Four North Carolina Teens Charged in Bizarre Killing
The circumstances of the crime are eerily similar to 'Insane Clown Posse' lyrics
Dec. 22, 2008— -- A group of teenagers in North Carolina suspected of murdering a friend allegedly read him his fortune from tarot cards shortly before beating him in the head with a hammer, tying him up and suffocating him with duct tape, according to recently released search warrants.
Investigators say they are still searching for a motive in what they have called the bizarre killing of Matthew Silliman, an 18-year-old Eagle Scout whose body was found in an unoccupied trailer in rural North Carolina earlier this month.
Four friends of Silliman's -- Aadil Shaaid Kahn, 17, Allegra Rose Dahlquist, 17, Drew Logan Shaw, 16, and Ryan Patrick Hare, 18 -- have been charged with his murder.
All four suspects are being held without bond in the Wake County jail. They face up to life in prison if convicted. Lawyers and relatives of the four teens either did not immediately return calls or declined to comment.
According to police documents, three of the suspects confessed to some role in the murder and implicated the fourth defendant. Although court documents do not identify which suspects confessed, Hare's lawyer, Robert Padovano, said the other three suspects had given statements to the police, but Hare had not.
The murder has baffled the small community near Raleigh, N.C. Jason Waller, a Wake County Assistant District Attorney, said police and prosecutors were "definitely looking into" allegations that one of the suspects, Shaw, was affiliated with a group known as the juggalos, fans of the Detroit-based rap/hip-hop group Insane Clown Posse.
As first reported by ABC News station WTVD, some Insane Clown Posse lyrics appeared similar to the alleged crime.
According to WTVD, in the song "Murda Cloak," one line reads: "I tied a ***** up, I had to duct tape the ***** face." The song "Wax Museum" says: "It seems my cards of tarot have dealt you a very odd hand," and the song "Like It Like That" says: "Sometimes my dome feels like a cherry bomb. I gotta pound his ***** head with a hammer to keep him calm."