Wednesday, 07 September 2011
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15 Year Old Murdered During First Week of School
I know it is back to school season and everyone is so excited. I know I am since I just returned to college after a year off stint. However, in Las Vegas, it has not been such a happy event for Arbor View High School and the Otremba family.
On Saturday, my sister told me that one of my nieces schoolmates, Alyssa Otremba (15 years old) went missing on Friday night. She had just left a friends house after going there to get a book for school. She had texted her mother to tell her she would be home in thirty minutes but she never showed up. Her family and friends searched for her on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday night, they discovered a body in a vacant lot behind a neighborhood close to Otremba's home, near where she was last seen. The police were unsure to whether it was Otremba or not since the body had been so badly burned to where it was unrecognizable. On Monday it was confirmed that it was her body and shortly after they arrested Javier Righetti, 19 years old, for the crimes against her.
Fortunately, Righetti proved to be unwise which led to his capture. That Friday night, 9/2, he called his friend Daniel Ortiz to meet him. Ortiz drove to his house where Righetti told him he had robbed and killed a girl but Ortiz thinking his friend was just high on something, ignored him and just thought he was talking crazy. Righetti asked Ortiz to take him to the store where he bought the accelerant and matches. Later he had Ortiz take him to the field where he killed Otremba, When Ortiz got to the field, he started feeling sick and said he had to go. Ortiz said he ignored all the calls he received from Righetti after that night. I'm guessing Ortiz told his girlfriend what happened which led to her calling the cops (days later) with the information her boyfriend told her. Ortiz and his girlfriend told the cops where Righetti lived which led to his arrest and confession.
He told the cops that he stalked her as she walked home, beat her, robbed her, raped her, and then stabbed her to death with a kitchen knife (over 40 times). Later he returned to the field by way of Ortiz giving him a ride, and burning her corpse to destroy the evidence.
He admitted to robbing and raping women before and is believed to be connected to a rape that happened in that neighborhood about 4 months ago (assailant was never caught).
There is so much that disturbs me about this, I don't even know where to start. I guess the first thing is that this all happened in my sisters neighborhood. I have been to that gas station numerous times since it is just down the street from my sisters home. This guy lived minutes away from my sisters house and this girl was killed so near my sisters home. This guy lived blocks from my sisters home. Basically, way too close to home. She has a 14 year old daughter who attended school with this poor girl. This happening in a new and flourishing, beautiful community. And what's with Ortiz not calling the cops as soon as he began to believe what Righetti was saying?
Most importantly, what this guy did to her was INSANE. I just can't believe it. It takes a lot or rage and force to stab someone, no less over 40 times. This guy sought this girl out to slaughter her. I can't even imagine what her family is going through. I can't imagine waiting at home for my little girl to return and never seeing her walk through that door again. I feel for the Otremba family and pray that they get justice for their little girl. I only wish that we went by the "eye for an eye" policy when it comes to acts of violence like this. I hope that Arbor View High School can get through the loss of their fellow friend and student. I hope that Otremba's family gets some closure at least from the capture of this monster.
Here is a link for more information on the case: http://www.ktnv.com/news/local/129343498.html
What do you think of this? Does it anger you that there are many more like Righetti out there in the world today? Does this make you feel unsafe? How do you handle something like this when your child(ren) may know the victim?
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- From: ShirleyD@xanga
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Comments (66)
This is so awful. I hate hearing stories like this.
But I wouldn't agree with an "eye for an eye" policy. I wouldn't feel right living under a government that could enact such harsh sanctions on it's citizens.
Anyways, this guy is probably going to go to jail for a long time
:[ Saddness
i hope he gets raped in prison
terrible. just... terrible.
@The_ATM@xanga - me too!
Stuff like this is just too much to take in sometimes. If that ever happened to my child, I don't think anyone could stop me from wanting to absolutely destroy the person who did it. It would take a lot (and I mean A LOT) of grace to keep me from doing so.
i know someone who spoke to him right after he commited this horrible crime....good thing he was caught...
Unfortunately, it is unjust and cruel society that creates these monsters.
What a creep. Poor girl. We need some self defense.
so disgusting, i hope he gets the worst punishment he can receive. isn't it weird how we hear in passing stories like this and think "aaw, that's horrible" though it seems common...then when we really read into it, it's like it hits close to home? If that makes sense. I'm going to be a horribly nervous wreck when I have kids.
the world is so screwed up :/ that poor girl.
Animal. Needs to be taught some respect.
I hope this guy gets the book thrown at his sorry ass. Death penalty, anyone?
:( my heart goes out to those parents in vegas... I wonder what makes him hate women so much... it takes serious anger and rage to stab someone 40 times... but by all means... he should be punished. There is no excuse for what was done.
I want to know why this world is so messed up... what is happening to the human race?
He killed a young girl, in heinous fashion, and people don't like the death penalty? I feel strongly- kill a child or teen, and forfeit your own life!
May she rest in peace.
it is horrible beyond words. how to handle it? listen to the questions of the children and answer them as best as we can and love them so they know the whole world is not bad.
