Man Pleads Not Guilty in Hart County Court
Posted: 8:36 PM Jan 25, 2008
The father of the man charged in a Hart County murder case says his son suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Iraq war veteran Jeremy Shields pleaded not guilty to killing his co-worker 34-year-old Wendy Sue Logsdon Jan. 24 in Hart County District Court.
Police say Shields bludgeoned Logsdon with a hammer at his parents home in Radcliff, then set her body on fire and dumped it along a gravel road in rural Hart County.
Her remains were found Jan. 21 by a hunter.
Police say it appears the pair had little connection aside from working together at a large shoe distribution center in Shepherdsville.
Shields' father says his son suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder because of his tours of duty in Iraq as a convoy escort.
http://www.wbko.com/news/headlines/14444487.html
Before you judge there are some things you need to know. First, we should feel terrible for Wendy Sue Logsdon and her family. She didn't deserve a death like this anymore than anyone does. She is a victim and we need to remember that. There are a lot of victims paying the price for having ties to Iraq. Families falling apart because one of their own went to Iraq or Afghanistan only to return with PTSD, drug dependency or abusing alcohol. Drunk driving and causing fatalities. Angry outbursts out of control causing beatings and attacks on friends and strangers. They are all prices of war we never seem to take into account.
When we fail the soldiers coming back, taking care of their wounds, they are not the only ones to suffer. They take a lot of other people into the darkness with them.
When they have a flashback it comes for many reasons. It could be an image they see on TV, a story they read, a certain smell, the sound of a helicopter, stress along with a host of other fire starters. In moments of a flashback, it's like an awake nightmare, virtually not much different than the ones they experience while asleep when they are physically returned to the carnage. By this it is their senses are returned from smelling it again, feeling it again, seeing it as real as when it happened again and again, body on hyper alert and they feel their life is in danger all over again. Anger pumps through them and if a person is so unlucky to be near them at the time, react badly without knowledge, they too become the enemy the warrior once fought. While this type of reaction does not happen all the time, there have been many cases when it does. We need to understand this and provide the right justice in each case.
What we cannot dismiss or ignore is that when we do not take care of all the wounded, they will keep fighting the enemy they see in their mind and that enemy sometimes becomes us.
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington
My heart is with his parents. I could not imagine having to spend the rest of my life knowing my son did this horrible thing to a person, for no reason at all. He took a wonderful, young woman away from everyone who loves her, especially her 2 sons. I think the post traumatic stress plea is just a cop out. I know I can't possibly understand what you are witnessed to while fighting in Iraq, but it is no excuse. Wendy was my Best Friend since childhood and I miss her very much, she was taken before her time for selfish and unknown reasons. No one will ever really know why jeremy did what he did, all I can hope for is that he will get everything the law allows, and hopefully my girl "Jeannie" is haunting him in his dreams and every moment of everyday, making him miserable. That is what he deserves for taking My Best Friend, a Mom, a Sister, and a Daughter.
ReplyDeleteIf he does have PTSD then he was not in his right mind. It does not let him off the hook for this but, and it's a big one, he needs to be treated for it and justice demands it. There have been many cases of this happening to innocent people where the one who did it was dealing with PTSD. The problem is, too many use it in defense of themselves.
ReplyDeleteA man in Florida was just found not guilty after he hacked his son and wife to death. He was a Gulf War veteran.
Justice must have all the facts and yes, even mercy when they look at all that goes with the crime.
If Shields does have PTSD he was suffering and an innocent person paid the price because he was not taken care of. Her children pay the price. Her family and friends. His family pays the price. There are too many people paying the price because the veterans are not being taken care of. As the haunting comment you made, he is being haunted by your friend and everything else. That's what PTSD does.
Jeremy Shields was a bad soldier. How do I Know? He was in my platoon.We all knew it was a matter of time that he would go to prison.PTSD? The guy barely left the wire.If it was up to me we never would have taken him with us to Iraq.The guy was a dirt-bag then and he is a worse person now.If you want to feel sorry, feel sorry the that poor woman he killed and her children she left behind. SSG DR Lovato USA
ReplyDeleteGlad someone telks it like it is, I bet other soldiers that due harm to someone cause of PTSD dont spike their drink with a date rate drug and leave her paralyzed and defenseless while he rapped her, beat her, mutalated her.
DeleteYeah, the guy who rapes, murders and mutilates a woman isn't to blame because he allegedly has "PTSD?"
ReplyDeleteI was molested for approximately five years as a young child, by a close friend of the family.
I was beat up, and I don't mean socked a few times, weekly in middle school.
I have nightmares; and anxiety attacks when in large groups of people. I will always be uncomfortable around people, and have difficulty in relationships.
"PTSD?"
No. Not even.
This guy was rapist and a murderer, not only that, he was a liar.
Joe,
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry that you had been treated like that, especially as a child. I hope you received help to heal from it. It had nothing to do with you. It was the responsibility and blame on the shoulders of the one who did it to you.
As for this soldier, we need to ask "what if" Shields was put into a mental health ward instead of being let loose? That is, if he really does have PTSD. Would that have prevented an innocent woman from what happened to her? I did a post the other day about how the best treatment for PTSD is putting them in the hospital to treat them.
The person who did what they did to you, could have had a mental illness or could have been simply evil. Evil, well there isn't much that can be done about that, but with mental illness there is a lot that can be done, but isn't being done. Innocent people end up paying the price.
you forgot to mention that he raped her too
ReplyDeleteand that he used GHB on her
ReplyDeleteHi Matt,
ReplyDeleteWhat is GHB?
I knew Jeremy (Jay) very well, and he did not have PTSD. I was with him almost every day shortly after his return from Iraq, thats why the PTSD thing didnt work in the courtroom. Murder is murder period
ReplyDeleteIt's not always so easy to tell for sure. Some hide it well. It's up to doctors trained to know for sure to find out. Either way, it does not dismiss what he did, but there is a consideration given to PTSD veterans so they get help as well as "pay their debt to society" because real justice needs to consider all things.
ReplyDeleteI think & strongly believe that absolutely EVERYONE has a right to state, as well as believe WHATEVER IT IS THAT MAY THINK!!!!!!! That IS all part of being American!!!!!!! Don't judge Jeremy OR Wendy UNLESS YOU KNyEW THEM!!!!!!!!!!!! And for Sgt. ......... I STRONGLY RESPECT ANY AS WELL AS EVERY BRANCH & PROFESSION IN THE MILITARY!!!!!!! I have MANY VERY CLOSE people, as well as family that has served............YOU HAVE YOUR OPINION, DON'T BE AN ASS!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI just received another post from an Anonymous poster. I cannot allow the comment simply because yet again, it is an attack with accusations. If you left the comment and really believe in what you wrote, then have the courage to put your name on it.
ReplyDeleteWendy Sue Logsdon was my nephew's mother. When she was Brutually murdered by Jeremy Shields, my nephew was left an orphan. His father committed suicide just a few years earlier. Thankfully, my mother in law adopted him, and he has turned out to be a great kid. PLEASE seek help if you are experiencing PTSD. PLEASE watch for symptoms and signs that a loved one is experiencing PTSD. This could of all been avoided had Shields seeked out the necessary resources and help. I NEVER want any family to experience what my husbands family has endured due to this tragic, senseless and horrific act of savagery. May Wendy rest easy and know that her youngest son is in good hands.
ReplyDelete