Watertown Murder Case Study

In February 1998, Watertown, SD, was not bursting with riveting activity. Watertown had a population of 20,127 people in 1998, which is not much less than the 22,000 residents it has today. Brenda Barger was mayor of Watertown, SD, during the years of some of the worst flooding ever in Watertown. Although the little town of Watertown seems like the perfect rural town to raise a family, it’s not all butterflies and rainbows. On February 1, it was reported that two teenage girls were accused of beating a 47 year-old man to death in his home. David Paul Bauman died of a head injury caused by the girls. Bauman was currently unemployed and mildly disabled due to a car accident a number of years earlier (“2 Teen-agers Arrested in Watertown Killing”

1A).
Further outside Watertown, news was not much happier than that of small town Watertown. In McLaughlin, youth suicide rates increased significantly on the reservation. There were four deaths and were nearly forty attempted suicides in under one year. It’s no surprise that so many kids were heading in such a bad direction, for there was so much turmoil among the people. There were high dropout and crime rates, poverty, boredom, and easy access to alcohol (Brasher 2C). Other rousing things happening in Sioux Falls were bills for young kids in school and on the farm. South Dakota attempted to pass a law allowing young farmers to legally drive. The bill was one vote away from passing through the House. Representative Kenneth Wetz claimed that they were trying to legalize what they know is already happening (Kafka 6A). For students, South Dakota passed a bill that gave them the freedom to open-enroll in the school of their choice. Doing this will likely send hundreds of students into the Sioux Falls school districts and out of small town schools (Hascall 1A).
Nationally, there was an abundance of excitement—good and bad.

A man and woman, both soldiers, were killed in a helicopter accident in Fort Bragg, NC. The accident occurred due to an equipment malfunction that happened while the soldiers were doing maintenance work (“2 Soldiers Killed While Working on Helicopter” 7A). Meanwhile, in Texas, Karla Faye Tucker became the first woman to be executed in Texas in over 130 years. Tucker was accused of beating a man and woman to death. Although she pleaded for mercy, she was given no pity, for there was a 16-0 vote for her to be executed (Holmes 7A). In the medical world, there was a tremendous breakthrough in the treatment of AIDS. The number of patients with AIDS in the U.S. lowered 44%. This is largely due to the newest treatment of AIDS, which was benefiting all races and genders. Over 21,000 patients died of AIDS in 1996, but numbers plummeted to 12,000 by 1998 (Haney 7A). One of the most talked about happenings in the U.S. is the affair between Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. Monica refused to confess to the famous affair that was brought to federal courts. The judges believed that Clinton had told her to keep quiet, so the 24 year-old ex-White House intern diligently obeyed (Yost

