This is a headline on the front page of my newspaper today. a brief excerpt:
Police on Monday identified the couple involved in Sunday’s apparent murder-suicide in an upscale West Side neighborhood as a long-time dentist and his younger wife of seven years — a part-time criminal justice professor at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Officials believe Walter Dale Eastman, 49, shot his wife, Joni Eastman, 29, and then turned the gun on himself about 1:15 p.m. Sunday.
The whole article is here. (edit:this link no longer works, the El Paso Times has archived this article) The story is similar to many I am sure most of us have heard. A seemingly normal person kills his wife and then himself. Luckily this time the children were spared. I get sick to my stomach when individuals kill off their children, wife, and then themselves. You would hope in this day and age people would get professional help, but obviously that doesn’t happen. I just wish people that are going to kill themselves wouldn’t kill others in the process.
I wasn’t going to do another post this week, but I am eating lunch, reading this article, and wondering if I did something like that would they say ‘a good atheist’ slayed his wife and them himself? Honey, if you are reading this, you have nothing to worry about, you are stuck with me forever. 
First, I would imagine true Christian’s would be at least a little offended by the headline also, wouldn’t they? A ‘good Christian’ wouldn’t slay his wife and then kill himself. And what about the wife’s family? How good do they think he is? If you read the article the quote is attributed to an old high school friend who was still a patient of his because he went to church and participated in Easter and Christmas plays. Once again, does this make him a Christian? Let alone a good one. Why does the newspaper sensationalize his supposed religion based on a brief quote?
And truthfully, I shouldn’t take it out on my local paper, because we have all seen similar attributes placed on people who have done similar things, whether in your own paper, the local or national news, or shows like 48 Hours. Obviously the loosely based fact that one is a Christian (or any religion) doesn’t seem to really have any effect on whether one decides to do terrible things. I hope one day the media will just label people based on their actions rather than what religion they are supposedly in.
July 3, 2007 at 5:07 pm
That headline writer should be fired.
July 3, 2007 at 6:09 pm
I knew the Eastmans. I went to school with Dale (I was one year behind him), my best friend was a patient of his, and last spring I was in one of Joni’s classes at UTEP. The spooky part of all of this is that Joni had just finished a Masters in Criminal Justice, and her thesis was on this very topic.
The argument we had in class over gun ownership will haunt me for a long, long time. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people, she said. That’s right, I answered, people kill people, using guns . . .
I think that the comment about Christianity was meant as shorthand for “he acted like good people.” Sad, isn’t it, that I’ve come to expect that comment when ever there is a tragedy of this sort. I wonder, is the comment that he was a good Christian supposed to increase the horror of what happened, or to indicated that he must have somehow been pushed especially hard to have shot and killed Joni?
Good Christian or not, it seems that his faith failed him when it came to the ultimate test. My sympathy is reserved for Joni, because no matter what had gone wrong in her relationship with her husband she didn’t deserve to be shot, and most of all, for Joni’s two babies.
July 3, 2007 at 7:41 pm
I agree with you about the Times using the Christian term loosely, and that is my main issue. Not to mention it is on the front page of the paper.
I read about Joni being a speaker about criminal behavior and it is sadly ironic. I feel the same way about the kids, and wish he would have spared his wife.
July 6, 2007 at 9:32 am
You all are just looking on “Dr. Eastman’s ” actions. You all are right about it that was a terrible thing he did. Remember that there is always two sides to the story we dont know why he decided to do what he did, we have no idea what went on behind close doors. We all can be the nicest persons in the world until we go through a terrible thing. Botoom line is let’s not be quick to judge or rather have a prefference as far as who should be spared. Also we all at one point or another love our partner and yes it will seem you would loved them for ever, but next thing you know you hate each other. So weather we are christians or not maybe to Dr. Eastmans family he will always be the perfect son.
July 6, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Mary, I am not sure where you are going with this.
No matter what went on behind closed doors there is absolutely no reason to kill your wife. Get divorced, move out, get couseling, whatever. And if suicide is your answer don’t kill your wife also! How many times do we have to see situations like this? This one hit closer to home as it happened in the city in which I live, yet the reason I blogged about it was because of the claim he was a christian.
Sure, the kids would have suffered if they got a divorce. They would have suffered had just Dr. Eastman committed suicide. But to kill their mother and then commit suicide?!? Why would anyone do that?
You point about how you love your partner and then you hate each other, well, the overwhelming majority of don’t kill our spouse even if it gets that far. I have been in some relationships that went bad but never did I think of killing that person.
