First, look at the picture of the little girl. Her name is Christina Tedder; she's 12 years old, and her right hand is pressed against a fake tree in a school portrait. Her smile is unique.
Now, pull up 39-year-old Jeff Voss' picture. There's no smile, just an empty look in his eyes, and I wonder if that void is truly there, or if I'm just seeing it because I know what he did to her.
Friday's headline in The Indianapolis Star was "Suspect in child slaying asks to be executed," a particularly unusual occurrence to be sure. If only the agonizing story that led to it was just as unusual.
Tedder disappeared on Christmas Eve; she was found Dec. 30. She was dead, wearing nothing but socks, lying in a creek in Hancock county. Voss was the one who led investigators to the creek, after his confession.
In February, in an especially sick move, Voss contacted Michelle Tedder, Christina's mother, with an apology, lecturing her that continuing to hate him would "eat [her] up in the long run" and that Christina "died about as fast and peaceful as possible."
How infuriating. Voss is a known liar. According to The Star, "New forensic tests also show that she was sexually assaulted."
So, Voss has decided he wants to die: "I have had six months to think about this, and this decision has been entered into knowingly and intelligently," he wrote to Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi.
"Knowingly and intelligently." What do those sickening words mean?
Here's a little theorizing based on research of this case and Voss' history: In a Jan. 5 Star article, Brizzi said he did not think that "evidence in the case would support a capital charge," but that was before the damning forensic tests. Those considered, the death penalty is on the table.
Why the death wish?
Voss knows prison. He received his first sentence at 16, in 1981, for armed robbery. He was convicted again in 1985. Starting in 1990, he served nearly 12 years, and he was released early from a 30-year sentence in November 2002.
As wretched as Voss' experiences in jail as a convicted armed robber probably were, he knows all too well the horrors awaiting him as the rapist and murderer of a child.
Guillermo Mendoza, Christina's father, rightfully said that execution would be an "easy way out" for Voss.
Voss has given no reason for one to believe he feels remorse. This is a calculated move by a textbook sociopath.
But what is there to do? He's within his legal rights to accept his execution, Brizzi claims. Michelle Tedder believes he deserves to die, and there's the slim chance that this is a ploy to try to avoid the death penalty -- but that's doubtful, given that his confession, some faux-remorse and a guilty plea would likely bring a life sentence. Yet, it's frustrating to consider giving Voss what he wants by delivering him from a life of agonizing incarceration.
This isn't the time for my self-righteous, progressive, anti-capital punishment arguments. Also, those disgusting sentiments I know some people are thinking -- "Stick him in prison where he'll really get what he deserves," along with winks about inmate gang rape -- only bring us closer to Voss' level.
There's no answer -- no clear, right path.
The only closure I can find is to just pull up that picture of Christina and tell those mourning her that, "Her smile is missed by those who never knew her."
Write to David at
swimminginbrokenglass@gmail.com
Visit http://www.bsu.edu/web/dmswindle
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