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Thread: Joshua Young on trial for stepbrother's death

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    Joshua Young on trial for stepbrother's death

    Trey Zwicker was found beaten to death in 2011
    Zwicker's stepfather received a life sentence Friday for the murder
    Jury selection in stepbrother Joshua Young's trial is set to begin today



    Three days after a Louisville, Kentucky, father was sentenced in the 2011 beating death of his 14-year-old stepson, jury selection will get under way Monday for the victim's stepbrother, who is charged with "complicity to murder."

    Josh Gouker, the stepdad, was sentenced Friday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years.

    After issuing his plea on May 10, Gouker told the court he became enraged after his stepson, Trey Zwicker, stole some marijuana and a lighter from him. He said he hit him with a pipe.

    "I just snapped. I hit him. He went down," Gouker testifed. "Before I knew it, it was over."

    Gouker said he had only meant to teach the boy a lesson.

    "In the back of my mind, I'm getting tired of him stealing [expletive] so I'm just going to scare him," said Gouker. "I told him, 'The next time you steal from me, I'm going to treat you like a man.'"

    High school students in Louisville made the gruesome discovery in May of 2011 of Zwicker's broken body in a ditch near their school.

    Joshua Young, 17, Gouker's biological son, is set to be tried as an adult for Zwicker's death in Jefferson County Circuit Court. The charge of "complicity to murder" means prosecutors believe Young had knowledge of Gouker's plan to kill Zwicker, but failed do anything to stop it.

    When Gouker pleaded guilty to Zwicker's slaying, he tried to deflect blame away from his son.

    "He didn't have anything to do with it," Gouker told the judge.

    But before changing his plea, Gouker had blamed his son for the killing.

    Pete Schuler, Young's attorney, told the Louisville Courier-Journal Gouker has "zero credibility" and Young is "innocent because he is innocent, not because Gouker" now says so.

    Recorded statements made by Gouker have not been helpful to Young's case.

    During a recorded jailhouse visitation with his mother, Gouker told her he was going to take the fall for his son.

    "So look, bottom line is, I'm just going to take one off the chin and goddamn it, Josh better not leave me," said Gouker, according to HLN affiliate WLKY, which obtained the audio.

    "I said 'Josh, if they catch us, you just act crazy. You're a minor and you won't get no time'," Gouker told WHAS in an August 2012 jailhouse interview.

    Zwicker's biological father is convinced Young played a large role in his son's tragic death.

    "Josh Young is just as guilty as Gouker. He was standing right there," said Terry Zwicker. "I don't anticipate ever really knowing the truth. I just anticipate justice being served. It's a slow process, but at the end of the road, I think I'm gonna be happy with what I see."


    *They have been talking about this on HLN today, this father is a POS. He said that the plan at first was to have his son take the blame because he was a minor he would not get much of a sentence, he said "It was just one murder, not like three or four so I did not expect them to make such a big deal of it"
    He also said in the interview that the mother of Trey Zwicker had aborted his child so when they asked what he had to say to her about killing her only son, "tell her were even, it should have been her"

    http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/07...d-trey-zwicker

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    Josh Gouker pleads guilty to killing his stepson

    LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - A man confessed to murder Friday, but his son, who is also charged, is not off the hook. In an unscheduled hearing, Josh Gouker pled guilty to killing his stepson Trey Zwicker, 14, and said his own son, who is also charged will beat the rap.

    "I'm not manipulating anything," Gouker said. "I'm just ready to be done with it."

    In excruciating detail, Gouker laid it all out. On May 10, 2011, Gouker said he started getting mad when he noticed Zwicker had taken his cigarette lighter and eaten a plate of food left for Gouker.

    "In the back of my mind, I'm getting tired of him stealing s*** so I'm just going to scare him," Gouker said. "That's all I'm going to do."

    Gouker said he invited Zwicker down to the "spot," a creek behind Liberty High School near the intersection of Preston Highway and Indian Trail, where the two smoked marijuana. He said he asked Zwicker for his lighter and when the teen told him he didn't have it, he decided it was time to do something.

    "So I started scaring him," Gouker said. "I told him, 'The next time you steal from me, I'm going to treat you like a man,' and he said something about Terry, 'Well then you and my dad will have a problem,' or some s***," Gouker said. "Then I just snapped. I hit him, he went down. I stepped on his hand, pulled the bar. He still had the bar in his hand. He pulled his hand. I hit him. Before I knew it, it was over."

    Gouker said after he beat Zwicker to death with a metal pipe, he washed the pipe, went to his cousin's house, stripped and took a shower. Then he said he put the pipe and clothes in a grocery bag and left it in a dumpster behind a Mexican restaurant near his home.

