“Everyone already knew”
A weak excuse for abandoning standards
He was a juvenile accused of a very adult crime. His identity was already well known. Did that make it right to abandon the policy of protecting minors?
By Kerry Sipe
For journalists, the real test of ethical standards comes when a hot story is breaking, one that has the whole town talking, a story like the one that dominated the front pages of The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star in mid-March.
Two freckle-faced boys, ages 9 and 7, disappeared while playing near their homes in suburban Virginia Beach, VA. An exhaustive search by police and civilian volunteers turned up their horribly butchered bodies beneath a pile of damp leaves. Within days, police charged Shawn Novak, a 16-year-old local high school student, with murder. Both newspapers published Novak’s name and photograph on their front pages.
Normally, the newspapers’ policy is not to reveal the identity of any person younger than 18 who is accused of a crime. The thinking is that a child deserves special protection so a crime committed in his or her youth doesn’t ruin chances for a productive life as an adult.
But this was a story of exceptional public interest, and exceptional was the way the newspapers decided to treat it. Routine standards established to protect minors, not to mention a state law constraining legal authorities from releasing the names of juvenile offenders, were simply disregarded in this case.
Using the same controversial logic that has prevailed in the Kennedy rape charge case in Palm Beach, editors decided that the interests of the accused were less compelling than the public’s interest in knowing what was going on.
"This is a serious crime," explained James C. Raper, the newspapers’ managing editor. "The public has a right to know who has been charged." And, he argued, "Everybody in that community knew he had been arrested." Novak’s name had even been used on television.
In cases of particularly violent crimes, Raper said, juveniles should be identified just as adults are. "That’s always been my policy," he said. "We use the name." Yet the same day Novak was arrested, the newspapers chose not to identify another 16-year-old boy charged with murder.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Humphreys, whose job it will be to prosecute Novak, said editors are on shaky moral ground when they enforce their policies selectively. "If society has made a decision to treat juveniles differently from adults, and your own policy confirms the wisdom of that decision" he said, "how are you justified in naming juveniles when it’s in your own self-interest? It’s an indefensible position."
Humphreys has asked the courts to try Novak as if he were an adult and he thinks the media’s identification of the boy may have that result. But that doesn’t make it right, he said. "The media have really taken the options away from the court," he said. "The best reason for trying him as a juvenile (anonymity) doesn’t apply in this case. This kid’s reputation is already dead. The media saw to that."
One of the reporters under whose byline the boy’s name was revealed has since had a change of heart. After initially opposing use of the name, reporter Steve Stone confessed that he "joined the chorus of ‘Well, everyone already knows.’" But Stone said later in a memo to his editors that ". . . the law is written in such a way as to shield juveniles. It is up to a court, not us, to decide when the circumstances of a crime . . . are such that protection is no longer deserved . . ."
The restrictions on using juveniles’ names was not the only one of the papers’ policies that was compromised in the stories about the Virginia Beach murders. The newspapers also have a policy against allowing sources to hide behind a cloak of anonymity while defaming others.
Yet, in one story, a reporter permitted an unidentified acquaintance of Novak’s to call the boy "weird" without any explanation and another anonymous source to express the preposterous theory that Novak had been driven to murder because he was "too religious" and "probably thought the devil got hold of him."
Most disturbing, perhaps, was a story in which reporters granted anonymity to a man who declared that, if he ever saw Novak, he would "put a bullet through his head." The anonymous quote may have been intended to reflect the community’s anger over the crime, but I do not recall any other news story in which an anonymous source has been permitted to threaten to kill somebody.
If the words "rumor" and "innuendo" have any meaning at all, they describe much of the information included in these stories. The senseless murder of two little boys unquestionably inflamed passions outside and inside the newsroom. But the circumstances, as troubling as they are, simply do not justify the newspapers conscious disregard of their own standards of good professional conduct.
If there are legitimate reasons for withholding the names of juvenile defendants, how is the exception in young Novak’s case justified? If it’s wrong to permit anonymous sources to defame others, why was it right in this story? If it’s bad to publish common gossip, what is it about Novak’s case that made that type of material acceptable?
