MURDER/SUICIDE A RESULT OF GROWING G.I. JOE COLLECTION

July 8 2009

Boise, Idaho –  For some collecting is simply a hobby. It is a distraction that gives the collector a certain sense of satisfaction and allows them to indulge childhood fantasies in a grown up world. For others though collecting can become much more than just a hobby. Whether a product of a mental disorder or a desire to completely
escape from the real world, for some individuals collecting can become much more than a casual pastime and delve into the realm of obsession, fracturing lives and families with an almost uncontrollable urge to collect.

Such appears to have been the case for a young couple in downtown Boise. Police were called to the scene of a domestic disturbance and found an unsettling scene that has left a family and community shattered. The bodies of Kenneth and Carolyn Carter were found by a family member. Police quickly arrived on the scene to investigate and early reports indicate that the deaths of are the result of a murder suicide. The police department has not yet made an official ruling.

“We arrived at the home and found two bodies which belong to Kenneth and Carolyn Carter. It appears that Kenneth Carter was the victim of a homicide. He had multiple gunshot wounds to his body, legs, and head. Carolyn Carter was found on the main floor of the home and appears to have died of a single gunshot wound to the head. At this point we are not actively seeking a suspect,” said a spokesperson for the Boise police department. “We urge people to not jump to any conclusions but we do understand from speaking with family members that the marriage had been under strain in recent months. We also understand that a large part of the tension involved
money problems. Mr. Carter was apparently quite active on the EBay auction site and we are investigating any role that may have played in this incident.”

According to officials Kenneth Carter was found in the basement of the house amongst an ‘extremely large’ collection of G.I. Joe figures and vehicles, most of which had been displayed in a diorama depicting a battle with arch enemy Cobra. It’s not immediately clear whether the collection included generation one characters or the Twenty-fifth anniversary editions.

“It’s very common unfortunately for people to collect with little or no regard to money in the EBay era. There was a time when people would
have to seek out their obsession at flea markets and garage sales but now with the click of a button you can have the object of your obsession delivered to your front door. Without paying attention to your credit card statement it’s very easy to run up a huge bill without even realizing it,” said Scrape TV Psychology analyst Dr. Sarah Welp. “For the type of personality that is prone to overindulgence the mix of nearly unlimited amounts of your object of desire and relative ease of obtaining can be a toxic mix. Of course capital murder is a little over the top.”

Reportedly the Carters had racked up credit debt in the neighbourhood of $30,000 in the last few months, much of which went to EBay purchases. Police have contacted EBay officials to requisition Carter’s EBay purchases. His username was YoJoe9000.

“The core reason for these kinds of breakdowns isn’t so much what was being purchased but the fact that it was being purchased with such casual disregard for the rules of a marriage. Whether it was the type of personality that would indulge this hobby to this extreme that caused the problem, or that there was some underlying problem that provoked this behaviour, those are the issues that causes these types of incidents,” continued Welp. “The real issue now though is what will happen to this collection which by all accounts is massive and probably worth quite a bit. There aren’t any children to take the collection so ironically it may end up on EBay again, ready to tear apart another family.”

EBay reportedly has no plans to limit sales of G.I. Joe figures and had no comment on the deaths. 

Mike Michaels, American Correspondent

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