Happy True Crime Thursday!
I can't believe it's been a week already.
Today we are talking about family man turned murderer...
Christian Longo.
Christian Longo.
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| Christian, Wife MaryJane, Their Children Zachery, Sadie and Madison |
Christian Michael Longo was born on January 23, 1974 in Michigan. He was raised in a strict Jehovah's Witness household and became very active within the church starting at a young age. He was trained in the door-to-door ministry that Jehovah's Witness members are well known for. It was at the church that he met MaryJane Baker. The two of them got married in 1993 when she was 25 and he was only 19. Unknown to MaryJane the purchase of her engagement ring was the beginning of Christian's deceit, he stole money from the camera shop he worked at to pay for the ring. The elders at his church found out and they removed him from his church duties, but it wasn't reported to police.
Christian decided to set up his own construction cleaning business, it was successful at the beginning, but then he ran into debt. Christian had a taste for the finer things in life from the get go, but not the budget for it. He loved to take luxurious vacations, buy nice clothes and fast cars. MaryJane gave birth to their 1st son Zachery in 1997, this made their finances even more strained because MaryJane became a stay at home mom. Things didn't get better, but regardless their next 2 children arrived shortly after. They were swimming in credit card debt and the families cars were repossessed.
Christian did what any person would do when in financial despair... he set up fake addresses to reroute bill collectors, wrote checks to himself in clients names and created a fake drivers license. He took this license to a dealership, hopped in a car to take it for a test drive, drove it home and never returned it. Totally normal right? He hid all of this from his wife, but regardless of how slick he thought he was she started to grow suspicious. MaryJane soon discovered that Christian was being unfaithful, she found email evidence of this. When confronted Christian told her that he had no fun since they had been married. Soon after, he was caught and charged for making counterfeit checks, he was given a light sentence of probation and restitution. After this the Church they belonged to found out about all of the sinful things Christian had been up to, so they kicked him out.
So what was next for Christian and his family? Well about 2 months after all was discovered he claimed he wanted to start a new and better life, with his family. They picked up and moved into a warehouse in Toledo, Ohio. Now some of you may be aware of this, but when you are on probation and you don't tell anyone that you are moving to another state that kinda makes you wanted on probation violation. And that's just what he became.
Early September 2001, Christian Longo walks into a vacation rental place in Yachats, Oregon with his family in tow. He states that he'd been traveling to Eugene on business and needed a safe place for his family. He settled on an $800 a month rental home just outside of Waldport. By September 24th Christian started working at a Starbucks coffee shop just inside the Newport Fred Meyers store. This is so crazy for me to read because I have been to that Fred Meyers and Starbucks many many times when visiting the Oregon Coast.
By the early fall MaryJane's family started to worry. It had been weeks since any of them had heard from her, her cellphone had been disconnected. Concerned, 3 of MaryJane's sisters met up in Ann Arbor and drove 40 minutes to Toledo, Ohio. Not knowing the family was in Oregon at that time. When they arrive to the gritty looking warehouse set right next to a meat-packing plant they didn't find their sister. It looked as though they had left in a hurry. Of course this worried the women enough to drive to the Toledo police station and file a missing persons report for MaryJane and the kids. The police were already looking for Longo, one day prior to the family leaving abruptly Toledo police recovered $55,00 in merchandise that was stolen from Michigan. The main suspect was Christian.
By November it had been 2 months since anyone had heard from MaryJane or Christian. They prayed the family was safe. Then MaryJane's mom got a card from MaryJane, postmarked Sioux Falls, S.D. it stated that things had not worked out for Christian in Toledo so they had moved, but didn't say where. She said Christian had sent out resumes and was taking an eight-week training program, but didn't say what kind of work. End of the note said "Love, MaryJane. P.S. I'll keep in touch."
Christian kept bailing on rental places they stayed at when it came to making payment. Anyone that came in contact with the family said that Christian did the majority of the talking and that MaryJane and the kids remained quite for the most part. Christian kept doing what he did best. Manipulating people.
So what was next for Christian and his family? Well about 2 months after all was discovered he claimed he wanted to start a new and better life, with his family. They picked up and moved into a warehouse in Toledo, Ohio. Now some of you may be aware of this, but when you are on probation and you don't tell anyone that you are moving to another state that kinda makes you wanted on probation violation. And that's just what he became.
Early September 2001, Christian Longo walks into a vacation rental place in Yachats, Oregon with his family in tow. He states that he'd been traveling to Eugene on business and needed a safe place for his family. He settled on an $800 a month rental home just outside of Waldport. By September 24th Christian started working at a Starbucks coffee shop just inside the Newport Fred Meyers store. This is so crazy for me to read because I have been to that Fred Meyers and Starbucks many many times when visiting the Oregon Coast.
By the early fall MaryJane's family started to worry. It had been weeks since any of them had heard from her, her cellphone had been disconnected. Concerned, 3 of MaryJane's sisters met up in Ann Arbor and drove 40 minutes to Toledo, Ohio. Not knowing the family was in Oregon at that time. When they arrive to the gritty looking warehouse set right next to a meat-packing plant they didn't find their sister. It looked as though they had left in a hurry. Of course this worried the women enough to drive to the Toledo police station and file a missing persons report for MaryJane and the kids. The police were already looking for Longo, one day prior to the family leaving abruptly Toledo police recovered $55,00 in merchandise that was stolen from Michigan. The main suspect was Christian.
