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The All-American Murder/Suicide

Just two days after Olin Johnson shot his wife and then himself to death, his neighbors invite you to this afternoon’s celebration of his life:

PLEASE BRING GOODIES TO SHARE!

Bloodsoaked bodies are still warm, but this will be a wholesome Mormon hoedown, promising “warm memories!” A maniac with a million guns in his house just up and slaughtered his wife with one of them. Let’s celebrate!

Wealthy, well-connected Olin had a big ol’ church to help him, plus a psychiatrist or two out in American Fork, Utah. Did he consult any of that as he descended into madness? Did anybody around him (he had six grown kids and tons of neighbors/business associates) wonder whether they should at least be a mite disturbed by the fact that Olin had turned his house into an armory? “Hey, Olin’s acting real weird. Shouldn’t we try taking his guns away?”

Ah fuck. As if anyone could imagine anyone in Utah – aka Suicide Central – saying something like that.

Sig Sauer: Chose this for his FB photo. Guess it was his favorite out of all of his guns.

Margaret Soltan, June 23, 2024 7:37AM
Posted in: suicide

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2 Responses to “The All-American Murder/Suicide”

  1. Margaret Soltan Says:

    One of my favorite films.

  2. University Diaries » God, Guns, and the Godswerve Says:

    […] Immediately after the bloodbath, his Mormon community invited everyone to a celebration of his life, asking that they bring “goodies to share” and “warm memories.” […]

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Dr. Bernard Carroll, known as the "conscience of psychiatry," contributed to various blogs, including Margaret Soltan's University Diaries, for which he sometimes wrote limericks under the name Adam.
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