04262011 - News Article - Jerry Davich: When ‘till death do us part’ takes a fatal turn

Jerry Davich: When ‘till death do us part’ takes a fatal turn 
Post Tribune

April 26, 2011 - 4:44PM
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/davich/5038094-452/when-til-death-do-us-part-takes-a-fatal-turn.html

Fredrick C. Cashner Jr. is staring at me.

Not in person, of course, but from the front page of Tuesday’s newspaper as I write today’s column.

It’s as if he’s staring right through me. Did his blank empty gaze stare through you, too?

I’m wondering what the hell was surging through his mind when he forced his way into his estranged wife’s place of business Sunday night and shot her to death with an assault rifle. Jealousy? Resentment? Rage? Despair? Hopelessness? A fatal cocktail of all the above?

On Tuesday, Cashner, 54, was formally charged with the murder of Cynthia Cashner, 50, at her workplace, Mystic Moon, on U.S. 6 in Portage, located above At Nature’s Door health food store.

I visited the business Monday and saw fresh duct tape on the door where Fredrick apparently busted out a thin vertical window to gain entry. As I stood at the exact spot he stood roughly 12 hours earlier, I wondered again what thoughts raced through his head as he allegedly clutched an AK-47.

Did he just want to scare her? Did they argue? Did he know what he was going to do minutes earlier, or hours earlier? Was he drunk? Did he simply "snap"? I guess it doesn’t matter much now. She’s dead and he will probably die in prison.

I’m sure they never imagined their marriage of 21 years could have turned out like this. Just imagine how they felt on their wedding day — loving, laughing and lustful, I’m guessing.

The Portage Police Department has no previous reports of any domestic violence with the couple, who lived in the same Jackson Township home until Cynthia moved out recently to live in her business. She filed for divorce on March 23.

The Porter County Sheriff’s Police also has no record of previous domestic violence.

"Since the suspect requested his attorney, we have not been able to establish a motive other than he was upset over the pending divorce," said Portage Police Capt. Terry Swickard.

Not much of a motive, really, in the big picture. Then again, it’s been the motive for many such homicides and many more attacks of violence, usually against wives by husbands who simply can’t handle the stressful situation.

Bitterness. Emptiness. Disappointment. Embarrassment. Loneliness. These are all possible aftershocks from the emotional earthquake of divorce. Some of these dark emotions certainly factored in to the criminal actions of Fredrick C. Cashner Jr.

As many of my readers know, I, too, went through a divorce about a year ago, and I’ve been meaning to write about this sensitive yet omnipresent subject ever since. It’s amazing, I’ve learned this past year, how divorce touches all of us in some way.

Either we’ve been divorced ourselves, or we know loved ones who are, or we’re children of divorce, or we’re crossfire casualties in another couple’s divorce. In other words, divorce, separation and estrangement are so common in our society, it’s impossible not to be affected by its far-reaching tentacles.

Still, when young, loving and idealistic couples exchange wedding vows with each other, no one thinks that "til death do us part" will actually become a reality through a divorce, an AK-47, and a prison sentence.

Previous homicide in Portage?

For those of you keeping score at home, the last homicide to take place in Portage was nearly two years ago, on May 15, 2009, at Canden Apartments. The victim was Jeremy Higgins.

This was the case where a male and female came to Higgins’ apartment looking for someone for a possible drug deal and the couple had the wrong apartment. Higgins was shot to death in front of his friends after he tried to disarm the male subject.

Unlike the case involving Fredrick and Cynthia Cashner, which seems like a slam-dunk case to prosecute, Portage police have still not solved this case.

On a lighter note ...
Last October I wrote about the dilapidated conditions of the skate park at Woodland Park in Portage, citing splintered ramps, weathered rails and public safety hazards.

Today, at 4 p.m., the Portage Parks Department is hosting a meeting to elect representatives to serve as advisers to the department’s skate park committee. Any skateboarders or bicyclists are encouraged to attend to voice their concerns and become a part of the solution.

The meeting takes place in the park’s Blue Spruce room. Be there or stop complaining.

Speaking of complaining ...
I receive consistent phone calls and emails from Gary residents who are upset with "nothing but bad news about our city in the Post-Tribune," as they tell me.

Even if I cite positive columns I have written myself about Gary, such as my Easter Sunday column on a teen boy’s miraculous recovery from cancer, these naysayers are hard to please.

However, here’s another piece of positive news coming from Gary and I hope those critics, among others, take notice. If anything, for Gary youth, for whom this news is about.

The Gary Pride Baseball/Softball League program is back this summer and it’s looking for kids ages 8 to 18 to register to play ball. The goal of the program is to install Perseverance, Respect, Intelligence, Dedication and Excellence (P.R.I.D.E.) in players, coaches and parents.

Adonia Community Service Inc., the agency that was recently featured on ABC-TV’s "Secret Millionaire" show, is accepting registrations at its office at 1601 Broadway through Friday. The program is also looking for volunteers to coach and umpire the games, as well as sponsors.

Children without a parent will need their parent’s consent with an address and phone number. For more information, call 885-5711.