Parents say
satanism
transformed
' reatest kid
in the world'
NORTHPORT, N.Y. (AP) - Devil
worship, hallucinogenic drugs and rock
music led "the greatest kid in the
world" to ritual murder and suicide at
the end of a jailhouse bedsheet, the
parents of 17-year-old Richard Kasso
said yesterday.
"For the last three years, it's been
police, psychiatrists, courts, digging up
graves - and this was the last thing,"
said Richard Kasso Sr. "There was no
light at the end of the tunnel."
THE YOUNGER Kasso, accused by
police of the ritual mutilation-murder
last month of an East Northport teen-
'ager, was found hanged in his Suffolk
County jail-cell early Saturday, hours
after his arraignment on second-degree
murder charges.
He was "calm and cool," said
Richard Dackow, a jail psychologist
who had talked briefly to Kasso.
"There was no indication at that time
that he was thinking of ending his life."
Authorities claim Kasso was involved
in the "Knights of the Black Circle," a
group of perhaps 20 teenagers who
allegedly took drugs and tortured
animals in satanic rituals.
KASSO AND James Troiano, 18, of
East Northport, were charged with the
ritual murder of Gary Lauwers, 17, of
East Northport, in the Northport woods
on June 17. Lauwers was stabbed
repeatedly and his eyes were gouged
out.
In a telephone call after his arrest,
Lynn Kasso said, her son told her he
had been "whacked out" on mescaline
during the killing June 17. The parents
said they believe Kasso was
hallucinating during the killing and
again when he committed suicide
"We tried to let detectives know
about his history, but they didn't seem
to get the message," his father said.
POLICE, WHO found Lauwers' body
in a shallow grave Thursday, said the
motive for the slaying may have been the
theft of 10 bags of "angel dust," a
hallucinogen, from Kasso.
The Kassos said their son should not
have been left alone in his cell. Jail of-
ficials countered that the youth had not
appeared suicidal.
"We knew he was going to do
something," Mrs. Kasso said. "He
always said he didn't care how long he
lived. And he said, 'If I ever get put in
jail, I'll kill myself."
KASSO'S PARENTS said their son
was devastated by hallucinogenic
drugs.
"He told us, 'I enjoy the fantasy
world of drugs. You can't stop me. I
love drugs,'" said his father, a high
school social studies teacher.
"Whatever he was, we knew we were
never going to get him back again," he
added. "He was 40 pounds underweight,
he was paranoiac, he spoke with
slurred speech, he had no memory."
Kasso's parents described their boy
as a gifted pupil and athlete whose
behavior turned erratic in recent years.
Through sixth grade, his father said, he
"was just the greatest kid in the
world."
As he grew troubled, Kasso became
involved with drugs and satanism, and
in the past year threatened, faked and
once tried suicide, the parents said.
The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, July 10, 1984-- Page 5
Heart
patient's
condition
improves
to 'good'
By GEORGEA KOVANIS
Doctors at the University's C.S. Mott
Children's Hospital yesterday
upgraded the condition of the nation's
youngest heart transplant recipient
from "fair" to "good," a hospital
spokeswoman said yesterday.
"(Doctors) are real happy with the
way things are going," said hospital
spokesperson Suzanne Tainter.
THE TWO-YEAR-OLD Detroit girl,
whose name has been withheld at the
request of her family, underwent heart
transplant surgery June 20. She suf-
fered from cardiomyopathy, a
progressive disease which decreases
the ability of the heart to beat.
The donor was a three-year-old cen-
tral Michigan boy who died of
meningitis. He is believed to be the
youngest heart donor in history.
Last week, the girl was moved back
to the intensive care unit from her
R t r private room because she was showing
Sw ansonAssociated Press signs of rejection. So far, doctors say,
she appears to be responding to treat-
ment. According to Tainter, the girl is
Larry Anspack feeds gliding swans and ducks yesterday at Chicago's Cedar expected to remain in the hospital's in-
Park Cemetery. The Swans are part of an exotic collection of wildlife tensive care unit until the middle of
Anspack has brought to the cemetery. next week.
Athietic dept. to help fund phys. ed.
{Continued from Page 1)
incorporating it into the School of Public Health or the
Medical School, or eliminating it.
"It's just stupid to kill the department," said Frye. "If I
thought we could do without it, I would've recommended
closure."
MARY ANN SWAIN, an assistant to Frye who has worked
on the future of the physical education program for over a
year, declined to discuss the details of the report. It was
mailed to the regents only yesterday morning and it is office
procedure not to disclose contents of reports until the regents
can read them, Swain said.
Most of the regents contacted had not received their
proposal yet, but Regent Deane Baker (R-Ann Arbor) said he
is in support of the resolution.
Dee Edington, department chairman of physical
education, was unavailable for comment, but had earlier said
he would not favor a direct transfer of funds from the Athletic
Department to the physical education department, but would
be satisfied if the funds were channelled to the program
through the general fund.
Don Canham, the director of intercollegiate athletics at the
University, is in Chicago for an NCAA meeting to discuss
football television pacts and was also unavailable for com-
ment. Don Lund, the associate director of athletics, declined
to comment on the issue.
Canham told the Daily last winter the athletic department
would be in favor of contributing money to physical
education to boost the programs expansion.
"With the University's budget problems, financial support
for the department might be welcomed," said Vice President
for State Relations Richard Kennedy, earlier this year. Ken-
nedy is an ex-officio member of the Board in Control of Inter-
collegiate Athletics as well as being a University executive
officer.
- Daily staff writers Andrew Eriksen and Georgea
Kovanis filed reportsfor this story.
Search for Midwest fugitive continues
From AP and UPI gunfire and an attempted abduction Cleveland, police contacted a black-
TOLEDO, Ohio - Authorities outside a Toledo bar Monday. Wit- oriented newspaper and passed out
pressed their four-state search yester- nesses who identifed the pair as fliers on the couple.
day for Alton Coleman and his female Coleman and Brown were considered
companion, suspects in a double unreliable, he said. No one was hurt in
homicide and robbery in Toledo, and the incident.
the FBI planned to add him to its Most Coleman, described as a "deranged S C E
Wanted list. individual" by FBI Special Agent Doug
TOLEDO DEPUTY Police Chief Ray Domin of Toledo, is wanted for
Vetter said officials were hoping questioning in a chain of killings and
authorities in Wisconsin, Illinois, In- beatings across the Midwest.
diana and Michigan might provide in- The search for the pair began in 22
formation on Alton Coleman, 28, and Coleman's hometown of Waukegan, Ill., a copy
Debra Brown, 19, that would give police where he is charged with murder and
a clue on what the couple might do next. kidnapping in the death of 9-year-old loose sheets, overnight
Vetter said police and the FBI Vernita Wheat of Kenosha, Wis., whose Accu-Copy
weren't able to substantiate reports body was found June 19.
that Coleman and Brown were in- Police have been showing pictures of 402 MAYNARD
volved in an early-morning exchance of the couple to Toledo residents, and in