A Pennsylvania prosecutor is considering the death penalty for two women who admitted to beating, strangling and burying alive one of the pair’s former lovers.
The couple, 18-year-old Jade N. Olmstead and 20-year-old Ashley M. Barber, told police they lured Brandy M. Stevens—Olmstead’s former girlfriend—to their Cochrantan, Pennsylvania, home.
There they proceeded to punch 20-year-old Stevens, choke her with a rope, pound her head against a stump, and roll her into a shallow grave they had prepared, according to testimony by state police trooper Eric Mallory.
The Erie Times-News reports:
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When they saw that she was still breathing, they threw a large rock onto her face and poured water into her mouth and nose.
“She said that her worst fear was being buried alive,” Mallory said of Barber. “She was trying to kill her.”
The results of an autopsy by Erie County forensic pathologist Eric Vey showed that Stevens suffocated on dirt, police Trooper Phillip Shaffer testified.
Stevens, a sociology student at Youngstown State University, was later found by a cadaver dog.
Crawford County District Attorney Francis Schultz said he will decide whether to seek the death penalty before the women’s arraignment on August 24.
Ryan Kelly
I like how in a world where we are trying to avoid rhetoric such as “pornstar murders” or “lesbians admit to” in our news titles to avoid triggering false connections, Queerty publishes it loud and clear.
vklortho
That is barbaric and monstrous what they did, but should we be really still be seeking the death penalty in the 21st century? Throw them away for life without the possibility of parole, but don’t return barbarity with more barbarity.
Freaks!
What a bunch of sick freaks!
Freaks!
@vklortho: You better believe we should still be seeking it. I’ll never understand how idiots like you have compassion for killers and don’t stop to think about the tourture and pain they put others through. Why shouldn’t they get the same?
pc
Living nearby, I was pleased to see there has been only good things said about this girl and tons of support extended to the victim’s family. The victim had been living her life as an out and proud individual and while I kept waiting for the trolls to show up on the news or in local papers – it never happened.
vklortho
@Freaks!: Its hypocrisy to say it is morally wrong to end someone’s life and then to turn around and end the offender’s life. It has nothing to do with compassion for killers and everything to do with not becoming murderers ourselves. Do you think killing them will somehow reverse the torture and pain they put others through?
scribe37
I never understand why partners, couples, husbands or wifes killed the person they are suppose to love. If you want to get with someone hotter or younger, angry that I refuse to take out the trash, or whatever just dump my ass! How does something that should just be a break up turn into murder?
Portland
@vklortho: I’ve tended to agree that killing the killer doesn’t raise us up, but lately I’ve been thinking about it. The victim’s families will got through hell year after year if the killers are put in prison. They WILL come up for parole and the family will have to bring up all the pain again and again to explain to the courts why these monsters should stay behind bars. Where’s the compassion in putting them through that for ever? Hard choice…
Lifer
I’m ok with the hypocrIsy of the death penalty for cases like this.
John Williams
Some of us are as disgustingly despicable and evil as everyone else–though not nearly as often.
Ruhlmann
@Freaks!: Because a just society is better than that? To those arguing about the years of suffering of the survivors if the women stay alive, consider that appeals can go on for upwards of 30 years in some cases and cost millions more than it takes to cage and feed them for a true life sentence. State sanctioned killing is worse than murder.
J Prime
If they did it, and meant it, and are damaged goods, and can be saved and want to be saved, then let’s try to save them.
(I don’t mean religious-saved, I mean converted from overgrown children into responsible adults throguh therapy of whatever sort)
If they can’t be saved or don’t want to be saved, then they’re useless to society and have forfeited participation in our culture and our adult world. Kill them quickly and spend time, energy and other resources in preventing it in the future and saving those who are redeemable.
There’s no hypocrisy in saying murder is wrong so let’s kill murderers. One represents a breach of the expectations of people living in our society, whereas the other represents the affirmation of the consequences of that breach. We have various outs for different kinds of extenuating circumstances, and that’s important too. But when you encounter a human-shaped killer that can’t be recovered you don’t try and try and try and try. You excise the tumor.
Charli
Really? How can humans like this and that freak in Aurora,Co be walking upright among us?
Justin
While I disagree with the death penalty I’d say that if we’re going to give it to anybody, it’s not wrong to apply it to this case.
Frederick
” an eye for eye and a tooth for a tooth”. I believe that. Who wants to die at the hands of a murderer only to have released after they have been socialize. We should start socialization sooner than later.
Diana
@Charli: This is exactly why am for the death penalty. Sickos like that don’t deserve to live and they are a threat to society.
Alex
I hate that they have to go out of their way to say they were lesbians. Like it played a vital role in this murder. If this situation happend with straight people it wouldn’t say “heterosexuals admit to murdering.”
mattsy
what sad & sickening news. Makes me wanna puke.
