6th grade teacher, Jennifer Matthias, At The Center Of Murder/Suicide Shooting In Idaho Falls Friday Night

I don’t know much about the situation, but on: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=info&id=1625028988:

Jennifer Matthias wrote:

About Me:I was born in Wakefield, Rhode Island. I have 4 other living siblings. My big brother, Dayl, passed away recently from liver cancer. My parents divorced when I was six years old, and my mother remarried and moved us to Florida. My step father was a “very important man” in the small town of Bradenton we moved to. But within a year, he passed away also…leaving my mom with 4 young kids to raise. She never remarried. I guess you could say this was the beginning of my need and drive for independence and internal strength, having watched my mother make it on her own in a tough world. …In a nutshell, I lived in Florida for 25 years…completed all my schooling, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of South Florida, married, had 3 children, and moved to Idaho… Now, I am still living in Idaho, and falling in love with the simplicity of life here, and all the wilderness and outdoor stuff there is to do. I am also teaching sixth grade, which I really enjoy. The kids are great and have a sense of innocence that is unlike other places where I have taught. I also relate well to these kids which is a benefit in many ways both for them and for me. I also have a master’s degree in Educational Leadership, and use the experiences from it in various ways in my school and classroom. I believe I have a gift of healing, and through focused meditation and touch, have “healed” ailments of those around me. I also feel energies and can move positive energy from myself to another through my fingertips. Although it is a gift I sometimes fear, it happens whether I want it to or not.

It looks like things arent so simple any more.

I think people need to stop blaming her for what happened. Many people, myself included, have had a spouse cheat on us and its always a bombshell when it drops but most of us don’t snap and kill someone over it.

What she did is bad but it didn’t cause what happened. The only cause of this is the guy who did the killing.

Mr Matthias was one of the greatest teachers ive ever known. He changed the way i thought of math. I stressed over it so much but he made a way to make it not so stressful and its just another part of life. He was a respectful man, teacher, friend, and father. The coments people are putting saying he’s crazy is not true! We all do stupid things at wrong times in the wrong situations. He knew he couldn’t live knowing the girl he loved was loving another. I want the world to know that i respect him and he is a great man! He had a reason to be upset. Everyone has times where they wish they had a gun to kill someone or themselves. Unfortunately he kept it handy in his car. We can all say “oh what if..” but what’s past is past and all we need is to remember the kind, honest, and true man he was. I won’t forget you Mr. Matthias. Be true on the other side.

the walmart now has a vigil for mr purcell saying he was the real victim. The big mistake was calling the violent adulterous boyfriend to rescue her from her hurt husband who was so far only following her. Im sure he came racing over hot blooded to defend his adulterous lover. I can imagine the words that were exchanged or threats that were made that pushed an already wounded man over the edge. I pitty Mr. Matthias only.

Did Purcell work at Walmart stocking shelves?.

Maybe this will teach people to NOT have affairs. This woman did not pull the trigger, but none of this would have happened without her involvement. What are the chances she’ll be prosecuted for something here? Even though she didn’t pull the trigger, she created this.

Why do we all have to be so judgmental? Everyone makes mistakes in life. We all don’t know what was going on behind closed doors at the Matthias house. The one who spent time in prison for violence obviously wasn’t the one who showed it that night, he didn’t even get out of his vehicle. We as people need to stop judging and pray for all those involved. She may have been wrong for having an affair, but you are all just as wrong for pointing fingers. You only have heard what has been reported, when you know the facts than you all can make your nasty comments. As for right now, there are family and friends who cared and loved all who was involved. I don’t know any of the people involved in this tragedy, but I don’t think because I am a part of the public that gives me a right to blame and point fingers or be judgmental. Quit throwing stones at glass houses.

Forgot to post this, I’d never heard of this website until now. It comes up with a simple search of the names involved. They, whoever run it, are discussing this case about halfway down and pulling local comments from our news and dissecting them. Warning, there is some potentially offensive nudity but keep scrolling.

The first dated article is entitled “BREAD & CIRCUSES; THE NEXT LOVER JENNIFER MATTHIAS TAKES HAS LESS TO FEAR THAN THE FIRST”
and the next is: “VOX POPULI; THE JENNIFER MATTHIAS CASE”

It’s a ….. “unique” site for lack of a better word.

[Moderator note: Reader, I apologize, but I'm removing this link because it contains more than nudity, it includes outright pornography. I don't want to restrict access for those who want to find this information, but due to the graphic content on that site, I'm going to ask that they take the extra step and search for it in google.]

Who is to blame? Does it matter, two people are dead. I do say to Jennifer “shame on you” if you want to sleep around get a divorce and have at it. When a person is married he or she should have a little compassion for the spouse even if the spouse isn’t wonderful. A person having an affair provides lasting damage to the spouse and children. Keep your pants on until the divorce is final.

Moderator, that’s cool – I was just so surprised about the lengthy discussion about what happened here on a site like that – it’s easy enough to find if you want to.

The other site could have ripped the photo from ifz, but it was taken from her facebook page so I guess it’s public access for anyone.

Cheating on a spouse is the most disrespectful act one can commit. She effectively rubbed his face in it by revealing it and calling her lover to Wal Mart. Her children may never forgive her for the insult to their father that apparently hurt him so deeply he snapped, and they all lost him.

By the way, adultery is still a felony in Idaho – is she still fit as an unconvicted but admitted felon to remain in the classroom?

You know, the new poll questions got me thinking – does either man’s family, especially Purcell’s, have any grounds for a civil claim against Matthias? Would like to hear from some lawyerly types about this. It’s not so crazy if you think what else makes it into the courtroom.

Saw in today’s PR both men are at the same funeral home. What a sad irony.

Same funeral home? Boy, someone just wasn’t thinking there…

I had some thoughts about the article the Post Register ran yesterday. The article reads in part like this

“To much of the outside world, Matthias, a math teacher at Idaho Falls High School and father of three children, seemed no different than any other math teacher. But in reality, his life was spiraling out of control, his wife, Jennifer Matthias, said”

The family was facing mounting debt, with no way to pay bills. On her Facebook page and in the PR article, Jennifer notes that she drives a Hummer. Financial debt can be one of the largest contributing factors to the distruction of a marriage. And vanity is a major contributing factor to overspending. Why is she driving a hummer if they’re strapped financially?!

She claims to have only been seeing another man romantically for 2 months before the affair, but again, on her facebook wall, there is basically two main people communicating with her – and they are both men… It’s unfair to suggest she’s had a romantic interest with either of them, but it’s a curious fact none the less.

Jennifer goes on in the Post Register report by apparently attempting to smear her husband, accusing him of being unhappy, depressed, and angry. And brings up that he was accused of sexually harassment of a student, an accusation that was dropped. In district 91’s research they found no such accusation.

The Post Register article then goes into Purcell’s past.

The guy sounds like a real loser “Purcell’s flaws were known to judges, lawyers and penal systems across the West. He had a lengthy criminal record of violence, theft and drug convictions in at least three Western states, including Idaho. He had lived in prisons for about half of the past 15 years.”

…

“Jennifer Matthias said she had only recently learned of Purcell’s past. She met him in April at a local health club, but for months their relationship was nothing more than a “very casual, passer-by, ‘Hi, how are you?’” she said.”

…

“Jack was a support for me with some things that were going on with Keith and me,” she said.

During their lunch break on the day of the shootings, Jennifer and Keith Matthias met at their home in Idaho Falls and discussed their marriage. They agreed to separate and see other people, she said. It was then that Jennifer Matthias told her husband about her relationship with Purcell, she said.

“Everybody knew the story,” she said. “Nobody was kept in the dark. There was no secret affair.”

Hu? Everybody knew the story as of when? Oh, after she kept the affair a secret for weeks (or longer)

“At the time, Keith Matthias seemed to accept the agreement, she said. They agreed to meet at their home for dinner that night, after which she planned to visit Purcell to ask him whether he wanted to continue as a part of her life as a single mother of three. Keith Matthias did not object to the meeting, she said.”

Sure, that’s a “convenient thing to say”, given the circumstances.

Here is more of “her version “ of what happened as reported by the Post Register

After dinner, Jennifer Matthias said she went to visit Purcell to discuss their future together. As she drove away from their home, she noticed her husband’s white Mazda following her Hummer with its headlights turned off.

“I knew not to go to Jack’s house,” she said. “My first thought was, ‘Where’s the nearest police department?’”

But Jennifer Matthias didn’t contact police. Not wanting to create an unnecessary incident, she said, she second-guessed her first instinct. Ultimately, she drove to the Walmart parking lot.

Keith Matthias followed her there, she said, parking some 50 feet behind her Hummer.

