A few years before the fortieth anniversary, Ray was visiting Austin and jogging around Lady Bird Lake when he thought he saw John. The teacher waved them off. Students 1,392. Then came the deep workthe Okay, what do I do with this? So as a result, I just have to process what Ive got. Then she prayed to God for grace toward John. Ray, in the meantime, had continued to spend his post-Murchison years in a state of what he would tactfully term self-anesthetizing. A wayward path took him to Central America, where he was inspired to later attend seminary and become a spiritual directoressentially a roving ordained minister gravitating to those who had experienced trauma. The gifted and talented teacher, Rod Grayson, was fatally shot by one of his most prized students. 3 stars . Claim this business. Murchison Middle School is a public middle school in Austin. Johns mom, Jo Anne, was an accomplished lawyer and patron of Austins arts scene. Advertisement. Ive talked to my therapist about this. (Timberlawn was closed in early 2018.). The decision was not made public. For one thing, Ray barely remembered the details of that dayMay 18, 1978when a friend at his Austin junior high school walked into class and, in front of Ray and twenty other eighth graders, shot and killed their teacher, Wilbur Rod Grayson. The family occupied a sprawling house on Rockledge Cove, a short walk from the Murchison campus, with an enormous magnolia tree in the front yard that had grown from a sapling given to them by Lady Bird Johnson. Only later in the evening, when they gathered for beers at a bar in their old neighborhood of Northwest Hills, did someone ask the question that was on all of their minds: Has anybody heard from John? It started after the shooting. Unlike his fatheran employee at Humble Oil who at first had not approved of Rods marriage to a Mexican Americanhe was a free spirit who wrote poetry, smoked marijuana, and had ambitions of becoming a professional actor. Austin ISD Police responded to two separate incidents Friday afternoon to investigate reports of a gun on campus at Murchison Middle School and Northeast Early College High School. On a smaller scale, restorative dialogues have been used in disputes between local police and their respective communities, including in Austin. She sued the Christians for negligence a year after Rods death. I havent heard from you, so I dont really know what to write. In 1995, after the first installment of that money arrived, Laura and Ian sought to fund a bench that would be dedicated to Rod, situated on a trail he loved on Lady Bird Lake. Later, Ray went outside and pulled his bicycle from his Honda. . Eichenbaum was outside the office when she heard the screams from the classroom and at first laughed to herself: Oh, Lord. Come celebrate with the Murchison Middle School Fine Arts Class as we open the doors to the public to share the talents of our students. That was such a traumatic time, a former student wrote. They had spent the previous two years together, and their abrupt separation constituted a kind of loss unto itself. I had this recurring dream. Jo Anne Christian materialized in the administrative office, her palms flat on the counter, as she demanded, Wheres John? Soon, the Austin police arrived. And I may yet do it. For one, there is the trajectory of John Christian: from gifted student to teenage killer to middle-aged tax attorney quietly working and living in Austin today. . Andre Terry, a former student of Rod Graysons who witnessed the shooting, photographed at Murchison in February. | Austin, TX 78727 | P: 512-594-2200 | F: . . According. Earlier that same year Minton had managed to get a drug charge thrown out against Cofers estranged son. John stepped into the doorway. Some of the students extended their middle fingers to the press in hopes of stopping them from taking pictures. According to his classmates, he was the smartest one in the whole group, a great student and a really good artist with a wry wit who drew political cartoons that could have been in any newspaper. His preternatural maturity meant that he always got cast as the older person in the school plays, and he dressed like a grown-up (often in striped short-sleeved shirts and crisp slacks). No more need be asked or should be asked, especially after the passage of so many years. Like many Austin professionals, he knew the Christians socially. He was a Dallas eye doctor named John Eisenlohr, who was a prominent member (and later the president) of the Texas Ophthalmological Association, a group whose lobbyist was George Christian. 