Desere Thornton, Her Two Sons Burned to Death in Teen Jealousy Arson

• From what I hear, Matthew Wood has never shown any remorse or even apologized to the family. So he's gonna spend the rest of his miserable life in prison. I sure hope he gets a daily butt raping and eventually gets a slit throat...just like his innocent victims got. Even hardened prisoners don't like child and dog killers...word will get out what he done. It's only a matter of time....

• Wow. If this is still the same Matthew I remember I never would hve imagined he would do something like this. I used to date Matthew 2-3 years ago, and can not imagine him hurting anyone. I'm really sorry to all the family and friends of the ones lost. There is never an excuse for killing innocent people. They will be punished eventualy. Matthew I'm sorry you did this, I canT believe you? Y'all will be in my prayers to the loved ones.

• I disagree with "putting God back into school." I do believe that these kids should be punished, but just because 2 idiots commit a murder doesn't mean we have to bring God back into school. What good is that going to do? It didn't do much good before and how is the change going to affect schools nowadays? This isn't a God issue, it is a moral issue. Parents need to get a grip on their kids and figure out what the HELL they are doing with their free time instead of sitting around and ignoring them or using the phrases "I CAN'T RIGHT NOW" "I'M TOO TIRED" or "GO PLAY VIDEO GAMES." GET YOUR LAZY ASSES UP! You took the time to have kids, now spend time with the lives you made, it will help guide them in the future!!! I'm 21 years old with a 1 year old of my own and I grew up in a household where my parents were divorced and both of them ignored me! I honestly think both of the boys are mentally sick, because I played rated "M" video games from the time I was 10 years old and I matured quicker than usual, with minor bumps in the road. I'm finishing my degree in Criminal Justice next year and plan to become a probation and parole officer. Question though... WHAT THE HELL does being Southern have to do with anything? GROW UP PEOPLE!!! As for the tramp, she should go to jail too, for accessory to the fact.

• Maybe it is time to put God back into school!!

• I hope they BURN in hell after a lot of misery and pain

• and i ment to type *murderer's never see the light of day and even that may be spelled wrong but que, sera sera. :)

• WTF is with these teenage boys setting people on fire?? As far as the hindsight fair wheather parents saying "these are good kids" we need to DEFANITLY try a child after at least age 12 as an adult for this!! One of the first thing children learn in school is stop, drop, and roll. Therefore they also learn fire is hot deadly and dangerous. So they know full well the outcome if they set another human being on fire. Full well a whole family in this case. May these murders never see the light of day!!

• Well Jerrod was my best friend him and his mom and bro didnt do anything to anyone and matthew and Angels I hope yall get the death. What happend to the day where u got into a fight and went on about the day why do u have to kill them

• What is with all these kids killing each other? What is going wrong in society and the world that they don't know right from wrong. Sickens me.

• i live in this town and it is a great town. I knew the family anddn was friends with Jerrod so i will miss him along with 500 other people. I go to Richland and it is not a bad school someone was crazy for the girl on the side but jerrod didn't do tht the girl and him was best friends. The south is just as bad as the north. we have murders and the north does too so dont get o here and say it is horrible to live here it was probly just bad in that area. I wanted to say im 17 and i go to richland and he was a good kid and he his little brother and his mom will be remeber for all my life.

• But the girl who started the lie should be jailed. Tessia must have put a bug in Matt's ear to make him jealous, to let him think that Jarrod wanted her back or something. She's no innocent, I'm certain. I hope she can sleep at night but why she got off scot-free is beyond me. She's a murderer, too.

• Desere was one of the best people I have ever met in my life and a remarkable mother. I loved her and her two sons and I hope they KILL the two that did this as an example to all the other stupid kids in the world.