“I could see the nose of the Mazda through my rear-view mirror,” she said. “I didn’t want him to know that I knew he was there.”

Within a few minutes, Purcell, who was in contact with Jennifer Matthias by cell phone, arrived at Walmart. She told Purcell where her husband was parked, and he parked his pickup next to Matthias’ Mazda. He told her to stay where she was.

“I really think he was trying to protect me,” she said. “Jack did save my life.”

Jennifer Matthias watched through her rearview mirror as the two men spoke to each other. Keith Matthias got out of his car with his hands in his coat pockets.

“There was one brief moment in time that I remembered that Keith had a lot of guns,” Jennifer Matthias said. “And then he opened fire on (Purcell).”

As her husband drove away, Jennifer Matthias said, the reality of what he’d done began to sink in. She shouted at him, “You’re going to jail.”

Now that’s an interesting thing to say. Wouldn’t something of shock like, “What have you done?!” be more natural?

She called 911 and told them what had happened.

…

Minutes later, police cornered Keith Matthias on the south lawn of Hawthorne Elementary School. After a brief standoff, Matthias shot himself.

The violence didn’t come as a surprise to one neighbor of the Matthiases, Kristen Lancaster, who said Keith Matthias constantly shouted and cursed at his children. In July, she said, she was forced to call the police when, during a confrontation at her home, he began to shout at her and attempted to force his way into her home.

Sounds almost like she didn’t like the guy to start with. Does anyone know what this encounter was about? Was one of his children inside her home? Did she have something he owned and wouldn’t return? More info is needed to judge one way or another.

“

“Matthias never showed his angry side at work,” said George Boland, superintendent of Idaho Falls School District 91.

“He was kind of a quiet guy,” Boland said. “Well-organized, detail-oriented, well-prepared for daily instruction.””

“Nothing that would indicate that, certainly, the actions that he took would be within his character,” Boland said. “It’s a tragic event, and certainly both Keith and Jennifer in their actions at the schools, up until this point, were professional.”

This is only part of the article. Some chopping involved, so I’m sorry if it’s not posted here perfectly.

I think it’s good to remember this is her story. It’s unfortunate that Keith doesn’t have a chance to share his side of the story, but in my opinion that is his fault and he gave up the opportunity to clear his name when he took his life. Still, she doesn’t seem very sorry for anything she’s done. This lady has ruined several peoples lives.

HaveAHeart,

Do you think this murder/suicide would have happened if she hadn’t cheated on her husband and had an affair?

Her kids are going to know that their dad is dead because of what she did.

Hell will freeze over before she ever teaches my kids! Congratulations jennifer, you get full custody of the kids and your husband’s life insurance benefit! Do you care that you broke up your family?

I grew up in a violent home with a father that held a cwp. It took years of counseling and thousands of dollars to learn one complete truth. The person that commits the act is 100% responsible, no ifs ands or buts, no exceptions. We are all in control of how we react to situations. Everyone makes mistakes that we have to live with and Jennifers will be hard to live with but she is NOT to blame for her husbands decision.
Keith was my daughters math teacher and he was wonderful, he made her excel at math when she has always struggled with it, so I am not judging him as a person, just his decision. Anyone can snap at any time, it all comes down to self control, and he doesnt sound loke he had much.

Jennifer Matthias’ story sure doesn’t add up. Sounds like CYA time for her. And for the neightbor chiming in. The media interviews 5 people who supposedly see the same incident, 90% of the time you get 5 different versions of the incident. The Neighbor called the police on Keith Matthias? I would think IFPD would have a record of that?.
Jennifer knew her husband was depressed and on meds for depression yet when she got scared she call the boyfriend and not the cops?. Purcell shows up to “Protect” his woman and parks rigfht next to Keith Matthias?. Purcell being a convicted fellon. the chances of him having a firearm was unlikely. Did Purcell push Keith Matthias over the edge? possibly with some “Billy-BadAss” trash talk?.
In the end Purcell parking next to Keith Matthias wasn’t probably the smartest thing to do with the given situation. Jennifer’s decision to call Purcell rather the police was pretty stupid. Purcell won’t get involved with married women anymore and hopefull Jennifer with use common sense next time.

“There was one brief moment in time that I remembered that Keith had a lot of guns,” Jennifer Matthias said. “And then he opened fire on (Purcell).”

How convenient to suddenly remember all those guns in your house. It’s so easy to forget there are lots of guns in a house you share with 3 kids. Wives are always forgetting about those guns aren’t they?

Liar. There will be extreme backlash if District 91 let’s her continue teaching after the holiday break.

How long were they married?

When are the funerals scheduled?

Hey Guest,
regarding your comment above, you forget to mention that the children will also know their mom was a cheating slut. And they may not want anything to do with her now or in the future if they have any say about it….
It’s true that their dad made a very bad choice in a moment of extreme emotional pain but their mom chose to be a cheat and then come out and slander their dad in a and accept no responsibility in the manner typical of a sociopath.

[moderated] Anoyomous, anyone with a computer can look up the symptoms of sociopathy…… and anyone reading Jennifer’s comments and her blatant lack of remorse and how she is justifying her own sleazy actions can make their own call…Maybe you need to not depend so much on credentials and learn to research and think for yourself…

I get a kick out of the people ranting about people being judgemental and then…judging them. Get used to it, its the way the human mind works. it gathers information and forms opinions based on what it observes.
I observe the perfect storm here.
1. marital strain and stress.
2. Christmas and new year season.
3. Adultry ( only fools try and justify it)
4. A lifelong criminal scum bag. (if he turned his life around then whats he doing sleeping with a wife and mother?)
5. A selfish immoral woman
6. A gun
she pulled the pin tossed the grenade and watched it go boom
her sins were longlived and intentional.
His was a split second trigger pull he cant take back.
His remorse was evident in the taking of his life.
Hers doesnt exist.
5. a heartless

YOU GUYS ARE ALL F***** UP THINGS HAPPEN LIKE FALLING OUT OF LOVE AND TRYING TO GET OUT OF THE RELATIONSHIP WHY WOULD CHEATEN BE AGAINST THE LAW.. IF THATS THE CASE THEN ALOT OF MEN AND WOMEN WOULD BE IN JAIL FOR THAT I I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF ANY ONE GOING TO JAIL FOR CHEATING WHILE MARRIED.. I DONT KNOW WHY YOU GUYS ARE BLAIMING JENNIFER HOW THE HOW WOULD SHE OF KNOWN THAT IT WAS GOING TO GO DOWN THE WAY IT DID.. NOW ONE COULD OF KNOWN. SHE WAS JUST TRYING TO GET OUT OF AN RELATION SHIP THAT SHE DID NOT WANT TO BE IN. ITS NOT HER FAULT THAT HER HUSBAND WAS DEPRESSED WHEN SHE DECIDED TO LEAVE HIM. WHO KNOWS HE COULD OF BEEN A HORIBBLE HUSBAND AND TREATED HER LIKE SH** KNOW ONE KNOWS. IN THE END YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO HURT THE KIDS. KIDS NOW A DAYS HEAR SHIT AND TALK I HOPE YOU GUYS FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOUR SELVES. I THINK YOU JUST A BUNCH OF F***** B*******

Native, your first name wouldn’t be Jennifer, would it? If not, you two sure sound like two peas in a pod.

“Jack Purcell was a good person” where do you get that? Do you know the guy? If so, maybe you can tell us more about his grand theft and other run-ins with the law.

And I believe Jack had friends. Most convicted criminals do. And sometimes they’re real tight.

What we don’t know is how arrogant Jack was in his confrontation with the husband of the woman he was sleeping with. I can imagine “Come on, Keith, I satisfy her more than you ever could.” “She doesn’t want you any more, you’re such a loser” “Why don’t you just do everyone a favor and dissapear” or worse.

Keith shouldn’t have shot the guy. But there is such a thing as temporary insanity. I know a lot of people who have made knee-jerk reactions to situations. Granted, not this big, but how many of us have been confronted with what Keith was confronted with?

Talk about a string of idiotic choices. 1) cheat on your husband, 2) destroy him emotionally at dinner, 3) call your lover to confront your husband. 4) smear your husband in the newspaper within a few days of everything. It sounds like this woman made her bed.

And I agree something is wrong with her moral compass. I cant believe they are strapped financially but she insists on driving a Hummer? Who is this woman?

I think that 1) her children should be taken away, she is in no way a role model for these kids. and 2) if there’s anything she CAN be prosecuted for, she should be. (Ask Keith should have been if he was still alive… )

Only bad when women do IT?

