TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Teen Sentenced After Classmate's Death:
It's now official that 16-year-old Dustin Howard will spend no time in jail for the death of Dakota DeRemus. A judge approved the plea deal that would only give Howard 18 months of probation with the possibility of ending probation after 12 months.

Meanwhile Dakota DeRemus is still serving out his death sentence that he didn't have the luxury of a trial for.

Gardner teen pleads no contest in death of classmate:
Dustin Howard pleaded no contest in the death of Dakota Deremus. As you'll recall Dakota collapsed and died from a congenital heart defect after getting into a fight with Dustin Howard. Dakota's father claims that Howard was bullying Dakota.

Howard pleaded no contest to charges of aggravated battery. Under the plea Howard will have no jail time and will receive 12-15 months of intensive probation. The judge does have the option of rejecting the plea deal.

Dakota has no option other than the death sentence he received.

Jury won't hear testimony about whether teen who died after fight was bullied:
A judge ruled recently that the jury in the trial of Dustin Howard will not hear testimony about the alleged bullying of Dakota Deremus by Howard.

The defense attorney for Dustin Howard argued that there's no evidence of Dakota being bullied.

The jury will hear about how Howard and his buddies trying to get their stories straight even though Howard eventually confessed and comments made about Dakota's heart condition after the fight.

Over the weekend I received an e-mail from Jennifer Deremus. If the name sounds familiar it's because she is the stepmother of Dakota Deremus. Readers of this sight should know that Dakota died at the hands of Dustin Howard. To make matters worse not only was his death recorded on a cell phone by some of Howard's stupid friends but 16-year-old Howard was charged as a juvenile. By now you should know my stance on that. (For newcomers I'm always in favor of trying juveniles as adults for murder.)

Conversely take the recorded beating of Victoria Lindsay from Florida. Luckily she survived her beating that was also recorded. Her teenage assailants were charged as adults.

In the case of Victoria Lindsay there was national outrage of Biblical proportions. In the case of Dakota Deremus not so much. Mrs. Deremus asked me why that is? Unfortunately it's too simple. It all comes down to saturation.

Do a YouTube search for Victoria Lindsay and 800 videos come up. Do one for Dakota Deremus and only 3 come up and none of them show what happened to him.

Why were Victoria Lindsay's tormentors charged as adults and Dustin Howard wasn't? Dustin Howard killed Dakota Deremus, Victoria Lindsay is alive and recovering. Victoria's attackers could be jailed for life. Dustin Howard will more than likely be released at the age of 19 and have his record erased.

The saddest part is that we shouldn't need a video to be outraged by Dakota's death.

Ruling Upsets Mom Of Teen Who Died In Fight:
I've previously posted about the bullying/beating death of Dakota DeRemus and how his killer, 16-year-old Dustin Howard, should be charged as an adult. Unfortunately that has not come to fruition and Howard is being charged as a juvenile.

Dakota's mom had this to say about it...

"As a juvenile, he's going to be able to clear his name and it's never going to follow him once he's done. As an adult, it would have affected him for the rest of his life. And this is going to affect myself, our family, for the rest of our lives," said Angie Meireis, DeRemus' mother. "He cannot get off with a slap on the wrist. This is too serious."

It would be fair if we could give Dakota DeRemus a new start on life but we can't. He's dead, and his killer will walk free at the latest by the age of 19 and any existence of the murder will be wiped off the face of the earth.

There's justice for you.

Police: 4 Witnessed, One Recorded Attack:
Yesterday I posted about the bullying death of Dakota DeRemus and about how his tormentor Dustin Howard should be charged as an adult.

Here's 4 more people that I think should be charged with crimes. The 4 kids who witnessed Dakota's beating at the hands of Howard and did nothing to stop it. Not only that but one of them actually recorded the beating on their cell phone.

any one or more of them could have stepped in and saved Dakota's life. Instead they were enablers and in my eyes accessories to his death.

Dakota's father, Scott DeRemus echoed similar sentiments...

"You're no more than a murderer yourself when you're a witness to something like that and you let somebody die because you're afraid you'll get in a little bit of trouble and get grounded. I think it's sick.

Johnson County' Kansas officials have said that charges could be filed against the four.

Family Blames Bullying For Teen's Death:
A lot of people think that I think that bullying is ok because I don't have any sympathy for school shooters who have claimed to have been bullied. Nothing could be further from the truth. As a former bullying victim myself I have the utmost sympathy for those who have suffered through it. I just don't think it's an excuse to commit mass murder and honestly unless the parents of bullies and schools start actually giving a damn I don't see a real solution to it either.

Also it's no secret that I think teens who commit such heinous crimes as murder should absolutely be tried as adults no question.

Now a devastating tragedy causes an interesting conundrum.

16-year-old Dakota DeRemus was bullied to death. Not suicide, he was beaten by 16-year-old Dustin Howard who Dakota's family said had been bullying him for years. After an autopsy was performed it was determined that Dakota had a heart problem and the fight led to his death. Howard has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and county prosecutors want to try him as an adult. Personally I think he should be charged with murder and should absolutely be tried as an adult but sometimes my personal feelings and the letter of the law conflict. That's life.

Then there are the groups who claim that no child ever should be charged as adults. Like I've said before I call them Helen Lovejoy's or the Kids' Criminal Crowd. They say that no child should ever be charged as an adult but they pick and choose their causes as I've demonstrated before. I think this one would be a real tough call for them. Howard is 16 but the KCC usually sides on those who have claimed to have been bullied. What does their collective bleeding heart tell them to do with this one? Or will it be like other cases I've pointed out and will just be completely ignored. I guess only time will tell.

My heartfelt prayers condolences go out to the friends and family of Dakota DeRemus.

Special thanks to Morbid.