Case of Kimberly Simon (Satanic Panic)
In relation to the Satanic Panic
and the McMartin case, was the murder of Kimberly Simon. Kimberly was a 16 year
old junior that attended Whitesboro High School. In 1985, she was found
murdered, and when her body was found it was clear that a lot had been done to
her at the time of her death. This was a very horrific case, being that Kimberly
was found in a wooded area known to be a popular hangout area for teenagers, wounded, half naked and almost beat up. At the time of the trial a young male
age 23 was convicted and accused of committing such an awful crime. After being
imprisoned for over twenty years, Steven Barnes was cleared from the crime he
was formally accused of. He was originally convicted because a witness claimed
to see him near the area, or possibly with Simon on September 18th,
the night it all went down. Investigators re-examined the DNA that was found on
Simon’s body, and led to a number of other individuals that were never sought
out in the beginning of the investigation.
It is
interesting to know that the new suspects that were believed to have committed
such crime were a group of men who apparently were known to partake in
activities that involved Satan and many sinful actions. Some of these actions
include devil worshiping, in taking hallucinogenic drugs, and sexually abusing
women. Although I have not found anything reporting that this in fact is true,
and the group of men were a part of a satanic cult, many believe that the death
of Simon could have been a representation of a satanic sacrifice ritual.
http://www.uticaod.com/article/20150924/NEWS/150929672
- What do you think happened? Could they have been a satanic cult?
- Maleka Benjamin
With all the grisly posts this week on murders in the 1980s, one of the questions we should probably consider in class today is how parents and communities are trying to rationalize terrible events. This could be an example of "life imitating art," in which people assume there are Satanic cults in abundance and as such commit grisly crimes based upon their exposure to this trend in culture. It could also be that parents and communities want to understand why this terrible act happened and want to prescribe larger meaning to the tragic event.
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