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Adam Peterson's father tells of his family's anguish
Late Saturday night, 20-year-old Adam Peterson hanged himself from his bunk bed in the Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun.
Peterson, who pleaded guilty to first-degree intentional homicide Dec. 8 for the death of Joel Marino, 31, a popular community activist, was pronounced dead at 10:21 p.m.
In a letter emailed to The Capital Times Wednesday night, Peterson's father, Melvin Peterson, said he felt compelled to share the family's anguish over their son's death and to provide the public with some understanding of the mental illnesses that haunted his son.
Now, as Melvin Peterson prepares to drive to Waupun in the upcoming days to retrieve the ashes of his son, a drive that he foresees as "the longest and loneliest of his life," he wrestles with how his son's actions caused pain to the Marino family; he wrestles with whether he and Adam's mother could have done more to save their son from the mental health problems that eventually played a role in his taking his own life.
"The reality of this is that two young lives have been lost, tragically, and inexplicably. We move slowly and sadly through each day. The sun doesn't shine as brightly in the summer sky and the winds of winter blow colder. This is how I feel as I prepare to retrieve my son's ashes."
Adam Peterson, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychosis months after killing Marino in his Monona Bay home by stabbing him several times with a paring knife, was deemed not to be criminally insane on Jan. 28, 2008, the day of the crime. Depression and his mental illnesses, however, proved too much for his son to handle, Melvin Peterson said. Adam had attempted to kill himself Sept. 25 while awaiting his trial in the Dane County Jail.
In a phone interview Thursday, Melvin Peterson said his son was on suicide watch at the Dane County Jail for the first three weeks he was imprisoned, and again from Sept. 25 until he left the jail for Waupun on Dec. 8. At the time of his death, he was living with a cellmate among the general population.
In his letter, Melvin Peterson writes that Adam "became increasingly paranoid and increasingly afraid that people sat in judgment of him.
"Solitude became his solace in life, yet too much of it drove him to despair and an irrational perception about the world. I ask that you please not scoff at this or call it a convenient alibi for murder," Melvin Peterson said. "I don't seek alibis for Adam's behavior, only understanding."
He described his son's crime as "heinous." The encounter between Adam Peterson and Marino began in the early afternoon of Jan. 28, when Peterson entered Marino's home allegedly to rob him. He apparently was not expecting anyone to be home, and a fight ensued.
Peterson stabbed Marino several times before dropping the murder weapon and leaving the house. Marino did not die instantly. He was found in an alley as he attempted to make his way to a nearby hospital.
It wasn't until the beginning of July that Peterson was arrested and charged for the crime. By that time, he was living with his mother and seeing a therapist, according to his father.
"Who but Adam really knows what drove him to walk out one sunny, late January day, his mind set on robbery, and end up in a strange neighborhood stabbing to death an apparent stranger? Did my son even know what drove him to this?" Melvin Peterson wrote.
Peterson adds: "While I know in my heart that life will never be quite the same, I pray that things will improve for all of us who have lost children. They are so precious and sadly, sometimes too quickly gone. I don't know that there is a greater tragedy in life."
To read Melvin Peterson's letter, click here.
File photo
Adam Peterson hanged himself in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree intentional homicide for the death of Joel Marino.
