|
 "I
feel awful. I wished I'd never done it. I'd take it back a
thousand times. When I ran it wasn't to get away. In a way
it was ... so I could kill myself 'cause I couldn't live
with myself for doing this to my family."
On Sunday, Nov. 29, 1998, the Privacky family, in Muskegon,
Michigan, were preparing for a late thanksgiving dinner when
youngest son Seth decided to give them a thanksgiving day
surprise.
The first to receive a ‘gift’ from Seth was his brother,
Jedidiah, 19. He was shot point blank to the head while
watching television. Unfortunately I don’t know what type of
gun was used, but I do know that it did it’s job and Jedidah
died instantly.
After killing his big brother Seth went to the shower and
waited for his mother, Linda Privacky, 49, to finish
cleaning herself for the big family dinner. As she got out
of the shower she was dropped from a bullet to her head.
Once again the gun did it’s job perfectly (not that guns are
designed to kill, are they?)
Then Seth waited patiently until his dad Stephen Privacky,
50, got home. One guess at what happened to him upon
entering the house.. Yep - BANG! Point blank to the head,
and another family member bites the dust.
Then Grandpa John Privacky, 78, popped around for his big
thanksgiving dinner and, you guessed it, he very quickly
joined the rest of his family in the bullet in the brain
club.
At this point Seth could well have been ready to call it a
night, but was he in for a surprise when someone knocked at
the door. It was April Boss, 19, Jedidah’s girlfriend. Well,
maybe Seth got a surprise but I bet it was as big as the one
April got when she saw what Seth had in his hand. But at
least it was over quickly for April.
Now Seth was faced with one hell of a problem. He couldn’t
get up the nerve to kill himself, but if he didn’t he would
be faced with life in prison. So, he chose option three,
make it look like a robbery. But he must have been pretty
tired by the days work and decided he needed some help. So
he called his best mate, Steven Wallace, 18, and asked for
some help.
I don’t really know what went through Steven’s mind upon
entering the house, but he did make sure that Seth’s firearm
was safely in his hands while he helped rearrange the bodies
so it looked more like a robbery. After helping out with
this rearrangement he also kept the gun and disposed of it
on the way home.
Naturally it didn’t take police long to figure out that
there was no robbery. I’m not sure what led them to this
conclusion, but I think it may have had something to do with
the bloody fingerprints and drag marks everywhere. It also
came out during investigation that Seth had been prescribed
anti-depressant medication at the time of the murders.
When Seth finally confessed he said that he was angry
because his father had threatened to kick him out of the
house.
Seth Privacky pleaded no contest to the charges and was
sentenced to life in prison in late May, 1999.
Interestingly it came out that Seth's father had once
described him as being a "psychopath without a conscience."
If he knew this why didn't he get better help for the kid?
Wallace was charged with being an accessory and disposing of
the firearm Privacky used in the killings. He faced up to
five years in prison if convicted, but luckily the juror
found enough sense to throw the charges out.
Some interesting bits to come of of the court case against
Wallace include:
 "I
wasn't using the best judgment that day after I saw what I
saw," The Muskegon Chronicle quoted Wallace telling jurors.
"I figured he'd be caught one way or another, and I tried to
pretend I didn't know about it. I wish now I would've
contacted authorities."
"He just simply said his problems would be solved if his
parents were dead ... and he would kill them," Wallace said,
who testified he didn't take the statement seriously. "I
thought it was nothing outside the typical relationship of
teen-age kids with their parents."
On the day of the killings Privacky called Wallace about 1
p.m., then again later at about 2:30 p.m. The first call was
just to chat, but in the second Privacky said something
strange. "He told me he'd 'made a big mistake,' " Wallace
said. "He didn't specifically say what the mistake was. I
asked about it and he simply said 'come over.' "
Arriving at the Privacky home, Wallace was met by Privacky,
who had been crying. He asked Wallace to drive to a nearby
store for garbage bags. "He was standing in the front yard
smoking a cigarette and crying," Wallace said. "This was
typical. Frequently when he got into fights with his father
he'd end up crying."
Wallace said when he returned, he decided to go in the
house, even though Privacky had advised him not to. Once
inside the dining room, Wallace tripped over a body. He ran
to the basement where he found Jedediah, then upstairs where
he found Mrs. Privacky. "I couldn't believe (it)," he said.
"I'd never seen something like that ... I had to see for
myself." As he walked down the stairs, he passed out,
Wallace said. Privacky shook him awake.
Wallace testified he was scared he might die because
Privacky told him he had killed Ms. Boss because she walked
in on the killings. But Privacky was begging for Wallace's
help, and Wallace agreed to help him get rid of the murder
weapon -- Stephen Privacky's .22-caliber pistol by throwing
it in a nearby lake. Wallace said he eventually returned
home. A short time later, he said, Privacky arrived and
asked Wallace to return with him. Instead, Wallace went to a
church youth group bonfire. |