Right, that’s why Tiger Wood’s has lost millions of dollars worth of contractual deals since the news of his multiple extra marital affairs hit the news.

Like it or not, America is mostly a Christian society. 76% of us believe that marriage was given as a divine institution in which GOD gives a man a help mate, a woman, and the two shall cleave together as one.

When either the man or the woman breaks their marital vows then, that cheating spouse no longer believes in them self, their spouse or their marriage. They are willing to risk… everything: And Jennifer Matthias certainly did risk everything.

Refer to post #46, by dog:

The woman risked her marriage, profession, and family by becoming involved with a career criminal (bless, bless). Now those risks have been played, Jennifer has probably lost much more than she ever anticipated. Oh, well.

The insurance company will pay, right?

Note: Jennifer probably wasn’t anymore healthy than her husband, noted by her my healing fingers beliefs on her “facebook” page. No healthy person would have made such unhealthy decisions.

Completely agree with post #49.

I don’t care how bad someone hurts you, it doesn’t somehow make it okay to snap and kill someone and then take the cowards way out by killing yourself.

I’ve got nothing but contempt for Jennifer and her actions leading up to this sad event but nothing she did even remotely excuses Keith’s response.

Outsider, typical comment. You that live in far more intellectual, important, diverse places talking down to us “country bumpkins”. We don’t care about your opinion. If this site is so beneath you, stop reading or posting here. Not missing you! Merry Christmas

I think Adultery would be hard to prove in an Idaho court since the other offender is dead and Jennifer has proven her hostile feelings towrds her former husband.. BUT how is Jennifer going to spin this to St. Peter at the Pearly Gates?. I think justice finally prevails just not always in a court of law.

Forget St. Peter, how is she going to spin and justify this to his parents and entire extended family? The kids likely have aunts, uncles and cousins who’s relationships will be affected.

I think several insurance policies have clauses for suicide – no payout. At least there’s social security death benefits. What a mess.

Outsider #55 – brilliant post. This is an online blog, not a paper, not unlike hundreds of others across the country. Name your city and I’ll find something similar for your area. The spelling and grammar have nothing to do with the site and owners itself. Duh! (Just a little Idaho saying…!)

I love Jennifer, She had only been seeing Purcell for 2 weeks! yea right. Is that when she started counting!

I think her masters degree in education leadership should be revoked! She should be given an honorary doctorate degree in “how to blow your family up”.
If Keith was so bad, she should have filed for divorce.

She has a Hummer, no wonder their was a financial strain on the family.
It’s obvious that the neighbor in the paper was Jennifer’s friend!

I love how the newspaper allows her to give Keith’s side of the story!
What would you have done if your wife’s boyfriend pulled up beside you and told you what kind of man your not anymore!

does anyone remember watching Rocky 3? Where Clubber Lang(Mr. T) says to Adrian(Rockys wife) why don’t you come over to my house and Ill show you a real man. Rocky wanted to kill him right there. It seems like to me Purcell being Jennifer’s new STUD was in Keith’s face. Keith actions aren’t excuseable, but neither is Jennifer(the innocent bystander) or Purcell excused. If Jennifer truly feared for her life she would have left right after Keith had shot Purcell. She is such a liar, her story does not add up! But she has written it very well. One day the dead will SPEAK

Newspaper journalists don’t think very hard these days!

WHY IS EVERYONE DEFENDING THE MURDER?? Do all you who have said this is ALL Jennifer’s fault, know how Keith was AT HOME? Do you know if he was mean or not? If he was violent or not? Jennifer was not in the right to cheat, but again, how many people on here are perfect?? Really, i want to know. You people go ON AND ON AND ON AND ON about this lady that cheated, and NOTHING about the man who followed his wife with a gun, and MURDERED ANOTHER PERSON. How can you so easily overlook the MURDER?!?! do you think keith knew Jack was going to show up?? Doubtful. Who do you think he was planning on shooting that night?? think about it. So if it was Jennifer that he had shot, would you still defend Keith? Would it still be OK to murder someone b/c that person had hurt them?
I’m sure Keith was hurt, I would be too, but in NO WAY is this Jennifer’s fault.
why don’t all you people start judging yourselves before you slander and judge others. WOW..once again, i’m disappointed in our community.

KT,
and I quote “If their heart is mean,they are mean” So would this apply for Keith who you want to hold a vigil for? Last time i checked, MURDER wasn’t a nice thing. I would definitely classify it as “mean”.

Hey “Have A Heart”,
Your writing style sounds like it belongs to the same personwho wrote Jennifer’s narcissistic and moronic facebook profile. Hmmmm… It also sounds almost exactly like the author of the posts (supposedly) written by “Native”.
Compare the punctuation and the phrasing and it is pretty obvious..
Just the typical self justifications and manipulations of a pathologically narcissistic sociopath…

Wow Cheyerra, I’m sorry I “write” like Native. But i can promise you we are not the same person. Is it that hard to believe people disagree w/ your line of thought?
And now you’re attacking me b/c I don’t think there’s ANY excuse for MURDER?? I can tell you I’m not a narcissis or a moron. You can give out insults pretty fast can’t you? Its that wrong of me to not judge people?
I agree cheating is very wrong, but not worse or equal to murder.

Guest 550,
I’ve never said that Jennifer’s actions add up or make sense. I agree w/ you that she hasn’t made the best decisions, I don’t think i would do an interview two days after something like this. I just find it amazing that Keith KILLED a man and ALL people are talking about is how Jennifer cheated. I, as everyone else, don’t know the circumstances of that night. Maybe he did just keep a gun in his car, but still in that case, it was his decision to shoot Jack, not Jennifer’s. That’s all i’m saying.

Student of Mr. Matthias,
So you can not justify cheating? I can’t either. But I can’t justify MURDER either, can you? I never said I feel bad for Jennifer. But she did not murder anyone. I just don’t think people should judge others w/out knowing the whole story. I guess i’m wrong in my thinking.
And i do feel HORRIBLE for the kids. I don’t know how you get over anything like this. but I do think they will be mad at BOTH of thier parents, not just their mom. Their mom made her decision to cheat, and their dad made HIS decision to Kill.
And just because she drove a Hummer doesn’t mean she was happy. You will learn money doesn’t buy happiness.

money didn’t buy her happiness

In this case, Mr. Matthias’s reaction is understandable. Being betrayed like that can cause a person to do crazy things that they wouldn’t normally do. If Jennifer hadn’t cheated, then none of this would have happened and Mr. Matthias would have had no reason to go temporarily insane. Or if she had called the police instead of her boyfriend, which would OBVIOUSLY provoke a conflict. I think she gets her jollies by men fighting over her so that she can bask in how “desirable” she is. Too bad the entire town hates her now.

Also, Jennifer is lying when she says that Mr. Matthias knew about the affair and was fine with it. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard–”By the way, dear, I’m screwing an ex convict.” “That’s okay, honey. Want me to pick up some milk at the store?” I think it’s more likely that Mr. Matthias found out himself somehow by finding a text or some other clue of what was happening. It’s not exactly a topic that most people discuss over dinner.

Tammy, I seriously doubt if IFPD will investigate any further, they have a nice and tidy open and closed case. IFPD couldn’t catch a cold in the arctic in winter. Maybe a Coroner’s Inquest is possible and I doubt the Prosecutor’s Office will do anymore.

I still question Jennifer’s actions that night from the dinner to break the news of the new boyfriend, not calling law enforement opting to call her knight in shining armor (over the prison fatigues) and then just sitting back watching in her rear view mirror, what would happen next. Then telling Keith he was going to jail. Did she call 911 after that? did she leave the scene? did she adjust her make-up?.

If she feared for her life, she would have immediately left the scene the moment Keith started shooting. I call her bluff.

I think Keith still cared enough about the kids and that’s why he didn’t shoot her also, and she knew he still cared.

The prosecutor needs to go after her for child endangerment and adultery.

OMG, you guys have got nothing on Birthers (those who think that Obama is a Kenyan), Truthers (those who think George Bush planned 9/11), Moonies (those who think we staged the moon landings), and other conspiracy nuts. Are your tin foil hats thinning a bit?

Jennifer did some very bad things leading up to this incident but its beyond ridiculous that some of you are seriously suggesting she orchestrated this whole thing. Because man if she can predict human behavior that well then I want to go to Vegas with her sometime and watch her play poker. She’ll make millions.

Jennifer had an affair. Something that millions of people do. That doesn’t excuse it but its not out of the ordinary either. She told Keith about her affair. He didn’t instantly snap but instead coldly and calculatingly stalked her by following her until he could find the guy she was sleeping with and assassinate him. Keith showed the ultimate form of narcissism.

