Richardson Family Murders
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Three members of the Richardson family were murdered in
Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, R ...
,
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
in April 2006. The murders were planned and committed by the family's 12-year-old daughter Jasmine Richardson and her 23-year-old boyfriend Jeremy Steinke, now going by the name Jackson May."Mass Medicine Hat killer Jeremy Steinke changes name, seeks appeal"
, ''http://www.calgarysun.com/'', January 12, 2012.
Richardson and Steinke were each convicted on three counts of first-degree murder. Richardson, who had turned 13 before being convicted, is thought to be the youngest person in Canada ever convicted of multiple first-degree murder counts. Her 10-year sentence was completed on May 6, 2016.


Discovery

At 1:00 p.m. on April 23, 2006, the bodies of 42-year-old Jean-Marc "Marc" Richardson and his 48-year-old wife Debra were found in the basement of their home, and the body of their 8-year-old son Tyler Jacob was discovered upstairs. Jacob's young friend had been the one to discover the bodies, having arrived for a playdate with Jacob, and alerted his mother, who then notified police. Marc had 24 stab wounds, Debra had 12 stab wounds, and Jacob had a slit throat and stab wounds to his head and torso. Absent from the home at that time was the couple's 12-year-old daughter, Jasmine."12-year-old charged in Medicine Hat"
''CBC.ca'', April 24, 200

/ref> For a time, it was feared that she might have also been a victim, but she was arrested the following day in the community of
Leader, Saskatchewan Leader is a town in southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, located approximately directly east of Calgary, Alberta and is near the border between Saskatchewan and Alberta. It has a population of 881 as of 2021. History Before settlement, the Le ...
, about away, with her 23-year-old boyfriend Jeremy Allan Steinke, after investigators had uncovered a
stick figure Stick Figure is an American reggae and dub band founded in 2005. The group has released eight full-length albums and one instrumental album (Prince Fatty Presents), all of which were written and produced by frontman and self-taught multi-instr ...
drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...
depicting her family being murdered inside Jasmine's locker at school. Both were charged with the three murders. Later, on May 3, 2006, Steinke's friend Kacy Lancaster, 19, was charged with being an accessory for driving them away in her pickup truck later in the day and for disposing of evidence.Third person charged
''Edmonton Journal'', May 4, 2006


