November 01, 2006
Subject: Halloween: Time for Ghost Stories
We regularly went to Christ Church to get "spooked" while growing up on the Island. But, on one visit with my brother and Larry O'Neal, we found that the real fear should be saved for the folks who are alive.
Marcia Jenkins
Marcia,
I remember that horrible night all of you suffered. Although the price you paid will surely always be a nightmare to you. I am so thankful you survived it. There is rarely a time I go to Christ Church Cemetery that I don't think of all of you on that tragic night.
Blessings,
Nancy Fowler Rivers
With Marcia's permission I am sending this on to the rest of you. Some of you may well remember that horrible night. Others, like me, may have forgotten about it. Here is what Marcia has to say:
"Thanks for checking, but I don't have any problem answering any questions or sharing. Thanks so much, Nancy. Actually, that night is more like a dream today."
Re: More like a dream
Billy,
I too remember that incident when those terrible things happened and Marcia was involved. I remember going up to the Court House with my Dad during the trial of that guy. The D.A. was a friend of Dad's. We were sitting in the press chairs on the side of the courtroom. After the D.A. got through questioning that fellow, he walked over to my Dad and said, "I just fried me a catfish!" None of us will forget that night, and it made a lot of folks much more aware of bad people that were around us. We didn't know about those kind of folks until then. I sure was glad that Marcia was okay.
Larry Lane
John Boney thinks one of the guys was Carl Choate, student at Glynn Academy while we were there. BB
John is correct. He lived around the corner from me. His family rented a house on George St., about a block from Glynn Co. Junior High.
Larry Lane
November 02, 2006
Subject: More like a dream
I was with Linda Williams on a double date and we had just left Christ Church and saw Marcia's car pull up. About 20 minutes later we were driving back and we saw Larry waving for us to stop. We picked him up and took him to a house. They called the police. Later that night we found out that they had found Marcia. I think it was the first weekend of Christmas break.
Rose Anne Rountree Moore
November 02, 2006
Subject: Talking with Marcia
Over the past day or so we have been touching on a very sensitive topic initiated by Marcia Jenkins when she remarked about how sometimes we need to be more wary of the living in a cemetery than those who are buried there. A couple or three of you picked up on it pretty quickly, because you could remember something about that horrible night that began in the Christ Church cemetery on St. Simons Island. The following is an email conversation with Marcia. By sharing this with you maybe some things can be cleared up and corrected.
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Marcia: Thanks, Billy. There were quite a number of inaccuracies in the other classmate's previous account of that night. I just haven't had time to address. They had a machete, hatchet and straight razor and told us that they had a gun. They took us out to the woods in Brunswick and that is where Morgan raped the other girl.
Billy: Who were the two jerks that abducted you? Were they students at Glynn Academy while we were there? Was one Carl Choate?
Marcia: One of the guys was Carl Choate but, even though he helped commit the kidnapping and armed robbery, he probably kept Clifton D. Morgan from raping me. We actually spoke up for him at the trial but he was initially sentenced to 20 years while Morgan was sentenced to death. (Morgan's sentence was overturned to life later.)
Billy: Who was the other young lady? Was she a high school student from Savannah? Her name is not necessary. Was she visiting family on the Island?
Marcia: She was a student at Randolph Macon whose parents had recently bought a house from my dad, so she had never been there previously.
Billy: Did the jerks do anything to Larry and Robert before leaving them at the cemetery and abducting you two girls?
Marcia: Long story but they could not do anything.
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Classmates, I know Marcia and the others involved have had to live with this memory all of their lives, and I am not sure whether rehashing it now is helping to heal or renewing the anguish. At this point, I think the best thing we can do is leave it up to those involved as to whether or not this discussion continues.
God bless you, Marcia.
Billy B
November 03, 2006
Subject: Sensitive Topic
Thanks for the blessing. I can use all I can get.
Please don't feel you need to filter any questions or protect me in any way. I am fascinated by some of the information that classmates have offered that I did not know (i.e Rose Anne and Larry L.) We were so caught up in the events that we missed a lot. I don't, however, want to pursue a subject that might not be of interest to others .
Marcia Jenkins
Billy
Thanks for the concern. I have no problem with the topic of what occurred that night other than the realization that evil does exist and can enter your life without an invitation, and that naivety and innocence are no defense against malice. With Marsha's consent, I will answer questions concerning the details of that night and the events that followed. Please feel free to share this correspondence with our friends and classmates.
I always read the messages with interest and relish the memories that they bring . I have not responded to the communications being sent because I am usually several days behind when I read them. ....
.....I look forward to seeing you and our classmates in June. Thanks to all of you for the reconnection to (make it) a special part of my life.
Larry O'Neal
Billy and Marcia,
This is all news to me. I can't believe that I never heard of this incident before. I'm sitting here wondering where in the world I was when all of this took place. When did it occur?
Lynette Miller Rivers
____________________
Lynette, don't feel like the Lone Rangerette. I didn't remember it either, even though I am sure it happened. What year were we in high school when this took place, Marcia or Larry? Billy B.
