Chapter Two

                                                                                                   Chapter Two






                   James and Victoria later married. On February 28, 2010 James "Thumper" Steen and his now wife Victoria Steen awoke by seven thirty A.M., the couple proceeded to argue with each other over the fact Vicky had not been wearing her wedding ring. The argument became more aggressive as it transpired growing hot and heavy for almost 12 hours. Around four thirty P.M., Thumper snapped and became physically violent.

                   "Why do you have a fucken attitude?" Steen asked his wife.

                   Steen's remarks gave Victoria the impression that Steen was accusing her of cheating.
                   Thumper being a rather large man, dark hair, dark eye's, having brood shoulder's. Reached out grabbing a hold of Vicky, tossing her around like a rag doll and throwing her on to the couch. Thumper sat his enormous body on top of Vicky's pinning her to he couch. Steen proceeded to place his thick hand's around her small neck and instantly he increased the pressure. He began to choke her. Victoria fought to break free of his hands that have enveloped her with a death grip. But Victoria Steen was no match for the overly obese man.
                   Steen stand's five foot seven inches and weighed over three hundred pounds. Vicky was petite, blonde haired and stood from head to toe, a mere five foot three inches tall and weighed a hundred and twenty pounds.

                   Vicky attempted repeated times to "Utter" the word "Stop". As she tried to breath, she started to fade in to darkness.

                   " I do not know if I am going to let you off this couch dead or alive."
                   Victoria repeatedly tried to get him off of her. At one point he had said to her, "I am not done with you."

                   Things started to fade from Victoria's view as she lost consciences. As she awoke, she still, could not breath. Thumpers massive weight was still sitting on her chest.
                    He leaned over and asked Victoria these sarcastically discerning word's, "Having trouble breathing down there?"

                   Their three year old son Dustin, whom had watched this entire episode unfold from afar. Approached the couch and said, " Let my mommy go. I want my mommy."

                   At some point Victoria breaks free from his weight and grasp. Immediately after, Thumper calmed down enough to gather his small children and placing them in to his truck. He says to Victoria, "Leave or I will Kill you."

                   Eight day's later Victoria had Steen arrested. Court document's show that during these eight day's. Steen had visitation of the couples children. James Steen had notified Victoria ,"Not to bother picking her children up, because he left state with them." Once Steen re entered New York State, Victoria went through with the arrest and pressed charge's on her estranged husband. He was charged with menacing and endangering the welfare of a child. Both simple misdemeanors in the State of New York.

                   For the next seven month's Victoria would move on with her life away from Steen. With in these seven month's Vicky had obtained four orders of protection against her husband James Steen. Upon Victoria's request the police confiscated several gun's obtaining to Steen. In August of that year, James was convicted of menacing and he was given a conditional discharge. Basically, as long as Steen was good the State of New York, would drop all of the charges completely. (http://cnycentral.com/news/local/did-the-justice-system-fail-a-murdered-wife)

                    Two weeks later, on September 12, 2010 a witness Thomas Eggleston observed around 11:30 A.M., a female he knew as "Vicky" enter the apartment complex with a young child and an unknown man. A few minutes after she had arrived home, Thomas says, "I heard banging, crashing and "babies cries" Followed by a loud "BANG" that sounded like a gun shot. I grabbed the phone and fled to the window. As I dialed 911, I heard the third "Bang". As I gazed out of my apartment window, I witnessed a young female child run from Vicky's apartment. Hysterically she screamed and cried, "Mommy, mommy, mommy." "

                   On this day, James Steen would decide that, September 12, 2010 would be the day that Victoria Steen would die. James had driven to Victoria's apartment in an unknown truck, with their three year old son Dusty. He arrived unseen. He exited the vehicle he was driving with a loaded shot gun and his small child in tow. Steen approached Vicky's apartment, telling his son, Dusty "Stay Back." Steen pushed open the front door, once entering the apartment he shot Vicky without hesitation; at point blank range, in the chest. Steen then began to wrestle with the unknown man. This unknown man was Steen's cousin Chucky Carr Junior. Steen threw little Chuckie Carr in to the living room hitting the floor. Thumper thought his force from the throw had knocked Chucky out. Steen turned to leave the apartment and Chucky reached up grabbing the barrel of the shot gun. Steen jerked the gun away and shot Chuck Carr Junior execution style in the back of the head. Steen was on a sadistic murderous rampage. It seemed no one was going to stop him.
                   Dusty ran in, entering the apartment and tells his father that the cop's are coming. Steen kissed Dusty," I love you," he tells him. Placing Dusty out side of the apartment door. Closing the door behind him. Steen spent the next seven hour's in a stand off with local police force's.
                    During these seven hours Steen contacted Chuck Carr Junior's father, off the victim's own phone. The victims' father answer's the call hoping it is his son. "I told you it was going to get bad, now it is all over." Steen informed the man that he was going to now have one less son. James did not stop at the obscene phone calls. He went even further and sent a text to the victim's father, "You played my head and my family."

