I Think I Killed Him! - Watershed Events Shape Our Life

While human interest stories do not constitute a great percentage of what appears on this site, when someone blurts out, "I Think I Killed Him!" it sometimes gains merit. This story is a great example of how something as common as a simple argument can get out of hand and become a watershed event. These events often define our lives. A few seconds, a few inches, a few this or that can have huge consequences.

“The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they pass unobserved.”― George Washington

This post is to highlight the fragility all of us face as we move through life. Whether someone inflicts pain upon us or we are the source of the infraction. A news story that appeared on Wane.com details how an argument has now morphed into a crime story. The article below has been edited slightly to fit my format and is followed by my interpretation of  what we all can learn from such events. This article caught my attention because of the far-reaching ramifications it will have on this woman, her children, and the cost to society. These will extend far into the future. 

     ‘I think I killed Austin!’ Court docs detail couple’s deadly fight

Jamie Faced With Watershed Event!

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The woman jailed for stabbing her husband to death outside of his workplace Thursday afternoon was fighting with the man over a car seat, court documents say.Jamie S. Marsee, 24, is being held on initial charges of Aggravated Battery, Domestic Battery Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, and Battery by Means of a Deadly Weapon in the fatal stabbing of 24-year-old Austin D. Harrison in the parking lot of Midwest Pipe and Steel at 2001 E. Pontiac St.

Police were called to the steel warehouse around 2:40 p.m. after employees said a man had been stabbed. Medics arrived and pronounced him dead around 3:30 p.m. According to a probable cause affidavit, a witness said he was in a break room with the man – Austin Harrison – and overheard him on the phone yelling. A short time later, he heard more yelling outside and saw Harrison chasing Marsee around vehicles in the parking lot.

The man said he went out to break up the fight and saw Harrison holding Marsee in a bear hug. When he separated the couple, Harrison put his hand over his chest and he saw blood, the affidavit said. At that point, Harrison collapsed in a puddle of water.
Marsee tried to get Harrison up, but eventually drove away from the scene, the witness told police.

Another witness told police that Jamie dropped her children off with her around 11:30 a.m. and came back a couple of hours later with a knife and said, “Oh my God, I think I killed Austin. I think I stabbed him! I think I stabbed him,” the affidavit said. The witness said Marsee asked another person to get rid of the knife, and asked her to “clean it up or swab it with bleach,” the affidavit said.

Police investigated the incident at Midwest Pipe & Steel

Police found Marsee a short time later around Lake Avenue. In an interview with police, she said she and Harrison had been arguing earlier in the day and he told her to “get out.” She said she was going to leave for the night, but she wanted the car seat for her children, so she went to his workplace to get it. Marsee said Harrison came out “extremely upset” and got the car seat and threw it.

That made Marsee “furious” and she got a fishing filet knife and stabbed the tire of Harrison’s vehicle, the affidavit said. At that point, Marsee said Harrison grabbed her in a bear hug and spun her around, and they both had their hands on the knife. Marsee said Harrison stabbed himself in the chest then collapsed. She said at that point, she grabbed the knife and tried to help Harrison.

                    ***************************************************

Many things in life are not planned or predetermined. In many ways, this all sounds like another sad story of woe rather than an actual and intentional crime of passion. It could even be described as a Greek tragedy of sorts in that it exposes the subject and the themes around human nature and ends badly. Back in Greece's days of old tragic plots were most often based upon myths from the oral traditions of archaic epics. In tragic theater, the narratives were presented by actors as a way of connecting with the audience and bringing the audience into the play.

It is reasonable to assume the young lady referenced above never envisioned when she woke that morning her day would spiral downward with such speed. One take-away from this tale is that the unexpected lurks in the shadows. Life is full of different events that can go sideways or south. Many of these will turn out to have little in the way of lifelong consequences, however, all of us are always just a small distance away from an event that could have a major impact on our life. I end with a few words of encouragement, while not a guarantee of a good outcome, discipline, and good choices do play into the odds of  successfully navigating our day.