Death of D.J. (Don) Stephens

I was shattered to hear of the death of a good friend, Don Stephens
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20151207/news/151209108/

Thanks for posting this Abe. I didn't know Don, but he seemed like a good guy just from the stuff he posted here. When I registered on this site I saw his background and ordered one of his books to see how he wrote. Looks like he couldn't stand to see his wife suffer anymore. Still sad to see things end that way. Old veterans are a special breed. Another old soldier will fade away, but his books will always remain.

I'm still reeling over the news. Don was a good friend and a respected colleague, and I turned to him for information and guidance when writing With Full Malice.

With Full Malice acknowledgements:
To the following, I extend my deep appreciation for sharing your time and expertise. Thank you.
To Robert Dearmore, Sergeant (Ret.) Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and his patient wife, Sheila.; D. J. (Don) Stephens, nearly ten years military service, Airborne Ranger, Sniper and Small Arms;

He was always willing to help, always had a positive attitude. I'm sure his decision was based on love for his wife.

I didn't know you thought that much of him, Ken. I'm happily surprised.

I’m pissed and I won’t apologize for using that expression.
I’m pissed at the proliferation of guns and those who have them. Claiming the right to own them for self-defense is bullshit. What self-defense could Don claim by killing his wife? Certainly there are other methods of killing. One could use a knife or even poison someone, but the death is not immediate and could cause someone to change his/her mind and seek help to prevent the death. Pulling the trigger of a gun is not reversible.
The one thing I disagreed with Don about on this forum was about guns and gun control. I believe that I made the comment that I respected his opinion, but didn’t agree. To make it clear for the future, I respect the right for anyone to have an opinion, but that doesn’t mean I will be obliged to respect what is expressed with that opinion, and that includes political subjects.
There is a sickness involved with killing. The killing of animals for sport and in some cases the brutal slaying of animals just for the fun of it. We call these people sick and portray them as exceptions. Humans may pull the trigger, but it is the gun that kills. Having background checks to determine the mental stability of someone to own a gun cannot predict someone suddenly flipping out. We read about children getting their hands on guns and killing brother or sister. We read about the gun going off accidentally and killing another person. If the gun was not available, these accidents would have happened.
Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld have murdered thousands of people in Iraq. The weapons they used were young service men and women acting on their orders - using service men and women as their “hit men”. The invasion of Iraq was not about defending America, but about greed and power. Cheney’s company made hundreds of millions from this invasion.
We have Candidates for President who want to solve problems by bombing the shit out of another nation. It doesn’t matter to them how many people die. Palestinians are killed on a daily basis. It is not about self-defense, but about a land grab. Destroying the property and lives of the indigenous population doesn’t matter. They are murderers plain and simple. Even worse is that we fund these criminal acts and that makes us just as guilty as if we were directly involved.

Those who work for a peaceful solution are labeled as weak and applaud the tough talk of politicians who want to take America to war. The word “peace” is something used when it suits for political gain. It takes strength and perseverance to work for peace. Force is not a long-term solution.

This is my opinion. It doesn’t require you to agree.

Good post, Abe...I am for ban the gun. I understand many feel if they don't have guns, the Government will have 100% control...people in Japan can not have guns, their government does not have full control.

Abe,
I have been flipping back, and forth between this forum, and published Authors, looking at the two very different pictures of Don. As we age, the nose, and ears keep growing. The only part of the skull that also grows is the brow...the part over the top of the eyes. take away all the skin and the flesh from the bone, and I don't see those two pictures as the same man? The picture on this forum is a bigger head. We had another person on Shelagh's forum a few years ago...I forget his name, maybe it was Lee? He lived in San Diego, and Mexico. On P.A. he was a man, and on another forum he was a female. The picture on this forum of Don(?) I have seen before. I don't remember where, or when, I have been all over the net over the years...could be it's just sombody else who looks like the picture on this forum? People often put on bulk as they age, but the head never gets bigger, or smaller. The jaw bone of the two pictures is not even the same.

I only knew Don through Published Authors. I'm so sorry to read this and extend my sympathy to his family.

I do too, Victoria.

Domenic, if what you say is true about the difference in the lines of Don's face and head in the two photos, I don't care. He may have chosen to post the photo of a man in tribal garb, or he may have made up for an occasion. He may have posted a photo of his father. Again, I don't care.