July 10, 2007 at 11:54 am
Yes….I would like the media to put that I was a really good snowboarder along side my homicide story. I mean..that statement may be stretching the truth a little….but I think calling someone who murders a person a christian might be stretching the truth a litllt also.
August 6, 2007 at 12:05 pm
CHRISTIAN??? I think the whole article was written by someone who the Eastman’s paid to write it.
My sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and Joni’s sons will never EVER be the same. Dale took away the most important person in THEIR lives. Not all the therapy in the world is EVER going to heal their wounds of having their MOTHER, DAUGHTER, AND SISTER murdered. Do you realize the selfish act that Dale committed? For what? Because Joni was filing for divorce? My God, what kind of man is that? And christian?? You got to be joking.
Angry, yes. Suffering, yes. What would you tell your 6yr. and 18 month old? That their dad loved them so much that he murdered their mom then killed himself?
Our family will never be the same again after this. Our family reunions will be filled with lonliness and tears. Not tears of joy but sadness for the lose of our Joni that was taken away out of an act of selfish greed by Dale Eastman.
August 6, 2007 at 2:16 pm
lost without you—I totally agree. This post still gets a lot of hits every day, and I have wondered if anyone with close ties has read it. The El Paso Times has since archived the article and my link no longer works, I wish I had copied the entire article to the site.
I did not know Joni was filing for divorce, and even if that is the case as you said what he did is the most selfish and terrible thing one can do.
While I don’t think the newspaper was paid by the Eastmans, I do believe, as blacksun pointed out in the first comment, the headline writer (who is often not the article writer) should be fired.
My thoughts are with you and may you perservere the best you can through this tragedy.
September 16, 2007 at 9:50 pm
I knew Joni. She was a very good friend to me, and it is true. Lives will never be the same. I read the article just soon after hearing of her death. I was really upset that people were so supportive of Dale Eastman like he had been the victim in this whole ordeal. He was not a victim, but rather the victimizer as he took Joni from her family, and her children. How can they ever fill the void that Dale took because he was upset about a divorce. Get real. While I know bits and pieces of why he did this terrible act, ” a good christian?” Get Real. A good christian does not shoot their spouse in the head for a divorce. A good Christian does not go out and wait some time before they decide to kill themselves. He was just a coward who could not face up to what he had done. I don’t feel sorry for him. I feel sorry for Joni’s family and friends who have to remember her death at such a young age. Maybe in time I may feel for Dale the greed Eastman but more importantly he was just selfish. But while we move on, we will never forget those who viewed Dale Eastman as a good Christian. If he was a good Christian, then he must have missed the Commandment of “Thou Shall Not Kill.”
Joni will be forever in my heart and memory as I remember seeing her at my party for my birthday. That is my last memory of her, and it will forever be a good memory for me.
September 18, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Maybe she got what she deserved. From what I hear she was sleeping around with the UTEP athletes that were taking her class. She was the one and only reason they took her class. The night before the indicent they went to the boxing match and they ran in to a couple of her male students. They were all buzzing around her like bees to honey. And I heard that she LOVED the attention. Dale saw it all was was not happy about it. But she didn’t care she shoved it right in his face. What did she honestly think would happen. This relationship was doomed before it even started. When a 18 yr old starts dating a 43 don’t people think it’s odd. Where the HECK were her parents when this was going on. Was the money that Dale had that important to them? Get real and be parents. For someone who taught about violent behavior in the home she sure missed all of the signs. She was living a case study and she didn’t even know it. How does someone like that get a Master Degree? Unbelievable.
September 18, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Wow, Yvette. I am not sure if I am going to keep your comments up, but for now here they are.
First and foremost, having an affair (if that is even true, I have not heard anything, but I am not close to the situation and do not know any of the Eastmans) does not give someone the right to kill another human being. Even us non God believers know that.
And one could easily turn the argument around. What does a 43 year old expect when he is courting/marrying an 18 year old? I am relatively certain most May/December marriages don’t end in murder.
September 19, 2007 at 8:16 am
Hey, I’m not saying what he did was right and I probably went a bit overboard saying that she deserved it. I’m just saying that it takes two to tango.
This guy gave her everthing paid education at UTEP. Bachelors and Masters degrees. A brand new house up on the hill. Fancy clothes. Two great kids. This was a life that she could only have dreamt about. Then cracks in the relationship started to appear. Now the marriage needs more attention, more understanding more work than a 26 year old wants to put into it. So she starts hanging with her friends more and that’s when the trouble really started. She tells Dale she’s going to her Moms…he calls to find out she’s never been there. And this goes on and on.
