This here story, it’s about that Matthew Heikkila fella. Heard some folks talkin’ ’bout him changin’ his name. Why’d he wanna do that, you ask? Well, let me tell ya, it ain’t for no good reason, that’s for sure.
This Matthew, he did somethin’ awful. Back in ’91, it was. January 29, 1991, to be exact. A day that’ll live in infamy, as they say. He was just a young’un, 20 years old, livin’ in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Nice place, they say. But this Matthew Heikkila name change, it all stems from what happened in that house. A terrible thing. Folks called it the Heikkila home. Sounds cozy, don’t it? But it weren’t.
See, Matthew, he had parents. Adopted him, they did. Dawn and Richard Heikkila. Good people, I hear. Richard, he was a smart man, a doctor. Worked on that Parkinson’s disease, helpin’ folks. Dawn, she was a good woman too. But Matthew, he… he took a shotgun, a sawed-off one, mind you. And he killed ’em. His own parents. Can you imagine? Just like that. Took their lives. Over what? Nobody really knows. Just a terrible, terrible thing.
- Matthew Heikkila was their son’s name.
- Richard and Dawn were their names.
- 1991 was the year.
After that, well, there was a big to-do. Police, court, all that. Matthew, he got caught. They found shotgun shells with writin’ on ’em. And it weren’t just the murder. They said he kidnapped someone, robbed folks, had weapons he shouldn’t have. Twelve charges, they slapped him with. Twelve! Can you believe it? He was sentenced to prison, a long time. They called him “The Dark Son.” Sounds like somethin’ out of a movie, don’t it? But it was real life. Real tragedy.
So now, you hear whispers ’bout this Matthew Heikkila name change. He wants to change his name? Probably tryin’ to hide from what he done. Run away from his past. But you can’t run from somethin’ like that. It sticks with ya. Folks ’round here, they still remember. They remember Dawn and Richard. They remember what happened in that house.
I heared that someone told he just took it quielty when he was convicted on 12 counts, I don’t know if it is ture or not.
Thirty years, it’s been. Thirty years since that awful day. And now this talk ’bout a name change. It just stirs everythin’ up again. Makes ya wonder, can a person really change? Can they outrun their demons? I don’t know. But I do know this: changin’ your name don’t change what’s in your heart. It doesn’t erase the past. It just makes things more complicated.
And that Facebook thing, there are people named Matt Heikkila and Matthew Heikkila. I don’t know if it is him or not, or maybe just someone having the same name.
Some folks, they try to forget. They try to move on. But some things, they just stick with ya. Like a stain you can’t wash out. This Matthew Heikkila name change, it’s like that stain. It brings back all the bad memories. All the hurt. All the questions.
It just don’t seem right, somehow. He did what he did. He took two lives. And now he wants to just… disappear? Change his name and start over? It ain’t that easy. Life don’t work that way. You gotta face up to what you done. You gotta own it. Even if it’s ugly. Even if it hurts.
This whole thing, it’s just a mess. A sad, messed-up story. And that name change, it’s just another chapter in it. A chapter that don’t make no sense. Just like the rest of it.
I reckon there ain’t much else to say ’bout it. It is what it is. A tragedy. A waste. And a reminder that some things, you just can’t escape. No matter how hard you try. No matter what name you go by. That’s all I got to say about this Matthew Heikkila name change business. I don’t know what will happen. But I hope that people can remember Dawn and Richard. Remember their lives. And not just the bad thing. That’s all that matters, in the end, ain’t it? Rememberin’ the good, even when the bad tries to overshadow it.