• I lived in Pulaski for quite awhile, all i can say about the place is that it has an absolutely terrible quality of life. Racism is still extremely rampant, eg KKK still marching. While i made some great friends from there, it was the general consensus they would be gone as soon as they finished their business, be it college or work. I witnessed blantant bullying in abundance, harassment of black people and foreign students, and personal character attacks on my religion, one parent inparticularily against me seeing her daughter because im Catholic. As a neutral who spent 5 years in America, there is a massive difference in the North and South. While there are good and bad everywhere, southerns seem to have quite a talent for being sly an judgmental people. I had the privelige of knowing these 3 very colorful and beautiful people. I hope that their family can find peace through God, and know they are in a better place. Rest in peace, you will be terribly missed by the people of MMC

• I hope they BURN those two little assholes alive. Then they can burn somemore when they get to HELL! I am absolutley AMAZED at how ignorant kids are these days. I went to Richland and the people there are for the most part great - until you date an ex. It has always been that way but never to this extent. I moved there from Alabama and was treated with such disrespect when I dated an "EX" of another person. Hello people- you are in HIGH SCHOOL! The chances of you actually staying with that person for life are slim to none. If you aren't "with" somone any longer (if you break up) then that person is free to do as they please...the kids at RHS are a different breed altogether. I have never understood that outlook on dating. I am appalled at how little involvement that parents how with their kids these days. Where the heck were the parents at at 1am when their young teenage kids were out murdering innocent people over a girl? Thats what is wrong with the majority of kids to day- the parents are not involved. Can we not see that the world os growing evil and that there are things that could be done to prevent it? Like teaching MORALS to our children and teaching them how to deal with issues in another way than violence? The Thorton family as well as the commmunity of Pulaski has suffered a huge loss and I am not sure that it will ever recover. All I can say is that I HOPE AND PRAY the litle evil asses that did this are BOTH charged as ADULTS seeing as how they are acting as if they are, taking lives into their own hands , I hope they fry their butts ir better yet slit their throats and let them burn alive. And I hope that lil GIrl that this was created by feels like shitt bc she caused 3 innocent lives to be lost. and 2other people will hopefully have lost theirs - in jail!

• I need to correct my last line. They react when they "think it is necessary" obviously it is not, and I do not condone these actions in any way.

• I agree with Hoffa. I did not for a long while. I thought it was bull that media could influence anyone. I figured, you have your own mind, use it. That is not the case. To see murder, death, and an immoral way of life when you are young, molds you. It all seems normal and just the way life is. In a day when mom and dad are at work all day, and the kids raise themselves watching T.V. and playing video games this is what they know. Instead of mom or dad raising them, a box of one sort or another shows them murder and revenge. It all becomes a way of life. Little minds are shaped. What is real and what is not becomes blurred. This is not the case with every child, but there are those out there that soak this world in, and react when necessary.

• To Bubba: You, obviously, have no education. Your comment is the most stupid I have ever heard. What country are you from?!!!!!

• Bubba (unlikely), It's ignorance such as yours that causes most of today's dilemmas.

• Sounds like a really scary place to live. Southern folks, do they all live in trailer parks?

• What else would you expect when ethics are removed from school, and movies, cartoons, and video games promote violence and crime?

• it is a shame what happened to that family. it has nothing to do with the area that they were from. i have been to pulaski tn, i have family there. it is a wonderful town and everyone was very nice to me. and i am from the north. unfortunately these things are going on everywhere in today's society and it is our job to look out for signs to warn us that someone is unstable or about to do something dumb. the boys get whatever they deserve, although it is a shame they wasted their lives over something as dumb as jealousy. if it was really over a girl, think of how SHE feels right now too. so many people are hurting over this. Desere, Jerrod and Anthony -- RIP! you are in a better place now!

• This is a terrible tragedy that has taken place in our community. Anthony was my son's friend. He was the sweetest most innocent child I ever knew. I am having a very difficult time trying to wrap my mind around this and continue to wonder what demonic monster was in those boys minds to allow or justify killing a child like this. God has taken this opportunity to let us as parents become more aware of our children and to try and teach them right and wrong. We all know that God will take care of those and punish them when it is their time. They will suffer the same pain they caused. We will always miss Anthony, we were "blessed" to have him in our lives!!

