Murders of Innocence

There is something to be said about childhood trauma. It somehow has a way of showing its ugly head in the life of all monsters. I know it’s only one fact that goes into the making of a monster, hear me out. I know there are other little buildings blocks associated with the “build a little monster kit” most parents don’t even realize they come equipped with in their arsenal of unloving. Yes, I know what I said.

Take Jarron Pridgeon, his trauma runs deep. His mental health was not squelched by the in and out of court order mental health evaluation for a suspended three-year sentence from a previous felony offense. This was seen as mental health related, and the judge was considerate of this plight. He was instead put on meds like so many and expected to self-report. For those who don’t understand the process, self-reporting relies on the patient telling the truth about their experiences and what is happening in order to help and adjust their medication. But there are so much stigma and paranoia that it’s hard to trust anyone to receive proper help most of the time.

Pridgeon was living with his brother and his brother’s family. This sets the stage for disaster. What triggered Jarron? Due to the type of trial, we won’t know exactly what was said. The press was kept and most of the records were sealed. This is usually for the benefit of the living victims, that are minors.

One of the things I find in contrast to this this case is that there was a mass murder here where the victims were better protected from the press. Muskogee county didn’t try to use the case as a re-elections case. I’m looking at you Tulsa County… Instead, the community tried to actually heal from this tragedy and to learn from it. Many large families and a large number of people in general visited the house where the incident happened and left small tokens as part of the makeshift memorial.

Let’s talk about the mother for a second. She too was a victim of a gun shot wound to the head. She survived the wound. But she was previously charged with exposing her baby to opiates at birth. The baby’s umbilical cord tested positive. Jarron had been gone to Texas, working to make a new way for them. But when he returned DHS was involved and there were questions.

Pridgeon was set off by something in that house, and killed 3 of his own children, 2 of their half siblings, attempted to kill their mother and killed his brother, all with a gun. He shot them. This was horrid, these children were defenseless against their own father, and then for him to just turn on them as if to be a wild animal. Folks, this was a mental health break from reality. What happened in that house to cause him to kill his own children?

Witnesses heard him say, “I guess I shouldn’t have done that.” Well, no, you really shouldn’t have, Jarron. Mental health played a big part in this. But Jarron had so much personal responsibility as well.

Jarron chose to pull that trigger. He knew enough about right from wrong that Jarron was the one who made the 911 call after he committed the murders. What does that say to you, my Friends?

When police arrived, Jarron exited the house with a gun in his hand. Like the extreme genius that he was and then when he was commanded to drop the weapon, he ran. They shot at him. He stopped; I guess he thought it might be a good idea not to run any further. Then they captured him without further incident. Which was good because they were itching to shoot him. It was much worse after they entered the scene.

Jarron had shot his girlfriend in the head. She was still alive; they took her to the hospital where they stabilized then saved her. But his brother and five children weren’t so lucky.

Jarron got life in prison without the possibility of parole. To avoid the death penalty, in 2025 he took a plea of guilty and life without possibility of parole in order to prevent his life from ending. But I think it ended the day he killed his own children.