@xxGetWellSoonxx@xanga - Because it is sadly.
I can't even comprehend what kind of a sick person does this... can we even call him a person? *so sick*
Wow, that is awful.
I am so sorry to hear that and sorry for all those close to her.
Going back to the question on who you could give life again. I pick her.
That's a terrible way to go, no one deserves it.
A girl around where I live was murdered not to long ago as well, and it really shakes people up.
That really is just awful.
Good thoughts of anysort go out to her and those who knew/loved her.
see, it's stuff like this, and things going on in my own town that made national news last month, along with the failure of the public school system, that prompted me to pull my 3rd grader out of school. we are homeschooling now and have been for 3 weeks and I think this is the best thing I could have ever done. Also, she and my five year old are in taekwondo and when my youngest makes 5 he will join them. When I feel they are ready, I will be adding BJJ to their classes. When they reach a responsible age, they will be taught how to use a gun in the event that they find themselves in a situation where they can wrestle a gun from an assailant. Between my overractive maternal instinct, and my husband's six years in the military, experience as a patrol officer and in private security, any fool that tries to mess with our children doesn't stand a snoball's chance in Hell of getting out alive.
wowwwwwwwww! Rhigetti or however it's spelled, is sure going to have fun in prison. They like his kind there. By his kind, I mean the rapists. They get to know the feeling of what it's like, but for the rest of their pathetic lives.
Two things that catch my attention about this.
Well, a few more than two, but whatever.
First, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Our system isn't one of retribution. It's one of protecting the innocent and disposing of the trash.
Yeah, this guy is crap, and that's putting it mildly. Whatever redeeming quality he may have ever experienced, whether that was just the fact that he was a living, breathing, human being, is currently overshadowed by the quality of his deeds.
But we cannot, we CANNOT dismiss him as insane. Two reasons. First, there are people who are genuinely insane. And not violent. And never will be. Just deeply emotionally or mentally disturbed.
And they are better people than he. Insanity makes you cut your own penis off. Insanity makes you have imaginary conversations with notable historical figures. Insanity doesn't make you stab someone 40+ times unprovoked. Maybe the guy did have severe emotional problems. Likely he had issues with women, and even more likely, these issues are exacerbated by chronic drug use. I'm just going by what I'm reading. Let's not group the genuinely mentally ill with this trash. (also, that penis case is one I really dealt with. And while the guy had problems, drugs definitely played a role.)
Second reason not to dismiss him as insane is because it dismisses what he's done, in a way. He took a life without regard. He did it in a heinous and vicious way. Dismissing him as insane is what his lawyer is going to try to do. But he had the foresight enough to stalk her. He had the presence of mind to dispose of her earthly remains. If this guy is crazy, I find it hard to believe. Staring into the great abyss of what he's done, that evil cannot be categorized. Nor understood. Nor should it ever be.
Now, onto your questions.
What do you think of this? I'm pretty estranged from my feelings on this. I work in law enforcement. If you do your job right, you don't connect with it too deeply. You shouldn't, at least.
Does it anger you that there are many
more like Righetti out there in the world today? That's a pretty inflaming loaded question. And built on a presumption we can't prove, can we? Let me tell you something about violent criminals, generally. They're sad, lonely, stupid little cases. Most are related to family violence, a lot of them are about money. A lot more are about drugs. Most are pretty petty and mundane when you get down to it. Violent crime is just selfish motives going to the point of hurting someone.
Guys like these are pretty unique in that awful way our mind fixates on. They're not monsters, they're not villains. They're not to be sympathized with, they're not to be feared or hated by anyone but their victims. They're to be handled according to the way the law prescribes and no further. Justice can't be angry. Because justice hasn't the right to be vengeance. Not in the society I'm sworn to.
Does this make you
feel unsafe? I don't walk home at night, if that's what you're asking. But I feel slightly unsafe from killing a scorpion in my hallway and worrying there are more crawling about. You gotta draw the line somewhere, play it safe and just live.
How do you handle something like this when your child(ren)
may know the victim? In a word, reasonably. I don't have kids, but if they're her age or younger, I'd go for a drive with them around the countryside. I'd explain what I know, what we don't know, what we can't know. I'd tell them we're all as safe as we choose to be and life is dangerous. What this guy did was a double warning- Don't become him, and do what you can to not become a victim of someone like him. One you can almost certainly prevent. The other, well that's what frightens us, isn't it?
Chance. Scares us crapless and there's nothing we can do about it.
So do that girl a favor: make that next breath count.
@Shinbi_Belldandy@xanga - Wow. Can you believe our society makes "people" like this? I cannot comprehend how he is flesh and blood like us.
That is so scary. One of my friends carrys a tazor in her purse disguised as a cell phone. I always make fun of her for it, but after reading this, I understand her fears.
@written_conversations@xanga - Wow, really? You're defending a murderer and rapist? That's some seriously sick shit. Perhaps you should be the one locked up for a mental illness causing you to sympathize with someone who would do this type of thing for fun.