Some of you are just sad sad pathetic little people with your conspiracy theories. I’ve extreme contempt for all cheaters, Jennifer included, but she didn’t cause this or want this to happen. I’ll bet many of you even call yourself christian, thank the stars I don’t hold to that belief given how hypocritical many of you are showing yourselves to be, and are in extreme violation of your own beliefs about judging others/

To cheyerra
You need to stop, really because thier could only be one person defending this murderer and that is you. And you keep on changing your name to make it look like you are more than one person. Come on people get a life I do not need to PRETEND I AM SOMEONE else. Get a life talk about the issues instead of getting mad that their are more people that believe that Mr. Matthias is a murdering punk.

I never once have said that their is good reason for infidelity. I only have said that time would heal. How are you going to heal from being dead. Jack was a good person that did not deserve to be killed. Can anyone say “Take responsibility for your actions” If Jack was your son, or your brother, you would not be so quick to judge or cast stones. Keith was a bomb waiting to explode, neighbors, students, and others have told a story about a loose canon, not an innocent dad sitting around taking care of his children. Mr. Matthias should have been at home that night packing him and kids up and taking them to a safe place while he filed for a divorce. Mr. Matthias had options other than MURDER!!! MRS. MATTHIAS had other options as well but the truth of the matter is that neither one was with the ones that really mattered and that is the kids. Mr. MATTHIAS is a MURDERER who should not be made out to be the victim in any sense, his actions caused death and destruction. Mrs. Matthias actions only caused a couple extra years in the shrinks office.

Hi native/HaveaHeart/Jennifer. I think Cheyerra had it right when she said that you’re the same person.

Who else has said that Mr. Matthias is a “murdering punk?” As far as I can see, the vast majority of us are understanding of his reaction to complete emotional devastation. Check out the poll results. What we don’t understand is why you called up your redneck knight in shining armor instead of the police if you were really so afraid. And if Mr. Matthias is so dangerous, why on earth did you risk your pathetic life by shouting “You’re going to jail!” at him when he had a gun in his hand?

Compare Mr. Matthias’s record to Jack Purcell’s record on the Idaho Repository. The wonderful Jack Purcell has several cases of domestic violence and theft. What does Mr. Matthias have? A speeding ticket. Scandalous. Oh yeah, and bankruptcy because his wife cleaned out his bank account on Hummers.

to Student of Mr. Matthias
MURDER was not on that Idaho Repository report.

Hey Jennifer,
thanks for your “blessings”, but I’m afraid you and I don’t serve the same God… You’ll get to see that for yourself one day, in the meantime you can keep spewing out your self justifications, but as you can see for your (pathetic) self when you read the majority of the posts, your blatant lies and manipulations are transparent. With the exception of “Native” and “Have A Heart” public opinion of you is almost anonymous… Sorry you won’t be driving your Hummer to meet your loser boyfriend this Christmas break, but don’t worry you can just use your Gym membership to pick up another loser before Spring break….

What the heck people… If Keith was on Anti Depressants or Anxiety pills… Maybe it was because she
(Jennifer DIRT BAG #1)
was destroying their life financially, while secretly sleeping with …
(Jack Purcell DIRT BAG #2) OH YEAH DID I MENTION … PRIOR CRIMINAL. GRAND THEFT … Steal what you want…. Even if it someone else’s wife…Guess he didn’t learn from the prison time…
There needs a petition started to get her out of the school districts. FACTS: A teacher involved with a convicted criminal. Don’t think this passes the back ground check. This HARLOT needs forced out of the school district.
Quit the pity party for her…Look at Keith’s vehicle, look at hers. He has on old rusted out truck. Her new HUMMER???? HMMM Roughly the same income… SHE IS A LYING TRAMP. Probably was buying new clothes for her an her new Beau while not paying the family bills. Keith was trying to give her everything he could. …Now for a little unknown FACT.. I learned from one of the Neighbors that lives 1 block away from Keith and Jennifer (DIRT BAG # 1). Jack (Dirt Bag #2) was going around meeting the neighbors stating that he was going to be moving into the neighborhood. WOW… JACK IS A DIRT BAG AND SO IS THIS BIMBO JENNIFER… She called her boyfriend to rough up or try to scare her husband..(Remember her talk of the GYM) . Didn’t work out like you thought huh JENNY…? You either huh Jack…? Guess you can’t answer that . If Jennifer was so unhappy, then why didn’t she leave…? It is because she wanted her security set up before leaving her husband. Once she was close, she dropped the bomb… Probably told her husband… Oh by the way… This criminal I am with is going to be your kids Daddy, and I will make sure you don’t get to see them… Also her story said “she went to ask if Jack wanted to continue this now that she was going to be a single mother of three…?” Did she think Jack was going to say … NO I ONLY LIKE DESTROYING PEOPLES MARRIAGES..? (She’s a peach)
Keith may have known about his past and did what he had to protect his kids
Johnson Brothers employees are known for having employees/guys sleep with other peoples wives. Ask the owner… He is sleeping with a married woman. I won’t do business there either…

I just found out that Mr Matthias was actually a serial killer!! they found multiple body parts in his desk at the school and discovered that hed been consuming human flesh for at least 15 years now! I knew he was dangerous.
Also it turns out Jennifer is a super human saint sent by God himself to heal the area of pain and suffering.
As for Mr Purcell he has a long criminal record and spent half of the last 15 years in jail. He is also a home wrecker, BUT he recently descovered he like sprinkles on his ice cream. How can a guy who likes sprinkles be bad?

God bless you again And again different people what is the deal no one in Idaho Falls can have a different opinion. Like I said I will email my myspace page and you can see what I look like and no NOTHING like Jennifer. I will be sleeping with my husband tonight that I have been maried to for 25 years and I will be spending Christmas with my 5 children and 14 grandkids. I love myspace and facebook (I have both).

Again I am stating Mrs. Matthias did not take another human life!! I have seen this type of behavior over and over again and it is all about Power and Control and his temper tantrum. This man has been in Idaho Falls long enough and made enemy’s with alot of parents whom he belittled and treated like crap. I have had the honor of meeting and dealing with him and so have alot of other people I know. I did not walk away feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Yeah this ordeal of him SNAPPING well alot of things caused him to snap and he just took another human life. SELFISH!!! I am glad he had the nerve to end his life because everyone is better off without this guy walking around waiting to explode.

Guest I like that one oh but I can’t like it or we will be accused of being the same person. HAHAHA

But we are all the same people. We are legion, just like Jennifer.

Native, Are we talking about the same person? Mr. Matthias was one of the most mellow teachers on staff. He never yelled at his class, never even raised his voice. Even the superintendent said that he never seemed “angry” at work. That’s not even the point, though. I don’t care if he was the scum of the earth, there is NO excuse for his wife to cheat. End of story. And if she hadn’t stupidly called up Jack Purcell and provoked a conflict between the men, nobody would have died. Or, better yet, if she had kept her legs closed until after she was divorced.

Nobody would even be having this conversation if she didn’t slander Mr. Matthias in the Post Register interview, though. Before I read that article, I just thought she was a selfish, airheaded bimbo who made a big mistake. After reading all the disparaging crap she said about Mr. Matthias in that interview, I then realized that she is a sociopathic airheaded bimbo who gets off on men fighting over her.

Native, you do have to admit that your writing style (if you can call it that) is remarkably similar to HaveaHeart’s. I hate to inform you that capitalizing ‘murder’ doesn’t make your drivel more compelling.

I am a proud gun carrying american citizan. I have to say though if my wife was having an affair I would say to her more power to you have a great life. No one is worth that much. I am not saying that the husband was wrong, but maybe he needed to let her go. We are all going through hard times, but no one is worth murder or suicide. Life is short.

Well said Wendyjo. All this talk about facebook – I don’t understand how some people use it so flippantly when it comes to “friends” – but why would the witness to the murder, “Jodie Duffin”, talk about what she saw at Walmart on her wall, and a few days later has “befriended” Jennifer Matthias on her page? Check out both of their walls. Maybe since the witness is so desparate to drink and get a babysitter, both women can find good childcare and get wasted together. Forget about those holiday blues.

Boy, some people sure make friends in an odd way…..

Dear Conceled,

Has your wife ever had an affair? If not, may I suggest that you have no REAL idea how you’d react? I’m not saying you’d commit murder, but I am saying until it happens to you, you have no idea the range of emotions one experiences. Truly. You. Have. No. Idea.

People snap and they snap in all sorts of situations. Adultery is one of the most painful sorts of betrayal one can ever experience. I know. I’ve been on the receiving end of 3 affairs between 2 spouses. Perhaps I should have chosen better, and hindsight is 20/20. C’est la vie.

