May 24, 1986
September 26, 1999

A life sacrified - it was "just fun and games that got a little out of hand"

Two men, David Don Carpenter, 38 , born 08-02-61, a resident of 1207 West Sunset Drive, working at an hairstyling shop, and Joshua Macave Brown, 22, born 6-7-77, his male lover who lived with him and whom he called "Baby", had become friendly with the Dirkhising family, Jesse mother and stepfather, who live in Prairie Grove, and particularly with their son Jesse.

Jesse started to spend his weekends with the couple, and for the last two or three months, Dirkhising had been coming from Prairie Grove to Rogers to stay with Carpenter on the weekends. His parents thought he was working as a hair stylist on these occasions. Jesse told also his grandmother that he was earning money during the weekends by working for Carpenter at his hairstyling shop.

So on Saturday September 25, 1999, the couple invited once again the boy over for the wekend. But this time things tourned out being a nightmare and finally resulting in the horrible death of the boy.

It seems that Joshua Brown and the 13 year old boy used to frequently tie each other up, though not for "explicit sexual purposes" - he and the victim had been sexually involved for approximately two months. Brown described later to the police the sexual acts as games and playing with the boy. Can the money Jesse was earnig, was a "gift" for participating in those "games"? Was perhaps Jesse also gay, or just curious, confused about his own sexuality? Unhappily we can have only Brown's version oft the fact, ad Jesse is no more able to tell us the truth.

On this one occasion, Brown decided to sneak up on the boy, tie his hands behind his back, shove a pair of underwear in his mouth and bind him with a duct tape. Carpenter helped tie the boy to the bed. Brown placed a bandana over Dirkhisings eyes and secured it in place with duct tape. He then placed a T-shirt over the boy's head, apparently to ensure Jesse's silence, and checked to ensure his nostrils were not blocked. After all, "this was only a game".

Brown placed belts around Jesse's knees and ankles to hold his legs together. Meanwhile Carpenter went to the nearby grocery store to purchase items to be used during the rape of the victim. The police found on the kitchen table a receipt from the Price Cutter Food Warehouse dated September 26, 1999, at 0307 hours. Items purchased on the receipt included tape, Eckrich, two cucumbers and meat. The store clerk related that Carpenter came to the store, asked where the duct tape was, and she showed Carpenter the aisle. He then purchased duct tape in addition to the other items. Carpenter also told her to come to Regis where he worked and he would cut her hair...

When Carpenter was back, Brown untied the boy's wrists and secured them to opposite sides of the mattress. He positioned Jesse on his stomach, placing pillows under his stomach. Brown then proceeded to penetrate Jhe boy's anus with various items, including three fingers of his hand, a cucumber, a sausage and a douche bottle, to anally penetrate Jesse while the poor boy was immobile and defensless due to the bindings. Brown also prepared and administered an enema for the victim, using his own urine as a liquid. Carpenter himself used some of the purchased items to rape the boy.

And finally he had performed anal sex on the victim for the first time. Brown told police that in sex acts up until this weekend, his penis had never penetrated the boy's anus. While Brown was having "his fun" with Jesse and repeatedly raped the boy, Carpenter stood in the doorway naked, looking at them, and masturbated.

Brown told the police that as he was using the cucumber to penetrate the victims anus, Carpenter stood in the doorway trying to get his attention without having to speak. When Brown walked to Carpenter, Carpenter showed him a note indicating that he should not put the entire cucumber in the victims anus as it may harm him. Brown stated he returned to the victim and duct taped the cucumber in place as it penetrated the victims anus approximately one half inch. After positioning a cucumber so that it was penetrating Jesse's anus, he secured it with tape.

Meanwhile Carpenter decided to have some rest and hit the bed. Carpenter has maintained that he was asleep during much of the overnight assault. After brutalizing Jesse for several hours, Brown decided it was time for a break from the attack . He went then to the kitchen, and he ate a sandwich before returning to the bedroom to resume his fun and games.