    So why confess now after two years of changing stories about what happened to Trey? The answer might have sat just a few chairs down from Gouker Friday: his son, Josh Young, now 17.

    "We haven't said anything, there's nothing contained in any of this paperwork about what's going to happen to the charges against Mr. Young," Judge Barry Willett said to Gouker, making sure he understood his plea. "He still stands indicted for murder."

    "Yeah but he'll beat it," Gouker answered. "He didn't have nothing to do with it."

    After court, Gouker's lawyer wouldn't talk about if his confession was an attempt to clear his son.

    "I don't really want to comment on that," Mark Hall said. "The guilty plea speaks for itself."

    The plea is what's called an open plea, meaning there is no agreement or deal with prosecutors regarding Gouker's potential sentence. The penalty for murder in Kentucky is 20 to 50 years in prison or life with the possibility of parole in 20 years. Gouker will learn his sentence in late July, the same day Young's murder trial is scheduled to start.

    Prosecutors didn't want to say anything about the case because they're moving forward with the case against Young.

    After Judge Willett accepted Gouker's guilty plea Friday, Young's attorney asked for him to be released on his own recognizance or on home incarceration.

    "We've said all along that our client did not commit this crime," attorney Pete Schuler said. "The evidence in this case was generated by Mr. Gouker. He originally implicated his son and induced people that he had control over to say certain things that would implicate him and also that there is no hard or scientific evidence to link him with this case."


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    A family nightmare: After slaying, information on troubled family came pouring out

    Long article about Joshua Young and family background, his foster mother has been in court everyday. He was doing very well under her care but when his father was released from prison he was given back custody. http://www.courier-journal.com/artic...urder-violence

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    Exclusive: Gouker talks about murder plot in prison interview

    LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - The twisted story that led to a teenager's murder just got a little more bizarre.

    In a prison interview, Gouker said there was another murder that was supposed to happen and it set the whole complicated saga in motion, "I just don't want people to think that it was all about Trey cause it wasn't."

    When asked if he could understand why people thought that he replied, "Yeah, well I'm telling you, it wasn't."

    Gouker said the 14-year-old boy, who he now admits to beating to death, really wasn't the target of his anger.

    "Trey connected the people that I hated the most," he said, "Honestly I was just trying to get my parole reinstated where I could kill Amanda and just come back and own up to everything I did."

    And he says another child, his son, Josh Young taking the blame for Zwicker's murder was never the long-term plan - killing his wife was, "I knew I was done. I wasn't going to make my son pay for something I did, but at the same time I just didn't feel like me and Amanda was even."

    Gouker said he'd persuaded those closest to him to lie, to point the finger at Young for murder.

    WAVE 3's Janelle MacDonald asked, "So you thought you were going to be able to pin this on josh and then clear him?"

    Gouker explained, "Well I was going to come back and own up to everything. Once I killed Amanda, they'd know for sure that it was me at the time I had everybody fooled. They didn't know who did it."

    He thought with his confession in May, Young would be in the clear, "I've thrown a monkey wrench over here, over here, over here, over here, over here and then when everybody thought they was going this way and this way and this way, I come out with the truth and they're mad about it."

    But Gouker's truth has changed several times over the past two years and his son still faces a murder trial.

    If he was trying to manipulate the system, it hasn't worked yet.

    When asked what will happen if Young ultimately gets convicted because the state says he's going to trial Gouker responded, "Yeah, well I mean you can't prove that he did this or she did that when they didn't do it. So how you going to prove something that didn't happen. You can't."

    Gouker thinks he has it worked out. He said he thinks there's a zero percent chance a jury will convict his son of murder. Only, in reality, it could happen. And in prison, his now ex-wife still haunts him "She's out there, she took a blow but she gets to go on and on and on that's where mine ends so she still wins."

    Gouker feels like he's pretty smart, "To fool people sometimes that's easy. You just deal with dumber people."

    Only this time, he may have outsmarted himself.

    Prosecutors cannot comment on the case against Josh Young because he's going to trial in July.

    Most of the evidence against him does come from witness statements, the same statements that Gouker now says were lies he made happen.

    video prison interview- http://www.wave3.com/category/240203...&clipId=898904

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    Senior Member Sarahric13's Avatar
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    What a fucked up story!

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    Senior Member royals02's Avatar
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    Agree...fucked up and evil. I haven't read everything in regard to this case, but do you know why the father was given back custody of Joshua...seems like he was thriving with his foster family...

