Thursday, October 25, 2012
Grieve for the victims of this tragedy. Just do it without calling for blood.
Some pretty intense sentiments have appeared in the comments on our coverage of the disappearance and murder of Autumn Pasquale on Patch. Without calling out individual commenters, I've seen posts advocating for an (explicitly) savage assault of the two juveniles charged with the crime; remarks saying that anyone who caught up with them would be well-served to kill them outright and cover it up; even some that suggested that Pasquale's killers should be made to suffer in a public forum. It was enough to make me want to ask Patch readers as an audience—where are we with this? Without dismissing the severity of the tragedy that has unfolded this week in the small town of Clayton, we’ve pretty much seen some of the worst in ourselves as it’s …
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Those wishing to pay their respects to the late Tortilla Press server may do so at Kain-Murphy Funeral Services from 6 to 8 p.m. Her funeral is Thursday.
As those close with Michelle Johnson make preparations to lay her to rest this week, there is still a gloom that hangs over the brightly colored Mexican restaurant where the young woman had worked for so many years. "She was always smiling, laughing, cracking a joke," said Tortilla Press server Brendan Dugan. Dugan said he still half-expects to see Johnson's name on the schedule when he checks his hours. "It’s just really, really messed up," he said. The 21-year-old Tortilla Press server was murdered last week by her boyfriend, Coast Guardsman Paul Aldapa, 22, of Vacaville, CA, who then shot himself. Like Dugan, Tortilla Press owner Mark Smith said he's still "really upset and disturbed and sorry" when he thinks about the loss of his young…
39.89731
-75.033432
124 Kings Hwy E, Haddonfield, NJ
First Baptist Church
/articles/michelle-johnson-viewing-tonight-in-haddonfield
/locations/7498236
39.89456
-75.04065
15 West End Ave, Haddonfield, NJ
Kain-Murphy Funeral Services
/articles/michelle-johnson-viewing-tonight-in-haddonfield
/locations/7498237
39.91616
-75.0687
The Tortilla Press
701 Haddon Ave, Collingswood, NJ
/articles/michelle-johnson-viewing-tonight-in-haddonfield
1226291
/locations/7498238
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Friends of the young couple are at a loss to make sense of their violent final moments. "These were not ‘people like that.’ These were people like us."
In the days following the apparent murder-suicide of a young Philadelphia-area couple, friends and relatives of Michelle Johnson and Paul Aldapa are still trying to piece together what happened to their loved ones. Although Johnson's coworkers at the Tortilla Press restaurant were well familiar with the girl they called "Shelley," no information on Aldapa was available from his Coast Guard unit at press time. Neither did many of Johnson’s friends or co-workers know much about the boyfriend who reportedly took her life before ending his own. Since then, thoughts and prayers for the late 22-year-old serviceman have come pouring in from those close to him. Universally, they echo with the same thought: disbelief. That the handsome young man …
39.91616
-75.0687
The Tortilla Press
701 Haddon Ave, Collingswood, NJ
/articles/the-complicated-tragedy-of-paul-aldapa-and-michelle-johnson
1226291
/locations/7468079
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Staff at the Collingswood restaurant were shocked to learn about the young woman's death in an apparent murder-suicide in Philadelphia Wednesday afternoon.
Friends of Collingswood resident Michelle Johnson were stunned today to learn that the sunny, upbeat and hard-working young woman had been found dead Wednesday in Philadelphia, the victim of an apparent murder-suicide. Staff at the Tortilla Press today confirmed that the 21-year-old, known as "Shelley," was a long-time member of the restaurant family, having worked her way up from hostess/buser to server. Owner Mark Smith was too shaken to say much after hearing the news. Johnson had worked for him “for years,” he said. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell the staff,” Smith said. Restaurant manager Evan Weissman said Johnson was “a fun girl, a sweet girl and very bright.” One server at the restaurant, who did not wish to be identified by …
39.91616
-75.0687
The Tortilla Press
701 Haddon Ave, Collingswood, NJ
/articles/michelle-johnson-21-was-a-sunny-sweet-presence-at-tortilla-press
1226291
/locations/7460369
kimberle madden
2:56 pm on Saturday, October 27, 2012
thank you matt for your original thoughts, i wholeheartedly agree and appreciate the others' comments. it's because of social media and the times we are in, that it is so important to try and stop and think, really think before we respond to any given situation. more ›