I do know that Dale was very suspicious of her where abouts. So much so that he had a tracking device loaded onto her brand new Escalade that he bought her. All I am saying is she pushed he cracked. The whole situation is sad for everyone.
Hope you keep my comments on.
Thanks
October 2, 2007 at 9:33 pm
I know that it has been several months since you have written with questions regarding Dr Dale and Joni Eastman but I am here to answer some of those questions for you. I knew both of them for quite some time and their relationship was far from the story book type. Joni was young and still not ready (in my opinion) ready for marriage or children. Dale was into his practice that was thriving. Just expanded his office which meant more work for him. However he always had time to take time out of his work schedule to take them to the park or downtown to a fair of some sort. There were times, many times that he would tell us that he was doing something with the boys but Joni was not around. No in regards to her family. They did not like Dale for personal reasons but not for reasons one my think but rather because of business dealings that her family and Dale had together. Again I have first hand knowledge. Now Joni’s family was all to familiar with her lack of attention to her family that she had, meaning her husband and two boys. At one point Joni was caught cheating and her parents begged Dale to take her back. He did because he loved her so. He loved his entire family. Now before I go any further I must say that I am so angry at Dale for doing what he done and it hurts my heart to know that those boys will not know or understand what happened. I am a firm believer in divorce and the kids and the entire family would have been better for it. Now as it stands the kids are with Joni’s Mom and Dad who I hope will one day be able to tell the boys that their Daddy loved them so very much. It is not for Joni’s parents to judge nor is it fair to the boys for Joni’s parents fill their heads with all the hatred that they feel for Dale even though it is justified. I hope this clear up your questions regarding this terrible tragedy.
October 2, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Yvette, I don’t know you but I can only imagine by your comments that you were very much involved in this mess and apparently jealous of Joni. This was not Dale’s first time to the alter, he was a big boy and if he had already placed a tracking monitor on her vehicle and checking up on her whereabouts then things had been bad for quite a while. I have been a paralegal in the field of family law for over 10 years and have worked on many multi-million dollar divorces and none of them have ended in murder-suicide. NO MATTER HOW BAD THINGS ARE A FATHER DOESN’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO KILL THE MOTHER OF HIS CHILDREN OR VICE VERSA. Dale’s behavior may be an indication as to why there were problems in the marriage to begin with. Dale’s behavior is CHILD ABUSE in its cruelest form.
I went to school with Dale, was in his graduating class and was shocked by his behavior. I myself was in a May/Decemer relationship that ended and I am still alive. I can honestly tell you that my child’s father would probably tell everyone that I drove him crazy and that I pushed and he reacted. Well, he also pushed and I reacted. Dale was the adult in this relationship, he had lived more adult years than she was alive. She was a child and there was nothing her parents could have said or done to convince her not to fall in love with this man, I know from experience.
Unless you were a part of this marriage (which would have made it very crowded) then you do not have all the facts and should be ashamed of your statments.
TO JONI’S FAMILY: My prayers have been going out to your family since this happened. I am truly sorry for you loss and the loss that Joni’s children will fell for the rest of their lives. I read the article in the El Paso Times and the blurbs on the link and was disgusted. I hope you know that their are some who believe that your daughter must have been a wonderful person to have been able to receive her Bachelor’s and Master’s by the time she was 26 and while raiding two babies. Be proud of the person she was and the lives she touched.
I know that God will be with those two precious babies and the rest of you family. God Bless you all………..
October 5, 2007 at 9:30 pm
I am a friend of Joni’s and have posted an earlier blog. I was with her this semester as she gave her students including the one who started this downward spiral for her life. I don’t think that she used Dale for his money. Her family, and her herself were capable of funding her education so it was not a money issue. I know Joni. She didn’t even brag about the things she had, so that can’t be true. Although I didn’t know Dale personally, I do know of his first failed marriage and the fact that he hit on everything in a skirt that moved. So whether she cheated or he did that still doesn’t take away from the fact that he killed her for wanting to be happy. If everyone that ever wanted to be happy and leave their spouse ended up dead then half of the population would be gone because they would feel that it was okay to kill just because they are asked for a divorce. No Joni was not perfect and no one is perfect, but for Joni’s family and her children she was a woman who took to her children but she also worked to provide herself an out. She could have been doing like the other wives, but she chose to go and further herself in life, and that is something that she did well and deserves credit for not just being the wife that stayed home and waited on her husband. So what that Dale’s business was thriving. Her career was thriving. She tried like most educators to teach her students that she an education wasn’t hard to come by but if you don’t bother to educate yourself then no one is going to bother to see your potential, and that is why she did what she did. So for who ever feels that Joni got what she deserved or was to young to be married, they can be entitled to their opinion, but for her family and friends, the opinion of Dale is that he was a cold-blooded murder and he deserves no sympathy since he was a coward and couldn’t face up to the justice system so he killed himself.