1A).
Outside of the United States, news was even more thrilling and scary. The people of London were still recovering from the fatal death of Princess Diana on August 31, 1997. A recent video was recovered from a couple on vacation exposing a car that appears to be racing after Princess Diana prior to her crash. No one is certain if the cases are somehow related, but it is being carefully investigated by the police (The Associated Press 1A). Nearby, in Trento, Italy, a cable car full of 20 skiers was disconnected from its line by a U.S. jet. Everyone in the cable car, including the driver, died in the accident (“Marine Jet Kills Skiers // 20 Die in Freak Accident in Italy”). Although death was among the world the last few days, Australia was starting to see what new life as a Republican will bring. Since the beginning of their establishment, Australia has been a monarch, so many of the new Republicans have different ideas of how to kick off the Republican nation, especially concerning a president (Milliken).
During the time of my birth in February, the world was blowing up with major motion picture movies, travesties in the sports world, and the next best style in fashion history. One of the most well-known movies that came out in February was The Borrowers. This is a movie about a four-inch tall family that survives by stealing from humans (Ebert). Although this movie was highly enjoyed by younger audiences, it did not receive special awards of any kind. Although the social times were different, movie audiences still loved to watch the same kinds of shows we love most now. The Wedding Singer, a romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, was the perfect movie about how two engaged people found their way to each other. The Wedding Singer and The Borrowers were very family friendly, but The Replacement Killers was a rated-R movie that brought millions of people to the box offices as well. The Replacement Killers is about a criminal that can’t kill. When he can’t get the job done, his employer sends out reinforcements to get the job done and kill the original hit-man. This movie kept everyone on their toes with its action and drama-filled scenes (“The Replacement Killers”).
As people were winding down for the night, there were five shows that would definitely be on in every household in America. Friends, which is still very popular to this day, was an obvious watch. Friends was a relatable show about five friends in their midlives figuring out life in the city. Friends has been nominated 174 times, respectively winning 63 Golden Globes and Primetime Emmy Awards from 1995-2004. If people weren’t watching Friends, they were probably watching Frasier or The X-Files. Frasier, although a show that began in 1993, was still very popular in the 90’s. Over time, Frasier won three Golden Globes, along with numerous other wins and nominations (“Frasier”). Other shows that plastered the screens of millions of TVs across the country were ER and NYPD Blue. NYPD Blue featured criminal investigations in the Manhattan area. The action and back story of this show helped it receive four Golden Globe awards (“NYPD Blue”). Television shows of this time were delivering exactly what critics wanted to watch. This made every show a likely candidate for many awards that shows such as these received. Although many people love the cheesy reality shows today, the 90’s audience was looking for fun and action-packed shows to wind down to at night (“Monday, February 02, 1998”).
Just like today, kids and adults loved listening to music. Although this song came out in 1997, “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion was the most popular song of 1998. “My Heart Will Go On” topped the charts for four weeks. Along with being the number one song for multiple weeks, it received Song of the Year and Record of Year. Celine Dion won the Best Pop Female Vocalist of 1998. “My Heart Will Go On” received an Oscar and Golden Globe when featured in the film Titanic and a Grammy in 1998 (Hawtin, “My Heart Will Go On”). Usher was another up and coming singer of the 90’s. Many of Usher’s songs were popular, but “Nice and Slow" was one of his best songs in 1998. Janet Jackson, a star since the early 70’s, released hundreds of songs, but her best song of 1998 was “Together Again” (“90s Hits—Billboard #1s”). If someone was not a fan of the pop music, all genres of music were coming out with incredible songs this year. The “Queen of Country Pop”, Shania Twain, released one of her greatest albums in 1998. Many songs on Twain’s newest album, Come on Over, were very popular, but “You’re Still the One” was one of her most-loved songs—it was number one in multiple countries. “You’re Still the One” was nominated for a Grammy in 1998, and it was a U.S. Platinum song (Hawtin, Song Artist 258—Shania Twain).
During a time when artists and movie stars were getting their time in the spotlight, the sports world was also blowing up. What is known as the “Sports Illustrated cover jinx”, struck again on February 2, 1998. Michelle Kwan, the winner of the 1998 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, was featured on Sports Illustrated’s “The Gold Standard” feature. After a close victory to her rival Tara Lipinski at the World Championship, she was named the most likely person to bring home gold at the Winter Olympics. Just a few weeks later, she arrived home with the silver medal, losing to Lipinski. Even though it was an incredibly hard-fought battle between the two competitors, it is believed to have been the “Sports Illustrated cover jinx” that lost the gold medal for Michelle Kwan (“Michelle Kwan”). Staying on the subject of the pathway to Olympic gold, some Chinese swimmers were caught at the World Championships with HGH drugs. The swimmer who was caught with drugs in her bag, Yuan Yuan, was banned from competition for four years, and the coach was banned for fifteen years (Harvey). Excitedly, a lot of drama was occurring around the times of the Olympics, but the baseball world was stirring as well. On February 3, 1998, the Yankees announced the retirement of general manager Bob Watson. Unfortunately Watson was only the Yankees manager for two years, but he was able to bring home a World Series Championship trophy in this time (CBS Sportsline). Brian Cashman, the current assistant general manager, was promoted to replace Watson (Polsson).
I don’t watch much football, but I have always loved the fact that sometimes the SuperBowl lands on my birthday. Although it did not the day I was born, it was the previous day. On February 1, 1998, the Denver Broncos defeated the Green Bay Packers, 31-24. In 1998, Kentucky had a long journey to victory in the NCAA championships. They came out on top against Utah, with nearly a ten point victory, 78-69 (“News and Events of 1998”).
Although the past years had been a time of modest and dressy fashion, the people of 1998 were most interested in comfort over fashion. Sportswear became more popular during in 1998, along with cashmere. Fur, which had been a popular trend in 1997, remained popular but was used in a more casual fashion. People became more into short and ankle-length skirts—no more knee-length skirts. Instead of wearing black all the time, colors were incorporated into style more and more. Accessories, such as chokers and shoulder bags, were becoming increasingly popular as well. Plain choker necklaces were going out of style, but jazzed-up versions, such as ones with beads, were still being seen on the necks of thousands. As men and women became more fashion-forward, luxurious and expensive companies were emerging from the industry, for example, Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton (Cosgrave). Even though luxurious companies were becoming popular, teens around the country couldn’t afford the styles they offered. Teens fashion ventured into many different kinds of styles. Boys embraced the wide-legged cargo pants with a fleece zip-up jacket to compliment. While tight jeans used to be in among girls, now they were replaced with baggy pants and overalls. Never mind long shirts that go past your waist, the capped-sleeved, short shirts became all the rage—much like crop tops today (Koch). Girls and boys took a liking to the skater kid look, so wearing skateboarding shoes was very in. Everyone nowadays tries to follow the coolest and latest trends of the Hollywood celebrities—the 90’s were no exception. Cameron Diaz was a fashion icon at the time of the short hair. Short hair, such as the tapered bob, triangle cut, and quiff lift were a few of the biggest trends in 1998 (“Hot 90’s Hairstyles”). Young girls and teens fully embraced the child-like look of wearing plastic beaded ponytails (Koch). As a child, I definitely remember the pain of these ponytails as I wore them every day. In 1998, men enjoyed the curly hair or slightly grown-out hair. Basic outfits were assembled using light-wash jeans, T-shirts, and tennis shoes.
Although kids loved television and music, they had to be occupied in other fashions as well. Toys were not quite as advanced then as they are now, but kids were just as amused. Teletubbies, which were based off the hit TV show, Teletubbies, were plushy, stuffed animals that delighted millions of toddlers across the country. I absolutely loved the Teletubbies show, however, I never owned one of these fuzzy toys. There was a huge controversy over Tinky Winky being gay. This was seen as a bad role model for children (“Entertainment Tubbies Toast Another Three Years”). The Furby was a toy similar to the Teletubbies doll. It was a little more amusing because it talks and blinks its eyes. The furby has made a recent comeback, and it was named one of the top toys for Christmas in 2013 (“Top Toys for Christmas 2013”). Another popular toy, although it was most-used by boys, were the miniature soldier knickknacks. I remember spending hours playing with these soldier toys with my brother when we were younger. Such a simple toy was able to consume and occupy children’s time and give ultimate enjoyment (“News and Events of 1998”).