When Brown returned to the bedroom, he found Jesse was unconscious and not breathing. Brown then pulled the T-shirt off Jesse's head, cut the tape and bandanas away, and removed the underwear from the boy's mouth. But the boy was no more breathing. He put the boy on the floor, then decided to call Carpenter for help.

Brown woke Carpenter up and told him there was a problem with Jesse. When Brown informed him that the boy was not breathing, he said, "so what," and then got up to go check on the boy. Carpenter found the boy lying on the bedroom floor with his hands still bound with tape. He cut the tape and attempted stuffing in the boy's mout pain pills of a heavy sedative commonly used to treat depression, before calling 911.

About 5 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 26, two patrolmen from the police department responded to a call to assist an ambulance crew at the home of Brown and Carpenter. When they arrived, they encountered Carpenter, who seemed very upset and kept repeating: "He's not breathing!". He let the officers into the apartment and to the northwest bedroom. Brown was standing in the hallway, completely naked, holding a flashlight and a telephone. They discovered drugs that were allegedly used to "help" the boy. They also discovered Jesse's body - the victim of positional asphyxia, the inability to breathe in his restrictive position. The young, naked boy, was on the floor in the middle of the room, next to a mattress. His genitals and abdomen were covered with what appeared to be feces. His mouth was blue. He had a weak pulse, but did not appear to be breathing.

One of the officers noticed that the boy's right hand was wrapped in duct tape. When Brown was asked about the tape, he explained that they were "just playing a game". During preliminary questioning at the scene, Josh Brown assaulted one of the policemen, and was placed under arrest.

Paramedics took Jesse to the emergency room where he was pronounced dead at 5:30 a.m. The autopsy conducted on the victim indicates thaat the boy died of positional asphyxia, a condition that rendered him unable to breathe because of the way he was bound on Brown's bed. Also cited was an overdose of an antidepressant. This young man, just a seventh grader at Lincoln Middle School, suffered a terrible, almost unimaginable, death.

After extensive investigation, on September 26, 1999, Joshua Macave Brown was arrested on the charges of Capital Murder, Class Y Felony, and Rape. His lover, Davis Don Carpenter, was arrested with him on the same charges.

Mainstream gay and lesbian people view pedophily, pedophiles, and magazines or organizations that promote pedophily, as promoting the abuse and harm of under-age of consent children, physically, mentally as well as spiritually, and believe that any such abuse is absolutely not to be tolerated; therefore the gay community distances himself from these groups and persons. Pedophily, be it practiced by homosexual or heterosexual people, has to be stopped!

Let us make the rape and murder of Jesse Dirkhising the turning point. It is also up to gay people us to see that the implications of Jesse Dirkhising's death are not ignored. Tell everyone you know about the atrocity committed upon gay people, but also upon Jesse Dirkhising in Arkansas.

We can no longer tolerate this. It is time to bring the insanity of pedophily, and S&M "games" on a child, to a close before any other children are raped and murdered by individuals so arrogant they literally believe it their right to do anything they want to anyone, just for their "fun". Any sane members of the gay community has to consider the ultimate cost of ignoring the existence of barbarians among our own ranks.

There's no credible evidence that gay culture is more accepting of pedophilia than it was, say, 20 or 100 years ago. On the contrary, while pedophilia has always been a vile undercurrent in some gay circles (as in some straight circles), the vast majority of homosexuals are rightly horrified by the sexual abuse of children.

How common is a rape-murder like that of Dirkhising? In 1999 there were 46 rape-murders nationwide. If you focus not on the rape-murder aspect but on the fact that Jesse was a child, there were 1,449 murders of minors. There are no reliable statistics on how many of these murders were committed by homosexuals, but let's generously say 10 percent. That's a paltry 144 cases.

There's a touch of embarrassment among some gays about the case, as if the actions of this depraved couple had some connection to the rest of gay community. Don't these squeamish people realize that, by helping to hush this up, they seem to confirm homophobic suspicions that this murder actually is typical of gays?

