The Northern Illinois University shooting was a school shooting that took place on February 14, 2008, during which Steven Kazmierczak shot multiple people on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, United States, killing five and injuring twenty-one, before committing suicide.

The incident happened at the campus’s Cole Hall at approximately 3:05 p.m. local time.  The school placed the campus on lockdown; students and teachers were advised to head to a secure location, take cover, and avoid the scene and all buildings in the vicinity of the area.  Six people died in the incident, including the perpetrator, making it the fourth-deadliest university shooting in United States history.

Catalina Garcia, Juliana Gehant, Ryanne Mace, and shooter Steven Kazmierczak were declared dead on the scene at Cole Hall, while Daniel Parmenter was pronounced dead shortly after arrival to Kishwaukee Hospital at 4:00 p.m. Gayle Dubowski was flown to the nearest trauma center, St. Anthony Hospital in Rockford, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival there at 4:14 p.m.

On March 22nd 2008 Beginning at 6pm, Twisted Wish Productions (now known as “Spook Show Entertainment”) In association with Otto’s Nightclub in Dekalb,  presented “Huskie Healing”.  This was a benefit concert for those effected by the February 14th tragedy at NIU.

All profits from admission, shirts and the auctions went to NIU’s February 14 Student Scholarship Fund

The producers filled both the Mainroom and the Underground venue with music, entertainment, people and of course memories.

Performers included: The Biltmores, Bad Medicine, and Broken Vegas in the Mainroom, with Demetra Dokos, Matt Hayes and Mer performing in the Underground.

Below are some videos from that event courtesy of FASTF!LMS & Spook Show Entertainment.

THE HANDWRITING IS ON THE WALL…

 Jack the Ripper’s True-Identity Discovered!

Los Angeles, CA– January 23, 2012– Jack the Ripper!  The chilling phrase is recognized by billions, yet his true identity remains one of today’s greatest unsolved mysteries.  Now the mystery may be solved, proven by both direct scientific evidence and thorough investigations made by Jeff Mudgett, the great, great grandson of infamous serial killer H.H. Holmes and author of Bloodstains. Newly released forensic evidence shows that the handwriting of the famous Ripper letters were a match with Holmes’ handwriting on his letters from prison.  The obvious similarity of the two specimens is remarkable, even to the untrained eye.

Herman Webster Mudgett, better known under the alias of Dr. H.H. Holmes, was the first documented American serial killer in the modern sense of the term. In approximately 1892,Chicago, just in time for The World’s Fair, Holmes opened a hotel (later dubbedMurderCastle) which he had designed and built for himself specifically with murder in mind. While he confessed to 27 murders, his actual body count was probably much higher than 200.

While researching Holmes’ story, Mudgett became increasingly aware of the possibility that Holmes could be Jack the Ripper.  He was also aware how difficult it would be to prove, considering the lack of evidence, amidst the constant barrage of Jack the Ripper hoaxes.  After Bloodstains was published in 2011, Mudgett was visited by one of his readers who had also contented that the men were one in the same. The reader’s forensic evidence, though largely circumstantial, was astounding.  He had submitted handwriting evidence to the renowned British Library, who after their own review, recommended Ms. Margaret Webb for a professional expert opinion in order to determine if the two works had been done by the same hand.  This past July, Ms. Webb returned her conclusion that both were absolutely from the same hand, and that Holmes was the author of the Ripper letters.  However, when her opinion was released to the world, as well as another expert’s similar opinion, Ms. Webb’s conclusion was lambasted, largely because she was also a graphologist and not solely a ”handwriting expert,” despite the British Library’s respect and admiration.  In researching the difference between the two occupations, Jeff Mudgett, an attorney by trade, came across the United States Supreme Court’s Daubert decision which ruled expert testimony concerning handwriting would no longer be admissible unless it rested on a reliable foundation and was generated from scientific knowledge.

Because of this landmark decision, the U.S. Post Office and Department of Justice hired a mathematic and scientific firm at theUniversityofBuffaloto create a computer program to differentiate the millions of styles of handwriting.  Led by Dr. Sargur Srihari and Dr. Venu Govindaraju, the Cedar-Fox program was created.  When activated, the new program, if given substantial documents, was getting it right 96% of the time, an unheard of number (and 80% right when comparing mere words). ABC News ran segments about this new breakthrough in forensic science and trial evidence.

