bloodrayne
09-29-2004, 02:26 AM
Safety Lessons Failed Biker
Kory Schenck knew the rules of the road.
New Orleans - At 26, he had the mental capacity of a child, his family said, but he prided himself on being able to ride his bike to his grandfather's house on Sundays to watch wrestling.
When he didn't return to his Alabama Street home Sunday by 7:30 p.m., his mother, Debra Schenck, knew something was wrong.
But she had no idea that the road safety lessons she taught her trusting son would be violated in such a grisly fashion: Police say Elbert Watkins, 19, slammed a car into Schenck's body as he walked east with his bike on the Seabrook Bridge toward home.
Police said Watkins was driving so fast that Schenck's body slammed into the windshield and was severed in half, remaining attached to the hood of the car. The force of the impact crumpled the grille and hood of his 2002 Hyundai Sonata.
But Watkins didn't stop, police said, leaving behind the lower portion of Schenck's body and his mangled bike in the 5500 block of Lakeshore Drive on Sunday about 7:30 p.m.
Watkins told police that he eventually stopped about a mile from the crash site to remove Schenck's torso from the hood of the car.
"We found his upper body near Jourdan Road and Hayne Boulevard," Deputy Chief Marlon Defillo said.
After removing Schenck's remains, Watkins dumped his dark blue car in a neighborhood near Peoples and Selma streets, Defillo said. He then went to the 3rd District police station and filed a report saying he had been carjacked by three men at gunpoint, Defillo said.
Watkins, of 4070 Clematis St., told police that the carjacking occurred at Franklin and Prentiss avenues and that the alleged gunmen drove his car east over the Seabrook Bridge and hit Schenck. Watkins, attempting to throw off authorities, said he was in the back seat of the car at the time, Defillo said.
But his story changed Monday after the car was found and Detective Herman Cade and fatality investigator Vernell Brown pressed him for more details, Defillo said.
"He admitted to fabricating that account," Defillo said.
No toxicology tests have been performed on Watkins, who did not have a police record before Sunday's crash, police said.
Debra Schenck said she takes little comfort in knowing that a suspect has been arrested in her son's death.
After seeing pictures of the car on TV Monday, she screamed as she imagined her son's last minutes.
She said she spent her life protecting him and grieved over not being with him Sunday to pull him out of harm's way.
"It's really hard on her," said Misty Capo, Kory Schenck's cousin. "He was her life."
Capo said her aunt had spent many years training her son to be safe. He had been instructed never to ride his bike across the Seabrook Bridge, relatives said.
Kory Schenck, who bowled for the Special Olympics and dreamed of working at Bally's Casino, always saw the best in people and trusted everyone, Capo said.
"He didn't see faults in anyone," Capo said. "In his eyes, everyone was perfect."
Debra Schenck said her son was a gentle person who endured much teasing in his youth because of his disability. He loved to bake and had a candy stash in his bedroom, where a Scooby-Doo plush toy lay on his rumpled bed just where he'd left it Sunday morning.
Relatives said Kory Schenck didn't deserve such a violent death. What's worse is that his body was disrespected and left scattered in pieces, they said.
"No one has seen the body," Capo said as tears streamed down her face. "We had to identify the bike. That's all we've seen. Even though they are saying he didn't suffer, how can you have that much disrespect for life and keep going?"
On Monday afternoon Watkins was taken to Central Lockup and booked with manslaughter, felony hit-and-run driving and filing a false police report. He was scheduled to appear in Magistrate Court today for a bond hearing.
Kory Schenck knew the rules of the road.
New Orleans - At 26, he had the mental capacity of a child, his family said, but he prided himself on being able to ride his bike to his grandfather's house on Sundays to watch wrestling.
When he didn't return to his Alabama Street home Sunday by 7:30 p.m., his mother, Debra Schenck, knew something was wrong.
But she had no idea that the road safety lessons she taught her trusting son would be violated in such a grisly fashion: Police say Elbert Watkins, 19, slammed a car into Schenck's body as he walked east with his bike on the Seabrook Bridge toward home.
Police said Watkins was driving so fast that Schenck's body slammed into the windshield and was severed in half, remaining attached to the hood of the car. The force of the impact crumpled the grille and hood of his 2002 Hyundai Sonata.
But Watkins didn't stop, police said, leaving behind the lower portion of Schenck's body and his mangled bike in the 5500 block of Lakeshore Drive on Sunday about 7:30 p.m.
Watkins told police that he eventually stopped about a mile from the crash site to remove Schenck's torso from the hood of the car.
"We found his upper body near Jourdan Road and Hayne Boulevard," Deputy Chief Marlon Defillo said.
After removing Schenck's remains, Watkins dumped his dark blue car in a neighborhood near Peoples and Selma streets, Defillo said. He then went to the 3rd District police station and filed a report saying he had been carjacked by three men at gunpoint, Defillo said.
Watkins, of 4070 Clematis St., told police that the carjacking occurred at Franklin and Prentiss avenues and that the alleged gunmen drove his car east over the Seabrook Bridge and hit Schenck. Watkins, attempting to throw off authorities, said he was in the back seat of the car at the time, Defillo said.
But his story changed Monday after the car was found and Detective Herman Cade and fatality investigator Vernell Brown pressed him for more details, Defillo said.
"He admitted to fabricating that account," Defillo said.
No toxicology tests have been performed on Watkins, who did not have a police record before Sunday's crash, police said.
Debra Schenck said she takes little comfort in knowing that a suspect has been arrested in her son's death.
After seeing pictures of the car on TV Monday, she screamed as she imagined her son's last minutes.
She said she spent her life protecting him and grieved over not being with him Sunday to pull him out of harm's way.
"It's really hard on her," said Misty Capo, Kory Schenck's cousin. "He was her life."
Capo said her aunt had spent many years training her son to be safe. He had been instructed never to ride his bike across the Seabrook Bridge, relatives said.
Kory Schenck, who bowled for the Special Olympics and dreamed of working at Bally's Casino, always saw the best in people and trusted everyone, Capo said.
"He didn't see faults in anyone," Capo said. "In his eyes, everyone was perfect."
Debra Schenck said her son was a gentle person who endured much teasing in his youth because of his disability. He loved to bake and had a candy stash in his bedroom, where a Scooby-Doo plush toy lay on his rumpled bed just where he'd left it Sunday morning.
Relatives said Kory Schenck didn't deserve such a violent death. What's worse is that his body was disrespected and left scattered in pieces, they said.
"No one has seen the body," Capo said as tears streamed down her face. "We had to identify the bike. That's all we've seen. Even though they are saying he didn't suffer, how can you have that much disrespect for life and keep going?"
On Monday afternoon Watkins was taken to Central Lockup and booked with manslaughter, felony hit-and-run driving and filing a false police report. He was scheduled to appear in Magistrate Court today for a bond hearing.