I knew Don as an honorable man, and I wouldn't question anything he did, either his latest act or those he did in the past. I trusted him, and that hasn't changed.

Brenda, here is what I posted on Published Authors just minutes ago to Abe's comment:

Abe F. March wrote:
I hear you Dom, but nothing will change my mind about Don.  He was my friend. He is innocent until proven guilty and I am not his judge.

Innocent until proven guilty? Abe, he left a note saying he shot his wife. His wife is dead from being shot. The police have the gun, and a note from Don saying he shot her...that is a confession of guilt...it does not need more proof than that. He did not kill her in fear of his own life...that makes it murder. He is a confessed murderer. The only way he could get out of that is if he was alive, and it could be proven he was insane at the time of the crime.
The Bible says to not judge others...and that is true. If Don had not left a note saying he shot his wife, and somebody (me) said he was a murderer that would be making a judgement. But since he left a note saying he did it, It is not making a judgement, it is a statement of fact.
The police had said somebody had been digging a hole in Don's back yard, and the dig was fresh. They did not say Don was the person who had been digging the hole...I'm not saying Don was digging the hole. Maybe some stranger went into Don's back yard and had been digging a hole? it does leave the question..why would somebody dig a hole in Don's back yard hours, or days after Don murdered his wife?
You can believe whatever you want Abe, but the man you call friend murdered a helpless women. I never knew her, but my feeling always go out to the victim., and they go out to her, not the murderer.

My feeling go out to the victum...not the person who murdered her. And if any of you think I am wrong, maybe you should check you heart condition. Good people do not murder other people.
We will all stand before a living God. A person who has murdered won't even have to speak. God will already know why they murdered. Maybe Don never heard the commandment, "You must not kill." If Don's wife could speak, would she say, "Oh, I'm so glad my husband killed me."

A hole in the back yard, Domenic? Where did you see that information? In all the reports I read, I saw nothing about a hole in the yard.

Yes, in most murders, I also feel for the victim, but only the note Don left explains what happened and why. Perhaps his wife begged him to end her life. Perhaps she'd been a proud women who couldn't take her helplessness any longer. Maybe Don held out for years, but finally relented. Or perhaps even she shot herself and Don, to spare her family further misery, took the blame.

The point is, no one knows except those who've read the note. In any case, I have no doubt he did what he did out of love or mercy.

Brenda,
people can believe anything that makes them happy. I for one will not add, or subtract from what the police have said. As to the note, the police view it as one side of the story as written by Don...there is nothing to back up the note, which the police view as a murderer can say anything he wants to. The victim can't speak. The police have it as a murder. You guys can say, "Well maybe this, or maybe that." There are just a few facts, and that is all anybody can go with. He killed his wife, and said he did it out of love. After he killed her he left the house for five days. The police said were he went, and who he saw had nothing to do with the murder...I find that strange? You kill your wife and go off and do something that had nothing to do with the murder? If Don was alive he would be in Jail on a charge of murder. The police said there was a recent dug hole in the back yard?
My point is..."When a person kills another who is helpless, and they are not doing it for fear of their own life...it is murder, and murder is wrong, and there is no reason that will make it right."
You folks can love Don, are whatever.

It seems as if you have added, Domenic. You mentioned a hole in the back yard. I can find no reference to that in the news articles I've read. You said Don left for five days and it had nothing to do with his wife. You don't know that. None of the articles mentioned where he went or what he did.

And yes, if Don had survived, he would probably be in jail. But I find it strange that you profess to be so Christian, yet you show no mercy. Only judgement.

Brenda Hill, Admin wrote:

It seems as if you have added, Domenic. You mentioned a hole in the back yard. I can find no reference to that in the news articles I've read. You said Don left for five days and it had nothing to do with his wife. You don't know that. None of the articles mentioned where he went or what he did.

And yes, if Don had survived, he would probably be in jail. But I find it strange that you profess to be so Christian, yet you show no mercy. Only judgement.

I have added nothing.It was a part of the News from the police on Don. As I said to Abe, "I did not judge Don. He killed his wife. The police said it was a murder. You can believe anything you damn please Brenda Hill.
Bye.

Bye.