For journalists to establish standards and then to set them aside when a good story sets their blood racing, is hypocritical at best.
Specific ethical standards are still fairly new to most journalism professionals. Many have only a rudimentary understanding of the full implications of ethical performance. A simple truth has yet to sink in: You can have standards for ethical conduct or you can print whatever the hell you want to print, but you can’t do both at the same time.
Kerry Sipe, public editor of The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, is president of The Organization of News Ombudsmen.
Source: FineLine: The Newsletter On Journalism Ethics, vol. 3, no. 5 (May 1991), p. 2.
This case was produced for FineLine, a publication of Billy Goat Strut Publishing, 600 East Main Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202. Reprinted with the permission of Billy Goat Strut Publishing. This case may be reproduced for classroom and research purposes. Publication of this case in electronic or printed form requires written permission from the publisher and Indiana University. An exception is granted for use in readers designed for specific academic courses.
August 29th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
in march of 1991 i was 10 yrs old and lived at 601 corning court in wadsworth community and was also the neighbor of shawn novack and also friends of the 2 boys that were murdered now its been 17 yrs later have kids of my own and live in upstate ny i am just curious of what actually ever came about w shawn novak if he was put to death or if he has a life sentence or even if he is still alive. me and my parents moved that summer to ny and havent heard anything. Not that i care bout shawn its always been on my mind because actually i could have been his third victim
November 5th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
In this case i believe that the reporters should have followed the law and not use the boys name. They should have been cautious about identifying a juvenile suspect to minimize harm.
December 17th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I was daniel`s best friend i was the last one to see him that day him and cris came over to my house we were going to work on our trails that we made in the woods but i was grounded and my sister pulled me off my bike and took me inside i watched them ride away through my wadsworth housing bedroom window not knowing what would come in the coming hour my whole life i thought mabey if i was there i could have saved them and all my parents could say is ” or you could have been just like them ” we moved away from there as fast as my dad could transfer but i will never forget my life on 640 hempstead ct.
December 21st, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Editor’s Note: Shawn Novak was convicted of capital murder, according to a report in the Washington Post (March 10, 1992. He is serving a life sentence with his first opportunity of parole in 2012, according to the Virginia Pilot (April 5, 1999).
December 22nd, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I never would have thought that after all this time it would still bother me . Having a daughter of my own and watching all of the caylee stuff on tv. It makes me wonder what could make people do what they do . I really wondered if anybody out there remembered it like i did
March 21st, 2009 at 6:32 pm
I was 5 or 6 when this happened. I actually lived in Virginia Beach at the time, just about 5 minutes away from the park that accompanied the woods. I remember it to this day. I remember my parents talking about Shawn Novak, that was 18 years ago, and his name is still with me to this day. I’m under the impression that was a rough area, I had a friend who was 7 years old at the time, and she was almost hurt in those woods by and unknown man. It’s crazy to think about. I remember my 2 older sisters and I went for a walk with our father in those same woods, and there was all sorts spraypainting on the trees that said loco boys. In retrospect, it doesn’t seem like a safe area at all. Don’t ask me how I remember all this, it must have really scared me. I’m nearly 24 at the moment.
April 10th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
Well I too remember this day. I lived in poughkeepsie court across from christopher and daniel was my neighbor. I too saw them riding their bikes while I was on my way to a friends house. And received the news while bowling with my family. I will never forget!!!!!