The irony is deepened by the fact that Jesse may well have been gay himself. He trusted his gay neighbors; he worked with one of them at a hair salon; his mother let him stay at his neighbors' place on weekends; it's even conceivable that at the beginning he went along with some part of their sexual game, as defense lawyers have argued. But he was also a child, in no position to consent to anything of this nature - a child who needed the support of his elders, not their monstrous betrayal. It's difficult for me to fully express my fury at this kind of behavior. For a young, impressionable boy like this to be used for sick sexual predation is an outrage to any homosexual who remembers being young or who has ever seen the need for guidance and support of a young gay soul.

That some gay activists seem not to have experienced the same punch in the solar plexus that they felt when they heard of Shepard's murder is a sign of the moral damage that identity politics has already done. It has inured us to simple matters of good and evil.

Children are by law and common sense defined as incapable of giving informed consent. No adult, in any position of authority, has a legitimate right to make a decision on behalf of a child that places the child at risk of rape and death at the hands of a segment of society that contains such predators as raped and killed Jesse Dirkhising.

All across America, some gay newspapers and bars and organizations not only tolerate sadistic sex but at times promote it. In fact, on the very day of Dirkhisings death, two leading homosexual groups, the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, were manning booths at a sadistic sex fair in San Francisco that celebrated bondage, human floggings and the same S&M techniques that led to the death of young Jesse. We call on all gay organizations, bookstores and newspapers to stop promoting sexual violence consensual or otherwise.

Joshua Brown and David Carpenter have pleaded innocent to charges of capital murder and six counts of rape in Jesse's torturous death. The pair is charged with drugging the boy, raping him repeatedly and killing him by asphyxiation.

A search of the premises later turned up a computer and related equipment still running. When the monitor was turned on, a program entitled "Medical Drug Reference 4.0" was running. The search also revealed a piece of paper on which a note was written to "Baby" , the term of endearment Carpenter used to refer to Brown, his live-in lover.

In the upper right hand of the note are listed three types of prescription pills. The text of the note refers to making a male ("him") take "those pills." It then refers to positioning pillows beneath the male in a certain way. A different portion of the same piece of paper says to tell "him" not to fight or else for the next "14 hours" he will be sexually assaulted.

The search also revealed another note, addressed to an unnamed person, which refers to a piece of meat being inserted in that person's anus. The note also refers to "Davis" engaging in sexual intercourse with "you blindfolded on pills." There is also a note addressed to "Baby" that refers to "duct tape in place."

The search further revealed a hand-drawn diagram depicting a person on a bed. There are notations that refer to pillows, "tape all the way around," "face down," the buttocks of the person "raised app. 2 feet." Another note was found in the kitchen area addressed to "baby", and states "could cause serious damage-back to 3" sticking out and duct tape in place."

And this is where it really gets even worst - it appears Jesse Dirkhising is not the only victim of these fiends. The search also revealed a five-page letter addressed "Hey Baby." The letter is signed by "Davie." In the letter, "Davie" describes seeing "Baby's" "little 10 year old blond whore" at her bus stop in the morning. The note graphically describes how "Davie" can envision "Baby" engaging in various sexual acts with her.

In another handwritten text , the writer describes a man making a "fine crushed white powder" from "the small oddly purple colored pill." The writer describes him cutting the pill in 14 sections so that he would have "enough to do this again in 4 hours or so, if he needed (or wanted!)." He then describes the man giving a nine year old girl a glass of milk with the pill powder mixed in. The writer then writes of the man laughing out loud "knowing in 20 minutes the pill dust he'd added would render her helpless and drunk..." He then describes in detail the man having the girl first masturbate him and then perform oral sex on him.

A detailed interview was conducted at the Rogers Police Department with Josh Brown on September 27th, 1999. Brown told that he and the victim had been sexually involved for approximately two months. Brown described the sexual acts as "games" and "playing: with the victim. He said that the morning of the victim's death, he had performed anal sex on the victim for the first time. In sex acts up until this point, Brown said his penis had never penetrated the victim's anus. Brown told that on this occasion he used his fingers, his penis, a cucumber, a sausage, a banana and a douche bottle to anally penetrate the victim while the victim was immobile due to the bindings.