Perpetrators and background


Jasmine Richardson

Jasmine Richardson (born October 21, 1993) was born to parents Debra (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Doolan) and Jean-Marc Richardson in
Ontario, Canada Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. The Richardsons were recovering
drug addicts Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...
who had met three years previously at a gymnasium in
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...
and married the following year. Jasmine's younger brother, Tyler Jacob Richardson—known to his friends by his middle name—was born five years later. Shortly before Jacob was born, the family had relocated to
Okotoks Okotoks ( , originally ) is a town in the Calgary Metropolitan Region, Calgary Region of Alberta, Canada. It is on the Sheep River, approximately south of Downtown Calgary. Okotoks has emerged as a bedroom community of Calgary. According to t ...
, a small farming town outside
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
,
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
. With Marc and Debra fully recovered from drug addiction and sober, and their family of four now complete, they moved into an older-built
townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of Terraced house, terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type o ...
in Okotoks where they set out to raise their new family and start a new life. The family initially struggled to pay bills and had to rely on food banks, but were able to eventually purchase a home and move to Medicine Hat, in part thanks to a promotion Marc received at his job, in 2005. It was around this same time that Jasmine began to use the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
more frequently. Jasmine was described as a bright and studious straight-A student who made the
honor roll An honors student or honor student is a student recognized for achieving high grades or high marks in their coursework at school. United States In the United States, honors students may refer to: # Students recognized for their academic achievem ...
at her
Catholic school Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...
and was actively involved in the
fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...
program, as well as being an outgoing and sociable young girl who made lots of friends, held an active social life, and enjoyed typical teen interests. However, with her increasing
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
usage and interest in the
goth Goth or Goths may refer to: * Goths, a Germanic people Arts and entertainment * Gothic rock or goth, a style of rock music * Goth subculture, developed by fans of gothic rock * ''Goth'' (2003 film), an American horror film * ''Goth'' (2008 f ...
subculture, and her continuously becoming friends with older men, her parents began to worry. In the summer of 2005, Richardson and her friends began frequenting the Medicine Hat Mall, where they encountered a group of older
goth Goth or Goths may refer to: * Goths, a Germanic people Arts and entertainment * Gothic rock or goth, a style of rock music * Goth subculture, developed by fans of gothic rock * ''Goth'' (2003 film), an American horror film * ''Goth'' (2008 f ...
kids; enraptured, they soon started hanging out with this group and modeling themselves after them—Jasmine included. Richardson's behavior soon deteriorated after that, with frequent rule-breaking such as repeatedly violating the school dress code in favor of unauthorized gothic attire, and being argumentative with her parents. Her social media profiles and the contents thereof were also of great concern to her family; she created numerous accounts on various social networking sites such as
MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
and Zorpia in which she falsified her age as being older than she actually was, posted inappropriate photos, claimed to be
bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
and
Wiccan Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a modern pagan, syncretic, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esotericism, developed in England during the first half ...
and
drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...
alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...
, and indicated she possessed disturbing interests such as
serial killers A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
,
scarification Scarification involves scratching, etching, burning/ branding, or superficially cutting designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent body modification or body art. The body modification can take roughly 6–12 months to heal. In t ...
, and "kinky shit". On her profile, she listed American serial killer
Jeffrey Dahmer Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (; May 21, 1960 – November 28, 1994), also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was an American serial killer and sex offender who killed and dismemberment, dismembered seventeen men and boys b ...
and American industrial musician
Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...
, among others, as her "heroes." In January 2006, at the Medicine Hat Mall, she was introduced by a friend and schoolmate of hers to 23-year-old Jeremy Steinke. Even while under the mounting pressure of increased scrutiny by her parents, the two became close, frequenting local
concerts A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...
and the mall together as well as corresponding with one another on social media, and eventually, they began a relationship. Her relationship with her parents was fraught with even more strain as they struggled to retain control over their daughter; she started sneaking out of the house to meet Steinke in secret, and going to concerts without their permission, and she had often spoke of running away from home and wanting out of her parents' household and into
foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family mem ...
over the oppression of their rules. She had also begun to develop an animosity towards her younger brother; according to Steinke, he witnessed Jasmine
strangling Strangling or strangulation is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain by restricting the flow of oxygen through the trachea. Fatal strangulation typically occur ...
Jacob on one occasion, and Jasmine purportedly expressed embarrassment over her brother having to accompany her at family events. Jacob had reportedly confided in a family friend that he was afraid of his older sister. She had been grounded and had her electronics confiscated after two separate incidents in which she had left a terrified Jacob alone at home while she was meant to be
babysitting Babysitting is temporarily caring for a child. Babysitting can be a paid job for all ages; however, it is best known as a temporary activity for early teenagers who are not yet eligible for employment in the general economy. It provides auto ...
him, to go hang out with her friends and Steinke; and when she had convinced her parents to allow her to go to a
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
concert, only to sneak away from them and later be caught
making out Making out is a term of American English, American origin dating back to at least 1949, and is used to refer to kissing, including extended French kissing or ''necking'' (heavy kissing of the neck, and above), or to acts of non-penetrative s ...
with Steinke in a back alley. According to Jasmine, the latter incident was her breaking point, and she soon began fantasizing about being rid of her parents once and for all.