BTW, I didn’t kill the affair partner(s), but ask anyone who’s been betrayed on this extreme level, and if they’re honest they’ll tell you they fantasized about such. I’m just sayin’. Perhaps everyone can factor this in to Mr. Matthias’s state of mind.

Student – I hope you don’t leave and continue to post here wherever you desire. For a high school student, you write very well and I’d hate to see one poster run you off.

Does anyone know if Keith Matthias has a valid CWP? If so, he was not “stalking with a gun” like some of you accuse. If he normally carried in his vehicle, like I do, then it was at his disposal legally.

I disagree with him coldly stalking his wife. He was told about her affair that SAME afternoon. So thoughtful of her, one day after he sought help and obtained a anti-depressent prescription. He didn’t stalk her to dinner, it was mutally agreed on. At dinner, more talk about the “now open, no secrets” affair. IMHO I think he snapped when she called Purcell to rescue her in the parking lot. Maybe he only followed her there to see if she was meeting up with him, which she ADMITTED she was going to immediately talk to Purcell to see if he was ready for her and her 3 kids. (wow, meet a guy in April, sleep with him for “2″ weeks, and spring the rest of your life on him – nice – wonder if the kids knew a new daddy was already in the works).

Admittedly, none of us will ever know and I give Jennifer Matthias zero credibility after her interview.

Sadly, Matthias had a few minutes to think after he killed Purcell, and probably decided he had nothing to live for and didn’t want to face his kids from a visiting room the rest of their lives. Maybe he thought they’d be better off without him. That and knowing your marriage is dead.

My aunt found out the hard way there are suicide clauses in life insurance policies when her S.O. shot himself. Not a dime.

How old are the kids anyway?

Anon #120 – last paragraph – wow, great point, hadn’t even thought of that yet.

Good thing I can lurk here and finish all my Christmas cooking/baking at once. Talk about multi-tasking….

One final observation for me. Keith didnt seek Jack out. Jen was in the parking lot acting like she didnt know Keith was there. Then she called Jack and told him where Keith was. Jack then located Keith and drove up beside him. Do you think he said “hey pal, how are you this evening?” likely more along the lines of ” Hey a@@$&%$! Why are you following your wife? GEt the F%$# out of here if you know whats good for you!”
Keith says ” excuse me who do you think you are?, this is my wife and mother of my kids, you stay out of this!”
JAck may respond. ” Not any more looser, shes done with you and decided to go for a real man who can satisfy her the way you never did! ”
“you have no idea what your talking about”
“So come and teach me then, tough guy, im right here. Ya, thats what i thought, break down and cry you b$#@h.”
Im getting carried away now, i admit, but you get the idea. it may have been alot worse even. we will never know. But we do know he never intended harn on Jen or he would have certainly done that.
of to work now
Im gettig carried away now but you get the point.

You should know how to spell reckless if your going to calling someone that.

That said, Whisper clearly is clueless about the law and foster care system if he / she thinks that there are even remotely any grounds to take away the kids from Jennifer.

Guest, You should know how to punctuate “you’re” and use the proper tense of “to call” before you stick your nose up in the air and call someone else ignorant. I can’t claim to know much about the foster care system, but it seems to me that the kids will be taken away soon enough anyway if Jennifer continues to have flings with ex-convicts who have a history of domestic violence.

I’m not sure how old the kids are, but I had the impression that they’re college age. Can anyone verify this?

She done them both wrong. How dangerous was Purcell?

Alice,
Time to leave “la la land” behind and use your brain…You don’t have to be there as a witness to see how her behavior and her slanderous comments regarding her husband in the interview are bizarre , disturbing and despicable ….

Alice,
I agree that she definitly has her “own issues” and those “issues” are what caused all of this…. her behavior before, during and after has been bizarre and despicable…. Sorry, but I just can’t imagine your suggested possible scenerio consisting of a mellow conversation between her husband and the violent ex- felon whom she was banging ….

Well said CR67.

There are people here who are making Jennifer out to be the most evil person in the world. Her facebook page makes her sound eccentric but many people are like that. And she had an affair just like countless people have done. And there was a confrontation between her husband and her lover, something that happens A LOT in these situations. But very rarely do you see someone do a murder / suicide and when you do you don’t need to look any further than the whackjob who committed the murder / suicide.

Looking at the Ten Commandments, both adultery and murder are sins. There’s a reason why killing is before adultery on the list though, because it is (obviously) the worse of the two sins.

Someone above mentioned that if they murdered someone, they hoped some of the people commenting here would be on the jury because they would set him free. I’d have to agree. I noticed several people here aren’t that twisted but some here obviously are.

The kids have one parent left as a result of this tragedy. Jennifer did not kill anyone (period). If we are trashing the only parent they have now, then that says much more about us than it does about anyone else.

Student of Mr Matthias wrote:

“Anyone with half a brain (or a slice of empathy) could figure out that pitting the two men against each other would cause a conflict that could become very ugly. If she hadn’t called the scumbag, nobody would have died that night.”

Absolutely true.

Student also wrote:

“The most bizarre aspect of this story is that instead of lying in bed and wallowing in grief and guilt as any normal person would have done, Jennifer was slandering Mr. Matthias in the Post Register a day later, and that is simply despicable.”

Also true. Her response reminds me of OJ Simpson and his post-murder claims about his wife’s evil character.

Student also wrote:

“Mr. Matthias’s reaction to complete betrayal and emotional devastation was much more understandable than Jennifer’s reaction to the deaths of two men she was involved with.”

Perhaps, after it was over, she felt she had won the Daily Double, at least, on her terms.

light bulb and “Catsup”, As far as we know, Jack was single other than his affair with Jennifer. He is at fault as well, but not nearly as much as Jennifer because she was married with three children and yet she still chose to have an affair. Talk about selfish! Her decision to have an affair with a felon was much more formulated than Mr. Matthias’s spur-of-the-moment reaction to Jennifer purposely causing a conflict between him and Jack. It’s unfortunate that the only parent the kids have left is the one who obviously cares more for herself than them.

Nobody is saying that murder was the best choice that Mr. Matthias could have made –obviously it isn’t –but we can put the situation in context and realize that his reaction was understandable. Jennifer didn’t pull the trigger, but she set up the scenario and then sat in her Hummer with a blank expression instead of crying or showing any signs of trauma at all, which would be a normal reaction. Then she promptly slandered Mr. Matthias in the Post Register expecting everyone to see what a “victim” she is. Sorry, but I have a hard time feeling pity for her. Poor Jennifer, all she did was have an affair and split apart her family and set up the situation for two men to die with a front-row seat in her Hummer! Bring out the violins.

So, “light bulb,” everyone who disagrees with you is a nutball and the woman who mows the front lawn in a bikini and thinks she has magical healing powers isn’t? That aside, she has the nerve to defend herself after she caused this tragedy. The Post Register interview is the clincher — if she had quietly receded into the background after the incident, nobody would have to know what a piece of work she is. But sociopaths never quietly mind their own business, do they? They thrive on drama and hogging the limelight, so of course she would jump at the opportunity to throw a public pity party for herself.

One more observation that I forgot to mention: Jennifer said that her affair was “no secret. Everybody knew about it!” Um, how many different ways are there to say “liar?” Does she really expect people to believe that Mr. Matthias knew about her relationship with Jack and was FINE with it? Not to mention her kids, friends, co-workers, etc.? There aren’t many people who would say, “You’re having an affair with a felon? Good for you, Jenny!” There’s no getting around the fact that Jennifer’s reaction to this tragedy and her transparent justifications are abnormal to say the least.

Well, I ran into an old collegue of mine this weekend out after-Christmas shopping. Turns out, she is/was (I better not say exactly) an employee of Bush Elementary, same place as Matthias works. Apparently, it’s been no secret their marriage has been problematic the last few years and also no surprise to staff she has been cheating.

I see also the funeral service for Matthias was held, but didn’t see an obit printed. Saw the one for Purcell though. Must have been kept very private.

No, Jennifer probably doesn’t know all about it even though her fingers pass on the living death to others. No wonder her power scares her.

anonymous wrote:

“if Keith hadn’t hadn’t decided to murder two of God’s children then we’d either not be talking about this at all, or most people wouldn’t be interested.”

Obviously god did not care about these two children, as the murder/suicide shows. Maybe Jennifer put her magic hands on god, and in return, her prayers were answered.