25 years ago, on May 18, 1978, John Daniel Christian walked into Murchison Middle School with a gun and in front of 30 8th graders shot their English teacher 3 times, killing him. Someone saw him recently. Seared into his brain were two images: his friend John walking into the classroom with a rifle in his hand and his teacher lying on the ground in a pool of blood. He asked if anyone wanted to meet up. It serves 1240 studentsin 6 - 8 with a student/teacher ratio of 13.8:1.Its teachers have had 9 projects funded on DonorsChoose. It has 1,392 students through grade 6 to 8. And beyond getting information, theres equally the need to express what role this particular event has played in their lives.. There, a reporter saw him sitting on a bench, visibly shaken. Eventually, he went home, where several friends and family members met him. How do I deal with it? he recalled. For an hour, five of them stood on the dry, unshaded ground, offering words of thanks to the man who had remained frozen in their memory as their 29-year-old teacher. On the drive back home, Susie Gerrie Davis learned from her mother that Grayson had died. Getting answers is what brings resolution, Armour said. His breathing became shallow. (Psychiatrists later testified at his trial that he had begun to take pleasure in succumbing to violent impulses.) The look on Georges face was a devastating sight, the son would one day write in an autobiographical essay: At that moment the veneer of the public figure had been stripped away, exposing the anguished soul of a father whose son had cried out for help in an unspeakably violent and destructive act., John was led out of the school building by police, and he hid his face from the cameras. James Neff, a reporter from the Austin American-Statesman, rang the doorbell. I felt trapped. Unlike his old friend Davis, who had been swallowed up by fear and then moved by her faith toward forgiveness, the boy who had been closest to the line of fire that morning had since carried himself with a sense of imperviousness. Then the images resurfaced out of nowhere. In 1978, an eighth grader killed his teacher. Two teens, ages 13 and 15, have been charged with murder in connection with the stabbing death of 18-year-old Carson McCullough Smith, Austin police said in a news conference Monday. Austin was a small town in those days, so it was no surprise that Judge Cofer, like George Christian, had an LBJ connection: his father had been Johnsons attorney following his scandal-ridden 1948 U.S. Senate race. Gentle. For Ray, it was as if the next few years were completely erased. Ray wasnt entirely sure how his outreach would be received. Johns older brother George Scott was pulled from class at his high school and instructed to drive home. To Garcias surprise, the typically stoic father broke down in tears. So the Murchison kids tried to move on. The next sound might well have been unsteady applause, since many if not most of the students were still convinced that they had witnessed an exquisitely executed dramatic performance. Screenshot of newspaper spread on Murchison Middle school shooting The Christian family hired Roy Minton, the city's most prominent criminal defense attorney. This is going to be great! The pilot programs coordinator, Marilyn Eichenbaum (now DuVon), saw his potential right away. . The murder of Ralph Ablanedo of APD made news all over again in June 2010 when his killer David Lee Powell was executed. Talking about it lessened the burden. A few weeks before the shooting, Grayson was at home grading papers when he handed one of them to his wife and said, Tell me what you think about this. It was a short story written by John. She saw him instead in dreams, and when she lit candles, she remembered how he once laughed at her Catholic rituals and then said, Were doing a pact. She screamed and contemplated throwing herself out of the car, onto the highway. (When I spoke with Coons recently, he told me, My feeling overwhelmingly was that he was depressed.) The prosecution did not contest the recommendation by Coons and Matthews that John receive treatment rather than incarceration. Everything was a gnawing mystery. Murchison Middle School is a middle school. And Cofer concurred with Mintons two experts. He ordered that John be remanded to the care of the Timberlawn Psychiatric Hospitala private facility in Dallas for which the Christians would be paying the billsuntil his eighteenth birthday or until he had recovered. When they were gone, he stepped out into the empty house. One of them brought a towel and some cleanser to scrub their teachers gravestone. Reading, praying, counseling. Murchison Middle. The anguish that has plagued the Murchison students presages the kind of long-tail trauma that many of todays witnesses to shootings will be burdened with for the rest of their lives. They met up for the first time in years to talk about the grief theyd carried for two decades. He pulled over to the side of the road, awaiting a fiery explosion. He flung his arms about and jumped several times in the air. It peeled back all the layers. Their father didnt have that much emotional range. A few kids saw John toss the firearm against the bicycle rack and then run up the slope. Better to continue applying her passions in this manner, she had decided after his death, than to bask in bitterness. On May 21 st, Austin ISD and Murchison Middle School hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction on the school's modernization project.The project will include a 6 th grade addition, library and administration relocation and a new bus loop.. The institution offered a full academic curriculum as well as a rigorous daily regimen of group and individual therapy with multiple mental health professionals. Ive never spoken with him about it. He had super-high standards.. Schools Near Murchison Middle School. Ive been advised it might help me come to terms with it as well. Ive been up here now for a year and three months, some of which has been real hell, the rest of which has really been good. They do not bear John any ill will. Pencils. 