LETTER: Killer does not deserve pity

Dear Editor,

While reading The Statesman on Monday, March 4, a short article on the second page caught my eye.

The article was entitled “Man admits to killing in letter to local newspaper.” This caught my attention because it was from St. George, my hometown. As I read the article it brought back a flood of memories and emotions.

The article states that accused, and now admitted killer, Claudio Mauricio Martinez killed St. George barber John Anderson because he was, “just really confused about stuff.” He then gives several other excuses for the murder.

The article then tried to get the reader to have sympathy for Martinez by saying that he “is the father of two sons.”

The emotion that came to me while reading was one of deep sorrow. As I stated before, I am from St. George, and I knew John Anderson personally. I recall many times being taken, as a little boy, to “Anderson’s Chop Shop” by my father. Let me tell you a little about John.

He was a loving father and a devoted husband. He was well-respected in the small community he lived in outside of St. George. John was always ready to tell a good joke and talk about the baseball game that was on TV. At the time of his murder he had a son on an LDS mission in South America, and a large family of young children still at home with his wife.

I hope this article does not engender any sympathy for Mr. Martinez because of his family. For you see, he took the life of my friend John, who also had a family.

Matthew W. Everett