Brown was questioned about Carpenter's involvement during the rape and told that Carpenter stood in the doorway of the bedroom, naked, and watched Brown and the victim while he (Carpenter) masturbated. Brown was also asked about the notes that were found in the residence. When asked about the note found in the kitchen addressed to "Baby" and stating "Could cause serious damage-back to 3" sticking out and duct tape in place", Brown stated that as he was using the cucumber to penetrate the victim's anus, Carpenter stood in the doorway trying to get his (Brown's) attention without having to speak. When Brown walked to Carpenter, Carpenter showed him the note indicating that he should not put the entire cucumber in the victim's anus as it may harm him. Brown stated he returned to the victim and duct taped the cucumber in place as it penetrated the victim's anus approximately one half inch.

Brown was also shown the diagram that depicts a person bound to a bed, much the same way Brown described the victim. He stated that the drawing was completed by Carpenter on a much earlier date. When asked about Carpenter's knowledge of Brown's and the victim's sexual activities, Brown stated that Carpenter had walked in on the two in the past. After that occasion, Brown stated that he and Carpenter talked about Carpenter watching as the victim and Brown participated in sexual acts.

A check of Davis Carpenter's prior record shows no known prior convictions at this time. During conversations held with Det. Sgt. Minor, Carpenter stated that he had lived in 26 different states, and knew people in all 50 states. Carpenter apparently has limited family in Springdale, Arkansas, but has lived out of state on numerous occasions. Further investigation revealed that in the past two years, Carpenter and Brown have lived in at least three different states, including Florida. A records check of Joshua Brown reveals no known prior convictions. Joshua Brown also has no known ties to the Northwest Arkansas area.

The Police says the two men raped Jesse at least six times. Brown and Carpenter have each been charged with six counts of rape and capital murder. During a hearing in Bentonville, Carpenter read details of the complaint against him. As he read, Carpenter repeatedly shook his head and muttered, "No." Meanwhile, members of Jesse Dirkhising's family sat weeping, while his mother clutched a teddy bear and a photograph of her son.

"No one deserves to lose a child in this manner," said prosecuting attorney Brad Butler.

The records of the Rogers Police Department reflect that on Monday, September 27, 1999, detectives from the Rogers Police Department and deputy prosecutors from the Benton County Prosecutor's Office interviewed inmates of the Benton County Jail. Throughout the morning of September 27, 1999, these inmates were being held in the same area of the jail as Davis Don Carpenter and had conversations with Carpenter regarding his involvement in the rape and death of Jesse Dirkhising. After Carpenter was taken to the Benton County Courthouse for a bond hearing in the afternoon, the inmates informed a jailer of their conversations with Carpenter.

Benton County Jail inmate Christopher Fisher stated to detectives and prosecutors that while he was reading a local newspaper, Carpenter asked him if he, Carpenter, was in the paper. Fisher then showed him the article. During his conversation with Fisher, Carpenter admitted that he participated in shoving "pain pills" down the boy's throat. Carpenter also admitted that he helped tie the boy to the bed, but stated that he did not duct tape the boy from the neck up (oh, how kind he was!).

Carpenter further admitted that he had gone to a grocery store while the boy was tied up in order to purchase some of the items, including cucumbers, that were used to rape the boy. Carpenter stated that he sized the items before selecting them. He further stated that he purchased the items as "toys" to use on the boy. He indicated that he himself used some of the items to rape the boy. He also stated that he been "up for a week" on "crystal" or methamphetamine. Fisher stated that Carpenter would alternate between saying what he had done and saying that Josh Brown did it all.

Benton County jail inmate Stephen Kyle Smith stated that Carpenter identified himself in the paper. Smith said he and Chris Fisher struck up a conversation with Carpenter out of curiosity. Carpenter stated that he had fantasized about sodomizing small kids but that fantasies were different from actually doing it. Carpenter said he knew what was going on, but he didn't do it. He then began talking about cucumbers and squash. He admitted he went to a store and purchased items like that. He stated that all he did was give his co-defendant a banana. He said that when Brown informed him that the boy was not breathing, he said, "so what," and then having to get up to go check on the boy. He talked about stuffing pain pills in the boy and that he didn't know which had killed the boy, the pain pills or the duct tape.

