Teen Murderer of Radio Newsman Has Haunting Web Trail

Police have now revealed that the 16-year-old suspect who has confessed to the murder of WABC news reporter George Weber is John Katehis of East Elmhurst. Katehis was picked up last night at a bus depot in Middletown up in Orange County.

Katehis told police that the two met after he responded to Weber's craigslist ad looking for to be smothered and then allegedly went back to Weber's apartment where they drank vodka and did cocaine. The teenager said that he couldn't remember how many times he ended up stabbing Weber once the situation turned violent because he "blanked out" during the assault.

Katehis has also left extensive material behind on both MySpace and YouTube:

In his MySpace profile (now taken down), Katehis said, "I'm a big risk taker and like to live life on the edge. I am an Extremist, an Anarchist,and a Sadomasochist. As long as you show respect for me i will show respect for you, if you disrespect me, then i will f***ing break your neck." He also had photo sets with his collection of knives and swords, posted a fair share of satanic material, had Marilyn Manson as his Number One friend and listed his desire to have children "someday."

On his YouTube Channel, Katehis uses the alias "JSKcranks" to post a series of videos where he mostly calls businesses and uses stereotypically ethnic accents to make pranks such as asking WoHop if they serve chihuahua and claiming to Benny's Burritos that he is "the American police."

One video however has little context except that the sixteen-year-old is showing off a sound board with various voice files on it. From the sound of it however, Katehis is making a call as a response to an ad left on craigslist or elsewhere of a man seeking out a minor. The clip of Katehis calling the man and claiming to be 18, only to have the unknown voice ask for someone younger, is below.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Billy Parker in News on March 25, 2009 3:29 PM

Comments [rss]

robingee

He seems like a nice boy.

sexisicilian

Really, I luv heavy metal & do not go around killing. Stop blaming any type of "music" and focus on what the person did ... regardless of what he listened to ... who cares

rcltrh

He will be very popular in prison. In retrospect, I guess the money was kind of wasted on the braces now that he will be in prison for the next several decades. I don't think Bubba cares if your teeth are crooked.

NannyState

The kid'll rebel in prison and get that nose broken again and all those teeth knocked out to "improve the mouthfeel". Either way, at least no one will ever be tortured by his lame prank phone calls on YouTube again.

Past Taliban

I just KNEW this was another case of homo Dick-Sucking gone awry.

Spirit of 76

Are you speaking from personal experience?

Past Taliban

Of course. Ever since I personally saw YOU in that public restroom giving head to the big fat hairy guy.

Come on now, hand over all your knives BlowBoy.

The Edge

You forgot to add the part when you asked if you could join in.

Suckboy.

Past Taliban

Of course. Ever since I personally saw YOU in that public restroom giving head to the big fat hairy guy.

The Edge

His namesake pretty much proves it.

Past Taliban

If YOU'RE 'the edge' then I wonder what the dull side looks like....

Past Taliban

I just KNEW this was another case of homo Dick-Sucking gone awry.

Splicer

The people into smothering should have been his parents.

babyhitler

This is just like Edward Norton's Character from Primal Fear. "You told me you don't remember. You black out. So how do you know about her neck?" "Well, good for you, Marty!"

specialist kiki

Oh, Tipper.

Why are the good people stabbed to death?

Rocknrope

You guys can't be seriously entertaining these "thought police" assumptions? If every teenage male who was angry, aggressive, interested in weapons, and listened to music with violent lyrics was put in juvenile hall, there wouldn't been a single male teen walking the streets.

whitecastlerock

Actually I wasn't. I have seen many death metal bands in concert and haven't murdered anyone.

Spirit of 76

Really? I guess guys like on The Big Bang Theory are scarier than I thought. Who would have thought nerds would be into all the stuff you listed?

Rocknrope

Of course they are. Why do you think Dungeons and Dragons was invented?

Papercutninja

My (non-snarky for once) question is if he listened to classical music, collected books of poetry and volunteered at a nursing home, would he still be leaving a haunting web trail?

What one likes doesn't necessarily cause them to be a killer.

BillyParker

The haunting trail is that he posted photos holding knives similar to the murder weapon, a video in which he responds to what sounds like another sex ad and violently threatens anyone who crosses him.

The heavy metal was simply a warning following the MySpace link when it was still up.

Since there was a Marilyn Manson hysteria over ten years ago, it's worth noting that it's still a valid reference in many teenagers' lives.

whitecastlerock

the kid was also sporting a Cannibal Corpse shirt. They are a fairly brutal death metal act. Albums include:

Eaten Back to Life (1990)

Butchered at Birth (1991)

Tomb of the Mutilated (1992)

The Bleeding (1994)

Vile (1996)

Gallery of Suicide (1998)

Bloodthirst (1999)

Gore Obsessed (2002)

The Wretched Spawn (2004)

Kill (2006)

Evisceration Plague (2009)

People's tastes in music vary-but it's hard to ignore a huge knife collection with inspirational music like this fueling his nascent sociopath leanings

gilbertleighprestigemonkey

So.. far as i can tell, the members of Cannibal Corpse have never killed anyone, nor been killed, nor committed suicide (what with embarking on a 2009 tour and all)

So I've tried to rank Cannibal Corpse (and by extension, death metal)-involved individuals in order of their "risk" to society. Have I got it right?

high risk: Cannibal Corpse fans (or other death metal fans)

moderate or unknown risk: other death metal band members

low risk: Cannibal Corpse band members

does this suggest that he'd be ok if he had been IN a death metal band rather than following one?

angry_pickle

I agree. Makes no sense to dismiss links between state of mind and favorite music/lyrics.

JacqueMehoff

are there any nobel peace prize winners who were "into" death metal? the only ones I'd had contact with was in college and they were the pale immature satan worshipers who messed up a pot of mine melting wax.

robingee

The only Nobel Prize winners you know?

fugothamist

blame the victim

schizofriendly

You get a queasy feeling that this guy is going to flourish in a prison environment.

bucephalus

He wants to have children someday? With warning signs like that, how did authorities not realize the danger this guy posed?

firewire

"In his MySpace profile (blaring with heavy metal music), he says"

The music this horrible fuck listens to has nothing to do with the actions he takes and that statement does not belong in this article.

Comic Book Guy

Hasn't Tipper Gore taught you anything? Those musicians are the ones who should be on trial here.

Guest

Agreed. If he had listened to rap, do you think that same association would be applied without fear of being branded racist?

nomnomnom

Now, now ladies. I think Parker meant that there was actually loud music not that it's offensive music. Please un-bunch those panties.

Rocknrope

He has a crappy knife collection.

CubanB

Brilliant

PinkoCommie

Am I flashing back to the early 90s where Marilyn Manson is being blamed again? Really? No knew material? Sad. Sad enough to use a sad face :(