                   Minutes after Steen shot his wife and his cousin. A man called and sent a very unusual texted to James Steen's personal phone. The text read ,"(Heidi?) Ciao." the meaning of this message to this day remains' a mystery.
                   Johnathan Barkley was the owner of the phone that the text was sent from. Johnathan Barkley states, "I never knew Steen, only to wave at the gas station. I have never called or texted James Steen." But the night prior to the murders James and Johnathan had been out partying with one another. Steen also drove Barkley's truck the morning of the shooting to his wife's apartment. Barkley insisted that he awoke early that day to see his truck on the news, "I turned on the TV and there is my fucken truck, front and center on the news. I was like what the fuck is going on." Per his phone record's, Barkley had no choice, admitting he did call James Steen on that morning but James never answered his phone. Exactly one minute and thirteen second's after Barkley call's Steen's phone the odd Heidi text is then received. Barkley say's at one point," I must have let someone use my phone." this was only after he had given police three other excuses as to how this text originated from his personal phone. The first excuse was that it was a recycled phone and that someone else could have had it. The second, he had lost his phone. The third and final excuse was that his phone was broken so he may have sent Steen the weird text. Barkley goes on to note that, "Steen testified that he did not remember receiving it and I, did not recall sending it, so it must not have been too important. Besides I was only six years old when Heidi was abducted, I did not even know her. Even though I let Steen borrow my truck the night before. I hardly knew him. I met the man one time and I had seen the man plenty of times." ( To hear the conflicting testimony given by Johnathan Barkley click link below
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2015/02/oswego_county_man_give_conflictin...)

                   While Steen sat inside the cold apartment he just made his morgue. He pondered the idea of committing suicide. "I did not think I deserved to live, I did not want my children to hate me." Steen spoke to Carmen Rojack an Oswego County Deputy on the phone, during his stand off.
                   "I just can't talk myself into shooting myself in the head. The right thing to do, Carm is to die." Steen rambled off on the phone with the investigator.
                   "The only way you guys are going to shoot me is if I shoot at you."
                   "No Jay, " Investigator Carmen Rojack responds. "Do the right thing for your kids, Jay and come out"
                   "It's over Carm."
                   "No Jay, you need to be there for your kids Think of your kids Jay."
                   "My kids will be taken care of Carm. You need to just send a few sheriffs to the door and get this done and over with. Don't try to tell me, that you won't shoot me, if I come out that door. Because if I come out that door and someone tries to shoot me, I will shoot you. You will see what happens. I am not dropping this gun when I come out the door." Steen starts to raise his voice as he hides behind the apartments walls, talking to Rojack on a recorded line.
                   "jay we are not going to shoot you."
                   At one point James decides to invite the police in to the apartment hoping the police would, "take aim at him and shoot him dead."
                    James eventually surrendered to police, wearing a t-shirt that said, " It’s all fun and games until the cops show up." (http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/10/thumper_steen_described_as_a_viol...)(http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/two_dead_suspect_in_custody_af.ht...)
                   The following morning James Steen was arrested and charged with four count's of second degree murder and one count of first degree murder in the shooting death of two of his relatives. (click the link to see the crime scene photos and Steens arrest photo)
https://garytheinnocentthibodeaublog.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/chapter-2-it-could... (http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/man_charged_with_murder_in_pul.ht...)
                   As Steen sat in jail awaiting trial, he would often call his friends and his family as the deputies recorded all of his calls. "Hi, it is your favorite criminal calling," Steen said in one call.
                   In another call he bragged about the flower arraignment he sent to his wife's funeral. Being the "biggest and boldest" to make a statement. In other calls he joked saying," I do not think, I will have many people arguing with me, anymore."
                   James showed no signs of remorse in any of his jail house phone calls. In fact he thought he was going to get out in ten year's as he was recorded saying," Aren't they going to be surprised when I walk out of here in ten years."
                   Even though James Steen confessed to Victoria's death. The district Attorney of Oswego County, New York Donald Dodd offered Steen not one, but Dodd attempted to get Steen to agree to two plea bargains if Steen would confess to the murder of Chuck Carr Junior. Donald Dodd offered Steen a deal of thirty years to life if Steen pleaded guilty to two counts of Second degree murder. Steen declined any offers. Forcing the case to trial. Steen was found guilty and he was sentence to life in prison, with no possibility of parole. (http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/06/james_steen_receives_life_with.ht...)

                   "We talked extensively with James Steen," Sheriff Todd of the Oswego County Sheriff Department said. "It was a crime of passion the whole thing and he was very, afterwards distraught over the fact that he had did it." the sheriff added ," It was a moment of passion from what everyone tells us, actually he wasn't a bad guy."