I agree with Alice. What does posting on Christmas day have anything to do with anything? What a ridiculous comment. I also disagree with Dogs other statment “There are ways to harm your fellow man and leaving him suffering all his life that are every bit as cruel as murder.” I’m pretty sure having your life snuffed out by a jealous husband trumps anything else you’re suggesting, especially adultry. There are only ways to harm your fellow man if said mans allows himself to be harmed. (including adultry, physical & emotional abuse, etc) As soon as he found out his wife was cheating on him, he should have walked away like a man and divorced her. He would have gotten custody of his kids AND would still be alive today.
Seems alot of comments being made about this topic involve people that have no clue what it’s like to be cheated on or even have cheated themselves. I’ve been in a few relationships where the woman cheated on me but I didn’t feel the urge to kill the man. I may have initially wanted to kick his @ss at the time, but it’s easier to walk away from the issue and the relationship with your sanity and your honor intact. Sure it hurts but that’s life. You learn to deal with it and move on thus becoming a stronger person because of it IMO. Like Alice said, “we will never really know exactly what happened”. I agree, and there’s no sense in speculating let alone casting judgement on any of the people involved. None of us are perfect and nobody deserves to die because they committed adultry.

Hey CR.67, About time you came up with an alias. The elusive “Guest” and “Anonymous” was becoming hard to keep track of.

Nice sentiment, but “choosing your emotions” in a situation like that is a tad unrealistic. We’re all very proud of you for your high and mighty reaction to being cheated on, but did your girlfriend call up her thuggish ex-con lover who she met at the gym to put you in your place? Mr. Matthias’s situation was worse than the average scenario for so many reasons that I can’t even begin to list them all, but post #46 is a good place to start.

Anonymous, I don’t know about you, but when I’m in a relationship with someone I love, I have no desire to betray them. Good looks really aren’t “tempting” to me. If someone has the desire to cheat in a relationship, then it’s time to take a step back and figure out what’s wrong with the relationship.

Sorry to dissapoint you student, but I haven’t been on this site for months until recently. Now I remember why.

CR67, Maybe you should try sticking to the topic and having an actual discussion instead of firing back with a snarky one-liner. I don’t know why you bother pretending that you aren’t agreeing with yourself when we’ve all memorized your story by now of how you’ve been cheated on but you didn’t kill anyone over it. And how Jennifer is a “little loony” but at least she didn’t murder anyone. My arguments stand for themselves and I find no satisfaction from agreeing with myself. If you can’t tell the difference between me and Cheyerra or anyone else on this board then you haven’t been paying attention.

That aside, we can “speculate” based on Jennifer’s Post Register interview. Any normal person wouldn’t be in the proper mental and emotional state of mind to slander the father of their children right after he and her ex-con lover died. Nobody “judged” Jennifer until they read the interview. Sure, I thought it was strange that she showed no emotional response on the news broadcast, but I just thought she was ditzy at first. I didn’t start despising her until she attempted to justify herself by saying that Mr. Matthias was “angry,” “depressed,” “not a happy person,” and, most importantly, “filing for anti-depressants.” (As if that justifies her affair somehow? No wonder he was depressed.) Not to mention her affair that was “no secret.” I wonder what her kids think of that.

I agree that Mr. Matthias shouldn’t have murdered the thug, but he wasn’t the cause of this. Jennifer set this up to happen by having an affair first of all and then creating the conflict between Mr. Matthias and the ex-con. There’s no “speculation” required to reach the conclusion that something is wrong with her.

And by the way student, the Post Register article you all talk about came out on Dec 22nd. Try reading many of the comments posted on Dec 21st and then tell me people weren’t judging her already.

CR – good to see you back stranger!

Whether anyone judged before or after the Post Register article, or not at all, how could you not read the following and know her head was in a pretty strange place?

From the article:

“During their lunch break on the day of the shootings, Jennifer and Keith Matthias met at their home in Idaho Falls and discussed their marriage. They agreed to separate and see other people, she said. It was then that Jennifer Matthias told her husband about her relationship with Purcell, she said.

“Everybody knew the story,” she said. “Nobody was kept in the dark. There was no secret affair.”

At the time, Keith Matthias seemed to accept the agreement, she said. They agreed to meet at their home for dinner that night, after which she planned to visit Purcell to ask him whether he wanted to continue as a part of her life as a single mother of three. Keith Matthias did not object to the meeting, she said.

After dinner, Jennifer Matthias said she went to visit Purcell to discuss their future together. As she drove away from their home, she noticed her husband’s white Mazda following her Hummer with its headlights turned off.” ….

Well, someone must have tipped her off about Facebook b/c her info and photo have all but disappeared to anyone but friends. I can’t imagine the kids are going to be comfortable when school resumes but hopefully their peers are kind and sensitive.

Hey Guest,
It’s obvious you’re not Santa Clause, he is way to busy giving gifts to all the good little children while you’re on here using a whole variety of user names to defend the Skank with the magical fingers…. as for anyone thinking you’re God, He’s way to busy forgiving skanks like Jennifer than to be on here with keeping up with your many aliases.
You have posted on this messageboard as “Anonymous, CR-67, Guest, Note and Lightbulb…What is wrong with your Warped EGO that you have to actually agree with yourself? Or is it that you hoping to be the next lucky one in the back seat of the hummer with Miss Magic Fingers? You are almost as pathetic as the sociopathic skank you keep trying to defend… Oh and as for me and “Student of Mr. Matthias” being the same writer according to you…Thanks for the compliment, “Student of Mr. Matthias” kicks you’re proverbial @ss everytime…

An early post by anonymous is me but the rest are not. Someone else started posting as anonymous so I switched to guest. Beyond that I’m just me. It just shows how weak your arguments are that you think everyone who disagrees with you must be one person.

#4 is me. #19, also by anonymous, is not. Nor is #22 or #36 (by someone called guest, guess I should have picked a different handle). Nor is #40. #41 is the first by me as Guest.

Noticing now that there is someone else posting as Guest (its obvious we aren’t the same since we are taking opposite sides but I wouldn’t expect you guys to look that deep) I’m adding the 13 to the end of my name.

Hi Reader,
it is certainly true that many people do chose to use Guest or Anonymous, when they first start to post and I never did say that he was every single “guest” or “anonymous” posting on this messageboard, but my point was that this particular poster is deliberately changing his name in order to agree with himself. He also choses several user names (lightbulb, note, cr-67) before he settles on “Guest 13″. But “Student” is right, it’s a waste of time to play tit for tat with his EGO.
Honesty is the best policy with the kids who are (unfortunalely) in her class, and if I were the parent of one of those (unfortunate) kids I probably would demand a transfer to a different classroom just on the grounds of her bizarre comments about having magical healing powers in her fingers. The tragedy she caused and feels no remorse about would just seal the deal.

Cheyerra – I think you can rule CR67 out on your list, he’s been around here longer than me and IMO wouldn’t have a reason to sock puppet on this topic anyway. I don’t think student of Mr. M and Cheyerra are the same either, different writing style.

Besides, who cares – everyone speak your own opinion! If you need to agree with yourself, I’ll have my kids come whack you on the back and tell you “good job”. Then you can watch Spongebob.

It’s really curious why Mr. Matthias’ obituary wasn’t printed but Purcell’s was. The funeral was Saturday but sure was kept hush-hush. Maybe there were some strange magic finger ceremonies going on….

Idaho Falls people ARE judgemental because most are mormon!! Sorry, just had to put it out there

Annoyed,
What does someone’s religon have to do with being able to recognize a sociopath like Jennifer for what she is? Her own words speak volumes in the interview which she so graciously granted a day after the deaths of the two men she was sleeping with . In that interview her words sound like the the words of a remorseless, lying, self-justifying, manipulative excuse for a human .
Oh and if you think it’s just a local “Mormon judgemental attitude” in regards to Miss Magic Fingers, then you need
to check out this link below. Most of the posters aren’t locals yet they can see right through her… http://f2bbs.com/bbs/show_topic/159320
Just thought I’d put it out there…

Annoyed @ 12:15 am, “most people are judgemental” simply because they are raised to be judgemental: Of their own behaviors and those of others, in all situations; and it doesn’t matter where they live.

I’m not a mormon but I still believe Jennifer Matthias is a messed up human being that destroyed two men’s lives and significantly harmed her three children’s lives. She’s bad news, a woman that obviously makes and carries out bad decisions. That’s not someone any parent wants teaching their child.

Didn’t see that 550, but today’s Post Register lists Purcell’s service today at 3PM and further down a memorial service for Keith Matthias Jan 6th at 4PM at the LDS Chapel on 12th and Woodruff. So, they must have done a private family funeral the 26th and will do a memorial service in January.

Lord, if I was his wife I’m not sure I could face scores of people at such an event. To each his own, I guess.