Jeremy Steinke

Jeremy Allan Steinke (born January 15, 1983) was born to Jacqueline Ann May in Medicine Hat, Alberta. He reportedly endured a lifetime of
physical abuse Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or ...
throughout his childhood, at the hands of both his biological father and two of his stepfathers; he recalled a time when his second stepfather had locked him in a
deep freezer A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external enviro ...
, and when he defensively broke the arm of an abusive ex-boyfriend of his mother's using a lead pipe. Jeremy and his mother frequently moved around due to the onslaught of violence and chaos in their home, and he spoke of never being able to properly make friends as a result. He attended elementary school in the Medicine Hat neighborhood of South Ridge from first to third grade, and Crestwood from fourth to sixth grade. He was mercilessly bullied at both schools, with children often teasing him about his last name, referring to him as "Stinky." According to May, he had been diagnosed with
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...
(ADHD) and placed in a program at his school for
developmentally disabled Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...
youth; this elicited further ridicule from other students. His mother and her various husbands and boyfriends were all
alcoholics Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...
, and it wasn't long until Jeremy started consuming alcohol himself, which he began at age 14. He also started indulging in various
drugs A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...
, including shrooms,
ecstasy Ecstasy most often refers to: * Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness * Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria * Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand o ...
,
acid An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...
, and
marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
, and he additionally began cutting himself. That same year, he
dropped out Dropping out refers to leaving high school, college, university or another group for practical reasons, necessities, inability, apathy, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves. Canada In Canada, most ind ...
of high school. At 16, he moved out of his mother's home to live in
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
with his biological father, but moved out shortly thereafter, following a disagreement with his stepmother. He reportedly tried to redeem himself from being troubled, including enrolling at
Medicine Hat College Medicine Hat College is a public, board governed, community college serving southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada. The college is located in the city of Medicine Hat, Alberta, and was founded in 1965. Almost 2,500 students a ...
to recoup his high school education and taking on various jobs, including a position at
Tim Hortons Tim Hortons Inc., known colloquially as Tim's, Timmies, or Timmy's, is a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain with headquarters in Toronto; it serves coffee, Doughnut, donuts, sandwiches, Breakfast sandwich, breakfast egg mu ...
and a prospective
oilman The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The largest volume products of ...
trade apprenticeship, to ensure a stable future, but these avenues failed. He soon dropped out of Medicine Hat College and quit looking for employment. Steinke came into contact with the goth subculture and slowly began to immerse himself in it, listening to heavy metal music, aspiring to be a metal musician himself, and manufacturing his appearance to 'acceptably' meet the standards of the goth lifestyle, including dressing in all-black, wearing dark eyeliner and face paint, and shaving his head. He recruited much younger adults and teenagers to become his group of gothic friends, and garnered their respect by supplying them drugs and alcohol. On his VampireFreaks page, created in 2005, he spoke of "liking to kill"
prostitutes Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-p ...
, "then playing with their insides and
eating Eating (also known as consuming) is the ingestion of food. In biology, this is typically done to provide a heterotrophic organism with energy and nutrients and to allow for growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive – ...
" them, and expressed his "likes" on the page as "fellow lycan brethren" and his corresponding "dislikes" as "
niggers In the English language, ''nigger'' is a racial slur directed at black people. Starting in the 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic contraction , notably in cases where ''nigger'' is Use–menti ...
" and "
pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...
." He was introduced to the 12-year-old Richardson by a mutual friend within the goth movement and a schoolmate of hers, Kaylee. Their relationship began a month after they met. Steinke maintained that throughout the relationship, he never knew of Jasmine's true age and that she had, in fact, lied to him about her age; however, friends of his nevertheless expressed disgust at the relationship, emphasizing to Steinke that he was a grown man and she was underage, and encouraged him to break up with her. At the time of the murders, he was unemployed and living in a trailer that he shared with his mother.


