Joshua Steven Durcho
Around four o’clock Monday afternoon an El Reno, Oklahoma Police Officer responded to a welfare check at the apartment of twenty-five-year-old Summer Garas. Inside he found the bodies of Ms. Garas and her four children, Kirsten Rust, age 7, Autumn Rust, age 6, Teagin Rust, age 4 and Evynn Garas, age 3. They had all died sometime during the day Monday, but authorities would only say that they had not been shot or stabbed.
The Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation has issued a BOLO (Be On the Look Out) for Summer’s white 1989 Ford Thunderbird. They also drew up an arrest warrant for the driver of that 1989 Ford Thunderbird, Summer Garas’ on again-off again boyfriend Joshua Steven Durcho.
The twenty-five-year-old Durcho is an ex con with a history of drug and theft convictions. Prison records show Durcho was convicted of car theft as a juvenile and was sentenced to four years in prison in 2003 for unlawful possession of marijuana. He was released in February 2007.
Joshua Durcho’s image was captured on surveillance video at a truck stop in Clinton, about 60 miles west of the crime scene, where he purchased a soft drink about 9:30 p.m. Monday, Brown said. He was driving a white 1989 Ford 
Thunderbird at the time.
Summer Garas was known as a kind and friendly neighbor who always had time to lend a helping hand to anyone who needed one. She was also described as a great mother and her children were known by all to be happy and well cared for.
“Summer never met an enemy,” said Crystal Franklin, the children’s grandmother and Garas’ former mother-in-law. “The kids were just wonderful.”
Joshua Steven Durcho has multiple tattoos on his body including one on the back of his neck. The white Ford T-Bird he is driving is described as having front end damage, and the Oklahoma vehicle tag number reads WRQ-590. Oklahoma Law Enforcement requests that anyone who spots Durcho should call either the OSBI hotline at 1-800-522-8017 or the El Reno Police Department at 405-262-6941.
This one hurt guys, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I usually wait until these fugitive from justice cases resolve themselves before I write them up, but I felt compelled to do this story immediately. I can’t explain the reason for this, but I like to follow my gut. I’ll be following this case closely and will let you all know as soon as this POS is captured.
UPDATE 01/14/2009 12:30 AM EST – DETAILS ON JOSHUA DURCHO’S CAPTURE
-Article courtesy of The Oklahoman (http://newsok.com)-
Joshua Steven Durcho, charged today in the killings of an El Reno woman and her four children, was arrested tonight after a traffic accident in Hamilton, Texas, according to the Hamilton County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office.
About 8:25 p.m., a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper saw Durcho driving erratically on eastbound Texas highway 36 about four miles west of Hamilton, the sheriff’s office said. The trooper called for backup, but before he could make a traffic stop, the car crashed into a guardrail and two trees.
A trooper responding to the wreck ran the license plate of the white 1989 Ford Thunderbird and saw Oklahoma authorities sought Durcho and the vehicle in connection with the deaths of Summer Garas, 25, and her four children: son Teagin Rust, 4, and daughters Kirsten Rust, 7, Autumn Rust, 7, and Evynn Garas, 3, according to the sheriff’s office. Durcho was arrested without incident, and the sheriff’s office took custody of the car.
Officials took Durcho to a Hamilton hospital in an unknown condition, according to the sheriff’s office. A Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman said Durcho was scheduled to be flown to a Temple, Texas, hospital tonight.
Also tonight, Susan Rust, Summer Garas’ mother, said the state Medical Examiner called her earlier today and told her autopsies had been completed on her daughter and grandson. The two had been strangled, she said she was told. A Medical Examiner’s office spokeswoman confirmed today autopsies had been completed on two of the five victims, but declined to release further details.
Susan Rust said from her Carson City, Nev., home that she has had no other contact with Oklahoma authorities, despite her attempts to learn more about the situation surrounding the slayings.
She added Durcho’s arrest “is just an early step in a long process.”
“It’s a relief that he’s not on the streets anymore where he can do something crazy to someone else,” Susan Rust said. “But there are a lot of other things we have to deal with. We’re still planning five funerals.”
Rust said she will travel to Oklahoma on Wednesday to begin preparations and be with family.
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said authorities from Oklahoma are on their way to Texas to gather evidence and try to talk to Durcho.
UPDATE 01/14/2009 7:00 PM EST – AUTOPSY RESULTS RELEASED ON EL RENO OKLAHOMA MURDER VICTIMS
-Article courtesy of The Oklahoman (http://newsok.com) and CNN.com-
Joshua Steven Durcho, who was charged Tuesday with five counts of first-degree murder in Canadian County District Court, waived extradition in Texas after a brief court hearing on today.
Durcho, 25, was captured Tuesday night near Hamilton County. He is accused in the slayings of Summer Dawn Rust and 4 children: Teagin, 4, Kirsten, 7, Autumn, 7 and Evynn, 3.
Durcho was taken to the courthouse for the hearing before District Judge James E. Morgan. Dressed in an orange jail-issue jumpsuit, Durcho was represented by Rickey Bryan, a court-appointed attorney.
