1982 was a tough year for the citizens of Michigan. 732,000 residents of the state were out of work. The unemployment rate was very high, at 17.2%. The winter was particularly brutal and snowy. As if this all wasn’t enough, many murders occurred, some of them being mass murders. This included the February 16th murder of multiple members of the George Post family. But today, we’re focusing on a particular case, one that is almost too disturbing to mention. This is the case of Robert Beckowitz.
Little is known about Robert Beckowitz. No photos of him alive exist online. He was born on October 5th, 1948, and grew up in an orphanage with his brother, Gerald. He was a biker, and had a girlfriend, 21-year-old Jeannine Clark. His neighbors said he would talk about how he was beaten in the orphanage, and described him as a troubled man. His tragic life was cut short one summer night, by his own best friend.
It was July 17th, 1982. 33-year-old Beckowitz sat on the couch in his Detroit, MI apartment, watching the show Benny Hill with his girlfriend and his best friend, 37-year-old James Glover. Glover was disabled due to a spinal injury, and had to walk with a cane. Unbeknownst to Beckowitz, Glover and Clark had been lovers behind his back. Glover excused himself from the room, and took one of Beckowitz’s guns. He snuck up behind him, and shot him in the back of the head. After that, he immediately stabbed him a minimum of 80 times. What followed can only be described as a 3-day drug-fueled splurge of depravity.
Clark and Glover immediately began to do methamphetamines. Then, they stripped naked, grabbed a knife and a hacksaw, and had some fun with Beckowitz’s body. They chopped off his penis, head, limbs, and hands and feet. They cut him into 14 pieces total, all the while they paused to pose and take photos of themselves and the body. They posed the pieces of his body in various ways and took photos of them, too. This included his toe in his mouth, his middle finger up his nose, and his penis in his hand and mouth. A few sources say that Clark and Glover had sex on top of Beckowitz’s body. Some even say that they used his body parts in their sex acts. At the end of the ordeal, Clark decided to call the police and turn herself and Glover in. They were both arrested immediately.
In court, Clark claimed she was a victim herself. She said that Glover had held her against her will, and forced her to participate in the acts following the murder. However, there was evidence to the contrary. The photos, shown in court, depict her smiling and posing while decapitating her boyfriend. In addition to this, it was noted that due to Glover’s physical disability, Clark could have overpowered him. He also would have needed help in moving the body. Clark was ultimately found guilty of desecration of a corpse, and sentenced to 6–10 years in prison. Glover was also found guilty, and sentenced to 30–40 years in prison.
It’s easy to focus on the perpetrators here, to wonder where they are now and why they did what they did. But it’s important to remember the victim. A real human life was taken, and a horrific betrayal took place.
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