Murders

Steinke, drunk and high on a number of different substances including
cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
, marijuana, and ecstasy, entered the Richardson family home through a basement window. He made loud enough noise that it roused Debra Richardson, who went to investigate. Upon her seeing him, he lunged at her and pelted her with slashings and stab wounds; she held up her hands and arms to shield herself from attack. Hearing Debra's screams, Marc Richardson charged into the basement; he went at Steinke with a
screwdriver A screwdriver is a tool, manual or powered, used for turning screws. Description A typical simple screwdriver has a handle and a shaft, ending in a tip the user puts into the screw head before turning the handle. This form of the screwdriver ...
and jabbed Steinke in the eye; however, Steinke overpowered him and started stabbing him repeatedly. Marc's last words were reportedly to ask Steinke why he was doing this; Steinke replied, "Because it's what your daughter wanted." Eight-year-old Jacob Richardson was upstairs, frightened, having heard the entire altercation. He was stabbed multiple times and his throat slit; investigators found evidence that he had fought valiantly against his attacker, and it was alleged that he had utilized his toy
lightsaber A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured throughout ''Star Wars''. A typical lightsaber is shown as a luminous laser sword about in length emitted from a metal hilt around in length. First introduced in the original ''Star Wars'' ...
to defend himself in the attack. Who had been the one to inflict the stab wounds on Jacob and slit his throat is debated; Steinke claims that it was Jasmine, Jasmine insisted it was Steinke. They apparently rationalized the murder of Jacob with the notion that he was too emotionally sensitive to be
orphaned An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew language, Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages ...
and thus, he had to die, as well. After the murders, Jeremy sped away frantically in his truck, leaving Jasmine with the bloody crime scene. She rinsed off the knife used to kill her brother, filled a canvas bag with clothes and toiletries and took her mother's purse. She used her mother's credit card to withdraw cash from an ATM at
7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc. is an American convenience store chain, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan, which in turn is owned by the retail holdings company Seven & I Holdings. The chain was founde ...
to dispatch a
taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
to Jeremy's trailer. When she arrived, they had sex. Later in the morning, they went to a house party hosted by a friend of Steinke's, at an address not far from where the Richardsons laid dead. Witnesses observed Jasmine Richardson laughing and talking joyously with other attendees, as well as her sitting in Steinke's lap and passionately making out with him, giving no indication of what had transpired mere hours before. Steinke was also reported as showing off his eye injury, inflicted by Richardson's father in their earlier scuffle, to partygoers. At one point, Steinke blurted out that he had killed his girlfriend's family, stating that he "
gutted Disembowelment, disemboweling, evisceration, eviscerating or gutting is the removal of organs from the gastrointestinal tract (bowels or viscera), usually through an incision made across the abdominal area. Disembowelment is a standard routine ...
them like
fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
," with Richardson corroborating and adding, "My little brother gargled." After the party, they fled along with Kacy Lancaster, Kaylee, and another teenaged girl to
Leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...
,
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
, where they were located at a
convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lotter ...
and arrested.


Motive

According to friends of Jasmine, Richardson's parents had grounded her for dating Steinke because of the age disparity.Breakenridge, Dave, , ''Calgary Sun'', April 28, 2006. Her friends had also criticized their relationship. According to friends of Steinke, he told them he was a 300-year-old
werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...
. He allegedly told his friends that he liked the taste of blood, and wore a small vial of blood around his neck. He also had a user account at the VampireFreaks.com website. The girl had a page at the same site, leading to speculation they met there. An acquaintance of Steinke also contended that the couple had actually met at a
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
show in early 2006; however, it was clarified in Robert Remington and Sherri Zickefoose's 2010 book ''Runaway Devil: How Forbidden Love Drove a 12-Year-Old to Murder Her Family'' that the couple had actually met by being introduced to one another by a mutual friend. The couple were also found to be communicating at
Nexopia Nexopia was a Canadian social networking website created in 2003, by Timo Ewalds. It was designed for ages 14 and up, but was later lowered to 13. Users were able to create and design profiles, a friends list, blogs, galleries, and compose a ...
, a popular website for young Canadians.Walton, Dawn
"Net holds dark hints on slayings"
''The Globe and Mail'', April 26, 2006.
Various messages they sent to each other were available to the public, before the accounts were permanently removed by Nexopia staff. Through private messages on Nexopia, the two had begun devising plans to kill Richardson's family, ostensibly freeing her of her parents' reign. Jasmine messaged Steinke a month before the murders, "So, I have this plan. It begins with me killing them, and it ends with me living with you." School friends of Jasmine also concur that she was the one who initiated the discussion, contending that they had overheard her speaking with Jeremy on the phone at recess about killing her parents. Jeremy's friends were also aware of these plans, and in fact, he had asked several of them to assist him in the act; they had refused. Steinke had written to a friend on his public Nexopia page, three days before the murders: "I on the other hand would rather do morbid stuff to others, like Jaxz' rents icfor example! Which I'm going to do this weekend." Richardson's own user page, under the name "runawaydevil", falsely said she was 15 years of age and ended with the text "Welcome to my tragic end". Just hours prior to committing the murders, Steinke and some friends reportedly watched the film ''
Natural Born Killers ''Natural Born Killers'' is a 1994 American romantic crime action film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Sizemore. The film tells the story of two victims ...
'' (1994), which tells the story of two victims of traumatic childhoods who become lovers and mass murderers, and are irresponsibly glorified by the mass media. Steinke told his friends that he and his girlfriend should go about their plans in a similar manner, but without sparing her little brother. Steinke also said to an undercover officer, "You ever watch the movie ''Natural Born Killers''?... I think that's the best love story of all time...".