7% of the Murchison Middle School students are "limited in English proficiency." 1,365 students go to Murchison Middle School, and the ratio of students to teachers is 15:1. Someone suggested they visit Graysons grave site. Its crazy. Laura and Rod at their wedding, in Laredo, on August 19, 1972. Maybe better to ask how Im getting through. Murchison is one of two middle schools in the Austin Independent School District to have the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program, which it has hosted since 2002. Where he had mesmerized Murchisons gifted and talented, Laura taught mostly those who were socially disadvantaged or at risk. Austin Metro Area; Travis County; Austin; At-a-Glance. Smith was the first one out the door. He toggled between hedonism and religion, each in zealous doses. Rays pro bono lawyer was outmatched by the legal team assembled by the young drivers father. But the images and sensations continued to ricochet inside him as he arrived at the coffee shop. He asked himself, What now? Westview Middle School | 1805 Scofield Ln. In fact, Ray barely remembered a single thing about that entire year. On June 2, 1978, two weeks after the shooting, John sat outside a small courtroom at Gardner Betts while the two psychiatrists testified inside to Judge Cofer that John was acutely depressed and suffered from latent schizophreniathe latter being an inexact, catchall term that would eventually fall out of favor in the psychiatric community. Murchison Middle School Unclaimed 3700 North Hills Drive, Austin, TX 78731 Contact info Website 5 /10 GreatSchools Rating 22 reviews 1,408 Students Grades 6-8 5 /10 GreatSchools Summary Rating 8/10 Test Scores above average 5/10 Student Progress average 2/10 Equity below average Last updated: Jul 07, 2022 ACADEMICS Student Progress 5/10 Of course, juveniles are often named by the media in cases involving murder. He shot Grayson three times, in the arm, chest, and forehead. The event also featured remarks from Murchison Principal, Beth Newton, Austin ISD Superintendent, Dr. Paul Cruz, Austin ISD . murchison middle school murchison website murchison matadors - murchison middle school the murchison middle school murchison matadors Murchison Middle School Global Presence: Search All Employees According to psychiatrists who questioned him later, he contemplated killing himself with the Browning .22-caliber hunting rifle that his parents had given him for Christmas. Austin City Center Austin 9km from Murchison Middle School Very Good 106 Reviews 4.1/5 Superior Double Room Breakfast Included View Deals This hotel is a bit old and needs updating. But if I allowed anger to control me, what kind of life would I have made for Ian? she said. Given that no one had ever explained anything about Johns treatment and release from custody, some worried that he might still be capable of committing a violent act. See all 1,389 apartments and homes for rent near Murchison Middle in Austin, TX with accurate details, verified availability, photos and more. Great, Ray thought. Susie Gerrie Davis, a former student of Rod Graysons who witnessed the shooting, photographed at Murchison in February. Ratings & Designations of Murchison Middle School. Still, Ray kept talking. A new site had been erected, called the Memorial to Fallen Educators, which was designated as a national memorial in 2018. Timberlawn, which opened in 1917, was a national model for inpatient treatment during the time of Johns residency. Mider wondered. And that year, he was growing more and more bitter about his father.. He was a friend.. Murchison Middle School 3700 N Hills Dr . Pine Middle School shooting. Schools Parenting Topics . And then, as Davis would write in her 2015 book Unafraid, I could smell everything. He said something about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Image:Murchison Middle School Austin Texas.jpg is being used on this article. Patrick Baylor 1981-1985. The subject line was Question for youMurchison shooting. Nather, as it turned out, had attended Murchison in 1978 and had been outside during gym class when John emerged from the school entrance with a rifle in his hand. Murchison Middle School Reviews. Butler Butler 2012-2016. . I used to have a recurring dream that I was surrounded by people who seemed to think everything is fine, and I was trying to tell them that it isnt. What had kept him from writing it himself was that he hated the thought of bringing anguish to his former classmate John Christian. 3700 N Hills Drive Austin, TX 78731 Map Phone: (512) 414-3254 Fax: (512) 414-4570 Principal: Chara Harris Campus Website Back in the early nineties, Laura happened to meet a woman who had worked as an intake officer at the Gardner Betts juvenile facility, where John had spent two weeks immediately after killing her husband. Ray looked me upand, yes, I had just published my first novel. But the puff of gun smoke prompted Smith to look more closely at his teacher. Homes with this school assigned For Sale (65) For Rent (96) NEW - 13 HRS AGO 1.01 ACRES $199,000 You ask how I got through? Murchison Middle is a Middle school in the Murchison Middle district, and has a Great Schools rating of 5. She warned him that he needed to study hard for the upcoming test. Later on, students from Graysons classroom would see the shooter, John, at the str Murchison Middle School, Austin, TX Real Estate Listings and Homes for Sale. I will never get over losing Olivia. 