The body of ex-Amishman Eli Stutzman–convicted of one murder, suspected in four others–lies in a Texas morgue, unclaimed by his former Ohio Amish community. Stutzman’s DNA may be the case-breaker in the 1985 deaths of two Colorado men. Gregg Olsen, author of Abandoned Prayers, commented on the case which has hounded him for the past [...]
Continue reading Why Eli Stutzman fascinates
Former Amishman Eli Stutzman‘s death has been ruled a suicide. The father of Little Boy Blue, suspected in three other deaths in addition to that of his son, killed himself in a Fort Worth, Texas apartment last week. Gregg Olsen, who chronicled the case in Abandoned Prayers, says the story might not be over. “I [...]
Continue reading To the grave
The stories are heartbreaking. You feel for the victims. It’s hard to imagine what they’ve been through. But at the same time, a 20/20 piece on Amish abuse from a few years back points to the generalizations that many journalists rely on to tell their story. The 20/20 folks lean heavily on cliches and misconceptions–from [...]
Continue reading iPods, Amish abuse, and sketchy journalism
Eli Stutzman, convicted murderer and father of ‘Little Boy Blue’, was an exile from the ultraconservative Swartzentruber Amish group. When you read words like ‘secretive’, ‘closed’, and ‘backward’ in the same sentence as ‘Amish’, the writer, rightly or wrongly, is often referring to this sect. Wayne County, Ohio, where Stutzman originated, has a high number [...]
Continue reading Eli Stutzman and the Swartzentruber Amish
Convicted murderer Eli Stutzman, formerly of the Amish of Wayne County, Ohio, has died. Stutzman gained notoriety after his nine-year old son’s body was found frozen in Nebraska in 1985. Stutzman was never convicted of murder in that case, only of lesser charges. He was also suspected in his wife’s mysterious death in a barn [...]
Continue reading Little Boy Blue
