SCP-408

Item #: SCP-408

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-408 is to be kept in a standard containment locker at Site-19. Only personnel working on SCP-408 are to enter the containment locker containing it. Any photographs of SCP-408 taken by unauthorized parties are to be immediately confiscated and destroyed.

Description: SCP-408 is the collective designation of a group of photographs depicting two individuals who closely match the description of a man named █████ ████████, AKA "The Redwood Strangler". SCP-408 was found in a storage locker in [REDACTED] on June 3, 2006, and containment procedures were enacted immediately.

When SCP-408 was released into the wild, it was observed by police in █████, CA. One of the people photographed holding a red sign reading "I ♥ REDWOOD" so closely resembled █████ ████████ that he was detained for further investigation. The other photographed individual was identified as Norman Jay Turpin - co-owner of Plantation Estates in █████, CA.

After continued investigation, it was determined that several areas north and south of █████ had been targeted by serial killer "The Redwood Strangler", who had killed ██ people in █████ between May 18 and October 3, 2006. It was eventually discovered that Coach Lee Duncan, a local college professor and camp counselor at Camp ██████████, led an ongoing campaign to raise funds to build a statue of "The Redwood Strangler" in front of the campus greenhouses (see Addendum 408-1).

Dr. Vinci: Is the person you're describing someone you know?

Agent Hosti… Jackson: Yes sir. We all remember him from back in our school days. He used to be a pretty popular guy around here. Won lots of races at camp and stuff like that - he's just about as talented as they come when it comes to running.

Dr. Vinci: So this man… murdered people at camp? What kind of man does that? Why would anybody want to do something like that?

Agent Jackson: I don't know if he wanted to do it or not… I mean those poor kids just wanted to have fun at camp… but somehow I don't think he cared much about any of them after he started killing them. He seemed more interested in his own sport than anything else… but we all know what happens when you start taking yourself too seriously…

[…] [Jay has been talking for some time with Dr Vinci.]

Dr. Vinci: Mr Turpin – are you aware that there are still people out there who believe you are responsible for these murders? Even my boss wants me to make contact with you in hopes of finding out more information regarding this case. Please do not hesitate to answer any questions we might have. We can swear you in as an official witness if necessary…

Agent Jackson: Things weren't exactly normal back then… but everybody knew what happened to those kids… you couldn't just ignore it all these years! I'm sorry we spent so long refusing to believe somebody like Norman could do something like this! I lost friends because we didn't believe him; I even lost my job over this whole situation! But now we've got proof! We can put him away once and for all! It's almost funny how easy it is for us now - maybe things would have been different if he came forward when he first did? Nobody probably would have believed him back then… but now look at all the attention everyone's giving him! None of it would have happened if he hadn't wanted the attention so badly…

Dr. Vinci: Thank you for your time Mr Turpin… is there anything else you'd like to tell us before we leave? Anything else at all?

Agent Jackson: Just one thing – Mr Turpin - when they take away your freedom and your life over something like this, don't be sad or scared or anything - because all you're losing is your right to be free anymore. There's nothing left for you behind it anyway - no more running or climbing trees with friends or eating candy bars at 4 o'clock in the morning when nobody's around - because once they drag you off in handcuffs and throw you away into their deepest prison cell and lock the door behind you there's not gonna be another chance for you to feel alive again ever again.

Addendum 408-1: Interview with Norman Jay Turpin

[Interviewer]: Dr. Vinci, I'd like to ask you some questions.

Dr. Vinci: Alright.

[…]

Dr. Vinci: What are you in for?

Norman Jay Turpin: Well, let's see… I guess you could call it a murder charge. Or maybe it's more like manslaughter? I never really know what to call it, so I usually just leave it at that and don't give it too much thought.

Dr. Vinci: And why would you say that it was manslaughter?

Norman Jay Turpin: Let's see… okay, here's my story…

[…]

Dr. Vinci: …and what happened next?

Norman Jay Turpin: Uh… well, I just talked to him for a little while and let him know that he was right about everything. When he took off running after that, I left too – but then I started thinking about the mess he had made of his life and what a waste of space he was, so I decided to go back later on and tell him how stupid he was being by thinking that he could ever be free again. That's when we got into this big fight - about whether or not he could ever be free again - and it kinda came down to him claiming that he didn't care about anything anymore and then I saying that he didn't either and we went from there.

Dr. Vinci: And what did you think Mr Turpin? Did you think that you were going to be able to get him to change his ways?

Norman Jay Turpin: Well, yeah… I mean sure - everybody wants to believe that they're not all bad people underneath them, but when we start thinking about all the people who've turned out to be horrible people in the end, we tend to lose hope pretty quickly. We all make mistakes - sometimes we do things that we regret right away, other times it might take us a while… but as far as Norman goes, I think that by the time he started killing those kids, there wasn't anything left inside of him at all. He'd already lost himself long before he ever did any of those things - maybe if somebody had told him at the beginning that they knew what happened to those children back in '06 and tried to stop him from doing it then maybe the world wouldn't be holding him responsible for all of this right now? Who knows? Maybe if somebody had told me about all of this back in the day I would have done something about it - some kind of action to stop him - but now it's too late…

Dr. Vinci: Yeah. It's too late for everybody involved with this case. So what're you going to do now? It seems like you still have a lot of questions left over from 11 years ago… can't you just let sleeping dogs lie?

Norman Jay Turpin: Uh… well, I don't know about sleeping dogs really - but I think we can probably put the whole thing behind us now - no more questions or anything like that… [Norman is silent for a moment.]

Dr. Vinci: …what is it? You look kind of down there… is something bothering you? You said something earlier on… maybe you want to talk about it some more. If you want to tell me anything else, please feel free to do so - honestly, I won't judge you for anything you say. This is your chance to clear the air if you want to - get everything straight between us once and for all.

Norman Jay Turpin: [silence] Yeah… yeah… I guess – if it's okay with you – I think maybe I just wanna go home now… I've been sitting here for hours now – i'm gonna be okay if i just get out of here for a bit?

Dr. Vinci: Sure thing Mr Turpin - wait right here for me just one second please?

[…]

Dr. Vinci: Alright then - here's the deal Mr Turpin - after everything we've been through together today and everything else you've told us, we have some news for you regarding your case… we're releasing you from custody today with full immunity from prosecution for any possible crimes committed during your lifetime! Do you understand what I'm saying? Your name is cleared and there will be no records pertaining to you as an individual anywhere in our database ever again! You're free to go home right now whenever you want! So if there's anything else we can do for you today - whether it be legal advice or anything else at all - please let us know!

Norman Jay Turpin: [long pause] …thank you… thank you so much… [smiles] i've always wanted to say that i'm sorry to everybody… especially my victims' families… i hope they can find closure… i hope they can move on from this whole situation… i truly am sorry... [sniffles] i just wanted freedom out of life so badly, i guess – and i never wanted anybody standing in my way of getting that freedom back again… but at least now everyone knows who i am and what happened back then… and hopefully now no one will ever have to feel as guilty as i do anymore.