Claim:   Daughter of murder victims decries the removal of "So help me God" from the oath trial witnesses are sworn by.

Status:   False.

Example:   [Collected on the Internet, 2004]

This is by a daughter of a murdered couple in Raytown who had a Bible and Bookstore on 63rd street. Just one more example: When I had to testify at the murder trial of my parents a week ago, I was asked to raise my right hand. The bailiff started out "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" I stood there and waited but she said nothing. She said "Do you?" I was so stunned I blurted out "What happened to "so help me God'?" She came back with "Do you?" I replied yes, but I was perplexed. Then the judge said "you can say that if you want to." I stopped, raised my right hand, and finished with "So help me God!" I told my son and daughter that when it came time for them to testify, they should do the same. It's no wonder we have so many problems in this country. If I'd had my wits about me I'd have told them that taking God out of the courtroom is only going to result in more criminals and murderers like him being in there! I don't know what can be done about it, but it's time we stepped up and did something. CNBC this morning had a poll on this question. They had the highest number of responses that they have ever had for one of their polls and the percentage was the same as this: 86% to keep the words, 14% against. That is a pretty commanding public response. I was asked to send this on if I agreed or delete if I didn't. Now it is your turn... It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a mess about having "In God We Trust" on our money and having God in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the 14% to Sit Down and SHUT UP!!! If you agree, pass this on, if not simply delete..

Origins:   Often titled "Agree or Delete" or "In God We Trust," this story has been circulating on the Internet since December 2004. It is an odd piece to classify in that a real murder has been used to dress up a false story.

Raytown, Missouri, has a population of 30,000 and lies about 8 miles southeast of Kansas City and 7 miles southwest of Independence. On 20 October 2004, an elderly couple who ran a Christian bookstore in that city was discovered murdered in their shop. Dead were John Caylor (79) and his wife Mildred Caylor (76). The couple had their throats cut by a robber who likely made off with less than $100, which was typically all that was carried in the cash drawer that was found empty. The victims had been married for 54 years and had run the store for 43 years. They were described by their friends as "old-time" Southern Baptists who focused on spreading the gospel and sometimes held tent revivals in their parking lot. One of their sons told how the pair would load up their van with musical instruments and visit nursing homes to perform. Their lives were about doing good, loving one another, and loving God.

On 4 November 2004, Kellen C. McKinney (27) was charged with two counts each of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the deaths of the Caylors. His DNA being found on a bloodstained bag left near the cash register was the evidence that broke the case. When run through a DNA database, the sample matched McKinney, whose DNA was on file by virtue of his having served a prison sentence in Kansas.

However, that the murders were real does not mean the "daughter's" account of her experience in a courtroom is. News accounts refer to the Caylors as having three sons, but no mention surfaces of any daughter. Moreover, although there has been an arrest in the case, the suspect has yet to be tried, a fact that moves the "daughter's" account of her courtroom experience squarely into the fiction column.

We suspect a very real tragedy involving two highly sympathetic victims has been seized upon by some unknown person as the window dressing for his "mentions of God in the courtroom" soapboxing. Perhaps the anonymous author presumed if the crime were real, folks would assume the exchange between the daughter and the bailiff was also the truth.

Barbara "hogwash 'n' wear" Mikkelson

Last updated:   1 January 2005

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  Sources:

    The Associated Press.   "Kansas Man Charged in Death of Christian Bookstore Owners."

    4 November 2004.

    The Associated Press.   "Son Pleads for Help Finding Parents' Killer."

    24 October 2004.

    The Associated Press.   "No Suspects in Christian Bookstore Double Murders."

    22 October 2004.

    The Associated Press.   "Two Found Dead in Raytown Christian Book Store."

    4 November 2004.