Two Teens, a Judas Priest Album, and a Tragedy
On December 23, 1985, Raymond Belknap and James Vance spent six hours drinking, smoking, and listening to Judas Priest. They then went to a church playground and each boy took a shotgun and shot himself. Raymond died instantly, but Vance survived. He sustained horrible injuries that left him disfigured. This tragic incident begs the question: why?
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Aunetta Roberson and Phyllis Vance, the boys’ mothers, asked themselves that very question. The families had lived in Sparks, Nevada, for years. Their husbands were frequent visitors to the local casinos. Their sons went to – and dropped out of – the same school.