Apotheosis
04-27-2005, 07:10 PM
http://www.freep.com/news/locoak/rochester27e_20050427.htm
Cops say mom was stabbed 111 times
Prosecutor says son argued with her about gun, porn, girlfriend
April 27, 2005
BY FRANK WITSIL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
An ongoing argument between a 15-year-old boy and his single mother about guns, porn and the teen's girlfriend may have led to a violent outburst sometime last weekend in which the son brutally killed his mom -- stabbing her 111 times, police said.
According to law enforcement officials, sometime before her death, Diane Michele took away the gun her son, a Rochester Hills high school freshman, apparently made out of PVC pipe to shoot marbles. She did not like that he played paintball. She found out he had been looking at porn.
The teenager, Christopher Dankovich, was arraigned Tuesday before 52-3 District Court Judge Nancy Carniak in Rochester Hills and charged with murder, accused of slashing his mother's body with a knife -- even poking her eyes. Police say he admitted to the killing. He is being held without bond in Children's Village, a juvenile detention facility in Pontiac.
If convicted, Dankovich could face life in prison.
To people who knew the 50-year-old victim, what is most shocking about her violent death is that Michele was a loving mom who constantly doted on her only son and often told them how he was her pride and joy.
A licensed professional counselor, Michele was a flamboyant woman, her friends said. She practiced holistic medicine and had an office off Woodward in Bloomfield Hills. She was a minister, and according to her Web site, she founded the HeartLight Metaphysical Ministry and offered her services at weddings, baptisms and funerals.
On the site, she referred to herself as a "Psychotherapist/Speaker/Teacher/Trainer/Minister." She taught classes on "Developing Your Intuition," "Starting Your Own Spiritual Path," "Near-Death Experiences," "Remote Viewing" and "Miracles."
Her Rochester Hills home was filled with inspirational sayings about love, police said. The license plate on her car was "LOVE4U." She dressed in flowing, colorful clothing and wore flashy jewelry, friends said. Purple was her favorite color, they said.
They said that the center of her world was her son.
"That son was the apple of her eye," said Sheila Becker of Birmingham, a friend of Michele who also is a psychologist. "She constantly told me she thanked God for her son because he was never on drugs or booze. They did everything together.
"She lived for that boy," Becker added. Law enforcement officials said the gruesome nature of the crime and the unclear motive for the violence troubles them. The boy, who according to neighbors and friends was quiet and "very nice," must have been filled with rage, police said."It's one of the most horrific crimes I've ever come across," Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca said.
Dankovich was a good student at Rochester Adams High School, school officials said. He kept to himself and walked the dog when his mom asked, a neighbor said. He got along with other students and had friends, his peers said.
Exactly why the teen killed his mother is unclear, Gorcyca said.
"That's the million-dollar question," Gorcyca said. "What motivated a 15-year-old, who was otherwise a well-behaved child, to butcher his mom? This investigation is far from complete. There has to be something in this boy's background for him to commit such an angry crime."
Before her death, police said Michele took the PVC gun away and gave it to the boy's father, her ex-husband, James Dankovich.
James Dankovich, who police said lives in Troy and has cooperated fully with their investigation, declined to comment Tuesday. He was the one to tip off officials as to where his son might be after Michele's body was found early Monday.
That morning, police found Michele's body inside the front door of her two-story Rochester Hills home. She was lying facedown and covered in blood. Police found two knives at the house, one inside and one outside that was bloodstained.
Her son was gone.
Near the body were garbage bags full of paramilitary clothing that the boy probably wore to play paintball -- a game simulating war where people shoot paint pellets at each other, police said.
It is unclear, police said, whether the clothing was the source of an argument that precipitated the violence, or whether the teenager killed his mother and then got the clothes to take with him, when the teen fled in his mother's white minivan.
Later that afternoon, police found Dankovich at a family-owned cabin in St. Helen in Roscommon County.
According to Dr. Beth Ann Brooks, a child psychiatrist and professor of psychiatry at Wayne State University's School of Medicine, there are several possible explanations for the teen's shocking behavior, including drugs and alcohol, a feeling of being backed into a corner with no escape or resolution outside of killing or extreme emotional conflict that led to a psychotic impulse.
Conflict, humiliation, embarrassment or a discovery of behavior that would disappoint a parent "could prompt a child in a very close relationship to inflict harm on the parent," said Brooks, who also noted that such an outcome is rare.
Dankovich's attorney, Mitch Ribitwer, said Tuesday that all the reports he has seen indicate that Dankovich was a "nice young man" and it might be difficult to find a rational explanation for the allegations. "There may be some mental health issues here," he said.
He said Dankovich is due back in court May 17 for a preliminary exam.