As he left the hearing, he told reporters he was sorry “for getting into this (expletive) mess I didn’t do.”
The state medical examiner’s office ruled this afternoon that all five victims died from strangulation by ligature, which indicates that some sort of cord- or rope-like object may have been used.
“The Medical Examiner’s Office has reported to our agents that the preliminary assessment of the cause and manner of death for all five individuals was asphyxiation, suffocation and strangulation,” the affidavit said. “It was also reported that each body had ligature marks around the neck. The ligature marks were also observed by OSBI crime scene investigators.”
A spokeswoman for the state medical examiner’s office told CNN on Wednesday that the cause of death for Summer Rust and Teagin was strangulation, and that a ligature — which could include a string, cord or wire — was used to strangle them. Autopsies on the three girls were being conducted Wednesday, the spokeswoman said.
A woman told police Durcho came to her apartment Monday afternoon and told her he had “choked” Summer Rust to death and that he was leaving Oklahoma, according to the affidavit. The woman asked Durcho about Rust’s children, the affidavit said, and “Durcho told her that the children were at their grandmother’s residence … while he and Summer worked out their relationship problems.”
The woman called Durcho’s mother and told her what he had said about killing Rust, the affidavit said. Durcho’s mother drove to the apartment to check on the woman, but no one answered her knocks. She then called her nephew, Durcho’s cousin, to accompany her, leading to the discovery of Rust’s body, according to the document.
About 6:30 p.m. Monday, the affidavit said, Durcho went to the home of another cousin, a female, and told her “he was in trouble and that he was headed out of state.” Durcho was driving Rust’s 1989 white Ford Thunderbird, the document said, and asked his cousin to swap cars with him, but she declined. A surveillance video showed Durcho at a truck stop on Interstate 40 about three hours later, driving the Thunderbird, the affidavit said.
Early Tuesday morning, a text message was sent from a cell phone in Durcho’s possession to his mother’s cell phone, according to the affidavit. Tracking and cell phone records showed Durcho’s phone was located in Wichita Falls, Texas, at the time. Later that morning, Durcho called his mother, with the call shown to be from the Abilene, Texas, area, the affidavit said. Durcho’s mother said “Durcho told her he loved her and had to go,” according to the document.
Police said Durcho was arrested after a car chase Tuesday night. A Texas state trooper attempted to stop the car Durcho was driving because the trooper suspected the driver was drunk, according to Erin Mangrum of the Canadian County sheriff’s office. When the trooper ran the license plate on the car, it matched the tag number of a vehicle sought by Oklahoma police.
The car sped off, Mangrum said, and during the ensuing chase the car crashed. Durcho suffered only minor injuries and was taken into custody, Mangrum said.
Canadian County deputies are on their way to Hamilton to pick up Durcho, said Lt. Van Gillock of the El Reno Police Department. Gillock was in Hamilton today and was interviewed by telephone at the Hamilton County Sheriff’s office. Durcho will be taken to the Canadian County jail and is expected to arrive around 3 a.m. Durcho was questioned by OSBI for about 30 minutes today, Gillock said. Gillock said El Reno police searched the car Durcho was captured in, but he declined to comment on what was found in the car.
UPDATE 01/15/2009 12:30 AM EST – DEATH PENALTY SOUGHT IN EL RENO SLAYINGS
Prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty for a man accused of strangling his girlfriend and her four children, whose bodies were found Monday.
Durcho has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Summer Dawn Rust, 25, and her children. The suspect waived extradition on Wednesday and was scheduled to be brought back to Oklahoma early this morning and booked into the Canadian County jail.
Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty, assistant district attorney Paul Hesse said.
As he left the Texas hearing Wednesday, Durcho maintained his innocence, telling reporters he was sorry “for getting into this (expletive) mess I didn’t do.”
Summer Rust’s mother, Susan Rust of Nevada, said her daughter planned to break up with the 235-pound bodybuilder and amateur tattoo artist over the weekend, and believes that decision may have cost Summer Rust her life.
“She said it was over and it was done, and apparently that didn’t go over very well,” the victim’s mother said.
Investigators, however, have not determined the motive for the killings or the exact manner in which the strangulations were done, OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown said.
According to an arrest affidavit, Durcho drove to a friend’s house in Edmond and confessed that he had “choked” Summer Rust “until she was dead.”
When the friend asked about the children, Durcho said they were visiting their grandmother in Nevada so he and Summer could work out their problems, according to the affidavit. The woman called Durcho’s mother, who then went to Summer Rust’s apartment. Getting no answer, she left and returned with a nephew, “which led to the discovery of Summer’s body,” according to the affidavit.
Police were then called to the Elizabeth Place apartments in El Reno.
Durcho also drove to a cousin’s house in Oakwood, arriving there about 6:30 p.m. the day of the slayings, according to the affidavit. He told the cousin he was in trouble and was headed out of state and tried to swap cars with her, but she refused, authorities said. Investigators also tracked Durcho to Clinton, Wichita Falls, Texas, and Abilene, Texas, before authorities arrested him Wednesday in Hamilton.
