The Baby Face Butchers ~ Central Park Murder Part 1

 

Today we are going to dive into the case of the "Baby Face Butchers" and their unprovoked attack on someone they knew. Two teens, still babies at barely fifteen years old.

As per usual, the case will be split up into different blurbs.I DO feel this is another case of nature vs. nurture. First I want to speak about the victim...

Michael McMorrow was born on May 30, 1952 in New York, lived in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, until his teenage years; where the family moved to The Bronx. He had a loving family, both his parents, his brother and two sisters (one of whom has passed away in 2016). His family speaks of him fondly, saying he was kind-hearted and had an addictive personality; everyone liked him. He was given some loving nicknames: Mike, Mikey, and Irish.

Michael was very well educated and was doing great for himself, working in the real estate industry; working both in Manhattan and Santa Monica, California. He had many things going for him, but he had one vice he couldn't shake... ALCOHOL!!! 

At the time of his death, he had been living with his ailing mother. When he wasn't working or taking care of her, he often went to Central park for a stroll or to meet up with friends and have a party there. Unfortunately for him, this vice is one of the things that led to his death on that fatal May night by Strawberry Fields.

Before I get into the nitty gritty of this case, I want to also give some information on the Baby Face Butchers : Daphne Abdela and Christopher Vasquez, both fifteen at the time of the murder.

Daphne Abdela does not have a lot of information abouther, but what is known is that her parents were murdered shortly after she was born and she was adopted into a rich family with a dad named Angelo and a mother named Catherine. 

She was given everything a child could want or need, and then some... but something was amiss. Her adopted parents feared her, they admitted to being deeply afraid of her so much so that her father had a restraining order placed on her at 15. Her favourite thing to do was rolerblading through Central Park in New York, as her home was right there. It was here she met the nerdy, shy, altar boy named Christopher Vasquez.

These two couldn't have been more different, but became friends and rollerbladed together through the park.

Christopher Vasquez was born to a fairly poor family. He suffered from depression and anxiety, using medications to ease his anguish. It could be said that with him having so little friends, he made an easy target to drag into Daphne's shenanigans. He loved her attention, but she was very bipolar with her feelings, one minute she adored him, the next she was rejecting him. Together with this toxic friendship/relationship, the two were known for stealing cigarettes, and drinking alcohol.

Daphne was already in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) by the time she was 15; and because she was so out of control, her father removed her from the prestigeous school she was in, and put her in an in-house rehabilitation center; but at night, she still managed to go to Central Park and drink with Christopher and other drunks, including Michael McMorrow, who also was in AA. 

The very people that drank with them, referred to Daphne and Christopher as baby-faced. They were extremely competitive with each other; while people who knew Daphne, did everything they could to avoid her, as her temper just continued to worsen daily. Daphne was very cocky, in the sense that she would show off her money and wealth, but also acting like she was a badass from some rough neighbourhood.

I am going to end this one here, as the next part is about the heinous crime they committed together.

To be continued...