• Desere is my cousin. We grew up together. If there were ever an angel from God, she is one. Every heart she touched, grew in size. Always giving and fun loving, she inspired those around her to be better people. This type of senseless tragedy happens daily because we are becoming desensitized to the violence that has become a prominent part of our society. I can only hope that people will start taking action when they think that an evil person is going to commit an atrocity. There are usually signs. Young deviants are usually vocal about their actions. If you are ever suspicious, say something. Don't sit silent while something horrible happens. Until we start realizing that we are all humans under Gods graces and start helping each other, things will only continue to get worse. Our children are on a battleground. For acceptance, for respect, for self-esteem and confidence, they fight to obtain the right perspective. Without the proper guidance and love, they will inevitably make the wrong choices at times. So please think before you act, or don't act, and consider the consequences for all. Our family is deeply scarred by this event and the pain may never go away. I would like to thank everyone who has been so generous to my family in this dire time of need. Proof that love CAN overcome evil. We will miss you immensely Desere, Jerrod and Anthony. You made the world a better place. You are our shining stars.

• Jerrod meant a lot to me. What these guys did was terrible but what sucks is that as soon as some thing happens at Richland the whole country brings up the shooting in '95 again. That's what everyone thinks of when they think of Richland. It's hard enough dealing with this now. These boys deserve the death penalty. I also believe they deserve to spend life in Jail. It's my tax dollars but they will have to live with themselves knowing they did this to someone who used to be their best friend.

• Pulaski TN is one of the most charming towns I've ever seen. Every person I've met there is friendly and honorable. I'm very sorry that this terrible crime happened - in Pulaski or anywhere. Those two stupid teenagers have hurt so many people.

• I don't understand why "this area of the country" has to be judged according to the senseless acts of two teenage boys. The community is shocked by this crime, and I cannot believe that someone would think that because a crime of jealousy was committed, the entire area must be guilty of being unhospitable toward people and out of their minds with jealousy. Wendy, your "experience" "in this part of the country" is completely unrelated to this topic, and no one wants to hear about it. Personally, if the day you left here was the best day of your life, then good riddens! Pulaski is probably a much more cheerful place without you! Pulaski is a great town to grow up in, and I am proud of where I came from. You obviously don't know what you're talking about! This town is in turmoil right now, and a lot of hearts are broken. Why don't you do us all a favor and keep your ignorant mouth shut, and stop spreading negative comments?

• If we read about a society in which all traditional teachings of ethics, morality and the golden rule were outlawed from the schools and in which all manner of violent and sexual excesses were continually blasted from every media outlet, what kind of young people would you suppose that society would be likely to produce? Welcome to the United States of America.

• Well,Wendy,Northern states have murderes too.I am from the South and just like the North I guess you can be judged by your accent.People there have treated me with disdain and ignorance because of my southern accent.Everyone here is not the way you say just like everyone there is not like my experience,this was a tragedy that didn't have to be.But not unlike you obviously these two children felt they were right in their opinion of another child,this is where it led,this is how it ends over and over,ignorance and hate have taken the United States over and not just any one region.All 50.

• It looks like this blog merely rehashes other people's reporting without attribution. If you're going to be merely an aggregator, then link us to the journalists doing the work. That's the one standard of journalism you have to follow. Can you manage that one?

• I lived, for a brief time, in this area of the country. I have to say, the day I left there was the best day of my life. You hear about "southern hospitality." That's bull! Not if you have a northern accent. Furthermore, they are NUTS when it comes to boyfriends/girlfriends or husbands/wives. I had one of them threaten my life and vandalize my car because her boyfriend looked at me at a church function and then she bragged about what she did (and, believe me, no one wanted him). This wasn't a teenager, it was a 40 year old woman!

• I take for granted they'll be charged as adults for first degree murder (I HOPE). I can almost hear their mothers telling "They are really good boys." I hope those kids spend the rest of their lives in jail.

• What is with all these kids killing each other? What is going wrong in society and the world that they don't know right from wrong. Sickens me.

• The world will benefit without those kids, put a bullet in their heads, save taxpayer dollars.

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