Joshua Macabe Brown, was found guilty of murdering Jesse Dirkhising at the apartment Brown shared with his lover, Davis Don Carpenter. Brown was spared the death penalty when the jury acquitted him of capital murder but found him guilty of first-degree murder. The jury sentenced him to 25 years for the rape but left the decision over the sentence for murder up to the judge.

Judge David Clinger told Brown: "Usually a murder is over in a minute. In this case, this victim was left helpless and bound. Trying to imagine his thought process has sent shivers up my spine."

During the trial, the defence argued that the boy consented to the sex. Legally, however, the act was considered rape because Dirkhising was younger than 14. The defence also argued that the boy's death was an accident and that Brown was manipulated by his lover.

The judge told Brown: "I find absolutely not a single shred of evidence in this case that Mr Carpenter ever forced you to do anything that you didn't want to do."

Initially, Brown told police it was only "horseplay," in which Jesse was a willing participant. Later, Brown admitted binding, gagging and raping him with a variety of objects. Brown told that he bound Jesse with duct tape and raped him with a variety of objects - but never intended for the seventh-grader to die. In his police interviews, Brown said Carpenter had directed the assault but did not take part. In a jailhouse interview last week, however, Brown told The Associated Press that Carpenter participated.

Carpenter, who prosecutors say choreographed the assault and watched from a bedroom door, is to be tried May 7 for rape and capital murder, which carries the death penalty. The jury had no difficulty imposing a sentence of a quarter of a century in prison for Brown, but it was divided on what to do about punishing him for the boy's murder.

Eleven members wanted to impose a 10- to 20-year sentence for the first-degree murder. One held out for a life imprisonment. Referring to Brown's partner, Carpenter, one of the jurors said later: "Many times we thought we were trying the wrong man." They compromised by leaving the murder sentence of Brown up to Judge David Clinger, who scheduled a later sentencing hearing. Brown was sentenced to life in prison without parole after being found guilty of rape and first-degree murder.

Circuit Judge David Clinger said he was satisfied with the sentences for Brown and Carpenter, saying there was no evidence either man intended to take Jesse's life. Carpenter apologized to the boy's mother and stepfather.

"If the only way I can have control of my life is to say when I die and how I die, then give me that," says Carpenter. But he lost that control in September, 1999, when Jesse Dirkhising was raped and murdered in his home.

Carpenter says his boyfriend, Joshua McCabe Brown, was the one who bound and sodomized Dirkhising - but outrage over the case left a plea bargain his only option. "I would be lucky to come up with life because they're going to look at me like I'm an older father figure and was in control of Joshua Brown and manipulated the situation, and that's just not me," Carpenter says.

Brown, however, says Carpenter directed and participated in the death that landed them both in jail. Says Carpenter, "I'm thankful that Josh Brown did not get the death penalty. I don't believe that people should have the right to kill other people. I'm sorry that Jesse is dead. Jesse was a very good boy."

Less than a month after being convicted of the brutal rape and murder of a 13-year-old boy, Joshua Brown has spoken out about his crime.

While Jesse Dirkhising was bound and suffocating, Joshua Brown ate a sandwich. Later, he pleaded not guilty to sodomizing and murdering the teen. Now he has this to say: "I'm just ashamed of what I've done. I don't feel worthy to ever look up at anybody, you know."

Though many have said that Brown has no remorse for the crime he allegedly committed with his lover, Davis Carpenter, he says he has nightmares about what he put the Dirkhisings through. "I'm sorry to Tina and Cadillac," he says. "I hope they forgive me, [ I ] wish they would."

The family of Jesse Dirkhising are relieved that Carpenter was punished - regardless of his denials - for killing their loved one.