52 Lock Up: Killer loses to 1st victim

Welcome back to 52 Lock Up, I am your Appletini Cadma of Bitten Apple TV. 52 lock up is a series I started to talk about one of my biggest passions of true crime. A new episode on every Cadmaniac Monday for 52 Mondays. Hope you guys enjoy, be sure to comment feedback, like and subscribe; Viewer discretion is always advised. This episode does contain information about harm and death of young children; again viewer discretion is advised!

Today’s story takes us to Florida a place that’s infamous with wacky stories but today’s quick story is not wacky; it is more of a warning sign of something much more sinister. Born in 2004 is Logan William Smith. I don’t have the name of his mother or stepfather but I do know his father passed away from a car crash 5 years ago; when he was 13 years old. Now I did look up car crashes in 2017 where someone was survived by a son named Logan and I did find a Michael David Smith NJ native born on 3/23/1970 but moved to florida in 1980. He married a woman named Victoria and had 3 kids Logan, Colin and Emily. I can not confirm this is the same man; that is why you wont find a photo of the particular person I found linked to the name. I want to confirm and stress the information on Logan and his family is pretty limited and focuses more on the crime; opposed to what often intrigues me and that’s how they came to be the way that they are.

Logan William Smith became excessively withdrawn from not only society but as well as the family members in his home. He spent much of his time diving deep into films particularly different movies that showed ways of killing people. These films became his ideas of how to kill someone. The movies like “Scream” he used to teach him how to kill someone. Logan obviously struggled deeply with his father’s death but there’s very little to his relationship with his mother and stepfather. I do question what was the home life like and the relationship he has with his mother and stepfather. The death of a parent is crushing but it does not seem to me that this would turn someone to begin killing another or creating the desire to; I feel like I am missing a piece of the puzzle. I have known people who have unfortunately lost a parent or both parents growing up. Granted lack of healthy coping skills and an underdeveloped or unhealthy relationship with the living parent can push a child to a darker aspect of life which can include getting into trouble.

It is understandable that losing a parent/attachment figure is an incredibly difficult and painful thing but psychologically it’s reported that if the child has a strong support system to help them process their grief they still have the opportunity to develop healthy secure attachments and thrive in life. Just a reminder adults can struggle with the same thing, losing someone you are close with will always affect people deeply regardless of age; and it takes time to heal. Reviewing the national library of science article “Death of Parents and Adult Psychological and Physical Well-Being: A Prospective U.S. National Study” published by Nadine F. Marks, Heyjung Jun, and Jieun Song in their results studying both genders stated “Results suggest that death of a father may have a more negative effect on sons in contrast to daughters. Death of a father led to less personal mastery for both daughters and sons. But loss of a father was also associated with a greater increase in depressive symptoms and lower psychological wellness for sons. Our results also suggest that death of a mother may have somewhat more problematic effects on daughters in contrast to sons. Death of a mother was associated with lower levels of psychological wellness for both daughters and sons. But loss of a mother for daughters was also associated with greater odds of binge drinking, a greater decline in self-esteem, and a lower level of personal mastery. Loss of a mother was also associated with a greater decline in happiness for sons.” Granted the study was limited of not being able to completely take into account the quality of the relationships and sociodemographic factors but nonetheless from the study the death of a father has a stronger negative impact on sons in comparison to daughters and mothers to daughters. Please do not take these studies to your personal situation I am simply reporting what I saw in the study about the psychological effects on the National Library of Science article.

Taking this all into consideration we have Logan William Smith struggling during his formative years as a teenager trying to cope with the loss of his father. He is also struggling with his mother dating again and being with another man who has now become his step father. So he dives himself deep into his own head and begins watching scary movies to learn about killing another person. His step father would report how much of a loner he was and did not have any friends. Dr. David Brent and Dr. Nadine Melhem 10 year study stated their results as “years after losing a parent are a high-risk period for developing depression. “Our results also show that kids who have lost a parent, especially before age 12, and are showing difficulties with daily functioning need to be evaluated and, if necessary, treated with evidence-based interventions such as the Family Bereavement Program, which teaches coping skills to the child and surviving parent. Early identification and intervention are the keys to protecting children against the effects of parental loss,” This is applicable to Logan who would have either been 12 and turning 13 or just turning 13 at his lost. Logan is demonstrating to his family he is developing serious mental health issues which I am not sure how that was being handled; but on with the story.

During his struggle with daily skills and socializing, Logan begins to watch a man who likes to jog through the area at Batavia Avenue of Cocoa, Florida for six weeks. Logan’s dark fantasies began to flood his mind. He begins wondering about different techniques on how to kill someone. What would be the best method for him to try? Although it is reported that the “movies” motivated him, I am highly skeptical about it; I think the movies was his “study” cheat sheets to committing something that he was already interested in doing. For six weeks, Logan watched this jogger run by his house as part of his run and memorized his routine because the runner runs their route 4 times a week. During these six weeks Logan finally decides he’s going to strangle his victim, drag his body into his home.