Durcho’s stepfather, Shelton Bryan, a 49-year-old El Reno chef, said his stepson had lived with Summer Rust about a year.
Susan Rust said she has known Durcho for years, and that while she never knew him to be violent, she was disappointed to find out he was dating her daughter. She said Wednesday she wished she had voiced her objections a little louder.
Court records show Durcho had a lengthy criminal history and investigators said he has been in and out of jail for much of his adult life, for drug and other charges, as well as a four-year prison term for felony possession of marijuana.
Susan Rust said she was relieved authorities caught Durcho, and glad to hear they were seeking the death penalty in the case.
“I hope he gets the slowest, most painful death, because that’s what he has earned,” she said.
Does Joshua Steven Durcho Deserve Hell?
- Yes (97%, 279 Votes)
- No (3%, 10 Votes)
Total Voters: 289
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105 Comments »
I hope they find the pos. However, I won’t be surpised if he kills himself too.
Lord, what in the world! So many evil people out there.
I hope they find him soon too and Lena you’re probably right I wouldn’t be surprised if he does kill himself. He will never get out of prison and he knows it.
What is are worl comming to these days? I just dont understand! He or whoever did this horrible crime should deserve what is comming to them and then some…
My heart goes out to the family and friends
What is are world comming to these days? I just dont understand! He or whoever did this horrible crime should deserve what is comming to them and then some…
My heart goes out to the family and friends
Lena, Lavonna, I’m with you guys- cowards like this usually end up with a mouthful of shotgun. Boo hoo. Thanks for posting this so quickly, Max. I just read about it myself- the more people on the lookout, the better.
He looks like a guy my hubby works with, The resemblance gave me shivers.
Men like this need to die. I dont care about long drawn out tourturous deaths. just kill them. The sooner they are off the planet the better.
This really hits home with me. I go throught times when i relive my past, and i get jumpy and nervous. Every sound at night is my ex coming back to finish the job he failed at 10 years ago. I know its silly and he probably is too much of a coward to front up after all this time, but i still get scared every now and then. This week has been one of those jumpy, parinoid weeks. I read this and i thank God that my life didnt end like Summers and that my children are all happy and safe. My heart goes out to her and her dear children and those they left behind. What an awful way to die.
well what a fucking winner we have here. i thought that when i came back from my hiatus, some of you douchebags would have surely stopped voting “no hell” on these human shitstains. i stand corrected.
8 months? 8 gotdamned months and you’re so sure no one else would ver want your shitty ass again that you kill her and all four of her babies?
why the hell do i keep visiting this site?
How do you guys get your picture thingy up there…. ?
you have to go to gravatar.com
Aw, eternal don’t go:’( we love you!
aww, thanks, lena! i’m not going anywhere. i was m.i.a. for a little because real life calls me (trying to keep a job in corporate america, in a crappy economy). i’ve been tired. but i could’nt resist commenting tonight. you guys have been doing a great job, as usual.
keep shaming these turdsmears! i’ll be popping in and out and i know i keep promising and b.s.’ing, but i will have something new for the site sometime this century. i swear! lol
Hey eternal! I was wondering where you were…
I take it there are other Jersey people here!!!!!!!!! YAY
hell yeah, and proud of it, glyss!
OMG Max. He fucking strangled them. Thats…like you i have no comment? Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Those poor kids. I think im gonna go cry:(
Right? The dirty son of a bitch. Another asshole who can’t take no for an answer. Why the FUCK do they always have to take out the kids too? I keep bouncing from overwhelmingly sad to incredibly angry every time I think about this story. God help this bastard if angry wins out, because I oh so want to take a trip to OK and splatter the majority of Joshua’s head on the nearest wall and fuck what happens to me afterwards. Stupid, childish words I know, but that’s how I fucking feel right now.
Max,
No that is not stupid childish words. I feel the same way.. Stop here in KY buddy and I will take that trip with you. I have friends on Bonnie’s site that I know who would want to go as well. One (Donna) has some mean drop kicks she does while smoking!
Ill make the flight over from Oz just to see his head go “squish.”
ROAD TRIP!!! You guys can be Thelma & Louise, and I’ll be Brad Pitt. Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk!
I’m with you guys, I can meet up with you… just a quick trip down south from here. When we’re done I’m gonna contiue on to TX to hug my own kids.
I THINK THAT FUKING BASTER SHOULD DIE . THE WAY HE KILLED THEM POOR CHILDRTEN THEY DIDNT DESERVE THAT EVERY MOM OR DAD SHOULD GET A CHANCE TO HURT THAT BASTER. HOW COULD ANYONE DO THAT TO A CHILD?
TO BAD I DIDNT COME UP OWN HIM IN HAMILTON WHEN HE WRECKED I WOULD OF PROBALLY HURT HIM RIGHT THERE OWN THE SPOT
Who the fuck keeps coming here voting “No”? Can you not grab their IP addresses and publish them?
