Comments on: “Everyone already knew”

By: Casey Geier Mcgouryk

Casey Geier Mcgouryk — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:53:40 +0000

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.

By: Brenesha

Brenesha — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:59:50 +0000

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.

By: Sherry

Sherry — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 10:43:16 +0000

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.

By: Rodney

Rodney — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:50:17 +0000

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.

By: Jennifer Huber

Jennifer Huber — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:41:28 +0000

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.

By: Ben english

Ben english — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:25:24 +0000

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

By: tosha braden

tosha braden — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:29:26 +0000

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

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:01:44 +0000

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.

By: Shane Young

Shane Young — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:18:11 +0000

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.

By: S. Michael Simms

S. Michael Simms — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 05:25:41 +0000

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.