The Demon Next Door

The Demon Next Door by Bryan Burrough

A teenage Danny Corwin in Temple, Texas committed a couple rapes, including one in 1975 where he kidnapped the girl and stabbed her. However, his family had important connections in the town through the First Presbyterian Church. There were key figures in the school administration as well as media in the congregation. The family was fairly respected and the teenager seemed upstanding and always worked to please adults. Rather than support the girl, the people accused her of being a whore. (The details of her wounds were not well known to the public.) The girl was reluctant to testify for fear of being disparaged. Corwin entered a plea deal and was sentenced to 40 years.

In prison he was a model inmate and was released after 9 years. He got a job, enrolled in Texas A&M and was in a relationship with a girl that had visited him in prison. However, things began to unravel. The girl broke up with him. He flunked out of school (but still pretended to attend classes.) Then he got the rape and murder bug. He killed three women, including a mom who was at the car wash with her young daughter. Despite many tips, he was not traced to any of those murders. Then he carjacked a girl at the Texas A&M parking lot and took her to under-construction Lick Creek park to rape her and slit her throat. She played dead until he left. Then he wandered up to the street where she was found and received medical help. She could not talk, but a police artist was able to create a drawing of Danny by communicating with her. He was then found and linked to the crime via fingerprints and later confessed to the other crimes. He was eventually sentenced to death.

The book is a short audiobook only release that has sufficient details to place things well in the locations. The perpetrator did appear to have mental illness that was well hidden. What would have been the best way to prevent future problems?

Big-12

College sports currently has a 12 team "Big-10" conference and a 10 team "Big-12" conference. You would think that by college people would at least learn how to count.

But that is just the beginning. Texas A&M is on its way out - or so it thinks. However, Baylor is holding things up by threatening to sue. These are the same schools that recently complained that A&M had "broken its word" by attempting to leave the conference.

They are also the same for schools whose leaders voted unanimously that the Big-12 would not use legal methods to prevent A&M from leaving. Uh huh. Complain when they try to leave, but then use dishonest doublespeak to get them to stay. Great.

Oklahoma is rumored to be on its way out also. And who would blame them? Its as if a guy couldn't stand a girl breaking up with him and tried to sue her to stay. Sure this might allow her to stay for a bit longer, but it does not bode well for the relationship.

BYU would be wise to stay clear of this sinking ship.

However, this could be the one chance to join an automatically qualifying BCS conference.

What do they do?

Perhaps they simply broker a scheduling agreement similar to what they have with the WAC. BYU plays a number of Big-12 teams to fill in the gaps in the schedule. Or they even join as a football-only member (and somehow rearrange some of their scheduled games.)

But a full member? The WCC is much more stable, and lets them stay the high ground, without creating ill-will with the WCC.

SMU and Houston? They have less to lose. A jump to the big boy conference would be nice. Should it collapse, the WAC would be more than willing to welcoming them back. Conference-USA could even swallow its pride to get some of its star teams back.

Oklahoma? They've been talking with the Pac-12, but I'm sure they'd love to be in the Big-10. The could resume the Nebraska rivalry, and should fit nicely in the geographic footprint. The SEC or Pac-12 could also be options. And the Big-12? Well, sure. But why?

Perhaps Baylor can pull this off. After all, they managed to weasel in to the Big-12 in the first place. However, if things do implode, others may think twice about inviting the school that just cannot take no for an answer.

Oh what a mess. At least there is some good football.

Where does the Big-12 go?

Texas A&M is now all but out of the Big-12. Their likely destination, the SEC will potentially be poaching another school from the Big-12. This could leave the conference as an 8 team conference. Well, it was once the Big-8 before taking on the Texas schools. Swapping Texas for Nebraska seems like a fair deal. Texas Tech for Colorado? Texas Tech for Missouri? Well, not slam dunks, but not a huge difference. Of course, that leaves the conference a small shadow of its former self. Expansion? Well, it doesn't look as good as it did last year. Had the Big-12 expanded to 12 after Colorado and Nebraska had bolted, they would have appeared to be a good destination for up and coming schools. BYU would have jumped in and brought a powerful program from the vacated mountain west. TCU would be a former Southwest Conference rival rejoining the fray. Now, however, TCU is set to join the Big East and BYU independent football and the West Coast Conference. Would the Big-12 make any sense? For BYU, the Big-12 presents immediate access to the BCS in football. However, a 9 team Big-12 could make scheduling easier for BYU. For mens basketball, it is a step up from the WCC. (However, the WCC is a respectable conference with regular at-large NCAA bids. BYU's chances at NCAA tourney runs may be better in the WCC.) For other sports, the Big-12 would involve longer travel distances. The nearest Big-12 school (Texas Tech) is further away than the furthest WCC school. However, in most cases it would only mean switching from a 10 hour bus ride to a 16 hour one. Sure it is long, but from Provo, once you get beyond, Utah and Utah State, everything is far away. (UNLV and Wyoming are 'only' 5-6 hours away.) So if you are BYU do you send your teams off on longer distance trips for the Big 12? If you think it will work well for the long run, sure. But, with a conference that looks to be on the verge of collapse, why create ill will with the nascent relationship with the WCC? By being the big dog with the WCC, BYU can set its terms (such as no Sunday play) and still get the coverage it wants. With the Big-12 it may be harder. BYU could also end up with what feels like a 6-7 game home schedule. With huge alumni populations in the bay area and southern california, BYU supporters could easily outnumber the local fans in the small WCC stadiums. Even in Portland, the BYU supporters could be a huge crowd. Gonzaga may be the only place where they have a truly hostile crowd. In the Big-12 it could be much tougher. Perhaps a football-only invite to the Big-12 may make everyone happy, and keep BYU's options open in case of a conference collapse. (New relationships could only help.) What about TCU? They have just opted to join the Big East. The Big-12 could be an upgrade. However, in the Big East, they would be a Texas brand. In the Big-12, they would be easily overshadowed by the other Texas schools. TCU also is much more valuable to the Big East than to the Big12. However, the Big-12 would fit much better geographically with the TCU. Would the Big-12 invite TCU? If they are desperate. But, if they are desperate, would TCU want to join? Considering the Big-East may be as unstable as the Big-12, that is a big possibility. Houston? Rice? SMU? All conference USA desperation moves. These former SWC teams would jump at the chance. But, would it do much for the Big-12? Boise State? Geographic outlier. They would love the respect. It could help in football, but would show desperation. Big East schools? Arkansas? Well, now it is real desperation. The big-12 may just survive, but how is anybody's guess.