That’s true, I would have never interviewed with the press, especially less than 72 hours after the shooting. Such poor taste. An interview like that is expected from a white trash woman without any morals, not a Master’s level educator and mother fresh from multiple deaths and children to protect.

I bet Sven Berg of the PR didn’t realize what would become of his interview – since it was an AP article, I’ve seen it posted all over the northwest in numerous papers, as well as comments from those of us outside Idaho. Perhaps it was meant to be a simple understanding of what happened, but I bet Berg and Matthias had no idea it would reveal a side of the story which has now caused so much scorn and disdain for her.

This case is surely fascinating, from a million angles.

That shows how cold of a heart she has

I stand by what I said I saw on channel 3. It was this morning between 6 and 7 a.m. At the end of the video story about people not being able to afford their pets, the news person said that even a local murder/suicide story had a connection to this story and that Jennifer Matthias had taken her 7 cats to the shelter. I can’t remember if they said it was on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day but I think it was one or the other.

Look at all the other personality disorders being discussed in this thread. Cat hoarding isn’t so bad.

As for the fate of the poor cats, Miss Magic Fingers had no more use for them … This is known as the “D and D” or the “devalue and discard”…. it’s the classic move for a sociopath when they are all done using someone ….

Wendy – Good post, I was going to type up something about the sociopath label not fitting her at all but you beat me to it. There are a few similarities but all in all, it wasn’t the right label. It sounds like Jennifer Matthias was headed for an explosion in her personal life and she chose to handle it by having an affair, tell her husband, and here we are today…. sounds to me like serious marital dissatisfaction with decisions to be dishonest and spiteful rather than ending it and protecting your children from as much harm as you can, as a mother and woman should do.

Nope, I wouldn’t let my kid continue in her class by a long shot.

What’s scary is how many other professionals we trust with our kids who are falling apart outside of work, ie mental health problems, relationship issues, etc. Some can keep it going, but it usually affects their work performance.

I know of two other teachers right now who are having an affair. He’s married, she’s divorced, no one in the school has a clue. I can only imagine what the two women would do to each other if he set up a confrontation b/w the two, especially where it’s been going on for 2+ years. My advice of getting a divorce seems to fall on his deaf ears….

I didn’t know Jennifer personally, but Dr. Hare’s list sounds like it fits her more than bipolar disorder. I know someone with bipolar disorder who would never abandon her pets or claim that she has magical healing powers, even on an “upswing.” To me, the biggest sign of sociopathy is the infamous Post Register interview. Jennifer was slandering Mr. Matthias before the dust even settled and had the nerve to try to justify her behavior. That’s another sociopathic trait that isn’t listed there — they can justify anything.

I also thought it sounded like a stretch at first to label her as a sociopath because I’ve always thought of sociopaths as serial killers like Charlie Manson. But when I learned about all the traits of a sociopath, I was shocked to discover that they aren’t necessarily serial killers (in fact most of them aren’t), but the types of people who could JUSTIFY their own odious behavior. (Which is why many of them do become serial killers, cult leaders, whatever.) There are actually more of them among us than I ever believed before — I think the official percentage is 4%, but that only pertains to DIAGNOSED sociopaths — and sociopathy is very hard to diagnose, so there are even more than that. So, chances are that everyone has met AT LEAST one, probably more.

Oh, come on, that’s all more than just a little hard to believe. The principal isn’t going to go around gossiping about what funerals widow Matthias does and doesn’t want to pay for. Being a couple hundred thousand dollars in debt, having three kids to support, and having no job, chances are she’s not going to go pay for a guy’s funeral she’d only dated for two weeks. Doesn’t matter who she might think should be responsible for her husband’s funeral/burial, she’s his wife and she gets billed.

Still, as erratically as she’s been behaving it wouldn’t be surprising to see her try to get out of owing the money. The only way she can do that is by filing bankruptcy. Even then she’ll be unable to hold on to her home unless she can continue to make house payments; which will be pretty difficult without a job.

As bad as things are for Jennifer Matthias they will only get worse. Unfortunately, those grave conditions involve her children.

Comment edited by moderator. (please stay on topic and refrain from calling names)

Hey “Moderator”,
take a look at post # 167…This poster ADMITS to using several different names… Ofcourse he convientanly forgets to list all his other posts and aliases… Must be scary for him to see how transparent he is to others…

I agree, his posts were inane, and I also agree with the “who cares” statement as to how often he psuedo-posts.. I don’t have time to psycho-analyze a person’s motives for psuedo-posting, that would be best left up to a shrink….
My purpose on this site was to share my opinion and I was only motivated to do so after I read the bizarre and slanderous post register interview. Then the subject turned to possible “mental disorders” and many posters gave their opinions. There are resources available to eveyone with internet access to educate themselves about sociopathy and all of the other mental disorders discussed. Knowledge is Power… Peace out….

Anyone feel like getting back on topic? If the principal is gossiping, it’s totally unethical. I’m sure the Super. will put a cork in it. If the rumor is true about funeral payment, how low can a woman go?

Based on all the comments here and around town, Jennifer would do everyone a favor by leaving town. Maybe Daren Palmer is looking for a new woman….

Why should IFHS take his photo down? Chances are his students want to remember him. Doesn’t matter whether or not they take his email address down. It’s not like anyone sending him an email is going to get a response.

No, “anyone?,” the principal isn’t gossiping, you and we are gossiping. The principal hasn’t told us crap.

Grab hold of your own throat when trying to choke the offender.

Are they ever going to post an obituarie for Keith or hold a funeral for him?

This story is a tragedy. A husband, friend, teacher, and father is dead because he was so hurt by his wife bad decisons. I don’t judge either person, but I think the main thing here is when you get married it is a contract to love one another and be friends. Jennifer is wrong in having an affair, she should of separated from his spouse first. And her decisons affect her children lives no matter what man she ended up with. I feel bad she didn’t even post an obituary of her husband. That is disrespectful. She mentioned her lover as being the hero. I don’t think so. I cannot believe this person is a teacher. I know she will go on, and her husband and lover are dead as a result of her bad decisions. I pity her.

The one thing that bothers me about this whole article is the fact that whom ever wrote this brought up Jacks history. What does the fact that he was convicted of theft have ANYTHING to do with the situation between him and the wife or the fact that he was shot? I know people that were very good freinds with Jack and have always described him as a great guy. I think there was some biass going on in the writing of the article and it needs to be realized.
I think the whole situation is a mess but who is to blame??? Well even though what Jack and Jennifer did was wrong, it did not give the husband the right to take a life PERIOD!!!. I do believe that Jennifer should have done the right thing and sought out a divorce first before starting a relationship with someone else, and in that respect she is undeniably in the wrong. As for Jack, I don’t know if he knew she was married from the beginning, or until later on in the relationship, but he should have broken it off with her the moment he found out. In that respect he was in the wrong. As for the husband, I can only imagine the hurt he was going through. When something like that happens, it is understandable that he would be enraged, I would be too…however…no matter how angry you are, you have to be able to control yourself and not go overboard. There have been many husbands/wives in similar situations that have been enraged but have never crossed that line into murder. While he was following her, the husband new what he wanted to do, and instead of realizing that this was a bad idea and going home, he fullfilled the plan. People forget that killing someone is NEVER worth it…the same with killing yourself.

What are you talking about? Post 211 more or less blames Jennifer and Post 212 blames Keith! How can you agree with both of them?

I mis spoke the articles that I was agreeing with are 213 and 212. I was speaking about the 2 directly above me another post was posted before I got mine on there but thank you for bringing this to my attention.

I like the fact that the crime are being blamed on the appropriate person. I know that morally people do not act as they should. I encounter this everyday….. but murder is murder and Jennifer did not do anything close to muder she did do something morally wrong. She took away from her learning and is teaching a wrong message to those that look up to her for advice and learning. It is sad that someone took away from this world and was judge and jury. Keith is/was not God and truly God is the only true entity that should make that decision. We as humans make other decisions everyday and bad or good we live and learn our lessons from those decisions. Keith took lives though and no matter what the argument is there is no excuse or justification for murder.

Very true post “dog” I agree with you. Taking another persons life is taking someones lessons away that they are supposed to learn. Your interfering with destiny. I also believe that this man “Keith” was not the devil incarnate but to me this story is personal because people that I dearly love knew and loved Jack. It is a bit different when people that you know are involved. You never want to see the people that you care about hurt. People justify and make excuses for people even when you know it is wrong. There is no good excuse for any involved. The only reason we know about the cheating is because the murder made this public knowledge. We all know people that cheat and involve themselves with others that are married. People whisper about them behind their backs, if they know, and make assumptions about the affairs. If everyone made cheating a top priority to end, we as a society, would not sweep this under the rug. This is not a priority for many Americans until something like this happens and throws the subject into many peeoples faces.