Legal outcome


Jasmine Richardson

Under the ''
Youth Criminal Justice Act The ''Youth Criminal Justice Act'' (YCJA; ) is a federal Canadian statute that covers the prosecution of youths for criminal offences. Coming into effect on April 1, 2003, the Act replaced the '' Young Offenders Act'', which itself was a repl ...
'', Richardson's name could no longer be published in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
after she became a suspect. Under the same act, twelve is the youngest possible age at which a person can be charged with a crime; convicts who were under fourteen years of age at the time they committed a crime cannot be sentenced as adults, and cannot be given more than a ten-year sentence. On July 9, 2007, Richardson, who had by then turned 13, was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder. She is believed to be the youngest person ever convicted of a multiple murder in Canada. On November 8, 2007, she was sentenced to the maximum allowed under law for someone her age, 10 years imprisonment. Her sentence included credit for eighteen months already spent in custody, to be followed by four years in a psychiatric institution and four-and-a-half years under conditional supervision in the community. In September 2011, Richardson began attending classes at
Mount Royal University Mount Royal University (MRU) is a public university in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally “Mount Royal College,” Mount Royal University was granted university status in 2009 by the provincial government. The university has an average class s ...
in Calgary, Alberta during the final years of her sentence. She was released from a ten-year sentence at a psychiatric hospital in the fall of 2011, and in October 2012, it was reported her rehabilitation was going well, and she expressed remorse for her actions that experts considered genuine. In May 2016, her sentence was completed and she was freed of any further court-ordered conditions, restrictions, or supervision after a final sentence review on May 6, 2016. Her
criminal record A criminal record (not to be confused with a police record or arrest record) is a record of a person's criminal Conviction, convictions history. The information included in a criminal record, and the existence of a criminal record, varies betwe ...
was set to be
expunged In the common law legal systems of the world, legal system, an expungement or expunction proceeding, is a type of lawsuit in which an individual who has been arrested for or convicted of a crime seeks that the records of that earlier process be Re ...
in 2021, provided that she engage in no further criminal activity; however, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, it was formally expunged a year early, in 2020.


Jeremy Steinke

Steinke admitted to the murder of the parents in conversation with an undercover police officer while in custody; he also asserted that Jasmine was the one to murder her little brother Jacob. While both of them were in jail, he and Richardson exchanged letters in which they professed love to one another and vowed to visit one another no matter what. In one of these letters, Steinke proposed marriage to Richardson, which she accepted. During early court proceedings, it was theorized that he would be prosecuted for
statutory rape In common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is nonforcible sexual activity in which one of the individuals is below the age of consent (the age required to legally consent to the behaviour). Although it usually refers to adults engaging in sex ...
due to his unlawful relationship with Jasmine, but this charge was ultimately never pursued. He was tried in November 2008 and found guilty by a jury on three counts of first-degree murder for the killings of the three Richardson victims. On December 15, 2008, Steinke was sentenced to three life sentences, one for each first-degree murder count. The sentences are to be served concurrently, and Steinke will be eligible for parole after serving twenty-five years. While in prison, Steinke legally changed his name to Jackson May, to honor his mother Jacqueline May, who died on March 29, 2016.


