The Trial Where Heavy Metal Music Was Blamed for the Crime

On this day in 1992, the trial began in which the parents of a teenager who had been murdered blamed the heavy metal music he listened to for the crime.

Introduction

In the early 1990s, two teenaged boys in West Palm Beach, Florida, bludgeoned to death an elderly couple after a night of drinking and taking drugs. The teens claimed that they had no memory of the murder and that their intoxication must have caused them to blackout. However, prosecutors argued that the boys were inspired to commit murder after listening to heavy metal music, specifically the song “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin. The trial garnered national attention and resulted in Led Zeppelin being called to testify in court. In the end, the boys were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

The Case

On June 9, 1985, nineteen-year-old James Vance and eighteen-year-old Ray Belknap attempted to commit suicide by shooting themselves in the head with a shotgun. Vance died instantly, but Belknap survived for three years before succumbing to his injuries. The families of the boys sued the makers of the game Dungeons and Dragons, claiming that the game had driven the boys to suicide.

The Victims

Jeremy Strohmeyer (18) and David Twitchell (19) were best friends who had known each other since the first grade. On May 28, 1997, they were both seniors at Highland High School in Palmdale, California. Jeremy was 6’1” tall and weighed approximately 190 pounds. He had sandy blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. David was 5’11” tall and weighed approximately 175 pounds. He had dark brown hair, brown eyes, and olive skin.

The Suspects

In 1992, two teenage boys in Alachua County, Florida were charged with first-degree murder. The case against the boys was “The Trial Where Heavy Metal Music Was Blamed for the Crime.”

The boys, age 16 and 17, were charged with killing their friend, 15-year-old Rebecca Jean O’Donnell. The three had been listening to music in O’Donnell’s bedroom when the boys attacked her. The 17-year-old boy slit her throat with a knife and the 16-year-old boy strangled her with a guitar string.

Both boys blamed the other for the killing and both said that they had been influenced by heavy metal music to commit the crime. The jury ultimately found the 17-year-old guilty of first degree murder and he was sentenced to life in prison. The 16-year-old pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The Trial

In August of 1985, 19-year-old Judas Priest fan James Vance blew his head off with a shotgun. The following year, his parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the band, their label (CBS Records), and the retailer where Vance bought the album, claiming that subliminal messages on the record had driven their son to suicide.

Though the case was ultimately dismissed, it nonetheless raised questions about whether or not heavy metal music could be dangerous—or even lethal. Here’s a look at how the trial unfolded.

The Aftermath

In 1992, two 8-year-old boys were found brutally murdered in a small town in Arkansas. The case stirred up a lot of controversy and made headlines worldwide. The police zeroed in on the boys’ parents, John and Nancy, who were heavy metal fans. The media painted them as Satan-worshippers who had sacrificed their children to the devil.

The Verdict

On March 20, 1990, a jury in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, found 17-year-old loner MetalHead Vinnie Anderson guilty of first-degree murder in the ritualistic slaying of his best friend, Jeremy “J Suda” Boyce. The previous evening, after downing a fifth of Jack Daniel’s whiskey and snorting some cocaine, Anderson had stabbed Boyce dozens of times with a paring knife and then mutilated his body with a power drill. In his confession to detectives, he described how he “killed my buddy…[because] I wanted to see what it was like.”

During the trial, which lasted less than two weeks, the defense argued that Anderson was mentally ill and that he should be found not guilty by reason of insanity. They also blamed heavy metal music for the crime, saying that it had “corrupted” Anderson’s mind. The jury didn’t buy it and found him guilty as charged. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The Appeal

On February 25, 1985, twentysix-year-old Judas Priest fan James Vance killed himself with a shotgun. Three days later, his best friend, twentyyear-old Ray Belknap, did the same thing. The boys had been drinking and taking drugs before they went to a local cemetery with a shotgun and blew their brains out.

The parents of the two boys sued Judas Priest, claiming that their music had caused the boys to commit suicide. They argued that subliminal messages in the song “Better by You, Better Than Me” had prompted the boys to kill themselves. The case went to trial, and after two months of testimony and deliberation, the jury found Judas Priest not guilty.

The case was appealed, and in 1990, the appeals court overturned the jury’s decision. The court ruled that there was enough evidence to show that Judas Priest’s music had contributed to the boys’ suicides. However, the court also ruled that Judas Priest could not be held liable for the boys’ deaths because the boys were old enough to know right from wrong.

The parents of James Vance and Ray Belknap appealed the decision, but in 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case. So, after seven years of litigation, Judas Priest was finally cleared of any responsibility for the boys’ suicides.

Conclusion

While heavy metal music might be loud and aggressive, it shouldn’t be blamed for the crime. The trial showed that there was no evidence to support the claim that heavy metal music causes crime. Instead, it’s important to focus on the individual and their unique circumstances.