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    Senior Member royals02's Avatar
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    Well I just read the long article referenced above...seems to me someone, maybe the family court judge should be held accountable for putting that poor boy back into that awful environment with his father...so heartbreaking
    Can't wait to see the "cast of characters" that may be testifying in this case

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    Senior Member hamdinger125's Avatar
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    If he was trying to manipulate the system, it hasn't worked yet.
    Maybe because his story doesn't make a damn bit of sense.

    And I'm confused- is there any evidence linking Joshua to the murder besides his father's testimony? How exactly are they pinning this on him?

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    Quote Originally Posted by hamdinger125 View Post
    Maybe because his story doesn't make a damn bit of sense.

    And I'm confused- is there any evidence linking Joshua to the murder besides his father's testimony? How exactly are they pinning this on him?
    Joshua made some statement at first I believe but the ME said this was committed by one person (I heard) and his father said that is what he told him to say. The fathers plan was to have his son take the blame because he was a minor and he thought he would get off with little to no time. The father pled guilty after he found out they were trying his son as an adult and took responsibility. He said that it was revenge against the mother who aborted his child.
    The judge told the jury pool today that they will pick 15 tomorrow and sent them home for the day, trial is to start tomorrow. The defense tried to get Joshua Young's statements thrown out but the judge ruled against them.

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    Josh's cousin Cassie says he woke her up and said he killed Trey and showed her the bat and bloody clothes. She than drove him to an apt complex to dispose of the items in a dumpster. The cops didn't find out until 6 weeks after the murder, so nothing was ever recovered. She wasn't charged with anything.

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    Senior Member animosity's Avatar
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    i was thinking that i wanted to find an image of trey to post and no kidding, this was the post that shows up first on google:

    http://www.faygoluvers.net/v5/2013/0...d-stepbrother/



    14 year old Juggalo Trey Zwicker Murdered by his Stepfather and Stepbrother.

    Tuesday 30th July, 2013 by PunkRockJuggalo | 6 Comments

    We just got hit up with an email about a 14 year old Juggalo named Trey Zwicker being murdered. The murder took place in 2011 but the trial for one of his alleged killers, his stepbrother Josh Young, is currently on going. His stepfather Josh Gouker has already been convicted and sentenced to life in prison for his murder.

    Students at Liberty High School found Trey’s body near the school in May 2011. One month later, police arrested JoshuaYoung, who was 15 at the time, based on statements made by Young’s father and Zwicker’s stepfather Josh Gouker who said he got mad when he noticed Trey Zwicker had taken his cigarette lighter and eaten a plate of food left for Gouker.
    rip trey
    Quote Originally Posted by songbirdsong View Post
    "Say, you know who could handle this penis? MY MOTHER."

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    Openings begin in Joshua Young trial



    Attorneys in the Joshua Young trial selected 15 jurors Tuesday -- five men and 10 women. Three of them, picked at random, will ultimately be alternates.

    Opening statements in the trial are scheduled to begin Wednesday morning after the jury is sworn in.

    Young is charged with complicity to murder for his alleged involvement in the 2011 beating death of his stepbrother, Trey Zwicker.

    The 17-year-old is set to be tried as an adult in the Jefferson County Circuit Court in Louisville, Kentucky. The charge of "complicity to murder" means prosecutors believe Young had knowledge of a plan to kill Zwicker, but failed to do anything to stop it.

    The potential jurors were asked about a wide range of issues Wednesday, including their thoughts on Young being tried as an adult.

    Most of the candidates said they didn't have an issue with his age. One woman asked if Young's sentence would change if he were charged as a minor. One man asked how old Young was at the time of the crime. When attorneys responded by telling him Young was 15, the potential juror said, "Not 16? I'll have to think about that."

    Another woman asked how the decision on whether to try a defendant as a minor or as an adult is made.

    One adult has already tried to take the blame for Zwicker’s death. Josh Gouker, Zwicker’s stepdad and Young’s biological father, was sentenced Friday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years.

    Prosecutors are expected to call Gouker to the stand to testify in Young’s trial Thursday.

    After issuing his guilty plea on May 10, Gouker told the court he became enraged after his stepson, Trey Zwicker, stole some food and a lighter from him. He said he hit Zwicker with a pipe.

    "I just snapped. I hit him. He went down," Gouker testifed. "Before I knew it, it was over."

    Gouker said he had only meant to teach the boy a lesson.

    "In the back of my mind, I'm getting tired of him stealing [expletive] so I'm just going to scare him," said Gouker. "I told him, 'The next time you steal from me, I'm going to treat you like a man.'"

