STEPHEN-THE MAN
Senior Prom June 1991
As you can tell from the picture above, Stephen cleaned up rather nicely. He was 21 years old in this picture and was escorting his girlfriend to her senior prom. In the picture from your left to right are Stephen, Jamie, Michelle, and Mark. Stephen and Jamie did marry a few months later. Michelle and Mark were very good friends of theirs for quite sometime. Stephen and Jamie dated for about a year before the prom in 1991.
Stephen And Jamie's Wedding
September 28, 1991
On September 28, 1991 Stephen and Jamie became husband and wife. That seemed to be one of the happiest days of Stephen's life. He and Jamie made a beautiful couple. They had 2 lovely children during their marriage, Nicholas who was born March 21, 1992 and Katelyn who was born June 28, 1995. Stephen also had a daughter by a previous girlfriend. Her name is Stephanie and she was born December 3, 1989.
For 3 or 4 years Stephen and Jamie seemed to quite happy in their marriage. Then things started happening. Stephen began drinking more and had met a young man that was supplying him with acid. Stephen and Jamie began to fight more and more until they finally separated. It was a very bitter separation that seemed to fuel Stephen's rage. He became more violent as time went on.
They began battling over the two children. Stephen wanted visitation rights and she didn't want him to because of his drinking, rages, and violent attitudes. Several times they tried to make things work out for their marriage, but it always ended the same, in separation. The last separation in early 1997 was the last. There was no reconciliation between them
From 1992 until his death in 1998 Stephen suffered three more severe head traumas. One was severe enough that it put him in the neurological care unit of one of our local hospitals. He had suffered a minor skull fracture and fractures to the orbit of the right eye. He also developed a problem with brain swelling that caused an extremely high fever. Stephen being a fighter bounced back.
In mid 1997 Stephen suffered another severe head trauma. He was riding a bicycle late at night when he was the victim of a hit and run. He was thrown from the bicycle to the ground and the left side of his face hit the curb. He suffered fractures of the cheekbone and a shattered orbit to his left eye. It was at his point that the doctors told him one more head injury could kill him.
This Was The Last Picture Taken
Of Stephen Alive
THE FINAL CHAPTER
For about eight months before his death, Stephen was living with a young woman he had met. Their relationship was less than stable too. They did get along together most of the time and most of the fights between them were because of Stephen's drinking. As a matter of fact everytime Stephen got into trouble he had been drinking heavy. The last time he was arrested he hadn't had that much to drink, but his temper got the better of him.
Stephen and his girlfriend were at a local bar shooting pool. She got mad at him for some reason and threw her drink on him. He reacted by pushing her against the pool table. Seeing this the bartender called the police. When they arrived they arrested Stephen on a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence. The bartender later told my daughter that Stephen had only had 3 beers before Stephen pushed her. When he was arrested Stephen did not give the officers any trouble at all. He was arrested at around 1:15 AM on Thursday January 22, 1998. That was the last time he was seen alive.
No one in the family knows exactly what happened after that point. We do know that the jail called my wife around 8 AM on the 22nd to get Stephen's insulin. She called the jail around 11 AM to let them know that she could not locate it and asked if she could talk to him. The jailer told her he would not be allowed to make a phone call until he allowed them to book him. Jail records showed that he had been booked at 10:00 AM, an hour before my wife called.
That was the last contact we had with the jail and Stephen was never allowed a phone call, not even after his arraignment hearing at around 2:00 PM on the 22nd. He met with a representative from the Public Defender's Office at around 3 PM that same afternoon. During that time he complained about his left arm hurting and stated that he thought the jailers had broken his arm, Stephen was left handed.
That was the last time Stephen was seen alive by anyone from the outside. We didn't even know what had taken place at his arraignment hearing until we read it in the papers after his death. According to the autopsy Stephen's death was estimated at between 4 PM and 9:30 PM January 22nd. His body was not found by the jailers until 6:55 AM Friday January 23, 1998.
At between 9 AM and 9:15 AM the coroner and county sheriff came to the house to notify us of Stephen's Death. At the time I was alone at home and because of my work hours I was just waking up. The sound of their knocking on the door will echo in my head forever. It is a sound I shall never forget along with the words of the coroner, "I'm sorry Mr. Carson, there has been a problem at the jail. Your Son Stephen was found hung in his cell, apparently a suicide.
Stephen was gone. We would never see his smile, hear his laughter, or hear his voice again except in our memories of him. He is gone from us in the flesh but will forever remain in our hearts.
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Would that I could love you more
But, alas, I know not how.
For it tis with my whole being
That I love you now.
©: Beverly L. Carson
Stephen's Mother
"Gone, but not forgotten!"
If you have not signed Stephen's guestbook would you
take time to do that for his family?
STEPHEN'S GUESTBOOK-BOTTOM OF MAIN PAGE
Poorman's Copyright ©: June 19, 1999 by Lloyd E Carson