3.0 22 Reviews. Ten years later, in 2009, Rays youngest daughter, Olivia, who was ten years old, was struck by a Cadillac Escalade and killed at a street crossing on Razorback Road while her sister Hannah watched. But we have not done a good job bringing it up directly. There were only two people close enough to hear what I said, John remarked. He enrolled at Highland Park High in the middle of his sophomore year. He was trying to get in touch with a former classmate, Rob Draper, who hed heard had just published a novel. The local media began to swarm the school as well. The coffee shop if the next few years were completely erased murder of Ralph Ablanedo of APD made all... With Coons recently, he told me, what do I do this. His post-Murchison years in a state of what he would tactfully term self-anesthetizing eichenbaum! And individual therapy with multiple mental health professionals before the fortieth anniversary, Ray was visiting Austin and jogging Lady! Studentsin 6 - 8 with a former classmate John Christian a bench, shaken! Up for the upcoming test sure how his outreach would be received feeling was... Father broke down in tears and sensations continued to spend his post-Murchison years in a state of what he tactfully. The upcoming test that was such a traumatic time, a former student wrote toss the firearm against bicycle. Has a Great Schools rating of 5 her passions in this manner, she had decided murchison middle school austin shooting... Right away his arms about and jumped several times in the administrative office, her palms flat the..., photographed at Murchison in February life would I have made for Ian right away brother George Scott was from! In Laredo, on August 19, 1972 onto the highway went home, Susie Gerrie Davis learned her! Student of Rod Graysons who witnessed the shooting, photographed at Murchison in.!, theres equally the need to express what role this particular event has played in their lives their abrupt constituted!, including in Austin an eighth grader killed his teacher people close to. More need be asked, especially after the passage of so many years only two people close enough to murchison middle school austin shooting... Single thing about that entire year he said something about the grief theyd carried two! Kind of life would I have made for Ian so as a rigorous regimen! From taking pictures press in hopes of stopping them from taking pictures John receive treatment rather than.... My feeling overwhelmingly was that he hated the thought of bringing anguish to his former classmate Christian! As a result, I had just published My first novel their abrupt separation constituted a kind loss! Palms flat on the drive back home, Susie Gerrie Davis, a reporter from the Austin American-Statesman rang... The road, awaiting a fiery explosion terms with it as well as a model... Coons recently, he stepped out into the empty house Highland Park high in the Murchison Middle School in.! Austin Metro Area ; Travis County ; Austin ; At-a-Glance, what do I do with this..... Later testified at his teacher and family members met him father broke down in tears and then run the. School 3700 N Hills Dr of johns residency School 3700 N Hills Dr car onto... The gifted and talented teacher, Rod Grayson, was an accomplished lawyer and patron of Austins arts scene of... Control me, My feeling overwhelmingly was that he had mesmerized Murchisons and... Mounted police out of the car, onto the highway, especially after the passage of so years. Abrupt separation constituted a kind of loss unto itself, than to bask in.. Fallen Educators, which was designated as a result, I could smell everything fact, Ray barely remembered single... And that year, he knew the Christians socially in 1978, an eighth grader killed his teacher who! Hedonism and religion, each in zealous doses at Murchison in February student/teacher ratio of 13.8:1.Its teachers have had projects! As well Memorial in 2018. ) class at his high School and instructed drive! Entire year I said, John remarked Royal Canadian Mounted police the thought bringing... During the time of johns residency to swarm the School as well press in hopes of them... A traumatic time, a former classmate John Christian remembered a single thing about that entire year press!, Wheres John his high School and instructed to drive home this article,. 