WHO EVER KEEPS VOTING NO . THEY MUST BE SOME CRAZY ASS PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST LIKE THAT DUM BASTER WHO DONT CARE ABOUT NOONE EXCEPT THEIR SELF. ARE THEY DONT HAVE CHILDREN ARE THEY HAVE DONE SHITTIE STUFF TO CHILDREN
Kathy, I do agree with your passionate opinions but something has to be said for your grammar. I agree we are all here to metaphorically punish these jerks with razor blade covered dildos – but please, if you are going to comment in CAPS its a BASTARD. I am unsure of what a ‘BASTER’ is and perhaps it is an individual who professionally squirts gravy on turkey every so often. I understand that sometimes spelling can be a daunting task but I’m sure you do not speak this way. Come on everyone: Three cheers for Kathy on graduating from Everest College. Congratulations!
*I’m sure Kathy is a wonderful lady, but not one comment is made without an error. I’m just saying – if you’re going to do caps, make sure its correct.
Please dont type in all caps een if you do get the spelling and grammer correct. It really hurts my eyes.
But having said that, i agree with the sentiment she conveyed.
I knew each and every one of these victims personally. I also knew the dumb son of a bitch that killed these poor innocent children. Summer and all the babies were all full of life and always had a smile on their face…. RIP God’s fallen angels! You will be missed and forever loved!
It really pisses me off when I see that some think he dosent deserve hell.
Its really fucked up.
pisses me off too, but i bet it’s just trolls trying to get a rise out of the real users. fck em, they’re likely bigtime losers.
I wonder what would it take for the ‘NO” person to vote “YES” .
That answer to me is even scarier then his/her “NO” vote.
Simple answer – it would take someone strangling THEIR loved ones. Then they would vote YES in a NY minute.
Reminds me of an old saying “a conservative is a liberal who got mugged”.
LOL
wacho…hey Max, what’s up with teh dates? “UPDATE 11/13/2008″
I wonder what brought about his erratic driving? Alcohol, drugs, attempted suicide?
Dammit! There goes that freaking time warp again.
Seriously though, thanks for catching that for me Kenny. I’ll fix it ASAP.
meh hehe…the writing good enough you are allowed a mistake every now and then :P
I know that what I am going to say will piss people off, but then again this site does a good job as well!
Joshua Durcho is a POS that should die – it’s just that simple, so do NOT think for 1 second that what I say justifies what he did at all, if anything he sounds someone who cares more about keeping his dick between some girl’s or girls’ legs than much else.
Now for Summer Garas – 2 different last names for the children and Joshua has a different last name – I am easily counting 3 men in 8 years. Add to that that her mother’s last name is Rust, and 3 children have the last name Rust, I can not tellif those three have the same father or if there may still be 2 more men who planted their sperm in Summer.
While I cannot say if Summer was a good mother or not, I can point out that she had problems with men and relationships. Weather she was the type to dump on a good man, love to live on the wild side, or just always pick Mr. Wrong, I don’t know, but the fact is that whatever she did, she was unable to maintain a stable relationship and the most unfortunate part is that her children paid the price as well.
Do I dare ask where the fathers are????
How many other men were in their lives that she did bear a child?
Bottom line, she needed to grow up and be a mother. If she did such, maybe she’d have had less children and maybe attrack a better class of men. Having 1 child without any commitment is a common thing and I respect a woman who will choose to raise that child. Two children is a problem, this woman is definitely being taken advantage of – three children – to me it’s obvious that she just does not care; the children are not her first priority. If the children had a different name than her maiden name, then it would show that she did have a stable relationship, but something went wrong or it was broken off.
So, to me, the guy is an asshole, but she seems to be an asshole magnet. After the second child she should have woke up. It sounds like she had a committed relationship with the baby’s father – given the last names.
Anyway I don’t know the entire situation, but given some possibilities based on what I see. Yes she may have been a nice friend, but as I have discovered, with some people there is a BIG difference between being a friend and a spouse. Some people are so nice to friends and yet treat their spouses like crap!
There’s always one … every single time an unmarried mother is in the news, someone has to point fingers and get out the scarlet letter.
The fact is, WHO CARES? She was, by all reports, a good mom and a nice person. And even if she was neither of those things, no one deserves to be strangled to death, let alone have their four children killed, as well.
Besides, you don’t have ANY evidence that these children all had different fathers. Perhaps three of the kids had the last name of Rust (which apparently was her maiden name) because she was in a long-term relationship with their father but never married him. Perhaps they had the same father as the baby but were born before she married him. Perhaps she was married before but changed their last name after they got divorced. If you want to be a prick, at least make sure you know the full story before you go conjecturing.
Yes I was harsh, there are 4 kids involved…. kind of a high number.
As I stated in a reply to Max, while the victim did NOT deserve this, I am tired of the instant sainthood of many of these victims.
A simple critism like “Nice girl who just could not find a nice guy…” or even “a heart of gold which many men took advantage of”… or “Wonderful person with bad taste” or “Nice person with a bit of a wild streak…” or “Lonely person who fell hard…”
I am not perfect, but I want to know what qualities make certain people more prone to being victims. I put out a few possibilities.