April 10th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
It is said rthat the game dungeons and dragons really had somwthing to do with shawn novak comitting murder of my 2 friends
April 17th, 2009 at 1:25 am
I lived at 662 Cooperstown. Shawn was a friend of mine, and two of my other friends & I were questioned by police and interviewed by the Washington Post. Even at 15 I knew what the reporter from the Post was doing was a far cry from journalism, but it was “cool” to be in a real newspaper. All that crap about Dungeons & Dragons was complete balogna. Shawn did what he did because he wanted to know what it was like to kill someone. He was an idiot kid who liked to torture animals and decided to upgrade to humans. I don’t think he thought things all the way through…what 16 year old does? But that doesn’t excuse what he did. My kid brother hung out with those kids. They were fun-loving, decent, beautiful children, and Shawn took them from the world…from their poor parents, my God…it was a surreal and very shaking experience. I had people who thought I was involved just because I’d been friends with him. The writer from the post twisted some things I’d said to fit her agenda, and a lot of people in Wadsworth were pissed at me for “trashtalking Navy housing” as if it were the same thing as trashtalking the Navy. I’ll never forget it for as long as I live…after those kids disappeared and the cops came to MY house before they figured out it was Shawn, my poor parents thought I WAS THE ONE WHO KILLED THOSE BOYS! I always played in the woods where their bodies were found…actually Shawn hid the bodies a LITTLE farther back in the woods…but not much. It was my other friend’s KNIFE which was used in the slayings, so he was questioned too, and a lot of people treated him REALLY badly even though it was Shawn who’d done the killing, it was my poor buddy’s knife that was used. I’m up late and slurring/rambling, but someday I may write a book on the whole thing…crazy time period.
April 17th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
I just found this today thanks to my mom and dad. Let me say this….I, like alot of you also lived in Wadsworth housing at this time. I was on Catskill Ct. Some people may recall the nieghborhood mom who made cookies for us all. That is my family. Each teen had a place in our home, without judgment or ridicule. I remeber the guy who the knife belonged to. He once made a threat on my life. Yea great guy. Whatever!
In 1991 I tried to enlist in the ARMY, but was declined fit for service because Shawn was my friend. For many years I carried the last letter I got from Shawn in my pocket. No matter how bad things were it always made me laugh.
I agree that what happened was a tragic event. I still dont believe he did it by himself. However the feelings of all of us on wont change what happened. We will never be the Wadsworth family we were once upon a time. Life has dealt us all a new hand, but no difference what we are today,
this event and Shawn himself will always be in our minds for the rest of our lives.
May 15th, 2009 at 10:01 am
I lived in Corning Court when this happened and went to school with the boys. So many years later I still think of Shawn Novak but didn’t know if what I remembered actually happened. I was 7 when I lived in that neighborhood and I remember those woods and I remember Shawn and the police cars surrounding his house in the middle of the night and the dedications that were made at Birdneck for Cris and Dan. But it wasn’t until I read this article and these responses that I knew the details I had in my mind were right, that those years of being afraid were actually based on something real. It gives me an odd sense of peace. I think of that time in my life every day and hope nothing but the best for all families involved.
June 30th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
I lived in wadsworth on corning court i was 9 at the time of this. shawn used to be my baby sitter chris was my best friend as a matter of fact the day that this happen before the boys disappered they came to my house and ask me if i wanted to go to seven eleven with them but my mom told me no and i rember being so mad at the time but thank god cause I could have been killed. after this i spent most of my youth afraid that shawn was coming after me silly i know but I rember the tree they put up for chris and daniel but for the life of me cant rember what chris weaver looks like. But when every body was mean to me he used to be so nice, I hope that shawn burns in hell he was nothing but a poser dungens and dragens was just a scape goat he was just sick
July 19th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
I went to church with shawn.I knew he was weird but one morning I was folding my papers for my paper route there he was on the front page.I’ve never forgot that day
July 30th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Not sure why this crossed my mind today. Shawn was a friend of mine in HS. He was bullied and ridiculed and I always thought of him as my “kid brother”, felt the need to protect him when ppl picked on him. Was he wierd? maybe. Different? Sometimes. A murderer? Apparently. I remember the day he came to school and said he “helped find the bodies” and I kiddingly punched him in the shoulder and said “Come on-yoiu know you did it!” At 16 years old you don;t think before you speak and you don;t always listen to that inner voice that tells you to beware. Its a sad thing that happened and wieghts on my mind. Could I have been a better friend? A better protector? Is it something in him that was flawed? Why didnt I see it? ASt 30-something I pay closer attention to my inner voice and hope I have taught my daughter to do the same.