I do know some of the story but as far as being a good christian, Dale was more like a good killer.
October 6, 2007 at 5:27 pm
Sam unless you were personnally involved in the “business dealings” between Dale and his In-Laws then you only received one side of the story. You can tell all the little stories you want about Dale caring/loving his children/family but the bottom line is he only cared about himself. You indicated that “there were numerous times he would tell us” and I assume you are talking about Dale telling you what he did with his children, well remember unless you were actually there you don’t know what he really did you only have his word. You never stated how you had all of your first had knowledge, I believe it was through conversations between Dale and yourself which does not make it first hand knowledge but heresay. Heresay is not admissable in court and is not believable here. Also if you were so much in the know why didn’t you knwo what Dale was palnning on doing and why didn’t you encourage him to do something different.
There is that old saying “ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS” and Dale’s actions will reveberate for years to come. Thank God Joni’s parents are raising her children, at least now their mother’s murder will not be justified. The best anyone will be able to do in explaining Dale’s love for his children is to say that he loved them in his own way, a way that no one can explain, because a murderous love is an obsevive and dangerous love. Mr. and Mrs. Eastman along with the rest of the Eastman family need to pray for their grandchildren and Joni’s parents and ask God for the guidance they need in seeking a relationship with their grandchildren and Joni’s parents. The Eastman’s may want to start by admitting that their son was not perfect and that what he did was totally wrong no matter what was happening between Dale and Joni. A good start would be for the Eastman’s to publicly ask people to stop justifying Dale’s actions, because there is no justification for murdering the mother of your children. Dale had other recourse.
PEOPLE, PLEASE STOP TRYING TO MAKE THIS JONI’S FAULT, DALE DID THE DEED, DALE IS THE ONE WHO IS IN THE WRONG. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON FOR A HUSBAND TO MURDER HIS WIFE OR A WIFE TO MURDER HER HUSBAND.
October 10, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Joni was one of my best friends. I respected her courage, her humor, and her intelligence. That’s something I should have told her before she died. That will always be one of my regrets. I have heard so many stories. So many variations. Either Joni had an affair or Dale did. Or neither. It really doesn’t matter. Four months later the pain of losing Joni is still incredible. I just deleted her phone number from my cell phone. It was a step to saying goodbye. While I don’t understand what Dale did, a part of me misses him too. He was so funny. Maybe at one point in his life he was a Christian, maybe he wasn’t. Part of the hurt surrounding their deaths are the questions, including the biggest one: What happened? July 1, 2007 shook me to the core. I was angry and hurt and filled with pain. And this was how I felt. A friend. I can’t even begin to pretend to feel what her family feels.
I miss Joni. I miss laughing with her. I miss studying with her. I miss just mindlessly wasting time together. What I have learned, no, what I am learning is that the question isn’t whether or not Dale was a Christian, but am I? I might one day forgive him. I will never forget or understand. But I might forgive him. I will appreciate everyday as a gift from God and will appreciate so much more those people God has chosen to put into my life. I miss her. I will always miss her. I hope that her boys remember how much their mom loved them. Thank for reading the words I haven’t had the courage to say outloud yet.
October 10, 2007 at 8:45 pm
I think that this is the clear sign to healing for everyone involved. Knowing that all her friends and most importantly her family will have to deal with her loss for the rest of their lives, her children will only have memories of her to keep them as they grow up and go out into the world. I do wish like V, that I could have told her so much more and spent more time with her than I did. I think that her death has made me question much more, while also not wanting to take things for granted, so I think that Joni is with God and watching over those who meant so much to her and each day I hope that her family and friends remember her grace and beauty and know that they will always have their own personal angel looking down from Heaven.
I truly do believe that although Joni is gone in the physical sense, her spirit will always be a part of those she touched and for her family, that spirit will help them with her children so that they can remember their mother, not for how she died, but for how she lived
October 16, 2007 at 10:27 am
[...] the perpetrator was a “good Christian.” I read this article at lunch and then wrote Dentist Found Slain With Wife Was a Good Christian, which was also the headline in the paper. No other article that I have written to this point [...]