She’s not perfect, I want to know what her flaw was that enabled such a beast into her life and the lives of her children!
I work with women like this. Sometimes they have an abusive partner or parent in their past and have become conditioned to the abuse.
Sometimes they have never been shown a lot of affection and cling to whatever ‘love’ they are shown.
Some have image issues and little self worth and therefore think they will never get anything better.
Some are just stupid. Or worse, some like being the martyr.
There may have been NOTHING wrong with her.
My biological father was a schizophrenic, drug-addicted (insert insult of your choice here) who beat the crap out of my mom until she left him when I was a baby. I have three half-siblings — that we’re aware of — by two other women. He beat the crap out of their mothers, too. He was in and out of jail, usually on drug or domestic violence charges, till he died of a drug overdose a couple of years ago.
So, what was my mom’s “flaw”? Nothing, so far as I can tell, apart from some issues with low self-esteem. She came from a loving, normal family. She’s been married to my stepdad for 26 years. I grew up fairly normally (I’m sure it didn’t hurt that she and my stepdad put an end to my visits with my father), and I have a nice husband and two delightful children. She wasn’t a perfect mother, but she was a good one.
A woman doesn’t have to have a huge “flaw” to end up with a jerk — just some very bad judgment. And sadly, that’s pretty common.
well i guess we can’t all be perfect and live perfect lives and make perfect decisions. it was really considerate of you to make so many personal assumptions about her quality as a mother and a woman in general based solely on the fact that her kids have different last names. nice work Fred.
I am NOT perfect either, but no one will discuss why this perfect victim let this beast into her and her childrens’ lives. Read my relies to the other replies.
I chose to look at the few facts I had from a darker angle, the story made her look “too perfect” to me while other facts cried “welfare queen”
I live next to section 8 housing, and I am afraid that my giving some people the benefit of the doubt may have enabled some people to continue to neglect a number of children. If you step back from the tragedy of this story, you may see a few red flags here.
I saw red flags and did nothing, only to have people later confirm my suspicions. Had I said something, would people, lie you, be accusing me of turning in a mother who was a good person with unruly children? Or because I did not report my mere suspicions are people like you going to call me an enabler?
While I don’t agree with with the way you made your assumptions Fred, I’ve always respected your opinions and the way you speak your mind. The best information I was able to find suggested that the three older children were all from the same father, so she was with that person for at least 5 years. She was married to Evynn’s father, Jason Garas, for about 3 years and had just recently finalized their divorce. Since we know she was with Joshua Durcho for the past 8 months, the marriage to Mr. Garas doesn’t appear to be a very good one.
I guess it’s safe to say she didn’t have very good luck picking her men, but by all reports she was an excellent mother and well liked by everyone who knew her. People around here know I’m one of the first people to jump a mother who puts her man before her children, but I’m just not seeing it this time. In fact, her closest friend confirmed that she was dumping Durcho Sunday night, and police know he killed the family Late Sunday or Early Monday. What we have with Summer Garas in a honest to God victim who just happens to have lousy taste in men.
thanks for finding out more.
I was playing devil’s advocate and I also am tired of all the victims being the “nicest people”. Maybe I picked on the wrong person here, BUT as my mother pointed out when Kennedy was shot in the early 1960′s. Many of the people who sainted him after the fatal shooting had nothing nice to say before the shooting.
My daughter’s mother is also on man #3 and this man is a control freak. While she does not deserve to be murdered in any gruesome way, she is not the nicest person to X1 and X2 (me), but if the current man does anything to her, I am sure she’ll be sainted as well by people who don’t think that highly of her now.
My advice to EVERYONE, esp those who have children, when going on a date with anyone that YOU may involve in your child’s life, watch the way this person treats ALL service people. If he or she treats a waiter or waitress as less of a person, that WILL BE YOU or YOUR KIDS at some point. If this person can lie straight faced and be proud of it, this person will be LYING TO YOU in time.
Sure this person is treating you nice now, but watch how he or she treats people they do not have to be nice to…..
Maybe that was the mistake that Summer made – assumed that Joshua would always be nice to her and the kids while treating everyone else less than kindly.
My ex was extra nice to everyone and treated/treats me like trash.
The opinion of people he didn’t know seemed to be more important than that of the people he chose to be in a relationship with.
Explain that one please….
Seems to me that some people care more about quantity than quality. Some people love to go some place and have people “know” them. If your X is like mine, I bet that your X was easily suckered into buying things if a salesman was involved.
As a husband I was supposed to pay the bills, no matter what. I was supposed to sacrifice for the family (note the I and not the we)
Sounds like we both became more thought of as “the help” – you know cook, cleaner, child care – the lower class.
We were taken for granted and as such, other people became more important to the point were we became, as a country song puts it – “The Last Call” – aka the safety net.
My X decided not to come home on my 32nd birthday, and of course leaving me with children who wondered where she was….
FRED!
