Regarding the article: “Court records show family’s struggle with son before his father was killed in Manchester” (Dec. 26), I’d like to commend the Post-Dispatch and reporter Kim Bell for all the hard work digging into the sad background of Jeffrey M. Goedde, the self-admitted seriously mentally ill man who is currently charged with murdering his father and mutilating his body.
The article reports he previously bounced around between police stations, mental health facilities, several courthouses, each of his parents’ homes, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and even a Wentzville car dealership, showing symptoms and seeking help. It appears he was non-compliant with his antipsychotic medications, homeless and probably penniless too. This would undoubtedly have contributed to his deteriorating behavior.
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Not one of the entities above is solely to blame, but collectively our region failed to help stop his suffering from the worsening paranoia and schizoaffective disorder (this disorder consists of regular schizophrenia plus a mood disorder).
His family members desperately tried to help over and over with no lasting success. We hear this same and similar stories repeatedly in the St. Louis metropolitan area, and only by murdering one or more people can these types gain the attention they need. Why can’t our community help them before they turn to murder?
James E. Bubenik
Bridgeton
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