By November it had been 2 months since anyone had heard from MaryJane or Christian. They prayed the family was safe. Then MaryJane's mom got a card from MaryJane, postmarked Sioux Falls, S.D. it stated that things had not worked out for Christian in Toledo so they had moved, but didn't say where. She said Christian had sent out resumes and was taking an eight-week training program, but didn't say what kind of work. End of the note said "Love, MaryJane. P.S. I'll keep in touch."
Christian kept bailing on rental places they stayed at when it came to making payment. Anyone that came in contact with the family said that Christian did the majority of the talking and that MaryJane and the kids remained quite for the most part. Christian kept doing what he did best. Manipulating people.
Before I dive into the details regarding the next half of this story I do want to warn you that it does involve children and can be upsetting. Any story that involves children makes my blood boil. Sadly, these crimes do happen. I will give you a little psychological overview at the end.
On December 19, 2001 a man reported seeing the body of a small boy floating face down in the water near his home in Newport, Oregon. The boy was identified as 4 year old Zachery Longo. 3 days later in nearby waters divers found the body of 3 year old Sadie Ann Longo, she had been weighed down by a pillowcase full of rocks. On December 26th, 2 suitcases were found by police divers, inside one of them was the small body of 2 year old Madison Longo. In the other was the body of 34 year old MaryJane. Police were on the hunt to find the only family member unaccounted for, Christian Longo.
At this point Christian had already hopped on an airplane and made his way to Cancun, where he stayed in a Seaside resort. Not suspicious at all right? Well not only did he do this, but he also changed his identity. Christian was into reading the New York Times and always wanted to be a journalist, he decided to assume the identity of real life New York Times reporter Michael Finkel. He was living it up as Mr. Finkle, he was getting drunk, hitting the beach, going to nightclubs and even romanced a German tourist. A weird twist in the story is that during the time he was posing as Michael, Michael himself was in the headlines for fabricating a story he had written and was getting fired and shamed out of journalism.
Back in the states it had become clear that Christian was involved in the murder of his family. The FBI placed him on their Ten Most Wanted list and were able to track him down in January 2002. The local police immediately handed him over.
Over the next year Christian kept insisting that yes he killed his wife and youngest daughter, but only because MaryJane had killed the 2 oldest children and being in the state of shock and rage he was in he strangled MaryJane. He claimed he then strangled baby Madison because he felt hopeless for her. Right...
After a month long trial in 2003, Christian was convicted of all charges and sentenced to death. He is still sitting on death row today.
He eventually confessed to killing Zachery and Sadie as well, he confessed this to none other than disgraced reporter Michael Finkle. Michael didn't know about his involvement until Christian was convicted. It was then that he became obsessed with the case and flew to Oregon to meet Christian face to face. It was then that Christian admitted he initially strangled MaryJane and Madison and then jammed their bodies into the luggage and loaded them into the trunk of his car. From there he grabbed sleeping Zachery and Sadie and put them into the car, he drove to a nearby bridge over Lint Slough, an inlet of the Alsea River. This next part is tough to hear. He then tied weighted pillowcases to his children's legs and tossed them into the water, they were still alive when he did this. He then tossed the suitcases in.
Ten years after the murders he wrote a letter, in the letter he states;
"I got up on the stand and essentially blamed my wife for everything. I was still stuck in a phase where I couldn't fathom the thought of me being capable of doing what I was convicted of."
"Studying what a psychologist said I was and came to terms with it, almost totally agreeing that he was right...his conclusion was the narcissistic personality disorder which he called 'compensatory'--basically self-centeredness related to a damaged core sense of self"
"I dream a few times a week about my daughters. They're usually happy and playing and it's pleasant. But my mind, even in the dream, knows the reality. And it always switches to an image of my son that haunts me for the rest of that dream state. Sometimes, I get back to sleep, a lot of times I don't. And unless I get distracted pretty quickly, the image sticks and I'm haunted throughout the day until it fades. I rarely dream of my wife and I don't know what that means. I think it's from a detachment from her long before the end--which I know sounds callous, but I'm being honest."
Is your blood boiling like mine was while writing this?
So here's a little psychology behind the different types of Family Annihilators. There isn't one specific type of person that chooses to kill their family. In general, these people are fragile and unable to cope with humiliation. They're unable to make appropriate decisions when they are burdened by anxiety, rage or depression.
Below are the different types of Family Annihilators, this is based upon a study where they analyzed 2 decades worth of cases involving men who had killed their families. They came up with 4 types of annihilators. It was published in the Howard Journal of Criminal Justice.
https://murderpedia.org/male.L/l/longo-christian.htmAt this point Christian had already hopped on an airplane and made his way to Cancun, where he stayed in a Seaside resort. Not suspicious at all right? Well not only did he do this, but he also changed his identity. Christian was into reading the New York Times and always wanted to be a journalist, he decided to assume the identity of real life New York Times reporter Michael Finkel. He was living it up as Mr. Finkle, he was getting drunk, hitting the beach, going to nightclubs and even romanced a German tourist. A weird twist in the story is that during the time he was posing as Michael, Michael himself was in the headlines for fabricating a story he had written and was getting fired and shamed out of journalism.