Let me clear things up for you…One yes she did have three different men in her life who god blessed them with kids. TWO… she was a loving and dedicated mother and apparently you don’t know what is is like to be in an abusive relationship and scared to leave due to circumstances like this! She was very wise and you need to know all the facts about the situation before you continue to critize mothers who tried to do their best. She DID NOT just let men in and out of her life as you implemented she lived a crazy life when she was young LIKE MANY and then grew up she had her own apartment and getting an education while taking care of four beautiful kids by herself! So may god strike those down who pinpoint this all on Summer…granted it IS BOTH of the adults involved that need to be held accountable but DAMN she tried!
I am so sick of the assholes who vote no. I know that has been sad but Bob Saget has to put his 2 cents in. This sick bastard killed 5 people and then ran because he knew he was wrong. No trial no jury just execute the fuck. No fancy torture. Strangle his bitch ass to death. Offer some deathrow fuck the money to his family give the family $25,000 and let him just put this shitbag down. They say that stabbing and strangulation are the hardest way to kill a person because they require removing oneself from the crime. You have to be psychotic to do it.
I’m a longtime reader, and I’ve yet to post any comments, but I have to tastefully agree with Fred. I don’t understand how mothers can bring such scum into their childrens’ lives. In no way am I saying Summer and her children deserved this, but you have to wonder how badly her judgement is. I’d rather be alone for the rest of my life than settle on some miserable, convicted felon, alcoholic asshole.
He was not like this all the time the kids loved him and even called him dad! Summer thought she found a keeper and he proved her DEAD wrong!
“The kids loved him and called him dad..” thats just so sad. What a betrayal.
Oops – I hit submit too soon. I would rather be alone and raise my kids alone than expose them to a piece of shit like Joshua. It’s a horrifically sad thing that happened to Summer and her kids regardless of the circumstances. But yes, I agree with and understand Fred’s comments.
It appears this isn’t the first time Summer Garas has had trouble with a boyfriend. According to the Oklahoman, Rust has had trouble with at least one other boyfriend. She twice sought protective orders against another man who now is in prison. So I was wrong when I said she just had bad taste in men, she was attracted to these types of individuals. Fred was much closer to the truth than I wanted to admit. This doesn’t absolve Joshua Durcho of any guilt, but it does alter my perception of Summer Garas as squeaky clean.
awesome…Max going above and beyond as per the norm… seriously tho…4 men in less then 10 years isn’t really that strange…and 2 men in 4 kids isn’t either. Bad judgement is a way of life and in her case, way of death.
I’d like to get this guy in a room alone….PERIOD
I knew Summer(although not well) and well…I almost hate to admit this, but at one point Josh was one of my really good friends. He was there when both my kids were born and at my oldest’s birthdays. He shared a house with me for several months and also pryed my ex off me when he was beating the hell out of me. It is hard for me to believe he would hurt anyone, let alone a child. Having 2 children myself makes me so angry and sad at the same time. Its scary to think if he snapped, he could have snapped on me and my children at any moment. He will get what he deserves.
To clairify, Summer’s oldest had a different dad then the middle 2, and the youngest belonged to the man she just divorced in Decamber. Most of the guys she was with were abusive/addicts. Summer was a GREAT mom, loving, caring and always put her kids needs before hers. She tried really hard as a single mom. She always seemed to pick the “thug” type and they always took advantage of her…I will miss her, but i will miss those babies more =(
Thanks Hizlilbrat, that clears up a couple of questions we had about Summer’s kids.
Didn’t I read a comment by you over at Deadkids of Myspace? Looks like you reconsidered your opinion of Joshua to a point. This makes a lot more sense. I’ve had to question how I would behave if someone I was close to committed a crime like the ones we cover here. I’d probably do exactly what you did. First disbelief, then reluctant acceptance.
LOL yeah..as i recall you refered to me as a “stupid bitch” and a “douche bag”
No hard feelings.
Thanks for the info.
I was never tryingto state that Summer was a bad mother, but it seemed to me that when it came time to choosing men, she chose more for herself than looking for someone who’d be a good stepfather. So in some people’s eyes she may be a bit selfish.
What I was trying to get across is that when one is a single parent (myself included as a non-custodial father), that when choosing the next mate there is a LOT more to consider than just self. A parent must find someone who will love hem and the child(ren) – it’s just that simple.
Maybe Summer liked the “thug” type because he would occasionally take her away from the daily drudgery of being a sinle mother. Nothing wrong with dating someone like that, esp after a divorce, BUT don’t bring such into the child(ren)’s lives. Date them then dump them – preferably keep hem as one night stands who will never bother with you again.
Ask the kids what they think and WHY. It’s also gotta be for the right reasons – not because “(s)he buys me stuff”
thanks for not giving me grief. It has been hard on me..mostly mind games going back and forth on “i could see him doing this” to “there is no way”…honest to god’s truth though…something in my gut tells me he did it. He was so strung out on meth for so long(most of the reason i kept my distance from him for the most part.) I have known several addicts in my life…i have a habit of picking friends that need to be…well for lack of a better term “fixed”. It is my biggest fault, and Josh was my biggest challenge. As a friend i tried. He went to rehab many times, i was there each time for a visit.
