Double murder in Amish country

**nonutsplease** · January 15th, 2011, 11:40 PM

This is my first thread so I hope I did it right. This is local to me, though I don't know any of the people involved.

NAVARRE, Ohio — Friends of Mervin and Viola Stutzman said knew the couple was going through difficult times dealing with their 32-year-old son Rodney, but never imagined it would end like this.

The couple, in their mid-60s, was found shot to death Thursday in their Amish country farmhouse in Navarre.

Rodney Stutzman, the only suspect, caught later that night driving his slain father missing truck in West Virginia.

...

"Rodney came back, even before he left, he wanted to do what he wanted to do and do it his way," Clarence said, adding Rodney would bring violent and sexually explicit videos into his parents' home. "He was watching movies. he was doing things that mom and dad would not tolerate. And as being the head of the house, Mervin had to set his foot down, and say 'Hey, you will not do this here,'" Clarence said.

Clarence said that made Rodney angry.

...

Rodney Stutzman is charged with two counts of murder and is slated to be extradited back to Ohio to face a judge early next week.

http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-suspect...,2073492.story

**Gidget** · January 15th, 2011, 11:50 PM

You did it right. :)

I'm trying to figure out - they weren't Amish, were they? I don't see any power lines running to the house in the video, but the friend in the video seemed to be dressed more like a Mennonite in my ignorant eyes.

It doesn't matter, they still didn't deserve to be killed. Another idiot nutcase, bet they'll blame PTSD. To which I must say - dude, I have had PTSD and I didn't kill anybody.

**nonutsplease** · January 16th, 2011, 12:05 AM

I think I'm going to guess they were Mennonites. Amish wouldn't make sense since he was bringing videos into the home. The friends interviewed in the video are definitely Mennonite.

**Valasca** · January 16th, 2011, 12:24 AM

He wasn't Amish.
Rodney just came back from the Army. Amish don't go into military. Period. Not even during Rumspringa. Now since he's adopted, maybe the mother and father were Amish and raising him... Uh... Non-Amish. Possible, but unlikely.

**DSC** · January 16th, 2011, 12:59 AM

Comment regarding Rodney Stutzman military duty at OP source:

smoke301 at 9:48 PM January 15, 2011 He NEVER deployed with his unit when they went to Iraq. I know this because he AWOL before they deployed.

Not much additional info at this site but it does link to a photo gallery of investigators at the farmhouse:

The Stutzmans rented most of the farm out to others raising livestock on the property, and Mervin Stutzman was a “hobby farmer.”

Source

Pretty horses:

**impqueen** · January 16th, 2011, 10:40 AM

The family appears to be Mennonite, not Amish, and the memorial is being held Wednesday at Kidron Mennonite Church.

Even so I don't know a lot of Mennonites in the military. They must have been having big problems with Rodney from way back to be okay with his going into the service. Not that he apparently did much there, either.

We have a large Mennonite and several smaller old order Amish communities here in Missouri, with some Beachey Amish and Swiss Amish here and there. What I find is that the plain folk have pretty much the same problems as everyone else, they're just quieter about it. The ex-Amish community up north of me (close to DarkStar/Hippie's place) is getting larger all the time, and I think it's getting harder and harder for the plain people to keep their kids out of the world, so to speak. One ex-Amish kid I know makes a habit of sneaking radios in to his friends in old order communities, and the Mennonites have just about given up. They're almost full on worldly here now, except for the clothes.

I predict a bunch of Mennonites in Ohio suddenly get the call to get rid of their TVs and DVD players after this.

**Farce scape** · January 16th, 2011, 02:07 PM

Yeah...
These folks aren't giving off an 'Amish' vibe.
Mennonite, maybe?

Amish don't drive trucks or use electricity, that I know of.
They also don't serve in military of ANY kind.

The Amish, and Quakers, are like the Tree Huggin' Hippies of the non-mainstream Christian world.
They profess to eschew violence in every form... and probably corner the market on hand-carved wooden peace signs.

**Farce scape** · January 16th, 2011, 02:11 PM

Damn!
This guy is THAT busted and is only 32 ???
Looks like his military days took quite the toll on his face...
I'd have pegged his age at late 40's... at LEAST!

**62julietandvoid** · January 16th, 2011, 02:50 PM

We live with a lot of Amish around this area. I think some of the men are sexy.

**nonutsplease** · January 16th, 2011, 04:21 PM

Originally Posted by impqueen

I predict a bunch of Mennonites in Ohio suddenly get the call to get rid of their TVs and DVD players after this.

That wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. You're right, though, it does seem as if the Mennonites have just about given up. The teenage girls/girls in their 20s look almost like the non-Mennonite girls around here. Just longer skirts lol

**Whisper** · October 19th, 2011, 06:43 PM

Wayne County Double Murder Suspect Not Competent to Stand Trial

WAYNE COUNTY, Ohio— A clinical neuro-psychologist and the judge overseeing the case of Rodney Stutzman have ruled that a Navarre man is not competent to stand trial for the murder of his parents.

An entry made Monday in Stutzman's court docket by Judge Corey E. Spitler says that the 31-year-old will be hospitalized at the Timothy B. Moritz Forensic Unit (of the Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare Psychiatric Hospital), and undergo treatment to restore and maintain his competency to stand trial.
Hospitals and Clinics Stutzman is charged with the January 2011 aggravated murders of his parents Mervin and Viola. The couple, in their mid-60's, was found shot to death in mid-January in their Amish country farmhouse in Navarre.

At the time of the crimes, Sheriff Thomas G. Maurer told Fox 8 News, "We found a gruesome scene in the basement of the home."

Authorities initiated their investigation after receiving a call from the couple's older son, Gary Stutzman, who lives in Indiana, asking the sheriff's department to check on his parents, whom he had not spoken to in days.

When deputies arrived at the home, they found the couple murdered. It is not known how long the couple had been deceased.
[///]
"Rodney came back, even before he left, he wanted to do what he wanted to do, and do it his way," said neighbor Clarence Steiner, adding Rodney would bring violent and sexually explicit videos into his parents' home.

"He was watching movies. He was doing things that mom and dad would not tolerate. And as being the head of the house, Mervin had to set his foot down, and say 'Hey, you will not do this here," Clarence said.

Rodney was arrested near Beckley, West Virginia, days after fleeing the family's home.
In addition to the aggravated murder charges Stutzman faces charges of aggravated burglary, gross abuse of a corpse, grand theft of credit cards and a motor vehicle.

http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-wayne-c...ory?hpt=ju_bn5

Rodney Stutzman