn't come he would certainly
entertain them, doing it over the Internet," Sheriff Tim Evinger said.
Shockman printed a copy of the instant message communication in which
he identified himself first as "Jerry," then as "Gerald Krein" and
showed it to The Associated Press. She also has shown it to police.
After he divulged his plan to commit suicide along with 15 others,
Shockman asked him: "How do you want to die?"
"We was thinking haning," he wrote back, according to the transcript.
"All at the same time in the same place?" she asked.
When he answered yes, she kidded him that the weight of the bodies
would break the structure they were hung from.
"No," he replied. "Got a thing bult to hold bodys."
He said it was strong enough to "hold 50" and added he had quit his
job at Blockbuster to plan the party and build the beam in his
house in Klamath Falls, Ore.
In the final hour, Shockman said Krein peppered her with questions on
how she wanted to die.
Did she want to hold hands with the other women? Did she want to be
blindfolded, or see the expression on the other women's faces as she
died? How high should her body be above the ground? What did she want
to wear?
Krein instructed her not to wear shoes because the shoes would "weigh you down."
She felt on edge when he asked her whether she wanted to die in the
nude. But it was when he mentioned that children were to be involved
that she dialed 911.
"One woman is bring her kids," he messaged.
"How many kids?" asked Shockman, from her room plastered with horror
movie posters.
"5," he messaged back.
When asked why he wanted to die, he answered: "hate everything." He
asked to see a picture of her. Shockman sent him to an Oregon
newspaper Web site and sent him to the image of another woman. He
rated her a "10."
According to the transcript, he said that women hate him.
Then he asked: "Am I a dog to you?"
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.
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[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Regards suicide, there have been many
famous, multiple suicides I can recall. A few years ago, there was the
insane man who led several followers to commit suicide with the
promise they were going to go to heaven on a space ship that was
coming from the moon for them; I think the cult was called "Heaven's
Gate" ? But the all time winner, if it could be called that, was the
case of Jim Jones, formerly the housing commissioner of San Francisco,
and pastor of "People's Temple" also in San Francisco who migrated to
Guyana in South America along with 800 of his followers where they all
committed mass suicide at Jones' urging after the murder of a U.S.
congressman who had gone to Guyana to investigate the whole thing. I
do not know, has there ever been a mass suicide involving that many
(or more) individuals before or since? I wonder if this latest guy,
in Oregon, is going to start a new trend of mass sex/suicide parties?
PAT]
Lisa Minter (lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com)