November 15, 2007 at 11:52 am
Its been while since anyone has written on this site, but its amazing all the stuff that I have read and wonder if this stuff would have ever been said if the Eastman’s were still here. Its funny how we say things on how we feel or what we think when its to late, or say “its not our business”, when we dont want to get involved. but we are quick to make it our business, or feel its our right to say what I have read, when things like this happen.. We will never know why this happen. but it did. And I think we should all just keep whatever memories we had of either Dr. Eastman or Joni to ourselves. Our comments on this situation are not going to bring them back or make it better. Someday their boys are going to find this site and see the comments and the negative things that have been said about both their parents, and it kills me to think, that they may feel non of us were truly their friends by our comments…
November 16, 2007 at 8:47 am
I followed the link from the comment are on your home page. I would never have seen this article otherwise. It’s a very good feature on your (and other people’s) pages. That said . . .
I have seen comments like this since I was a teenager. There was a man near the town I lived in at the time who raped his 11 year old niece. Over multiple years. She got pregnant at age 13 and it his the news because her parents (a nice evangelical fundamentalist couple (sarcasm on the ‘nice’)) tried to force her to get an abortion. In the paper’s editorial section, at least two people wrote in to express two things — first, the uncle is a ‘good Christian’; second, he should be forgiven because god and Jesus already have. Nothing about the child. Nothing about the hypocrisy on the part of the parents.
I see headlines (or, more often, in the text) saying something like this and it always brings me back to that little girl. I think statements like this in otherwise horrific circumstances have a hidden meaning – “Christians are not Perfect, just forgiven.”
That bumper sticker phrase has always seemed to me to be both a cop out (as an agnostic leaning towards atheism I firmly believe that the only afterlive I will have is what I have done/produced on earth, and, more important, how I am remembered by those who know me (I don’t have an ‘out’ to escape my actions)) and a reminder that, no matter how bad someone is, Jesus still loves him (or her).
My heart goes out to the families. Both families. I cannot judge what happened. I can be horrified by it; I can wonder what drove him to such a desperate ’solution’; but I cannot judge him. I can blame him (he did not seek help, etc.), but I cannot judge since I (and, because he is not longer here to defend his actions (indefesible as they may seem)) cannot put myself in his shoes.
A quote such as the one used in the headline still strikes me as emblematic of some (not all) christianist thought in America.
November 20, 2007 at 7:57 pm
OMG…..how far away from the truth some of you have gone. Joni NEVER cheated on Dale and Dale NEVER cheated on Joni. There was never a time when Joni cheated on Dale and NEVER did Joni’s parents beg Dale to take her back, if anything they begged Joni to get away from him as quick as possible. Dale Eastman had a low self esteem issue and was psychologically obsessed with Joni. He followed her everywhere, had a private investigator follow her (after 5 months of coming up with nothing, he declined to take Dale’s money anymore). He called her place of employment 50 times a day, Made Joni cut her work to 1-2 days a week, anything you could think that an obsessive-compulsive person would do, he did it.
By the way Yvette-if you know so much about the night before Joni was murdered-you must be family of Eastman’s using a false name…cause family only knew that???
Another thing, the Arnett’s would NEVER say bad things about Dale to Joni’s kids, my God haven’t they been through enough? In fact, those boys have pictures of their parents (both of them) in their rooms. My sister sits with them everynight saying their prayers and listens to them bless their mom and dad. My sister is the one who takes those boys to the psychologist 3 times a week to deal with their lose-the lose of a mother and a father.
Joni Sue didn’t need Dale’s money, Joni’s family had more money than Dale could ever make. Be real here, and see the facts. The fact that Dale Eastman took his wife’s life because she was leaving him….not for another man….to get away from the obsession that he wouldn’t let go of. No one could have taken that. Ask his 2 ex-wifes? One was afraid he was going to kill her and the other divorced him only after 2 months of marriage due to his obsession with her. They were fortunate.
Perhaps there were family issues growing up in the Eastman home? Whatever it was according to the psychologist….Dale was sick longer than just what we know about.
In the meantime our lives pass by everyday with a sadness of what happened to someone who only loved her family and tried to make her marriage work for years. A beautiful intelligent woman who’s life was taken away from so VERY many who know the real truth.
Life for Joni’s boys will go on and they will be raised as Joni would have wanted them to be. I only regret the day when they are older and find out the truth, not by the Arnett’s or Joni’s extended family but by their own curiousity. But, we will be there for them, as we are now.
Please remember the Toy Drive that Joni and Dale did every year at Christmas for the underprivledged children-the Arnett’s will carry that on again this year in rememberance of Joni Sue and her love for children. Joni was the mom of mom’s, always there for her children-ALWAYS.
Let’s bring peace now to this issue as I know Joni would have wanted it that way. Please include her sons, parents, and brother in your prayers.