August 6th, 2009 at 12:50 am
I lived in Ithaca Ct. at the time of this horrific crime. These murders have left a chilling effect on me ever since they were committed. I remember vividly the main path through the woods that connected Wadsworth with the other subdivisions. On the day of the murders, my friends and I were in the woods. We had found the two kids bicycles next to the lake. Being the dumb kids we were at the time, we threw the bikes into the lake. Only after the ensuing search the next day, did we realize what we had done. How close had I come to the murderer and not known?
I remember the rumors that flew around the neighborhood. Many people blamed a scary black man. Everyone was shocked to hear that it was a 16 year old white kid. One that I had known ,but only in passing as that “weird kid.”
I’ve never forgotten his name or the heinous crimes he perpetrated. Shawn may have killed two kids intentionally, but he has also inadvertently destroyed the childhoods of many people. Including me.
August 16th, 2009 at 6:43 am
I have read all the notes that have been posted on this site about Shawn Novak you all remember him and knew him when he moved to virgina. I remember him when he lived in missouri and attended my school and had him in more then 1 class. We and my class mates would sit across the room and watch him as he played dungons and dragons. Of course as little kids we never thought anything of it we all thought it was a silly game. And maybe it didn’t play a role in the murdering of those poor little boys and maybe it did. But one day he didn’t come to class and someone had told us he had moved to Virgina. We just said okay and went on with our lives. Then when we was in biology class there was a knock at the door and it was the principal he had brought that newspaper that the previous person was talking about in the room and was telling everyone of the article that was in the paper. We was all in disbelief we would never in our minds thought he could have done such a thing. But he never really talked about his mom or dad or really any of his family while he was in our school. He was nice to everyone talked to us but never about his family. Today i tell my son the story to let him know there are people out there you may think are okay and might want to trust them but don’t. Only trust your parents anyone else should be looked at as suspious and to stay away from them. Even if it’s kids his age or older. This story will alway remain. It just shows us how bad the world is even though we may not see it.
August 21st, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I lived in Watertown Court in Wadsworth homes. I remember that day everyone was looking for the boys. I remember that the area they were killed in was a no trespassing wooded area. The kids of the neighborhood didn’t mind the signs and would go through the woods just to be curious. I remember Shawn Novak. My friends and I were walking around the neighborhood and he and a couple of friends tried to snatch us in a truck. The reason why we got away was we screamed and a couple of people opened their doors. A couple of weeks later….this story was on the news about the boys being killed and Shawn Novak’s picture was up. That was terrifying because myself or one of my friends could have been hurt. Thank God he was found and convicted.
August 22nd, 2009 at 10:53 am
I am Daniel Geier’s little sister. I don’t think anyone can ever really remember what happened the way that our familys have to. Shawn Novak was sentenced to life in prison and he is up for parole in 2011. Every single year my family gathers around a table and talks about what happened to Daniel. Every year my dad turns to my sisters and me and says, ” You guys have to be strong for me. When we go to that parole hearing we are all going to have to stick together. I don’t know that I can ever forgive him for what he has done and I don’t know what I would do if I was in the same room with him again.” Can you imagine having to relive the murder of your only son for the rest of your life?
I am now married and I have a son of my own and becuase of what Shawn has done to our family, I am scared to let him ride his bike. I am scared to let him play at a friends house. I am scared to let him leave the front yard. Shawn Novak has controlled the way that my sister and I raise our children.
I have always wondered what became of the Weaver family. I remember playing with Scott in my backyard and running around the cul-de-sac with him and Daniel. After this happened however, I don’t remember ever seeing his family again. I don’t remember ever going back across the street to that house or seeing his grandmother again. I have always wondered how they turned out.
My husband is now in the Navy and my son is 8 years old. Life is good. But, my life will always be controlled by what happened there in Virginia in 1991.