Mudgett contacted these experts, scientists at the Universityof Buffalo, who agreed to donate their services in the interests of history after learning the cause.  The conclusion reached by these scientists was that the classifier performance number, (97.95%) “can be taken to indicate the JTR and Mudgett classes are similar in style.” To understand this number, consider that if two of your own documents were compared, the number would not reach 100%. The scientists further discussed difficulties with the historical (age) and cursive rather than character nature of the documents and requested more samples to enable them to give a more firm, confident conclusion. In non-scientific terms, this means, ’there is no doubt, we just need more testing before sticking our necks out to the entire world and history.’  More samples were sent immediately. Additional data is forthcoming. Scotland Yard has also been notified of the results.

Therefore, by scientific evidence, as required by the U.S. Supreme Court, Holmes was the author of the Ripper letters, and in the author’s legal opinion, Jack the Ripper.

Jeff Mudgett is available for interviews.

www.bloodstainsthebook.com

• ·        Jeff Mudget (Great Great Grandson of Holmes) will be a special guest at Spook Show Entertainment’s “H.H. Holmes Killer Weekend” March 30th – April 1st 2012.  CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

• ·        Warner Bros. is making The Devil in the White City, the story of H.H. Holmes, with Leo DiCaprio attached to play the role of Holmes.  The film is slated for 2013.

• ·        The Murder Castle consisted of gas chambers, greased chutes to transport bodies into the basement for surgery below, lime pits, huge ovens, a veritable factory of death and murder. The Murder Castle is now a U.S. Post Office.

• Holmes graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in June 1884.  He stole bodies from the laboratory, disfigured the bodies, and claimed that the people were killed accidentally in order to collect insurance money from policies he took out on each deceased person.  He also sold bodies to medical schools.

• There is record of Holmes traveling to London in 1888 to visit medical schools to sell his skeletons.  He is said to have disappeared from the Chicago area the entire time the Ripper murders took place.  Reversely, the Ripper killings stopped abruptly when he returned to Chicago that December.

• Holmes was paid US $7,500 ($197,340 in today’s dollars) by the Hearst Newspapers in exchange for this confession.

• After Holmes was reportedly hanged, his body was encased in a concrete-filled coffin which was lowered into a 10 foot deep, concrete-filled grave.

• The infamous ‘Holmes Curse’ is said to haunt anyone involved in his arrest, trial and/or execution.

• Almost 125 years after the fact and “jack the ripper” is typed into Google approximately 165,000 times per month.

DeKALB – With Christmas only six days away, Feed’em Soup President Randi Kennedy said she knows there’s no shortage of free meals being offered to those in need.

“It’s a busy time of the year, and everybody wants to give,” she said Sunday, during her organization’s “Holiday Healing Benefit” meal.

On Saturday, Evangelical Free Church in DeKalb also held a free holiday meal, and there are at least three more meals scheduled for the coming week. Sycamore High School donated to Feed’em Soup more than 5,000 items, ranging from food to clothes, for which the group needed to make two trips to collect, Kennedy said.

Sunday’s Feed’em Soup meal wasn’t a solo venture. Normally, the group hosts free community meals from it’s operating base at 122 S. First St. in DeKalb on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month.

But for the second consecutive year, Feed’em Soup hosted the Holiday Healing Benefit, organized by Spook Show Entertainment, a DeKalb-based production company that specializes in benefit events.

Kennedy said SSE donated $150 to pay for the meal and brought in local musicians to entertain while people ate. Any money or canned food items donated during the meal and concert benefited Feed’em Soup.

Willy Adkins, president of SSE, said the idea behind the benefit – now in its fourth year – is to gather local musicians, artists and volunteers to give back to their community, as opposed to a national organization.

Five local musicians played while more than 100 people enjoyed an afternoon meal of meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, glazed carrots, scalloped potatoes and peach cobbler.

Afterward, most of the same musicians moved to The House Cafe, at 263 E. Lincoln Highway, to continue the benefit concert until midnight.

Jason Sullivan, vice president of SSE, said after 2010’s benefit show, it was a no-brainer to partner with Feed’em Soup again this year.

“We have the same wants – to give back to the community here,” he said.

He said coming up with the lineup for the benefit also wasn’t difficult for them.

“I think that speaks to the community itself. There’s a good vibe and a good number of people who want to give their time and talent,” he said.

Free meals offered this week

• 5-7 p.m. Tuesday at Cathedral of Praise, 1126 S. First St. in DeKalb. Community is welcome.

• 5:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday at DeKalb Community Center, 330 Grove St. in DeKalb. Roast beef dinner open to anyone in the community. To arrange a ride, call 815-758-6641.

• 4-8 p.m. Thursday at Flippin Eggs, 831 S. Fourth St. in DeKalb. Annual free dinner for those in need.