November 29, 2007 at 11:49 pm
My husband and I were VERY close friends with Dale and his first wife. Our families did almost everything together. My children were very close to Kristy and Matthew. (Which everyone has forgotten but they also were affected by this whole ugly ordeal…so let’s not forget to pray for them!!). And regardless of what everyone has heard concerning the first divorce…Dale was a great actor,deciever…WHY…because what I witnessed was totally different then what he appeared to be in the public’s eye. And behind closed doors I know first hand how physical,emotional and mentally abusive he was to Loretta. I was with his first wife when we walked in on him with another woman. He was so possessive that he consistently would call her every 30 minutes to check on her when we were having lunch with our kids. This became everyday, all the time. He never wanted her to go to finish school or get a job. But I could see through him and it was only because he was so jealous and controlling due to fear of losing her. When Loretta was asking for the divorce he became deseparate because that was his show piece and if he couldn’t have her no one else was going to!! And I was right…because Joni was young and pretty and we all know how that ended. He couldn’t face the fact that now everyone would know that he couldn’t hold on to two beautiful women. The sad part is that he cared so much of how people perceived him due to his insecurity. And yes his first wife did move away because she was fearful of him. And for his children Kristy and Matthew-there are reasons that have not come to light yet as to why his kids did not visit. The reasons are very dishearting and it had nothing to do with Joni. The kids also have counseling due to these issues. So let’s not judge them!! I am stating what I witnessed first hand. I was very up-set at the visitation to see that Kristy and Matthew’s picture were just placed on the table, where the others were framed. And the pictures on the wide screen NEVER once had pictures of them!! Cheating is not justisition for murder. I do not believe in divorce without first making every effort to reconciliate. But you cannot make someone love you, so it is better to go separate ways. And as for being a christian…don’t judge christanity because we are not perfect and if you are going to look for something wrong you will find it. Keep your eyes focused on the Lord and He will NEVER fail YOU!! Dale is accountable for his actions and He will have to answer to GOd as we will for our choices. None of us are exempted!!!
November 30, 2007 at 10:41 pm
Today is Jonis birthday,
I dont know if anyone saw on the orbits but Jonis parents and brotehr JR wrote really nice notes for her. What happened is just breaking my heart. I was a good friend of Joni and its just hard to go throught with life without her.
I do respect the Arnetts privacy and wish the two little boys all the best, I just feel like we have not have much closure. I personaly dont even know the real story of what happens and to be honest, sometimes I wish I knew a little more. I just feel like I need cosure to this story?? Many people are putting up things on this site and I just hope that people are being honest because I really dont understand why you would lie.
Ive obviously heard the story about Joni sleeping with football players but I truly think that if it was true, we would have heard much more about it by now… No offence but in the UTEP Athletics department, news travels fast… So until someone who is honest and trusworthy comes up with the truth we should wait be patient…. Dont you guys think???
Sometimes its hard to say the truth but I truly think that we will be able to soon get closure.
So please please please if you are just writing untrue things on this site to make yourself interesting please stop, people want to know what really happened, I really wish I would have knows how bad it was and maybe then I could have done something to help, I will always feel bad about that, my whole life…
Im not sure that this was Dales third mariage, Joni had told me he was married before but not twice….
Lets bring peace!!!
December 2, 2007 at 10:56 pm
Though Joni’s birthday passed just recently, it was not a happy occasion. When I was called in regards to what happened, I got sick to my stomach. I could not belive that the person on the other end of the phone was telling the truth. There are many days that I still cannot believe it. It still hurts. The day after it happened, people at work, without knowing my relatinship to her, started making blatant accusations against her, causing me to almost get sick. To those who have been hateful her, I pray that God forgives your misjudgements. I still break down and cry on a daily basis. So does the rest of her family. Joni was the most beautiful young woman I have ever met. I now have two beautiful nephews who will always remind me of her. Please keep all of us in your prayers. Unlike the one person, I still have not deleted my niece’s number from my phone book. I am not ready to move on. It especially hurts when I am in a bind and realize I can no longer call her to talk or ask for help.
December 6, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Sorry to keep posting, but I still can’t believe that Joni is gone. I still think about her everyday, and remember hearing funny stories that she told, or just talking about her children. I was finally able to drive by her house, and I wanted to get out and go to the door, but I also wanted to respect the family. I didn’t want to intrude because it was the holidays, and I didn’t want to cry about her not being there. My family still remembers Joni at my parties, laughing and just being happy. I remember that the most. I remember, and I am ashamed to admit this, but I didn’t think that she and I would be friends, but I found out that we were. I just wish I could have told her, that I appreciated her friendship before her tragic death.
