Cannibalism suspect's sordid trail runs through Great Falls.Prosecutors say boys were abused, killed

GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- When the man who moved into Nathaniel Bar-Jonah's former apartment read last week in the newspaper what allegedly went on in his home before he arrived, he peered up at the brown mark on the kitchen ceiling, put down the paper, and vomited.

The mark, prosecutors say, was where Bar-Jonah screwed a pulley into the ceiling, attached a nylon rope, and hung young boys by the neck to fulfill his perverse sexual fantasies.

The grisly revelations about Bar-Jonah's alleged abuse of boys and their remains have sickened many in this city of 60,000 at the edge of the Rockies.

Bar-Jonah, 43, is a Massachusetts native who, according to a Montana prosecutor, was dumped here by Bay State authorities after he had molested at least three children near his hometown of Dudley. Bar-Jonah served 12 years at the Massachusetts Treatment Center for the Sexually Dangerous in Bridgewater, then in 1991 a judge allowed him to leave the state to go to Montana and live with his mother.

Now he has been accused of kidnapping, molesting, butchering, and eating the remains of at least one young boy. And he allegedly kept a detailed, albeit confusing, record of it all. It was that account, released by prosecutors to the public last Tuesday, that has been so disturbing to the people of Great Falls.

"Mark brought a kitten with him when he moved here, and it wouldn't go in the place," said Doug McGiboney, who lives in the apartment next door. "The kitten knew that place was evil."

The town is struggling with the notion that a serial pedophile linked to cannibalism walked these streets and drew crowds of children to his weekly garage sales of "Star Wars" memorabilia and stuffed animals.

Cascade County Attorney Brant Light detailed his theory of how the former fast-food worker disposed of the remains of a 10-year-old Great Falls boy named Zachary Ramsay.

Ramsay disappeared nearly five years ago on his way to school, and Light said he believes Ramsay was butchered by Bar-Jonah and his remains served unwittingly to neighbors in burgers and stews over a period of weeks.

It may get worse. Authorities are investigating Bar-Jonah's travels over two decades and are culling his 25-year string of convictions for child molestation, seeking clues on other victims in what has become a national search.

"This has really shaken people to their core," said Great Falls Police Chief Robert G. Jones. "It is going to take a long time for things to return to normal."

"Mark brought a kitten with him when he moved here, and it wouldn't go in the place," said Doug McGiboney, who lives in the apartment next door. "The kitten knew that place was evil."

I always keep a kitten around to alert me to places that are evil. I won't go anywhere the kitten won't go. This has caused me trouble at the office, as I am unable to enter my boss' office. For weeks at a time I can't go down into the basement. I have also found that a litter box or saucer of cream is an effective talisman against evil; when placed in evil places, the evil vanishes and my kitten finds it safe to return.

Kittens are so damn useful.

Mine was- I had an old tomcat that would disappear right before a hated and mean relative would visit when we were kids... and it would return after she left. I figured he could feel the tension rising in us before hand every year about that time, and would leave, staying away for the few weeks she was here while waiting for the smell of her rancid musk perfume to go away. His territorial scent was far better than hers....

As for this building where the children were killed, there is nothing paranormal about the kitten not wanting anything to do with it- when people, or animals, for that matter are very afraid, they release hormones and other chemicals that can linger. The 'scent of fear,' is no joke, and predatory species can detect it with ease.

Colorful career

Steele was the special prosecutor in the infamous 1969 Chappaquiddick case involving U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. He was also the judge in a case involving the June 1981 rape of a Brigham and Women's Hospital nurse by a group of doctors. Steele sentenced the physicians to six months in prison, according to the New Bedford Standard-Times.

One of the last decisions Steele made before retiring in 1996 was to give five years' probation to the driver in a drive-by shooting that injured three.

"I'm afraid if you spent a few years (in prison) you would never get back to school and you would never become a productive member of society," Steele told the 19-year-old driver, according to the New Bedford paper.

Despite any appearances of leniency, however, people familiar with Steele's record describe him as fair. That Steele signed Bar-Jonah's release was less an act of discretion on his part than "the nature of the legal process at the time," said New Bedford criminal defense attorney Stewart Grimes.

Here was Steele's conundrum: To keep Bar-Jonah at Bridgewater, the state of Massachusetts was required by law to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he remained sexually dangerous, Grimes said.

On the contrary, several psychologists testified that Bar-Jonah had improved markedly.

'More controlled, wiser'

Dr. Eric Sweitzer testified that Bar-Jonah was a changed person from the young man who had kidnapped the two boys years earlier. He described Bar-Jonah as "a far more thoughtful, insightful, controlled and wiser 33-year-old" and said he was no longer sexually dangerous.

Another psychologist, Dr. Richard Ober, testified that Bar-Jonah had exhibited "increased self-esteem and social relationships." He, too, declared Bar-Jonah no longer sexually dangerous.

Even Dr. Bard, who opposed Bar-Jonah's release, noted that he had made an "important therapeutic connection" with a therapist and with members of his therapy group.

Sweitzer could not be reached for comment this week. Ober, reached Thursday, knew instantly who the Tribune was calling about -- "and it's not because he donated his fortune to the hospital, is it?" he said.

"I'm sure you'll understand I have no comment on this matter, but you have a good day," Ober said.

Bard declined comment to the Tribune, but the Boston Herald quoted him as uttering, "Oh, God, that's horrible," when a reporter informed him of the sadistic new charges.

Discharged from center

Bolstered by the expert testimony, Bar-Jonah's lawyer, Boulanger, argued that his client "has resolved the underlying psychological conflicts, which resulted in the commission of crimes. ... Rather than being an impulsive individual, he is a controlled, thoughtful person. I find that the petitioner does not require the secure setting of the treatment center."

Steele needed no more convincing. He ordered Bar-Jonah to be discharged that June.

Steele, now 74, did not respond to requests for comment.
-¦- http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/thebarjonahcase/dailyupdates/130935.html

"The 'scent of fear,' is no joke, and predatory species can detect it with ease."

Two incidents-

A dog owned by a friend of mine was hit by a car and was laying in the street with a broken leg- as we moved the dog into my car, and took it to the vet, I could smell a strong, musky odor- the dog was clean, and it hadn't fouled itself- it just reeked.

I had a near "Darwin Award" moment, and wound up with a bullet wound to groin, passing down and out the back of my leg. As I lay on the floor pressing a towel to the wound, and elevating my other leg, I was aware of a very, very strong odor. And no, I hadn't fouled myself, and no, it wasn't the strong odor men occaisonally emit after eating spicy food. Smelled like atomic BO, with a delicate hint of rotten cheese.

Wonder if EMT folks have ever noticed the same thing...

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