MickeyP.
Life WITHOUT the chance of parole would certainly spare the families of the victims from having to go through more heartache. Killing these sickos is way too east. Lock them up for LIFE and let THEM suffer the consequences! I agree that it’s too bad that the headlines had to put they were lesbians but that’s how the freaking media gets sensationalism!
MickeyP.
oops…meant *easy!
PTBoat
@Ryan Kelly: It’s a sad state.
Ron Wallen
As for mentioning that they are lesbians, I don’t think you could have a news story about such a heinous crime without filling in the blanks about why such misplaced hate occurred. I’ve always said that we gays reserve the right to have proportionately as many freaks, idiots, weirdos, psychopathic degenerates proportionately as the rest of the society of which we are all a part, and therefore naming them lesbians doesn’t do the rest of gay society harm.
As for death penalty vs. life in prison, I’ve always been in favor of life without possibility of parole, but in some cases where the cruelty transcends any bounds of human decency (as this case truly is), society is better off being rid of these individuals permanently. Life in prison for murderers who simply committed murder without the cruelty that these parasites showed is fine, and we can and should work to “rehabilitate” that type of murder. The thing that these days keeps me from “voting” for the death penalty is the expensive and heart rending amount of time all the challenges take. Reform in that area is long overdue – and this from a liberal dedicated to preserving the rights the constitution affords (or should) all Americans.
Hi There I'm Tom
@MickeyP.:
Exactly Mickey.
The punchline to all of this is that the people who support the death penalty are all about supreme punishment (aka death) for their crimes. There is nothing more boring, easy or humane about putting someone to death these days. The prisoner receives some needle injection, gently falls asleep and never wakes up. Any of you pro-death penalty supporters think that is just punishment for deranged murderers?!?! Really?!?!
These two pigs deserve to spend their lives in window-less cells left to rot, with enough room to move and enough ‘food’ to keep them alive.
Ryan Kelly
@Ron Wallen: *sigh* lemme explain this one loud and clear.
The only reason this is on Queerty is because they are lesbians. Now, we know that there are some pretty fucked up people transcending every group including sexualities, but their sexuality has absolutely nothing to do with anything other than the reason they were all women. And contrary to your belief, no, nobody needs to have it spelled out that they are a lesbian because it would leave some hole in the story.
In fact, the rest of the article does a perfectly fine job of telling the facts about what happened. It is *only* the headline that identifies them as lesbians. Now, in order to support your point, here’s what you have to prove :
Why is saying “PA Couple admits to beating, burying alive former girlfriend” contextually inefficient in portraying what the article has to say about it?
Why don’t we see any articles saying “PA Hetero couple admit to beating, burying alive former girlfriend?” It’s because it doesn’t matter that they were hetero, because that’s not their motive or any qualifying factor in the case.
This is a website made for queer related news. Just because this is news in the queer community does not mean we need to promote the heteronormativity of modern media rhetoric. The problem becomes when people post this on Facebook or Twitter or write articles about it on their blogs or reblog it. Because once it leaves the queer circle, which it already has since I found it via stumbleupon, it is fair game for inappropriate and illogical connections.
MickeyP.
@Hi There I’m Tom: Tom,I could not agree more! Death is WAY too easy for these two. Let ’em ROT!
MickeyP.
I’m not talking about rehabilitating anyone. You cannot rehabilitate scum. Put them in jail,like Tom said and make them WISH they were dead! If somebody did this to anyone I loved,this is exactly what I’d want seen done. I know it would be a lot cheaper to off them but I think they should do some suffering for what they put that poor girl through.We put pets to sleep because it’s usually the “humane” thing to do. These two deserve no such treatment. I would rather have pedophiles put to death just to rid the earth of them. These two? Nope,make them suffer. Just my opinion.
rabbitmoon333
@vklortho: Personally, I think they should be subjected to the same thing they did to another. However, we are supposed to be a civilized society, so let’s just give them either the needle, the noose or the chair. WHY should a single tax dollar, other than what the ridiculous cost and length of their lengthy and numerous trials, appeals, etc are already going to pointlessly cost. WHY should these two live a long life on the public’s dime, when they MORE THAN OBVIOUSLY do not have any respect for human life. If they were dogs…our system would say that they’re incapable of change and we’d “put them down” as soon as possible. PUT THEM DOWN.
rabbitmoon333
@vklortho: NOTHING will change what they’ve already done. The death penalty will insure, beyond a doubt, that they NEVER get to do it again. AND subjecting them to the death penalty, sends the message loud and clear–there are consequences for such behavior–severe consequences. THERE ARE NO CONSEQUENCES IN OUR SOCIETY ANYMORE. Seems we don’t have enough moral fiber as a society, to summon up the courage to hold such lines, to insist that each and every person be responsible for their own behavior and NOT force the rest of us to have to live with the worry that they’ll be free in a handful of years to do the same sort of things again, which they indeed, would. Once upon a time, if you stole a man’s horse it was considered threatening the very survival of an entire family and you were hung, as soon as the authorities caught up with you. Subsequently, there were NOT a lot of stolen horses on the wild frontier. WE LIVE IN A WILD FRONTIER. Hang ’em high.