Destiny but definition is “an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future ” I believe that by choices we alter our destiny. Keith altered anothers destiny by disposing of it and thus made the desicion for Jack. I believe our book of life comes with a pencil not pen. Jack and Jennifer came to a place where they made the decision as adults do to indulge into a relationship and both knew that was not acceptable, or maybe it was not that bad to them.

Personally I think that infidelity is not one of the things that I would become a “killer” over. I would like to think I could control myself in any situation. Compared to some situations infidelity is so low on the totem that it is laughable. For instance if someone murdered one of my children or family members for nothing, molesting one of my children or family members, domestic abuse that resulted in death or hospitalization of one of my loved ones. Keith will not be there if/when one of his little ones are gonna need there dad. No one but him is responsible except him. I read somewhere that we live long enough to see our sins affect our family or children. Let me say it this way; if you were a bully in school there may be a good possibility that we will see one of our children or loved one deal with a bully at school. You cannot outrun “Karma.” What comes around goes around and when it comes back around it may not hit you it may be the ones that you love the most that are hit.

Wow, didn’t think we’d see an obituary but here it is. The tone of each is certainly different.

Keith Edwin Matthias, 49, of Idaho Falls, died Friday, Dec. 18, 2009, in Idaho Falls.
He was born June 11, 1960, in Pittsburg, Pa., to Harry W. Matthias and Lois V. Pollock Matthias. He spent his early child- hood in Pennsylvania. Later his family moved to Ohio, where he attended high school and college. He graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in music education. He later received his certification in mathematics. He received a master’s degree from Nova Southeastern University in educational leadership. He married Jennifer A. Matthias in Florida in 1992.
Keith was musically talented. He played the clarinet, alto and soprano saxophone, piano and the flute. He loved to travel and enjoyed exploring places of interest across the United States with his family. A veteran teacher of many years, he enjoyed working with his students. He was a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church.
Keith was a fan of the Pittsburg Steelers, he also loved bodybuilding and won second place in his weight class in a competition in Sarasota, Fla.
He is survived by his wife, Jennifer; children, Taylor E. Matthias, Jordan E. Matthias and Aubrey A. Matthias; his parents, Harry and Lois Matthias; a brother, Kenneth E. Matthias; a sister-in-law, Gina Matthias; a niece, Krista Matthias; a grand-nephew, Brendan Matthias; his mother-in-law, Therese Durfee; and several brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews.
Private family services were held Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009. Online condolences may be sent to the family at http://www.buckmillerhann.com.

*******************************************
Jack Duane Purcell, 46, of Idaho Falls, died Friday, Dec. 18, 2009, in Idaho Falls.
Jack was born March 29, 1963, in Tucson, Ariz. Jack had worked for Johnson Brothers for the past two years, where he was loved and respected by all that knew him.
Jack lived in many places but considered Idaho Falls his true home. Jack faced many challenges and hardships during his life but was grateful for the opportunity he had been given for a new start. Jack never made excuses for his past decisions and accepted that he could only work on the present.
He was committed to caring for his personal well being and worked out at Apple Athletic Club every day, sometimes for hours at a time, or running in the park. He enjoyed the outdoors and all sports. Jack possessed a good heart and was willing to help anyone who was in need. He was a devoted employee with a positive attitude and encouraged those around him. Jack had an infectious smile and was cordial to all. He loved life and enjoyed being around all of his friends. He placed a high value on his friendships and will be sincerely missed.
Jack is survived by his mother, Nancy of Michigan; his sister, Terri Purcell of Las Vegas; and his many friends in Idaho Falls.
Memorial services will be at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 29, at Buck-Miller-Hann Funeral Home, 825 E. 17th St. in Idaho Falls, with pastor Bob Sherwood officiating. Online condolences for Jack may be left at www .buckmillerhann.com.

This is for post 224

224 Guest January 5, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Did Jennifer Mathias return to teaching at Bush elementary this week or not? <———-I don't believe that is any of your bussiness.

Wendy Jo if they have children in her classroom then sure it is. If not then it’s really none of their bussiness.

You’re incorrect, guest 8765309:

As long as the woman is hired and working for the County/State, her name and work record is open to the public who pay her salary.

If she doesn’t like that fact then, she better get a different job.

In my mind Jennifer is nothing more than a selfish “Black Widow”! She has the nerve to slam her dead husband even before he is laid to rest. She blames him for their financial problems yet she drives a Hummer (8 m.p.g. but I’m sure she thinks she looks good in it). She brings up possible molestation or inappropriate behavior while teaching in Florida, which was never substantiated or he would not have been teaching for District 91. What a ………!

Guesttoomanynumbers, its laughable the level of hypocracy you exhibit.

By the way guest, the correct number is 867-5309. Can we call you Jenny? Seems as if a little 6th grade review of spelling and English might help, maybe Mrs. Matthias might accept you into her classroom….

Seriously, I’m surprised Sven Berg hasn’t done a follow up to his original interview. Something like “Coping 1 month later” so we can read more self-serving comments.

Maybe my Hummer comments were off base but I don’t think so. Bottom line for me: She was/is an idiot for saying one word to the press that soon after an event like that. I don’t care about the Hummer’s “Blue Book” but I do know that driving daily from South I.F. to A.H. Bush in a Hummer is not cheap. The big thing for me is how she brought up sh*t that allegedly happened in Florida. He was never arrested, convicted, or fired! That is bogus and if you (Reader876) don’t agree, then you are an idiot also. For whatever reason, she made bad choices, let them compound into more bad choices where two deaths resulted.

Reader, you refer to “867-5309” and “Jenny” in your post #235. As most of us know, this is from the song “Jenny” from the legendary band Tommy Tutone. The topic of this page is “Jennifer” and reader8765309 sure is defensive and supportive of her.

“Jenny, I got your number,
I need to make you mine.
Jenny, don’t change your number,
8-6-7-5-3-0-9 (8-6-7-5-3-0-9)
8-6-7-5-3-0-9 (8-6-7-5-3-0-9)”

“I got it, I got it, I got it!
I got your number on the wall!
I got it, I got it, I got it!
For a good time, for a good time call….”

Seems a little strange and there’s definitely no “good time” associated with any of this.

C McGuilicutty yes we all have sinned (except Jesus) but the difference is we didn’t HELP KILL two or MORE people with our intended (not unintended) ACTIONS.

We all sin but honest people would not do what these three, (however the MAJORITY of people who have heard of this story agree that Jennifer is the most EVIL of all of them because she manipulated BOTH men) did. Most honest human beings would not have let this story play out as it did both in life and in the media.

C McGuilicutty/Jennifer or friend of Jennifer, how do you look at yourself EVERYDAY and not relive what happened??? That will be her punishment BEFORE she gets to the other side.

I love how the super religious in this town you know, the ones who like to quote the bible, are the ones who judge others the most. Talk about hypocritical.

“The only type of people that judge others for what model vehicle they drive are people that cant afford to drive one themselves.”

Now that’s funny comment 240. I judged her for driving a Hummer, and I can afford and do drive much nicer than that. So your blanket statement is wrong. The fact is, a family facing mounting financial problems (she said), a teacher who works at one of the poorer schools in the district (well known Bush fact) – driving a Hummer was probably something she could have reconsidered in light of those mounting financial problems. Gimme a break.

I wonder — if she is back in the classroom — how carefully are parents watching her?

Well, men don’t seem to have a problem sticking around after ruining their families and becoming the scorn of the community – look at Daren Palmer! At least his wife had the sense to get out of dodge.

Do I think she’d go back to the classroom? After reading her PR interview, she exuded innocence and blamed her husband for everything. Without taking any personal responsibility, yes – she may very well have decided to go back. I’ll see my Bush Ele. friend soon, so all I have to do is ask. I can’t believe someone here doesn’t know if she’s teaching or not. IF is too small of a town!

I have only posted under Reader68. Believe it or not! I have read all of them and the previous three that I posted(231, 237, 239) are my only posts ever, on any page. What is the point of hiding under multiple alias’s when we are already anonymous? Makes no sense.

I’m not real religious, don’t care if people are, and I like reading all of the different points of view on this topic. As I said, the thing that pissed me off was Jennifer talking to the PR and slamming a dude that wasn’t even cold yet. He obviously had no chance to rebut/defend himself and his story will never be heard. Because of that interview and (in my view) extreme lack of character, I would never allow her to teach and mentor my kids.

McGuilicutty, myself and most of us here can probably afford to drive a Hummer. I choose not to because I think they suck! However, if I did, I would not publicly blame my wife for my financial problems, even if she was dead.