Homeless woman kills man, 82, after he suggests she go to church

[matcom]

<snip>

<snip>

Markiesha Wells roamed the streets, pushing a grocery cart and mumbling to herself. Sometimes, she'd jabber into a non-working payphone, her South Side neighbors said.

One neighbor, 82-year-old Wyman Turman, took pity on the homeless woman. In early September, Turman invited her to stay at his apartment in the 1100 block of East 47th.

A few days later, Wells, 29, beat, bound and stabbed Turman -- all because he told her she should go to church, prosecutors said, as Wells appeared in Cook County Criminal Court Monday, charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery. She was ordered held without bail.

Turman, a friendly retiree who liked to sit in his parked Ford LTD and drink a bottle or two of beer, met Wells in early September. Some time between Sept. 19 and 21, the two argued in his apartment about Wells needing to seek God, prosecutors said.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-samaritan28.html

[pagerbear]

1. In itself, a tragic story

One has to wonder about its place in context among matcom's usually amusing stories, however.

[Senior citizen]

2. She won't be homeless any more.

I think this might be a rather common response to faith-based charities. Homeless people tend to be very defensive. Well, either defensive or dead.

[Fuzzy LaRue]

6. In Prison We Had a Phrase...

to describe homeless guys that found themselves locked up. "This is probably the best bridge they ever lived under." Sadly, a lot of times it was true. Some of these inmates were terrified of being released because prison was probably as good as it was going to get for them.

[Donkeyboy75]

3. She was somewhat well known in that area.

Real close to University of Chicago. That is fucked up...

[zbdent]

4. Who told the prosecuters that the argument was about God?

No, really? They weren't there, did she claim this? (Yes, I did read the article.) It said she laughed during the confession, but nothing in the confession mentioned God.

The story did mention that he had some "younger women" up to his place on occasion. Maybe he wanted her to seek something other than "God"?

[BigMcLargehuge]

5. maybe she was already a communicant of

Our Lady of Tying, Stabbing, and Robbing and was trying to convert Wyman Turman.

[zbdent]

7. My point is, the crime was heinous. Period. But, like any

"disaster" news story, the news tries to make it worse by saying something to the effect of "Over 50 people died, 3 of them children." Like it wouldn't have been news if no kids died.

Ergo, to make the crime even worse, the murderer did it only after "the victim wanted her to get closer to God". Oh, my God, she killed him because he was religious!

The fact that they had an argument but they can't pin down the time it happened any closer than 72 or so hours YET they know exactly what the argument was about, doesn't that kinda smell to you?

Reminds me of "The Garden of Eden", from the Bible. Who was the stenographer taking dictation when God spoke to Adam?

[BigMcLargehuge]

9. I got your point :)

I wanted to play up another religious theory to illustrate how heinous-ifying the whole "trying to take her to church" thing was.

[ChoralScholar]

8. "she'd jabber into a non-working payphone"

I had to chuckle at that one a little. A vivid mental image.

[mojowork_n]

10. This had nothing to do with "religion", or Turman...

...More likely poor Markiesha was just plain sick and tired of the men in her life (probably starting with her DaDa, brothers, uncles and most of her cousins) dumping on her, from age 3 or so, on.

Just a guess. If she was given to talking into dead phones, and he parked his LTD, before drinking.

First chance she had to get even.

[drumwolf]

11. the article didn't say if she was mentally ill or battling substance abuse

and in all likelihood she probably was one or the other or both. I see these people all the time. I live near a major gathering point for homeless people in my city.