Slain Girl's Cousin Accused Of Tattooing Killer

[Roxie]

COLUMBUS, Indiana (AP) -- An inmate accused of forcibly tattooing a slain 10-year-old girl's name onto her killer's forehead in an Indiana prison was the victim's cousin, a family friend said.
Jared Harris, 22, is a cousin of Katlyn "Katie" Collman, family friend and spokesman Terry Gray told The Republic newspaper. He said he did not believe they knew each other well.
Harris, 22, who is serving time on a burglary conviction at Wabash Valley state prison in Carlisle, Indiana has been charged with battery and accused of tattooing "KATIE'S REVENGE" across Anthony Ray Stockelman's forehead.
Harris told prison officials the attack was in revenge, according to an affidavit.
Stockelman is serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to abducting, molesting and killing the fourth-grader, who lived about 70 miles south of Indianapolis. She was missing for five days before her body was found January 30, 2005, in a creek about 15 miles from her home.
The affidavit said prison officials transferred Harris to the same prison wing as Stockelman on September 19, three days before the attack, and that Harris subsequently threatened Stockelman's life several times.
Harris slipped into the open cell Stockelman shared with another prisoner on September 22 and, when Stockelman returned, Harris closed the locking cell door, according to the affidavit.
Stockelman told investigators that Harris put his right hand around his throat and told him, "I'm either gonna stick you and leave you bleeding or I'm gonna tattoo you." After applying the tattoo, Harris discarded the tattoo gun in a prison trash can, he told investigators.
It was unclear how he had gotten the tattoo gun.
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They're calling this "prison justice" what do you think? should you turn a blind eye or ?

[Kass]

Of course they shouldn't turn a blind eye, but I can't feel too badly for a man who abducted, raped and murdered a little girl.

What I want to know is what prison official didn't notice the relationship between the "tattoo artist" and the murderer's victim? Sounds like someone was nodding off a bit.

I'f I recall correctly, when the story first came out a week or so ago, the prison guard who released the photo got disciplined for doing so. He surreptitiously got the photo out of the prison.

Also, the story I read on CNN referred to the tattoo gun as a "makeshift tattoo gun." What the heck is that? I've heard of using needles and ink to do a tattoo and have seen shows on primitive forms of tattooing, but I've never seen a "makeshift" gun.

[Klilynkun]

The hell they doing with tattoo equipment in a prison in the first place.
I think they purposefully put the killer inside near the relative in hopes that the relative would deal with the killer and it would be seen as normal prison life "tragedy"

that's my two conspiracy cents/pence

[Kass]

To be fair, I don't think that prison officials go that far out the family tree. This guy, however, had threatened the other and it should have become clear.

[MeneerDijk]

I remembered seeing something about a makeshift tattoo gun on Mythbusters. A quick google search shows that they are relatively easy to make (http://www.rentyman.com/neatstuff/tattoo.html).

If i go with my gut feeling i say the killer got what he deserved, and is lucky he didn't get shanked. But my rational side says: People shouldn't play judge for themselves under any circumstance, even though it's sometimes completely understandable they do so. It's also freightening prisoners are able to produce stuff like this wich could potentially harm prison personell.

[PopCulturePooka]

I shed no tears for the bastard.

I'm only upset aht Harris didn't dispose of the tatoo gun up the sick fucks arse.

[Angelyne]

I remember reading a follow up to this story. IIRC, the mother wasn't too happy about having her child's name tatooed on her killer. I'll try to find a link to that when I have more time.

[Orclover]

I remember reading a follow up to this story. IIRC, the mother wasn't too happy about having her child's name tatooed on her killer. I'll try to find a link to that when I have more time.


Your right of course, he should have gotten a tatoo that said "I raped and killed a small child, please return the favor" on his forehead and giant breast tatood onto his back. But time was probably of the essence and the cousin probably wasnt thinking clearly enough to get poetic with the message.

Give the cousin time for the assualt, put the "victim" back into general pop and let nature take its course.

[c-rex]

Give the guy that applied the tattoo an early release.

[Jetsetlemming]

So.... If that guy kidnapped, raped, and killed a ten year old girl, what is he doing just in prison, and not on death row? I don't know if indiana has banned the death penalty or not, but I would assume even so the "death penalty worthy" criminals would get their own special place under heavy surveilance and security, not just in the general prison population. Ah well. He got far less than he deserved.

[雨]

I'm going to go ahead and say that this was totally wrong for anyone to do, whatever the situation.

And the cousin messed up, I mean, "Katie's revenge"... wow, nice powerful psychological blow to a cold blooded killer there. A stab would have been more of a revenge than tagging someone's forehead. Will he be able to get it lasered or something?

[Kaji]

So.... If that guy kidnapped, raped, and killed a ten year old girl, what is he doing just in prison, and not on death row? I don't know if indiana has banned the death penalty or not, but I would assume even so the "death penalty worthy" criminals would get their own special place under heavy surveilance and security, not just in the general prison population. Ah well. He got far less than he deserved.

Agreed. I think the fact that he plead guilty is why he's on life imprisonment and not death row. Smells of a plea bargain.

[Kass]

Just because someone is eligible for the death penalty doesn't mean the jury always awards it. All it takes is one person morally opposed to the death penalty to nullfy it as a punishment. The death sentence has to be unanimous in most states.

Usually those people are screened out during voir dire, but not always. Each side only gets three strikes, unless the juror fails a challenge for some sort of constitutional or legal issue.

He might have taken the plea, but considering he'd have likely gotten the exact same sentence at a trial, the only difference is the tens of thousands of dollars saved that would have been spent on a trial.