Kacy Lancaster

The accessory to murder charge against the couple's friend Kacy Lancaster was dropped, and she pleaded guilty to an obstruction charge in Medicine Hat provincial court. She received one year house arrest as part of the plea bargain and was ordered to refrain from drugs and alcohol.


In the media

* The Richardson family murders have been featured on the
Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries, similar to corporate sibling HLN. It is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery's netw ...
show ''
Deadly Women ''Deadly Women'' is an American true crime documentary television series produced by Beyond International Group and airing on the Investigation Discovery (ID) Television, network. The series focuses on murders committed by women. It is hosted ...
'', with Jasmine as the subject and referred to simply as "J.R." due to her age. It is the first segment of the episode "Forbidden Love." * The story has been featured on ''
Killer Kids ''Killer Kids'' is a Canadian documentary series. It first premiered in 2011 on The Biography Channel FYI (stylized as fyi,) is an American basic cable channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Entertainment subsidi ...
'', a Canadian documentary series. In the reenactment, and because of Canada's YCJA laws, Jasmine was given the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
"Amanda Patterson."


See also

* Murder of Bich Pan, another parricide in Canada committed by the victim's daughter and her boyfriend * Barbecue murders, American parricide committed by the victims' daughter and her boyfriend * Richthofen family murders, Brazilian parricide committed by the victims' daughter and her boyfriend * Johnson family murders, American parricide committed by the victims' daughter, also motivated by her parents' forbidding her to date her older boyfriend *
Caffey family murders Three members of the Caffey family were murdered in their house in Alba, Texas, on March 1, 2008. Erin Caffey, then 16, organized the murder of her mother, Penny Caffey, and younger brothers Matthew, 13, and Tyler, 8. Her father Terry was the on ...
, American parricide committed by the victim's daughter, also motivated by her parents' forbidding her to date her boyfriend * Halderson family murders * Whitaker family murders * Ewell family murders * Bever family murders * Staudte family murders *
Freeman family murders On February 26, 1995, Bryan and David Freeman murdered their parents, Brenda and Dennis, and their younger brother, Erik, at their family home with the help of their cousin, Ben Birdwell, in Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. For s ...
* Menendez family murders *
Lin family murders (Australia) The Lin family murders occurred in North Epping in the northwestern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on 18 July 2009. The victims were newsagency proprietor Min Lin; his wife, Yun Lin; their sons, Henry and Terry; and Yun Lin's s ...
* Murder of Peter Porco *
Christine Paolilla Christine Marie Paolilla (born March 31, 1986) is a convicted American mass murderer who is serving a life sentence for fatally shooting four people, including two of her friends, in their Clear Lake City, Texas, home on July 18, 2003. The kill ...
*
List of youngest killers This is a list of children confirmed by reliable sources to have deliberately killed another human being. Individuals in this list are documented to be younger than age 13. __TOC__ List See also * Age of criminal responsibility * Capi ...
* StarkweatherFugate spree killings *
Murder of James Bulger On 12 February 1993 in Merseyside, England, two 10-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, abducted, tortured, and murdered a two-year-old boy, James Patrick Bulger (16 March 1990 – 12 February 1993). Thompson and Venables led Bulger ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* {{cite book, last1=Remington, first1=Robert, last2=Zickefoose, first2=Sherri, title=Runaway Devil: How Forbidden Love Drove a Twelve-Year-Old to Murder Her Family, publisher=
McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Random House of Canada, Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. ...
, isbn=978-0-7710-7360-1 2006 murders in Canada 2006 in Alberta April 2006 crimes in North America Canadian murder victims Familicides in Canada Murder committed by minors People murdered in Alberta Medicine Hat Stabbing attacks in 2006 Stabbing attacks in Canada