I Dated An Axe Murderer

Some Murderers I Have Known, Part 2

I Dated An Axe Murderer

I didn't date an axe murderer. Not really. She used a pistol. 

She was the sweetest girl you could ever want to meet. Her name was Eileen Orstein. She was a Jewess who had converted to Christianity as a result of our church’s outreach. Her parents, broken-hearted and enraged, threw her out of the house. She was in her late teens and unable to support herself with no notice, so the Crumptons, some of our church friends, took her in. Their daughter Pam was about her age, so it was a good fit. She spent a lot of time with our church youth group, coming to Bible studies and other activities. She was a fixture at church, and had a very pretty smile that was only slightly diminished by a small brown stain on one of her upper front teeth. Everyone was delighted to have her in the church. 

One night we had a banquet at church - a substitute for prom. Everybody wore their finest and got dates. Eileen was going to go with Pam’s brother Danny, who was home from college, and I was going to be Pam’s date. I drove to their house, and we all went in Danny’s car. It was a fun night, and we all had a good time. At least, I assume that’s what happened. In truth, I don’t remember anything about it. It was yet another church banquet that was about the same as ever. Given when it was, there is little doubt that Dad provided the entertainment because he always did. He would write a skit, or get a group together to play music, or do a funny recitation, or some such nonsense. We always laughed ourselves silly when he did that, and I suspect we did that night. 

Over time, I lost track of Eileen. I did know that she had married (turns out his name was Janezic, but I didn’t know that at the time). I went to college, and I didn’t know where she went. I was busy building my life, and I had plenty to occupy me. For example, I started dating Sandra soon after that, so that pretty well dates this story to about 1979. 

In 1993, I was working at SigmaTech in Huntsville’s Research Park when some harsh news whipped through the company. The pastor of one of our co-workers (the lady’s name was Bobbie) had been murdered.  Rev. Jerry Simon, the pastor of Valley Fellowship Church had been murdered, as they say, “by person or persons unknown.” Police were looking for a young, white female. The news followed the investigation for a few days, but there didn’t seem to be a lot of progress. Then, about a week later, there was a media storm as a woman went to a health clinic in Decatur, shot a man (only wounded him) and then went into an armed standoff with police for the next six or eight hours. The police waited her out, and eventually took her in. When I saw the woman they had arrested, she had wild platinum blonde hair, and a crazed look in her eyes. Nothing about her triggered any recognition in my brain. Nothing could have been further from the sweet, quiet girl I knew than the wild, rambling creature I saw on the news. She was clearly in a drug- and insanity-induced fog of rage. 

I could go on, but I’ll let the court speak for me. This is a quote from the decision denying her appeal. 

“The state's evidence tended to show that on August 26, 1993, the appellant shot and killed Rev. Simon at his church, Valley Fellowship Church, in Huntsville. The victim was shot three times and died as a result of a gunshot wound to his chest. The appellant was arrested, approximately one week later, after she shot another man outside the Parkway Medical Center in Decatur. The appellant, armed with a .32 caliber gun, held 30 policemen at bay at the Medical Center for approximately 8 hours. Police Officers testified that during the eight hours, she wielded a gun, smoked cigarettes, and was seen reading from a Satanic Bible.

Carol Simon, the victim's wife, testified that the appellant started coming to her husband's church around 1984 or 1985. She did not attend regularly and in 1989 the appellant asked her to testify on her behalf in a child custody case between her and her ex-husband. Simon said she refused.” 

Eileen Janezic is now serving life in in Alabama State prison. In one of those little synchronicities of life, I am working with Bobbie again, 25 years later. Jeff Sessions, the prosecutor for the Alabama Attorney General's office in Eileen's case, is now the US Attorney General under President Donald Trump.

If you want to read the whole appeal decision, here’s the link:  https://law.justia.com/cases/alabama/court-of-appeals-criminal/1996/cr-94-2338-0.html