January 19th 2022, Logan packs a mallet, axe body spray, a be sheet and his belt. His plan was to take the axe body spray and disable the victim’s vision, strike him with the mallet and choke him with the belt, drag his body into the house. Logan being familiar with the victim’s jogging path spread a bed sheet in carport of his home and laid out his tools of the spray, mallet and belt and then hid behind a light post across the street from his house; and patiently waited for someone he has never spoken to. When the jogger ran past the light post Logan followed him and began to choke him with a belt from behind. The jogger immediately realized they were being attacked and their martial arts training kicked in. Logan was not prepared for the victim to fight back the way that he did. The victim managed to overpower the attacker and pin him with his combative training once he found his grounding. Officers were called to the seen and Logan comfortably admits to detectives and specialist where his intentions were to kill the jogger, drag his body into the house to put in the closet so he can have sex with his corpse. Logan refers to the capture that he was “unlucky” that he was overpowered by the intended victim.

Again with this necrophilia! Why!?! Don’t you want an interactive partner? Why not just get a blow up doll. I struggle with his necrophilia thing I really do. The victim is very lucky to be alive and Logan is detained in the Brevard County Jail and it has been requested for him to be held without bond; it is possible for this 18 year old to face life. This is a big jump from not coping with his father’s death to murder and necrophilia in a course of 5 years. Necrophilia is popular amongst serial killers like Ed Gein, Ed Kemper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Garry Ridgeway, Earle Nelson, John Christie, Henry Lee Lucas, Jerry Brudos, Dennis Nilsen, Ted Bundy…anyways that’s too many names. For those who may not know, Necrophilia is a paraphilia where the perpetrator gets sexual pleasure in having sex with the dead. There are quite a few things that people do with the dead like necrophagia, eating corpses, there’s even necropedophilia; I know you’re like it can’t possibly get worse and it did and there’s also necrozoophilia…if you’re squinting at the screen cause you heard zoo and wondering if I meant dead animals; that would be a correct guess.

Now just because I keep finding cases where this happens or it is the intent to happen, necrophilia is not as common as the media can make it sound; it’s actually 1% of sexual homicide according to Wayne Petherick, Natasha Petherick, 2019 publishing “Homicide”. The etiology of necrophilia is still poorly understood, especially in relation to sexual homicide. Biological theories suggest that severe headaches, and heavy alcohol can induce temporal lobe abnormalities (which have been associated with other paraphilias also). Psychoanalytical theories suggest “unconscious suppressed hostility toward parental figures and sadistic impulses to explore the mother's body….The offender takes revenge on a ‘female figure’ (the dead female, symbolizing mother or spouse), by ravishing her”. Now thinking about what the article says about severe headaches and heavy alcohol inducing temporal lobe abnormalities; the temporal lobe are believed to play an important role in processing affect/emotions, language, and certain aspects of visual perception. Binge drinking is associated in those grieving the loss of a parent especially; what if Logan began drinking from a young age because of the loss of his father and parts of brain began to be eaten away from the alcohol. Was the crime against the victim his “unconscious suppressed hostility toward the stepfather”?

For those of you who do not want to know, let me share the fact there are 3 main types f necrophilia which are necrophilic homicide, "regular" necrophilia, and necrophilic fantasy. Our 18 year old Logan went from necrophilic fantasy which is obviously just fantasizing about it to necrophilic homicide; which is the purpose of the kill. Regular necrophilia is like thinking about it and using your access to already dead bodies. Side note, according to a study 92% of necrophilies are men; I know we’re not surprised but thought I’d mention my findings. This 18 year old was starting “big” in a sense and could have easily racked up a number like UK’s David Fuller who had 100 female corpses of women and children he went to town with; with their corpses.

Logan is still in jail waiting for his trial without bail and there’s the anticipation of life.

References

https://sleekgist.com/who-is-logan-smith-from-cocoa-florida-arrested-for-murder-attempt-is-he-in-jail-tg-time/

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/fox-35-exclusive-insight-into-teen-accused-of-attacking-jogger

https://www.topinfoguide.com/crime/logan-smith-from-cocoa-florida-got-arrested-charged-with-attempted-murder/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10419225/Jogger-uses-martial-arts-training-fight-teen-planned-strangle-death.html

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/teen-planned-to-kill-jogger-keep-victims-body-in-closet-to-play-with-deputies-say

https://www.parentingforbrain.com/death-of-a-parent/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2638056/

https://www.scarymommy.com/grief-parent-loss-adults

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/where-science-meets-the-steps/201709/why-losing-parent-hurts-so-much-no-matter-your-age

https://www.psychiatry.pitt.edu/news/longest-and-most-detailed-study-pediatric-grief-following-parental-loss-date-department

https://lawandcrime.com/crime/florida-man-ambushed-jogger-planned-to-keep-victims-body-in-closet-to-play-with-and-fulfill-his-sexual-fantasies-sheriff/

https://nypost.com/2022/01/23/florida-teen-logan-smith-arrested-for-plot-to-kill-jogger-keep-body-for-sexual-desires/

https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/franchise/weird-crimes

https://www.northbrevardfuneralhome.com/tributes/Michael-Smith

https://www.healthline.com/health/losing-a-parent

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/teen-planned-to-kill-jogger-keep-victims-body-in-closet-to-play-with-deputies-say

https://www.health.qld.gov.au/abios/asp/btemporal_lobes

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2667656/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/blame-the-amygdala/201809/the-appeal-necrophilia

http://jaapl.org/content/jaapl/17/2/153.full.pdf