Back in the states it had become clear that Christian was involved in the murder of his family. The FBI placed him on their Ten Most Wanted list and were able to track him down in January 2002. The local police immediately handed him over.
Over the next year Christian kept insisting that yes he killed his wife and youngest daughter, but only because MaryJane had killed the 2 oldest children and being in the state of shock and rage he was in he strangled MaryJane. He claimed he then strangled baby Madison because he felt hopeless for her. Right...
After a month long trial in 2003, Christian was convicted of all charges and sentenced to death. He is still sitting on death row today.
He eventually confessed to killing Zachery and Sadie as well, he confessed this to none other than disgraced reporter Michael Finkle. Michael didn't know about his involvement until Christian was convicted. It was then that he became obsessed with the case and flew to Oregon to meet Christian face to face. It was then that Christian admitted he initially strangled MaryJane and Madison and then jammed their bodies into the luggage and loaded them into the trunk of his car. From there he grabbed sleeping Zachery and Sadie and put them into the car, he drove to a nearby bridge over Lint Slough, an inlet of the Alsea River. This next part is tough to hear. He then tied weighted pillowcases to his children's legs and tossed them into the water, they were still alive when he did this. He then tossed the suitcases in.
Ten years after the murders he wrote a letter, in the letter he states;
"I got up on the stand and essentially blamed my wife for everything. I was still stuck in a phase where I couldn't fathom the thought of me being capable of doing what I was convicted of."
"Studying what a psychologist said I was and came to terms with it, almost totally agreeing that he was right...his conclusion was the narcissistic personality disorder which he called 'compensatory'--basically self-centeredness related to a damaged core sense of self"
"I dream a few times a week about my daughters. They're usually happy and playing and it's pleasant. But my mind, even in the dream, knows the reality. And it always switches to an image of my son that haunts me for the rest of that dream state. Sometimes, I get back to sleep, a lot of times I don't. And unless I get distracted pretty quickly, the image sticks and I'm haunted throughout the day until it fades. I rarely dream of my wife and I don't know what that means. I think it's from a detachment from her long before the end--which I know sounds callous, but I'm being honest."
Is your blood boiling like mine was while writing this?
So here's a little psychology behind the different types of Family Annihilators. There isn't one specific type of person that chooses to kill their family. In general, these people are fragile and unable to cope with humiliation. They're unable to make appropriate decisions when they are burdened by anxiety, rage or depression.
Below are the different types of Family Annihilators, this is based upon a study where they analyzed 2 decades worth of cases involving men who had killed their families. They came up with 4 types of annihilators. It was published in the Howard Journal of Criminal Justice.
*Self-righteous: The killer seeks to locate blame for his crimes upon the mother who he holds responsible for the breakdown of the family. This may involve the killer phoning his partner before the murder to explain what he is about to do. For these men, their breadwinner status is central to their idea of the ideal family.
*Disappointed: This killer believes his family has let him down or has acted in ways to undermine or destroy his vision of ideal family life. An example may be disappointment that children are not following the traditional religious or cultural customs of the father.
*Anomic: In these cases the family has become firmly linked in the mind of the killer to the economy. The father sees family as the result of his economic success, allowing him to display his achievements. However, if the father becomes an economic failure, he sees the family as no longer serving this function.
*Paranoid: Those who perceive an external threat to the family. This is often social services or the legal system, which the father fears will side against him and take away the children. Here the murder is motivated by a twisted desire to protect the family.
In all of these cases masculinity and perceptions of power sets the background for the crimes. The family role of the father is central to their ideas of masculinity and the murders represent a last ditch attempt to perform a masculine role.
If you would like to read more about Christian Longo and his frame of mind there is also a great article up here.
These cases are always very difficult to digest. I really can't come up with the words to end this weeks blog on a positive note.
I will see you all next week.
Resources:
https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/christian-longo
https://www.lifedeathprizes.com/real-life-crime/christian-longo-murderer-33976
https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/crime-history/christian-longo-the-monster-who-murdered-his-wife-3-kids-then-partied-in-cancun
https://kval.com/news/local/words-of-a-killer-longo-writes-about-family-he-killed
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130815084404.htm
https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/why-some-men-kill-their-families-scott-peterson-chris-watts-christian-longo
https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2002/02/christian_longo_on_the_run_but.html
Was he tried in Oregon? i didnt know we had the death penalty! what a wild read! also there is a movie about this with Jonah Hill!
ReplyDeleteYes he was tried in Oregon, basically when he was found guilty Capitol Punishment in Oregon was a legal penalty, but in 2011 Governor Kitzhaber announced a temporary hold on executions in Oregon, canceling any planned executions and ordering a review of the death penalty system in the state. So it could still be possible, but most likely he will just do life in prison. I noticed in my research there was a movie, I'm going to check it out! Thanks for reading!
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