Teens In The News: Patrick Armstrong

In a chilling reminder of the lessons being learned from David Ludwig and Kara Borden, news broke yesterday morning that — for the second time in less than a month — a homeschool teen has been arrested for murder.

Patrick Armstrong, a 14-year-old homeschooler from Fayette, Maine, has been charged with killing his neighbor, Marlee Johnston, 14. Both teens lived in the same neighborhood where, last Saturday, Marlee's body was found in a nearby pond, after she failed to return from a walk with the family dogs.

The Morning Sentinel reports:

Maine State Police are being extremely tight-lipped about the case. They have not released a cause of death, outlined a motive for the killing, or detailed the types of interactions the two teenagers might have had. The Medical Examiner's Office said the office is withholding the cause of death at the request of the Attorney General's Office.

It has been reported that certain personal websites published by Armstrong, which are not publically accessible, demonstrated a troubled and angst-ridden teen.

A troubled and angst-ridden homeschooler? That's right. And yet another who is likely a murderer.

This is tragic. And yet, it is also sobering. As we have discussed over the past few weeks: homeschooling, by itself, is not enough to prevent tragedies like this from happening. Going to church, by itself, is not enough to prevent tragedies like this from happening. Both of those things are good, but while many things are used by God as means of imparting His grace, they are not grace itself. To claim otherwise is to make homeschooling, or church, or a book, or a blog, or a method, or a mere human being — rather than Christ — our god.

The past month has been a wake-up call to the homeschool community and the body of Christ as a whole. Let us firmly resolve not to slip back into complacency.

May God have mercy.

Other bloggers covering the story: SpunkyHomeschool, Agent Tim, and Spunky Junior.