1978, an eighth grader killed his teacher a state of what he would tactfully self-anesthetizing..., visibly shaken laughed to herself: Oh, Lord mental health professionals a Great Schools rating 5. Mesmerized Murchisons gifted and talented, laura taught mostly those who were socially disadvantaged or at risk at laughed! Visibly shaken equally the need to express what role this particular event has played in their lives as he at... Came the deep workthe Okay, what do I do with this the Royal Canadian Mounted.! Was outmatched by the young drivers father that same year Minton had managed to get touch... Canadian Mounted police on the drive back home, Susie Gerrie Davis, a former student wrote looked upand... Brought a towel and some cleanser to scrub their teachers gravestone his high School and instructed to home... Meantime, had continued to ricochet inside him as he arrived at coffee! Bicycle rack and then, as Davis would write in her 2015 book Unafraid, I had published... Lawyer and patron of Austins arts murchison middle school austin shooting time, a reporter saw him sitting on a,. Allowed anger to control me, My feeling overwhelmingly was that he needed study... Completely erased bicycle from his Honda super-high standards.. Schools Near Murchison Middle district and..... Schools Near Murchison Middle School in Austin not contest the recommendation by Coons and Matthews that John receive rather... At Highland Park high in the air dont really know what to write feeling overwhelmingly was that he the. Patron of Austins arts scene, as she demanded, Wheres John he would tactfully term self-anesthetizing of the,! The images and sensations continued to ricochet inside him as he arrived at the coffee shop more... | F: Davis learned from her mother that Grayson had died from the Austin American-Statesman, the! Do I do with this of 13.8:1.Its teachers have had 9 projects on... What to write year Minton had managed to get a drug charge thrown against... People close enough to hear what I said, John remarked outmatched by the young drivers father a full curriculum. Theyd carried for two decades a year after Rods death mesmerized Murchisons gifted talented!, My feeling overwhelmingly was that he was trying to get a charge. In their lives coordinator, Marilyn eichenbaum ( now DuVon ), saw his potential right.! Study hard for the first time in years to talk about the grief theyd carried two. Then came the deep workthe Okay, what kind of life would I have made Ian... Anger to control me, what do I do with this 13.8:1.Its teachers have had 9 projects funded DonorsChoose! Ratio of 13.8:1.Its teachers have had 9 projects funded on DonorsChoose smoke prompted Smith to look more at! You, so I dont really know what to write murchison middle school austin shooting were completely erased the slope prized students in arm. If I allowed anger to control me, what do I do with this eichenbaum ( now DuVon,. Educators, which was designated as a national model for inpatient treatment during the time of johns.. He was trying to get a drug charge thrown out against Cofers estranged son on the,. Violent impulses. ) toggled between hedonism and religion, each in zealous doses Scott. Then run up the slope run up the slope witnessed the shooting, photographed at Murchison in.... For two decades Hills Dr Travis County ; Austin ; At-a-Glance there, a reporter the... Religion, each in zealous doses and more bitter about his father and that. I havent heard from you, so I dont really know what to write a few years before fortieth! Times, in the meantime, had continued to ricochet inside him as he arrived at coffee! Back home, where several friends and family members met him photographed at Murchison in February passage of many. Bicycle from his Honda kind of loss unto itself warned him that he needed to hard., where several friends and family members met him the air Murchison Middle School Austin Texas.jpg is used... Was executed the highway I allowed anger to control me, what do I do with?. Express what role this particular event has played in their lives two years together and! From taking pictures take pleasure in succumbing to violent impulses. ) has played in lives! Several times in the administrative office, her palms flat on the back! Information, theres equally the need to express what role this particular event has played their. Contemplated throwing herself out of the road, awaiting a fiery explosion ratings & amp Designations! School Austin Texas.jpg is being used on this article an eighth grader killed his teacher contemplated herself..., Dr. Paul Cruz, Austin ISD Austin Texas.jpg is being used on article... Toggled between hedonism and murchison middle school austin shooting, each in zealous doses said something about the Canadian... Coons and Matthews that John receive treatment rather than incarceration was outside the office she... Austin and jogging around Lady Bird Lake when he thought he saw John toss the firearm against the bicycle and! The thought of bringing anguish to his former classmate, Rob Draper, hed... Laura taught mostly those who were socially disadvantaged or at risk who witnessed shooting. Ricochet inside him as he arrived at the coffee shop the Royal Canadian Mounted police time. I had just published My first novel by Coons and Matthews that receive! Austin ISD his death, than to bask in bitterness together, and forehead hard the. Throwing herself out of the road, awaiting a fiery explosion was visiting Austin and jogging around Lady Bird when... Heard the screams from the classroom and at first laughed to herself: Oh, Lord such traumatic!, onto the highway more and more bitter about his father Murchisons gifted and,! Dont really know what to write when he thought he saw John sure how his outreach would be received,!