But I know without a doubt that she is looking down from Heaven and watching over her family, her sons, and all who mattered to her and wishing that she could be here with all of you.
I continue to pray for her family and her sons, and I will continue to pray.
I still feel bad about the situation that occurred and arose but I hope that if I can be of any help that Joni’s family lets me know, or they can get in touch with me through UTEP or the Criminal Justice Department, will know how to contact me.
January 3, 2008 at 12:49 am
you people are so foolish. to post the things you have. you know nothing about joni unless you are so close to her that she would tell you. and if you were close enough, would you really be postin them on here, no. you people should get a life, and fuck off. joni was the most amazing cousin in the whole wide world. you could never ask for more. and she never needed dales money. NEVER. and she was always out with us having a good time WITH DALE AND THE BOYS. so dont say she wasnt. she was smart and loving. eveyone loves her and misses her so much. to come on here and read these things breaks my heart!!
January 18, 2008 at 11:42 am
OK,,, I have read about half of the BS on this and couldn’t take any more. ALL of you need to think about what you’re writting. I am Dale’s Uncle, 2 years older than him and grew up with him. Sure what he did was wrong, what Joni did/didn’t do was wrong, but some of the comments are so far out of line, that if I was not in law enforcement for so long, I would wonder myself about what some have written.
The line about “thou shall not kill” is ALWAYS misquoted. The TRUE Hebrew translation is thou shall not MURDER. Yes what Dale did was murder and he was wrong, but come on if you’re gonna play Bible thumper then get it right. I am sure if any of you looked at YOUR lifes, there are things you have violated or broke of the ten commandments. Those were given to God’s people as a standard to go by. As far as I can see NO ONE has lived up to any of them, except Jesus.
More wars have been fought over religion than any other reason. Seems we are in one now, ever hear of Iraq???
I knew Dale; grew up with Dale and I was more shocked than propbably ANY of you as I am family. I never thoght he would ever consider suicide, let alone take anothers life. But it happened. Why does the sun shine, why does the grass grow, why does a person wake up one day and decide to do anything they do.
Folks it happened, all families and friends have suffered. Quit trying to analyse something you know nothing about and get on with your lifes. It is not like this thing doesn’t go on every day and even pastors and clergy ahve been involved. Remember we ARE in the end times and things aren’t going to get any better.
January 18, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Jerry you are a scary person. You claim to be in law enforcement “for so long” and then write something as contrite as:
“Folks it happened, all families and friends have suffered. Quit trying to analyse something you know nothing about and get on with your lifes. It is not like this ting doesn’t go on every day and even pastors and clergy have been involved. Remember we ARE in the end times and things aren’t going to get any better.”
“Folks” know things about this matter whether it has to do with your nephew, whom I knew in high school, and your family or Joni and her family or with in their own history and family We are not trying to analyse something we know nothing about and most of us are informed enough to realize that things like this happen everyday, but we are not willing to make lite of this and we are not willing to let anyone think that we are okay with this type of behavior.
If you truly believe what you have posted then please let me know what law enforcement agency you work for so I can forward your posting to you supervisor and request that you go through a psychologcal evaluation. I do not believe that you are not playing with a full deck and really wonder how you would respond to a domestic violance situation.
Your posting truly scares me if you really believe that it is okay that Dale killed Joni because “..it happened. Why doe the sun shine, why does the grass grow, why…..” and because we should “remember we ARE in the end times and things aren’t going to get any better.” Even if you don’t have all the answers and do believe that we are in the end times it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t care about our actions and how they may affect others.
DALE DID THE DEED AND THERE IS NOTHING THAT JONI COULD HAVE DONE TO JUSTIFY BEENING MURDERED. YOUR FAMILY NEEDS TO STOP AND THINK BEFORE THEY SPEAK OR WRITE.
May God forgive you for your ingnorance and I pray that you leave law enforcement immediately. And please believe me when I say that if I ever find out what agency you work for I will be forwarding you posting and request that you under go a full psychological evaluation.
January 18, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Hey Jerry is this you and if so where is the Law Enforcement background???????
Jerry Wayne Eastman has been involved with acting since 1972 in plays such as, “Little Mary Sunshine” as Corporal Billy Jester; “The Boyfriend” as Bobby Van Husan; the rock musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” as Jesus and as Roger Sherman in “1776.”.
