A few weeks ago, the following headline caught my attention: “California's ‘I-5 Strangler’ Roger Kibbe Was Strangled to Death, Autopsy Shows”. The article, written by Stephanie Pagones via The Associated Press and then published on www.FoxNews.com on March 4, 2021, goes on to tell how a convicted California serial killer who was accused of strangling at least seven women faced a similar fate earlier this week.
It seems that a certain Roger Reece Kibbe, who was known as the “I-5 Strangler” in the 1970s and 1980s, was spotted unresponsive Sunday in his cell at Mule Creek State Prison southeast of Sacramento, with his 40-year-old cellmate standing nearby.
According to the Amador County Sheriff’s Office, an autopsy determined that the 81-year-old convicted felon had been manually strangled to death in what authorities have now classified as a homicide. As of yet, however, no charges have been filed in connection with his death.
It turns out that Kibb, a suburban Sacramento furniture maker whose brother was a law enforcement officer, was initially convicted in 1991 of strangling a 17-year-old named Darcine Frackenpohl, who had run away from her home in Seattle. Her body had been found west of South Lake Tahoe below Echo Summit back in September 1987.
He was finally captured after Sacramento police said another would-be victim escaped, and they recovered a garrote made from a pair of dowels and parachute cord, along with scissors and other items. Investigators said they matched the cord to rope found with Frackenpohl’s body and at Kibbe's house, all with microscopic dots of red paint.
All along, investigators suspected him in other similar slayings. But it wasn't until 2009 that a San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office investigator used new developments in evidence to connect him to six additional murders in multiple Northern California counties. Several of these victims had been found alongside Interstate 5 or other highways back in 1986.
DNA eventually linked him to two other victims, and he agreed to cooperate in exchange for prosecutors taking the death penalty off the table. Thus, Kibbe was serving multiple life terms for all these slayings when he was killed.
As I read this article, I could not help but think of certain Biblical passages about reaping what one sews.
To begin with, 2 Corinthians 9:6 says that whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Alas! That principle applies to the sewing of both good and bad seeds.
Thus, Galatians 6:8 says that those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.
Jesus Himself underscores this in Luke 6:38 when He says: “With whatever measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Later, building on this, the Apostle Paul plainly states: “Do not be deceived: God will not be mocked. A man will reap whatever he sows!”
It seems that the “I-5 Strangler” merely lived out this basic Biblical principle. But he is not alone. The Bible also tells us that God is no respecter of persons. Therefore, what applies to any one individual applies to all individuals.
So then, just what are you sewing? That is to say, what seeds are you planting with the life you are living? And what will you reap as a result of all this activity? These are very worthwhile questions to ask. After all, God is not mocked! Our measure will be returned to us! And sooner or later, we will reap what we sew!
STORY SOURCE: https://www.foxnews.com/us/californias-strangler-strangled-himself-autopsy. The writer, Stephanie Pagones, is a Digital Reporter for FOX Business and Fox News who can be followed on Twitter at @steph_pagones.
SCRIPTURE SOURCES: https://biblereasons.com/reaping-what-you-sow/.
It seems that a certain Roger Reece Kibbe, who was known as the “I-5 Strangler” in the 1970s and 1980s, was spotted unresponsive Sunday in his cell at Mule Creek State Prison southeast of Sacramento, with his 40-year-old cellmate standing nearby.
According to the Amador County Sheriff’s Office, an autopsy determined that the 81-year-old convicted felon had been manually strangled to death in what authorities have now classified as a homicide. As of yet, however, no charges have been filed in connection with his death.
It turns out that Kibb, a suburban Sacramento furniture maker whose brother was a law enforcement officer, was initially convicted in 1991 of strangling a 17-year-old named Darcine Frackenpohl, who had run away from her home in Seattle. Her body had been found west of South Lake Tahoe below Echo Summit back in September 1987.
He was finally captured after Sacramento police said another would-be victim escaped, and they recovered a garrote made from a pair of dowels and parachute cord, along with scissors and other items. Investigators said they matched the cord to rope found with Frackenpohl’s body and at Kibbe's house, all with microscopic dots of red paint.
All along, investigators suspected him in other similar slayings. But it wasn't until 2009 that a San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office investigator used new developments in evidence to connect him to six additional murders in multiple Northern California counties. Several of these victims had been found alongside Interstate 5 or other highways back in 1986.
DNA eventually linked him to two other victims, and he agreed to cooperate in exchange for prosecutors taking the death penalty off the table. Thus, Kibbe was serving multiple life terms for all these slayings when he was killed.
As I read this article, I could not help but think of certain Biblical passages about reaping what one sews.
To begin with, 2 Corinthians 9:6 says that whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Alas! That principle applies to the sewing of both good and bad seeds.
Thus, Galatians 6:8 says that those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.
Jesus Himself underscores this in Luke 6:38 when He says: “With whatever measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Later, building on this, the Apostle Paul plainly states: “Do not be deceived: God will not be mocked. A man will reap whatever he sows!”
It seems that the “I-5 Strangler” merely lived out this basic Biblical principle. But he is not alone. The Bible also tells us that God is no respecter of persons. Therefore, what applies to any one individual applies to all individuals.
So then, just what are you sewing? That is to say, what seeds are you planting with the life you are living? And what will you reap as a result of all this activity? These are very worthwhile questions to ask. After all, God is not mocked! Our measure will be returned to us! And sooner or later, we will reap what we sew!
STORY SOURCE: https://www.foxnews.com/us/californias-strangler-strangled-himself-autopsy. The writer, Stephanie Pagones, is a Digital Reporter for FOX Business and Fox News who can be followed on Twitter at @steph_pagones.
SCRIPTURE SOURCES: https://biblereasons.com/reaping-what-you-sow/.