    When Gouker pleaded guilty to Zwicker's slaying, he tried to deflect blame away from his son.

    "He didn't have anything to do with it," Gouker told the judge.

    Pete Schuler, Young's attorney, told the Louisville Courier-Journal that Gouker has "zero credibility," and Young is "innocent because he is innocent, not because Gouker" now says so.

    http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/07...al?hpt=hln10_2

    wild about trial is live streaming but the noise during sidebars is LOUD so be prepared for that.
    http://wildabouttrial.com/joshua-young-live-stream.html

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    Treys body when they found it by the creek bed

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    Senior Member Bellaboo's Avatar
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    So sad ...... beaten to death and left in a ditch like trash at age 14.
    I am watching watching the trial coverage on HLN which takes a commercial every five minutes.
    Thanks Diana for all of your updates photos .... it is so sad to me ..... This happens much too often in our society, such disregard for a human life.

    "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves" .. Confucius
    "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation " ...... Henry David Thoreau

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    Senior Member Metis212's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by royals02 View Post
    Agree...fucked up and evil. I haven't read everything in regard to this case, but do you know why the father was given back custody of Joshua...seems like he was thriving with his foster family...
    Parental rights trump a nice foster family. Although the father was in jail, his parental rights would NOT be severed.

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    Senior Member DiaDeLosMuertos's Avatar
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    This guy is a douche. Wo the fuck does this to their kids? And serious,y, wtaf? Why are juggalos in every damn thread lately?
    Jenn

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    Who*
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    Senior Member M Joy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DiaDeLosMuertos View Post
    This guy is a douche. Wo the fuck does this to their kids? And serious,y, wtaf? Why are juggalos in every damn thread lately?
    Right? I think there are more threads WITH juggalos than without.

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    Sana sana colita de rana beli's Avatar
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    wasn't there a "mr. potato head thread" that was about a juggalo?
    Quote Originally Posted by Gawna View Post
    Roses are red, violets are blue, seriously where is the fucking ring I gave Julie and ask her mom about the flowers
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron_NYC View Post
    In all fairness, we have no idea how big this dude's cock was.

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    Trey's mother is on the stand now, she had sex with Josh Roucker right after he had killed her son (she did not know that he was dead yet) not sure why the attorney asked her if a foreign object was used during sex?

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    Senior Member M Joy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dianalyn View Post
    Trey's mother is on the stand now, she had sex with Josh Roucker right after he had killed her son (she did not know that he was dead yet) not sure why the attorney asked her if a foreign object was used during sex?
    That guy is a sick fuck

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    Quote Originally Posted by M Joy View Post
    That guy is a sick fuck
    I have listened to several of his interviews and he really is. Listening to Trey's mother testify today, he was extremely abusive and controlling, she should have asked for protection a long time ago. It sounds as though she did try to get away a couple of times though. This is another state that allows the jury to ask questions, waiting to see what they have to ask her now and then they go home for the day.

    This judge is a little less formal than what we normally see I think.

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    Senior Member royals02's Avatar
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    From listening to testimony today, it seems like everyone in this neighborhood was related in some way and they all know each other since kinny-garden
    Did I hear right....did the mom say she had visitation rights with the daughter....then they all went up to sidebar pretty quickly...If so, I didn't know there were custody issues with the daughter as well as with Trey. I know she also said she has been in other abusive relationships besides the one with Gouker.
    Just seems to be a whole lot of dysfunction going on here

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    Senior Member Bellaboo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by royals02 View Post
    From listening to testimony today, it seems like everyone in this neighborhood was related in some way and they all know each other since kinny-garden
    Did I hear right....did the mom say she had visitation rights with the daughter....then they all went up to sidebar pretty quickly...If so, I didn't know there were custody issues with the daughter as well as with Trey. I know she also said she has been in other abusive relationships besides the one with Gouker.
    Just seems to be a whole lot of dysfunction going on here
    I didn't hear that about visitation rights with the daughter. Sounds like an totally dysfunctional bunch.
    The HLN coverage is awful. Hard to follow with sidebars and no analysis of the issue. Seems like HLN only avataravatar the
    Defendant was 15 at t he time of the murder and does not know all.of the ins and outs of these relationships so provides no insight.

    Such a brutal death for a young teen...... doesn't the mom seem to be a little emotionally detached on the stand?

    "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves" .. Confucius
    "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation " ...... Henry David Thoreau

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    Senior Member Bellaboo's Avatar
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    Edit above. HLN only cares about the age of the defendant.

    "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves" .. Confucius
    "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation " ...... Henry David Thoreau

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