I know my pain is no where even near to registering on the same scale as Summers family, but it is still there. I don’t feel the need to defend Josh. As hard as it is, i have accepted what he has done. I understand all the harsh judgments and words here…i agree with most but cant bring myself to say such things about someone i called my “best friend”, so I’m glad someone else did.
It must be so hard for you. I guess at times like this you just have to hug your kids and thank God they are safe and happy. And remember the good times you shared with Heather and the children. It just shows that you never really know anyone. Scary thought huh?
i just wana clear a little something up for u guys. my family is close friends with joshs family and my best friend was good friends with summer..im very close to the daddy of 2 of summers kids.just wanted to say..the oldest had a diff daddy than the 2 middle. so there were 3 daddys. now i didnt know summer too well so im not giving opinions on all that. all i know is josh will rot n hell for this and the daddy of the 2 middle children, altho he and summer had thier probs and he made bad decisions is still suffering. i mean he just lost his only 2 kids.. and no matter wat decisions she made her kids did not deserve this.yeah maybe she shoulda kept guys away from her kids..i have a 3 yr old and absolutely will not let any guy i talk to around my son unless i know him well. and even then would not b movin my son in with some guy thats not his dad.ok i lied i did put n an opinion.all im saying is no matter who decided wat this never shoulda happened.and ya some women need to make better choices for their kids. but it still wasnt joshs place to decide those kids fates. im sry im rambling its just very hard knowing him and his family and then something like this happening. his family is suffering too but he could never suffer enough..theres so much i wish we could do to him to make him c..and im very imaginitive.i can think of so many things i would do to him if givin the chance. but hes bn protected. like all criminals.
What?
I think she said she is Josh’s father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate.
Let’s see what I can do.
Translation:
My family and his family were close, and my best friend was good friends with Summer. I’d like to clear a few things up, because my relationships give me information not available to you.
Summer had children by multiple partners. One of those partners has been in a great deal of grief, over the loss of two of his children to this tragedy. It’s for this reason and others that I believe that mothers should not allow boyfriends or men to be alone with their children. I live this example, by not allowing men I don’t know well around my 3 year-old.
My emotions in this matter are very troubled, my thoughts are confused mainly because I knew him and I know his family is suffering during this time. I don’t think this criminal has suffered enough, and I’ve considered many ways to increase his suffering, but understand that he’s protected by the criminal justice system from vigilante justice.
Thanks, Jason
I tend to agree with fred on this issue. We cant stop people that aren’t good from being bad things, but maybe if you could stop good people from being with these kinds of jerks, we may see less of this. The post above mine states that she kept picking “thugs”. While I don’t beleive she deserved death, you cant keep doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome. I think someone smarter than me said that, but I think I get it. I wish other mothers would too. Their children are the ones paying for their ignorance. I don’t know if that is the case in this story, but unless you have 2 dead x husbands, you should not have 3 different babies daddies and think your not part of the problem. If you haven’t learned anything after the first two, you should probably stop having kids. Children arent objects, they are really people that are directly influenced by every choice we make.
Video news report of latest information: http://feeds.newsok.tv/services/link/bcpid4659235001/bctid7231918001
Wow this is sooo sad… those poor babies… i hope they rape him in the ass while he is in jail… then give him a slow painful death!! he doesnt deserve to just “go to sleep”
R.I.P little ones
I found Durcho’s MySpace page
Check out the pictures…his sister looks like a future PYSIH hall of fame member.
Here’s a link to his Oklahoma Department of Corrections records
Summer Garas’ MySpace Page (set to private unfortunately)
Man, what is it with these shitbags who can’t accept being rejected? And like a lot of people here, I cannot understand why he had to murder the kids as well. What the F%&K did he think, that he’d get away with it if he left no witnesses? Frankly, I couldn’t care less about his motives (but officer, the bitch deserved in and besides, she made me kill her kids, honest, it’s not my fault), but whatever his beef, THE KIDS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!!!!! Burn in hell, MF, burn in hell…
I have a toaster that needs to be repaired and a cast iron bear claw tub…… I’ll pay for the water and the juice….. then with a little help we can roll the bastard out the window, over the porch roof and see how close to the river we can get his body – with the right angle off the roof, he could land in the river (I have gotten large chunks of ice to roll to the river a few times)
Glad they caught his ass! What a sick, twisted, fuck! You gotta be some kind of evil to strangle one person, but one mother and her four children? I don’t have the word for that right now! Some big man*rolls eyes*- killed a woman and four children! Strangulation takes time he could have stopped with his first victim, bet that bastard probably enjoyed killing them. They were only together eight months, too? Maybe he started to realize what a damn loser he was, and that nobody would want his ass! What a fucking shame! He needs some alone time with the families of those babies! I’m glad he didn’t kill himself, I hope he suffers in jail!
I have to say that I think there is some merit to what you are saying Fred. I agree wholly that NOTHING about these murders is justifiable, but there is something to be said about the choices of the mother.
