Principal of Memphis Christian School Killed, Student in Custody
The female principal of a small Christian school in Memphis was found dead yesterday and a 17-year-old student is in custody for the murder.
Suzette York, the principal of Memphis Junior Academy, a Seventh-Day Adventist school for kindergarten through 11th grade, is rumored to have been stabbed to death while teaching in a classroom, according to local TV station, WREG. Police have arrested Eduardo Marmolejo, whom they say has been planning on murdering York since May.
“Eduardo Marmolejo admitted that he had stabbed his teacher Suzette York multiple times because he did not like her and she made him angry," a police affidavit obtained by Memphis' Commercial Appeal said. "(He) said that he had been planning to kill Mrs. York since May 2011 when he learned he would be returning to the Memphis Junior Academy. (He) said that he planned to kill Mrs. York (Wednesday) because he knew she would be alone in the classroom with him."
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The shock of a much-loved principal of a small school with only 64 students has hit the community hard.
“We’re devastated over this situation,” said York’s pastor, Don Rittershamp, in an interview with Memphis’ Commercial Appeal. “She was as dedicated to doing her job as anybody I’ve ever met. She worked so hard in her profession and as an administrator.”
Aside from being a diligent employee, York was also remembered as being a compassionate teacher.
“She was a wonderful person who was very much involved with her students, a person who cared deeply about the development of her students," said Peter Hunter, a former student of the school who now has a cousin currently attending the school, in an interview with CBSNews.com.
"This was not the way she was supposed to go,” he added.
Those who know the suspect are also having trouble comprehending the possibility that he killed his own principal in cold blood, including his pastor.
"I baptized that young man,” Marmolejo’s pastor said. “I can't believe he'd be involved in this. I need to know more."
Despite the brutal murder, some parents are deciding not to take their students out of the school. But they are being cautious.
“Things happen. I understand that,” Dalphina Murray, a mother of a student at MJS, said. “I’m going to stay very much on top of this story because I want my son to be safe.”
The community of the school, which says in its mission statement that it “exists to show children Jesus, nurture their love for Him and others, teach them to think, and empower them to serve,” is looking to prayer for guidance in this difficult time.
At Mullins United Church, prayer services were offered, with Rev. Scottie Brafford leading a prayer for the friends and family of York and her suspected killer, The Commercial Appeal said.
“With questions that have no words and with grief that is unbounded. We began our day believing there was an orderliness, and it feels at this moment as if grief has exploded within us,” Brafford said. “The sense of orderliness and peace has been broken and shattered.”