Contact FRANK WITSIL at 248-351-3690 or witsil@freepress.com. Staff writer Marsha Low contributed to this report.
Cops say mom was stabbed 111 times
Prosecutor says son argued with her about gun, porn, girlfriend
April 27, 2005
BY FRANK WITSIL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
An ongoing argument between a 15-year-old boy and his single mother about guns, porn and the teen's girlfriend may have led to a violent outburst sometime last weekend in which the son brutally killed his mom -- stabbing her 111 times, police said.
According to law enforcement officials, sometime before her death, Diane Michele took away the gun her son, a Rochester Hills high school freshman, apparently made out of PVC pipe to shoot marbles. She did not like that he played paintball. She found out he had been looking at porn.
The teenager, Christopher Dankovich, was arraigned Tuesday before 52-3 District Court Judge Nancy Carniak in Rochester Hills and charged with murder, accused of slashing his mother's body with a knife -- even poking her eyes. Police say he admitted to the killing. He is being held without bond in Children's Village, a juvenile detention facility in Pontiac.
If convicted, Dankovich could face life in prison.
To people who knew the 50-year-old victim, what is most shocking about her violent death is that Michele was a loving mom who constantly doted on her only son and often told them how he was her pride and joy.
A licensed professional counselor, Michele was a flamboyant woman, her friends said. She practiced holistic medicine and had an office off Woodward in Bloomfield Hills. She was a minister, and according to her Web site, she founded the HeartLight Metaphysical Ministry and offered her services at weddings, baptisms and funerals.
On the site, she referred to herself as a "Psychotherapist/Speaker/Teacher/Trainer/Minister." She taught classes on "Developing Your Intuition," "Starting Your Own Spiritual Path," "Near-Death Experiences," "Remote Viewing" and "Miracles."
Her Rochester Hills home was filled with inspirational sayings about love, police said. The license plate on her car was "LOVE4U." She dressed in flowing, colorful clothing and wore flashy jewelry, friends said. Purple was her favorite color, they said.
They said that the center of her world was her son.
"That son was the apple of her eye," said Sheila Becker of Birmingham, a friend of Michele who also is a psychologist. "She constantly told me she thanked God for her son because he was never on drugs or booze. They did everything together.
"She lived for that boy," Becker added. Law enforcement officials said the gruesome nature of the crime and the unclear motive for the violence troubles them. The boy, who according to neighbors and friends was quiet and "very nice," must have been filled with rage, police said."It's one of the most horrific crimes I've ever come across," Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca said.
Dankovich was a good student at Rochester Adams High School, school officials said. He kept to himself and walked the dog when his mom asked, a neighbor said. He got along with other students and had friends, his peers said.
Exactly why the teen killed his mother is unclear, Gorcyca said.
"That's the million-dollar question," Gorcyca said. "What motivated a 15-year-old, who was otherwise a well-behaved child, to butcher his mom? This investigation is far from complete. There has to be something in this boy's background for him to commit such an angry crime."
Before her death, police said Michele took the PVC gun away and gave it to the boy's father, her ex-husband, James Dankovich.
James Dankovich, who police said lives in Troy and has cooperated fully with their investigation, declined to comment Tuesday. He was the one to tip off officials as to where his son might be after Michele's body was found early Monday.
That morning, police found Michele's body inside the front door of her two-story Rochester Hills home. She was lying facedown and covered in blood. Police found two knives at the house, one inside and one outside that was bloodstained.
Her son was gone.
Near the body were garbage bags full of paramilitary clothing that the boy probably wore to play paintball -- a game simulating war where people shoot paint pellets at each other, police said.
It is unclear, police said, whether the clothing was the source of an argument that precipitated the violence, or whether the teenager killed his mother and then got the clothes to take with him, when the teen fled in his mother's white minivan.
Later that afternoon, police found Dankovich at a family-owned cabin in St. Helen in Roscommon County.
According to Dr. Beth Ann Brooks, a child psychiatrist and professor of psychiatry at Wayne State University's School of Medicine, there are several possible explanations for the teen's shocking behavior, including drugs and alcohol, a feeling of being backed into a corner with no escape or resolution outside of killing or extreme emotional conflict that led to a psychotic impulse.
Conflict, humiliation, embarrassment or a discovery of behavior that would disappoint a parent "could prompt a child in a very close relationship to inflict harm on the parent," said Brooks, who also noted that such an outcome is rare.
Dankovich's attorney, Mitch Ribitwer, said Tuesday that all the reports he has seen indicate that Dankovich was a "nice young man" and it might be difficult to find a rational explanation for the allegations. "There may be some mental health issues here," he said.
He said Dankovich is due back in court May 17 for a preliminary exam.
Contact FRANK WITSIL at 248-351-3690 or witsil@freepress.com. Staff writer Marsha Low contributed to this report.