November 3, 2006
Subject: A thanks to Marcia
BB,
I do thank Marcia and Larry for not being
offended and being willing to let us discuss this
after all these years. They will never really
know how it changed many other lives after that
night. The world seemed harmless until one night
you hear about your classmates being attacked. It
caused many of our classmates to become aware of
their surroundings and to keep an eye out for
those around you. I heard a number of people
mention the attack and I remember feeling so
sorry for what Marcia at gone through. When you
know someone at school and you have been friends
with them, its amazing how something like that is
also an attack against you. Even though I never
knew the girl that got attacked, I remember
thinking how sad for her to come down to our
beautiful Island and meet the trash of the world.
We joked a lot about the cops that use to chase
us away from the "submarine races", but they got
their man that night and put him away for good.
The very next year my Dad went up to
a quail hunt to Judge Ballengers farm in Alma.
He and I went about every year for a big bird
hunt the Judge put on. Sergeant Frank May from
the State Patrol was there as well as Sheriff
Owens from Glynn County, Bob Lyons from the city
police, Rip Powell from the city police, Slick
Jones from the Sheriffs office and the GBI agent
from Brunswick, who I can not remember his name.
After the hunt, Judge Ballenger asked me how
Marcia was doing. He remembered everything about
the case and wanted to know about my classmates.
I remember Glen Thomas from the DA's office and
the Judge talking about the case while we ate
dinner up there. He was so glad that they got the
death penalty for Morgan and there was no doubt
they would have gone for the death penalty on
Carl, if they thought they could have gotten it.
Its amazing how you remember those kind of things
after 40 plus years.
Larry Lane
Date: 3 Nov 2006
Subject: Who knew?
Hi Guys,
I don't know why you would have heard the details of this situation, but
I certainly don't mind giving you a synopsis.
Larry and I were dating during Christmas of our senior year. He was over
at my house as well as my brother, Robert, and Susie who was a student
at Randolph Macon. Her parents had recently purchased a house from my
dad. We decided we wanted to show Susie around and, of course, one of
the sites to show was Christ Church. When we arrived, there was another
car there and the guys were standing by their car.
We left shortly and
they followed and ran us off the road between two large Oak trees so we
couldn't go around. They had a machete, hatchet and strait razor on us
and robbed us. They made us go to the location right across from the old
stables and, at that point, told us that they had to make sure that they
were able to get off the island before we could call the police and have
the bridge lifted. I can't remember the name of the long straight road
that goes beside the stables on the way to Torras Highway but they told
Larry and Robert that they were going to take us and let us out at the
first little bridge. Robert and Larry would be able to see the brake
lights from where they were. They knew that they would come for us
before going to report the robbery. They took the car keys and us.
When we got to the bridge, they stopped but, when we tried to get out, they
sped off and went to Brunswick. They took us to the woods way out beyond
the State Patrol office. Carl knew me from school (I didn't know him)
and kind of kept me with him. He walked me up the road while Morgan
raped Susie. Then Morgan put me in the front seat with him and took me
to a pay phone and had me call my parents. He had come up with an
elaborate way that he would let us go, we would not give anyone any
information and I would let him know that everything was OK by putting
an ad in the newspaper.
When I called my parents, I told them that he
would let us go if they would call off the police. (By this time, I
found out later that there was a 5-state all points bulletin for us.) We
made the call but he said that he could tell by my mom's voice that the
plan would not work. He took off again and passed Glynco on the way
back out to the woods where he had raped another girl before. The guard
at Glynco saw us and called the police who stopped us. The police were
convinced that he was going to kill us.
This is probably more than you wanted to know, but that's the story.
Marcia Jenkins
Nov 4, 2006
Actually, when I heard the sentence of death for
Morgan is when I realized that I could not
support the death sentence for anyone and have
maintained that belief until today. Don't get me
wrong; I would have liked to have seen Morgan
remain in prison for the rest of his life.
Larry O. and I talked at length yesterday and,
for the first time, I realized that Morgan might
have served less time in prison than Choate.
Because his sentence was commuted to life, the
minimum time he would have to serve was seven
years. Larry may be able to discuss this aspect
(and that night from his perspective) better than
I.
Marcia Jenkins
November 4, 2006
Grace & Peace to you, Marcia,
Thank you for sharing this with us so openly. I
regret that I am among your fellow classmates who
knew very little about this. And what little I
was told was inaccurate and incomplete. Your
account is much more serious than I was led to
believe. So if some of us seemed indifferent or
uncaring know that we did not learn what had
happened until now. And it is now that I am given
the opportunity to say that I feel disgusted and
angry at the evil you experienced and filled with
gratitude for all you have contributed and shared
with us. Our class is noticeably better (and a
bit more pleasing to the eyes), and our world
visibly brighter because you are in it. We love
you!
Steve Holcomb
.
Marcia Jenkins departed this
earthly
life on August 18, 2008.
.
.
