Murder/Kidnap teens David Ludwig and Kara Borden authored Christian blogs

[Ian David]

Pennsylvania teens' weblogs reveal Christian faith
Suspected teen killer, David Ludwig, and girlfriend, Kara Borden, kept weblogs about their lives in Christian community

Tuesday, November 15, 2005
by Bene Diction See all articles by this author

Kara Beth Borden is 14, owns two weblogs and was the focus of a national amber alert after her parents were each shot in the head and died Sunday morning in Lititz, Pennsylvania.

<snip>

"the stoners came over two nights ago! heh..that was fun! i got to talk to them both..awesome awesome..and today i went running with alita..that was nice! yep! my mother was kinda upset cause we didnt get back til 530 and i had soccer practice..ohh well..yeah soccer was ok i guess...it's almost over....one more game on sunday...then tourny..so yepp...ha otay i dont really have anything else to say. -- October 19, 2005

<snip>

Kara and David attended a Christian music concert together in October. He wrote on October 7th:

The concert last night was AMAZING!! Pillar and Audio A rock my face off!

When police reported that David and Kara disappeared, they described Kara wearing a Pillar sweatshirt, a Christian rock band she idolized.

"HEY guys!!! hehe wow the concert was awesome..some of the bands.....kinda sucked like kids in the way..superchick was like....idk...but everyone else was good!PILLAR ROCKED!! i love them! sweetttt!! anddd i got a pillar sweatshirt..tis very hot..i hardly have any money now..heh that otay tho…"

To read their blogs is to look into a sub-world, a world of Christian contemporary music and searching for Jesus; a place where music speaks volumes to Pennsylvania home-schooled teens.

<snip>

Kara and David's weblogs don't explain why a mother and father are dead. An argument over curfew; a 14-year-old seeing a boy who is four years older; parents trying to reason with a young man they knew. The community in Lititz is trying to understand what's happening, along with the rest of the world when the news reached CNN and BBC. But, the teens who considered David and Kara among their circle of friends find where they can express themselves out of reach from the world, yet right in front it: their weblogs. One wrote online on November 14 after Kara and David were found:

More:
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idCategory=33&idsub=134&id=2145

Maybe, like after Colombine, we should start debating whether or not it is safe for kids to be listening to Christian music as opposed to Goth music?

[electropop]

1. Good thing they were raised with strong Christian family values.

And is it just me, or does "Pillar" sound just a little, well, phallic?

[MidwestTransplant]

2. Somewhat off topic but Saved with Mcauly Caulkin is a great movie.

[zbdent]

3. Are they trying to pin the blame on the dead parents of the girl?

since it would have to be a justified killing of her parents, they MUST HAVE BEEN LIBERALS!!

Or maybe they would have voted out the Dover IDers . . .

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Repressive, authoritarian homes can bring the worst out in kids.

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. Bobo's World

No doubt, our little blog-evangelist was "finger-fucking Mary J. Rottencrotch" in the backseat of Daddy's Ford Explorer, as a famous movie drill instructor once said.

[LiberalEsto]

6. What Would Jesus Shoot?

I guess it's because the kids hadn't seen enough copies of the 10 Commandments posted around their town hall and schools.
Otherwise they would have realized:

Thou shalt not kill
Honor thy mother and father
Honor the sabbath (the killings took place Sunday morning)
Thou shalt not steal (where did the boy get the gun and the car?)

Solution:

Put up more plaques containing the 10 Commandments everywhere, and I do mean everywhere.

[DURHAM D]

7. My Repug sibling called me from the heartland last night.

I had told her many years ago I thought one of the results of home schooling would be more family violence. She thought I was crazy at the time.

So last night she called to say I might be right -not just about this sad case but she listed several other situations from her community where home schooler families had experienced some sad and tragic situations. To be honest, I don't remember saying this to her many years ago but she remembered and has been thinking about it every since.

[Boomer]

10. So what was your rationale for this prediction?

It would never have occurred to me, but in pondering your post I realized that one condition of home schooling is a great deal of "togetherness" and little opportunity for teenagers to begin a weaning away from Mommy and Daddy.

So you've got this cauldron of intense family dynamics, fueled by teen hormones run amuck that blow every emotion out of proportion, and fewer escape valves for letting off steam -- such as team sports, band, and other structured activities. You also have fewer sustained encounters with other adults, which can provide some perspective on adult thinking, without the distracting emotional ties that children have with parents.

Yup, domestice violence is not so surprising after all. Thanks for posting.

[DURHAM D]

14. Very early on when home schooling first developed

a foothold it seemed to me that every family I knew that was participating in it was headed by an insecure overly dominate male - the my way or the highway kind of guy, and was coupled with a frightened submissive mother. In small towns in the midwest where everyone knows everyone's business family patterns are much easier to observe. But, being midwestern, everyone pretty much keeps their opinions to themselves.

I think that is why my sibling called me - she can't express her views to others in her community or church.

[Boomer]

8. Inane drivel

The quotes from the teen blogs shows nothing but babbling emptiness in their minds.

Makes me wonder whether they are hiding deeper, darker urges that they can't even acknowledge to themselves, or whether they are so shallow that even murder does not touch them.

"...people screw up, and do stupid things.

but david is a great guy a GREAT friend. and i refuse to hold this against him.

i dont care what anyone else says. i dont care at ALL. david is my friend. and i care about what happens to him."

You really have to wonder at someone, no matter what age, who can discount murder as a "stupid thing." As if it's no worse than breaking curfew or getting caught smoking.

[noonwitch]

9. Their daughter was involved with a psycho!

I don't think it has anything to do with their homeschooling, their religion, or any of that. The psycho was probably pretending to be a christian in an attempt to gain the parents' trust, so that he could get into the girl's pants. It doesn't seem as if the parents were all that strict if they were letting their 14 year old date an 18 year old. My parents were pretty lenient and would not have let me date someone that much older than me when I was 14. At least, my Dad wouldn't have.

[Ian David]

18. Maybe. Let's debate it in the media for 8 weeks and let the public decide

[jobycom]

11. Children raised in isolation from social conflict

sometimes grow up not understanding these conflicts. These kids were raised with no one to tell them how dumb their ideas were, how sometimes they just lose an argument and have to live with that, that sometimes they aren't the only people in the world. Exposure to real humans with differences of opinions helps prepare people for the real world.

Not all people who are home schooled have these issues, and certainly there are problems with the processing plant style of education our schools have become. But it's still a problem.

[justiceischeap]

12. All I have to say is that I am amazed. I grew up in Lititz...

Went to high school there and was there in September visiting my chosen family. It's a fairly quiet town known for it's pretzels and chocolate. Nothing this exciting ever happened when I lived there. Unless you count the 3 suicides while I was in high school.

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. "Kara Beth Borden" - 'Beth', as in 'Elizabeth', or 'Lizzie'?

and her parents get murdered, and she may be a suspect?

Who could have predicted it?

[Flying Dream Blues]

15. ahhhhhhh! Very astute! Quite ironic...

[ellenfl]

16. personally, i don't think home schooling

provides enough socialization for kids . . . especially if it's a fundie home school.

ellen fl

[porphyrian]

17. While I think the fundies deserve to eat crow...

...I don't think helping them externalize responsibility for personal actions by blaming music (or video games, or Dungeons & Dragons, etc.) is a good idea. I like the idea that their heads are popping over this, but it's a shame two people had to die for it.

[LeftCoast]

19. Hi Ian, per DU copyright rules

please limit your quote to no more than 4 paragraphs. Thanks.