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As a safety officer of Old Dallas Shootist, an 1880s historical reenactment group, Jerry has portrayed William Barclay “Bat” Masterso~ as well as other chactors of the 1880s, perfecting his craft in historical accuracies. He was a founding member and national safety director the American Federation of Old West Re enactors (AFOWR). Jerry is a member of the Duke’s Hollywood Cowboys, a group of individauls that keeps John Wayne’s image and legacy alive, as well as the image of all TV, Movie and historical cowboys. Many of the members are look alikes and re-enactors who perform to audiences throughout the United States. He has just recently been selected as Vice President of the group. Jerry was in the U.S. Army from 1974 – 1986, where he was selected to be a part of the Ft. Bliss, Texas soldiers chorus from 1985 – 1986- He was also an active member of the U. S. Army reserve as an SFC/E- 7, from 1986 – 200 1.
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Jerry was born, raised, and attended high school in EI Paso, Texas, where he entered the military in 1974. He has an Assoicate Degree from Central Texas College, Killen, Texas, in general subjects. Jerry has been married to Karen S. Eastman (Eubanks) since July 4,1974, and has two grown children, Jacob, 24, also in 1880s re enacting and Jenny 21.
January 31, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Over the past several years, I got the chance to meet and become good friends with the Arnetts. they are such wonderful people. Joni was a great amazing person. her smile was so amazing it could put anyone in a good mood or even light up a room. Their is no doubt in my mind that joni cheated on Dale. Whoever wrote that must not know joni. She also did not need walter’s money, her parents have enough even more than him.
It hurts to read some of those terrible things that people have wrote. Do you even realize what Joni’s family is going through. Susan has lost her not only her daughter but her best friend. JR lost his nana and his only sister. Jon lost his only daughter that meant the world to him. Those boyss have to grow up without a mom because their dad is a coward. I don’t care how good of a dad people say walter is because a good dad doesn’t kill their mom in cold bood and then kill himself. He does not take the one person they need the most.
I look up to Jon and Susan because for the circumstances they have handled this really well. they have not said one bad thing about walter. they tell them that both of them are in heaven. to have their daughter murdered and them still talk nice about him in front of those boys shows how good they are.
Joni was a great person. SHe was sooo smart and such a good mom. she loved her kids more than anything in this world. I am so thankful that I got the opportunity to meet her and hang out with her. A piece of her will remain in my heart forever.
I truly belive joni is in a better place and walter is paying for what he did. He will never be able to hurt or see her again. Heaven now has the most beautiful angel of all. I love you Joni and I will never forget you. Soar with Joni forever
January 31, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Oh and I meant she did not cheat on Walter. She is not that kind of person. Youcannot justify what he did. It was wrong and he is paying for it.
October 18, 2008 at 5:00 pm
I’m here to confirm that Dale Eastman was indeed married three times!! I was his second wife and left him only after two months of marriage. I was in nursing school at the time of marriage and he proposed to me in a disturbing manner. He proposed in front of 200 hundred students in a lecture room at UNM Albuquerque, NM. I always thought that was off the wall as so did my Professors. He wanted to make sure everyone knew I was taken. Why would you do such a thing? Proposing is more of a private betweem two people go through. Dale was obsessed with me and would call me too many times a day. He was off psychologically. My professors often told me that they did not like him. My parents couldn’t stand him and wouldn’t even speak to him. I often wonedered about his mental health. Joni called me in 1999 questioning about his character and i told her I was so glad she had that monkey on her shoulders and not mine. I warned about him that he was mentally ill but that I knew she wouldn’t believe me cause she probably would think i was talking out of jealousy. I was truly happy at that point in my life. I graduated with a Bachelors in Nursing without him and my life had already moved on faster than what I had anticipated. I was truly happy without him and relieved. I told Joni that when she turned thirty years old to call me because that was when she was going to mature and grow into a different woman. I told her I would go to court with her to testify on her behalf to tell the judge what a horrible person he was. He was good in his profession with his patients and presented himself like a perfect Dentist but the only women that truly knew him were the ones that lived with him. He was a coward,abusive to women and the only person I felt sad for was Joni and her family. I send my prayers to her family.
October 26, 2008 at 9:26 pm
I am the 1st son of Dale Eastman, while I don’t condone my fathers actions, I do not condemn him either. I encourage all of those that wish to hear my side of the story to contact myself and my sister, Kristy Eastman, at eastmankids@gmail.com. I can only hope to hear from some of those that were close to him, happy without you!!!, witness, Jerry. I will answer all questions honestly and to the best of my ability. I also would like to ask my own. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I encourage it. However, to all the hateful retorts made, please remember that this effects those close to the family, and the family themselves. So please be careful what you write on this blog.