Billy
@Alex: Not really. Considering the the victim was the former girlfriend of one of these sickos, the article didn’t really have much of a choice but to state they were lesbians to describe the full situation.
Billy
@MickeyP.: Do you not realize the money that it costs taxpayers to keep someone in prison for life? Why should taxpayers have to waste money on these two sickos?
Ryan Kelly
@Billy: That’s so heteronormative. It comes from the assumption that the readers would be confused if they said it was a couple of two girls unless the word lesbian was involved. I highly doubt that the readers of queerty would have any doubt that a woman can love another woman (or in this case murder an ex-girlfriend).
MickeyP.
@Billy: Do YOU realize just how long MOST people are on death Row? YEARS! Plus,there is a huge cost on all the appeals these fools get,when sentenced to the death penalty.Like I said,it IS my opinion that someone who does the shit they did to this girl,needs to suffer. One way or another,taxpayers are gonna pay. So,I say,throw them in a prison for LIFE and make them wish they were dead. To me,that’s just a little bit of justice. Regardless,it’s a horrible crime and it deserves the worst punishment they can get.
Geoff B
Too bad this is a Pennsylvania case. The one thing Texas does well is taking out scum like this.
Geri
Who says these vile killers are lesbians?
NOT the source article: http://www.goerie.com/article/20120726/NEWS02/307259930/Police%3A-Cochranton-homicide-victim-buried-alive
Queerty hack journo Sharyn Jackson, that’s who.
These creatures may be homosexual or bisexual in their behaviour and female in their biology. But that doesn’t make them lesbians in my eyes. Because lesbians are women who love women as far as I’m concerned.
That’s WOMEN WHO LOVE WOMEN – period. Not women who hate and brutally murder women -ever.
“QUEERTY – Free Of An Agenda. Except The Gay One” my arse.
kirsde
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StephK
As ugly as the death peanlty is, it would be hard to argue against for these 2 women. After all, they had already dug an intended grave for their victim and made sure that she would not die a merciful death. This was all thought out ahead of time before they lured her to her fate. If I were on a jury during the penalty phase and if the facts presented in this report are accurate, I am sorry to say I would vote for death. After all, this was 1st degree murder, and at any time these two could have not carried through with their horrible mission.
lisa
@vklortho: considering how much money it costs to keep one person incarcerated for life, let alone two younger women, the death penalty seems fitting here. the states is in enough debt as it, no need to tack on even more unneccesary debt attributed to a couple of sociopathic murders.
DJ
Not surprising.
A LOT of lesbians are completely NUTS when it comes to other women and jealousy!
MickeyP.
@DJ: Hey! I’m a lesbian and I never killed anyone!Jealousy is a warped emotion and it’s not just a LESBIAN thing! Geez! Many people,men,women,gay,straight,whatever let jealousy into their lives,but not everyone kills innocent people!These two are probably just sick,twisted asshole no matter what.
Daniel Philippe
Wow, some girls need to grow up.
Geri
@DJ: “Not surprising” ?
So crimes like this are commonplace are they?
Danny
Considering how many heteros snuff out other heteros each week in the USA (a small town worth), not surprising there are some lesbians as well in the USA. America is really violent – and just pretends it isn’t. Feel sorry for the lesbian victim and her family and friends.
oilburner
Its not safe to ride the tuna boat these days
elgirl2
I knew Jade, and Ashley for along time through school, and public hangout places. Ashley was always messed up in the head. She used to always wear chains on her pants back in 2007 and would take them off and swing them at people or try to kick them in the face. Late on in school she would write random girls “love letters” and stuff them into their locker. After that phase, she started cutting herself and doing drugs. While in school she would always talk about how it would “be cool” to torture or kill somebody. She said it for years. She was always at raves, dated a guy for a little and pretended to be pregnant multiple times. At this point, I stopped talking to her because I thought she was completely psycho. As for Jade, she was kind of stuck up. Wasnt really mean to people thought, and for awhile she was innocent (until she got with ashley) Never would have expected something so crazy from Jade, she barley would fight back in a fist fight in school. Ashley was more of a bully who tried to act “hard”. Jade went to church, and everything before.. crazy but it was a couple years after I stopped talking to them that they commited this crime.. I was completely shocked when I read it in the newspaper. I knew that girl was insane. that is all.