August 20th, 2009

I will do my best to keep this page updated daily for the next
month, but I start teaching in a few days, so I make no promises.

My goal is to write a journal entry for every day of the month
leading up to the seventeenth anniversary of Tammy’s murder.

After the 18th of September, I’ll scale back to weekly entries…and
maybe even change up topics.

My plan for this next week is to address a few of the comments
and questions that have come to me most recently.


Let's Play...Blame the Victim!!!

ONE reader recently emailed me with the suggestions that in The
Homecoming I was trying to “glorify” Tammy, while "the young
woman (the reader) knew of had a great deal of trouble with
drugs and alcohol.”

The point of The Homecoming was not to glorify Tammy, but to
demonstrate that she was loved unconditionally, not only by me,
but also by her other true friends and family members.

I find it terribly interesting that there's such a difference in
perception between those who actually knew Tammy the
nineteen years she was alive and those who only knew of her
after she was gone. I certainly doubt anybody who actually knew
Tammy while she was alive would characterize her as having “a
great deal of trouble with drugs and alcohol.”

I believe public perception of Tammy was largely shaped by
propaganda spread by a certain section of the community to
deflect guilt away from those responsible for Tammy's murder.

Tammy was probably more guilty by association because of Eric
Stukel and his party pals. In fact, Tammy frowned upon much of
their behavior, like the use of LSD and other hard drugs. That
behavior, along with what appears to be their dabbling in the
occult, “weirded” her out...this according to her own writings.

While writing The Homecoming the notion of glorification never
crossed my mind -- all I could do was portray Tammy the only way
I knew how -- through my own eyes.

Unfortunately, when we reflect upon the writings of Eric Stukel,
which preceded Tammy’s murder, we don’t see love or concern for
human life -- we see disturbed, controlling, violent obsession.

In these writings, Eric Stukel explores his hate for Tammy and his
fantasies about killing her. (These writings were presented as
evidence in court and can be accessed at the Cedar County
Courthouse for anybody who might have their doubts.)

My contention also is that there was little love shown for Tammy
on the night she was beaten to death, stuffed in Eric Stukel’s
trunk, and then dumped in the ravine on County 121. (All of this
evidence was presented in court as well...and despite any excuse
Stukel has tried to concoct over the years, forensic scientists did
conclude that Tammy’s body was in Eric Stukel’s trunk.)

Again, unfortunately, much of the public’s perception of Tammy
has been based upon the vicious rumors that were circulated after
her murder by Eric Stukel and his friends, many of these which
conflated her behavior beyond reasonable proportion to deflect
suspicion and responsibility from themselves.  

Namely, this involved rumors of her “crazy” behavior when she
was under the influence -- take for example the impossible car-
surfing theory (falling from the roof of a moving vehicle.)

This rumor still persists despite the fact that her wounds weren't
consistent with any event involving moving vehicles.  

As for Tammy's state of mind on the night in question?

Witness testimony clearly indicates that Tammy was not using
drugs on the night she was murdered. However, she did have a
BAC of .08, right around the legal limit, and trace amounts of THC
in her system when she died. Evidently, she had smoked some pot
with Eric Stukel and another friend the night previous.

Again, multiple witnesses, including Eric Stukel, indicated that
Tammy had no more than a few beers on the night in question and
wasn’t under the influence of any other substances.  

While drugs and alcohol do play a role in many accidental deaths,
how Tammy’s alcohol use on the night in question might have
contributed to her murder, (yes, murder) is terribly unclear.

If Tammy made any drastic mistake that night it was simply being
in the presence of Eric Stukel, somebody who had secretly
fantasized and obsessed about wanting her dead.  

                                      m.c. merrill

MORE TOMORROW