Regina (Jeannie) Butkowski lived a life of fear after befriending football player Pernell Jefferson. He began calling her at work and showing up unannounced at her home, begging her to date him and eventually threatening to kill her.
Jeannie’s co-workers began screening her calls and escorting her to her car at night. She moved in an effort to escape the threat, but it didn’t help. Pernell Jefferson found her new home, broke in and kidnapped her. He released her a few hours later after learning that, during the abduction, her telephone-answering machine had accidentally recorded his threats. But she was too afraid of him to file a complaint with police.
Jeannie lived a life of terror for the last 6 months of her life. Then, one night, Pernell and 3 other men broke down her door and Pernell forced her into his car. Her body was found 8 months later.
At the quiet end today, we’re discussing how the life of Jeannie Butkowski was systematically stolen from her despite all of the clear signs that she was in mortal danger. Her killer is in prison and he blames steroid abuse for his actions. However, a former girlfriend claims that he abused her for more than 4 years before he took steroids. So, what role did steroid abuse play? And do we really care? After all, it was his decision to do what he did and he tried to hide it by burning and dumping Jeannie’s body in a creek. In addition, he showed no signs of remorse until he was caught.