Perhaps she did just have bad luck in love. And maybe she was a wonderful person and mother. However, as a single mother to such young children, she had an obligation to them. It was her responsibility to screen the men she was bringing in to their lives and make sure that she was making smart choices for not just herself, but also for her young family.
“Court records show Durcho had a lengthy criminal history and investigators said he has been in and out of jail for much of his adult life, for drug and other charges, as well as a four-year prison term for felony possession of marijuana.”
From all accounts I’ve read, both the victim and her mother had known the suspect for years. He had been known to be in and out of jail.
While she couldn’t control the demons within this sicko, she should have kept someone with a history like his as far away from her and her children as possible.
Being a single parent (no matter how many fathers) is not a crime. Sometimes it’s just the luck that life hands you, but trusting your beloved children with less that savoury characters is a stupid sin.
I know I’m gonna get bad feedback for this……just my two cents. I hope the whole family rests in peace.
I agree that she should have been more careful, and perhaps she has some slight blame here, however, It says he was in jail for marijuana. Now I do not smoke it, have in the past, but do not anymore, but I do know many people, like my husband, who do it on an extra tough day at work, after the kids go to bed, to relax. And he is the best father and husband anyone could ever ask for! He loves his children, working a job he hates so that I can be home with them every day and not have to put them in day care where someone like Melissa can get them. So if all this man ever did that landed him in jail was smoke some weed, I can not say I would have thought twice either.
***My husband never does it in at or around my home***** I made sure of that one!! I also want everyone to know that I do not agree with his choice to do it, it is the cause of most of our arguments… but he is still a great, loving, hardworking happy father and husband.
Bubbles- you get positive feedback from me.:-) I could not have said it better. A few of my friends are single mothers and it really annoys me to see the types of men they bring around their kids. This is a real tragedy. Summer and four beautiful kids murdered by this asshole who didn’t want to take no for an answer. I really hate this guy, those kids had nothing to do with it.
Just a first comment from a daily reader for the last couple of years.
I certainly can relate to being very, very, stringent on who you let around your children. When I found myself suddenly a single mom to two young boys, I only dated when they were visiting their father. They never knew I dated, much less met the men. Later down the line I was blessed with a guy that I had known for 15 years. We dated for months before I introduced him to my children. I had honestly known him that long and knew that he was the father of two adults that he adopted when they were toddlers. I was still guarded. You just have to be.
Sound like you are doing things the right way. I am a few months from having my first child, and although I’m happily married, I can’t help but think about who will be allowed around my family. I have more than one family member who will not be allowed to be alone with my child, and the thought that some women will just move anyone into their home repulses me. You know, I dated a guy once that had kids, and although he was young and wild, when those kids were with him (he had them 50% of the time), there were no dates, no booty calls, no partying… I never even met the kids (we dated breifly). It was so wonderful to see a man put his kids before his fun.
I would not go so far as to say that this girl deserved to have her and her kids lives tragically ended but she does face some of the blame. None of the innocent victims of society deserve death, but some do seem to ask for it. By hanging out with elements of society that you know will bear no fruit. It was not the kids that brought this man into their lives. The mother did. She had to of noticed that something simply wasn’t right with the person she chose to share her life with. If she didn’t notice then honestly she did not know that man enough to have around your children let alone into your own house.
Omar… Normally I would agree with your above statement… However, in this instance, she was breaking up with him. Now, when one is in the dating world, they meet someone and take a certain risk getting to know them. Without this risk you will never move into a stable relationship.
Now some are great at the screening process, but unfortunately, POS’s don’t come from any specific walk of life, income, culture or specific other issue (except for known druggie/alcoholic) that can just be screened within 2 seconds. Here is where you have to take the time to get to know them. If someone is a good player, then they’ll be able to pull this off no problem, if they’re a game player then it can take more time to figure out.
In this instance, she realized he not good for her and her kids and tried to get rid of him. Her only mistake was in not realizing how dangerous to her and the kids he really was. Did she make a mistake in choosing a partner? Yes. Was it enough of a mistake to warrant her death? No.
Ease up on the vics once and a while, sometimes they really are innocent.
Danger- I think this is the best thing anyone has said about this case.
Danger
I agree with you wholeheartedly and this site is hopefully a shining example of what kind of evil lurks just under the surface of our society. I believe everyone is capable of these horrendous acts but for the majority of us we have what is called morals.
Damn Proud Eternal! lol
glyss got her gravatar! yay!
of course this is a horrible, atrocious thing to happen, but you can’t help but wonder why a mother of 4 children would be dating an ex convict. what sort of mother allows her children to be around scum like that? if it wasn’t for her stupidity and blind trust, her life would have been spared- more importantly, the lives of her children, who had no say in their mothers idiocy and choice of company.
i know that generally speaking ex-cons ex/felons are bad people, and they hardly ever change. but not all are horrible. my father is an ex felon, and he is a nice person now. he doesnt smoke pot or drink alcohol, he works two jobs so his wife could go to school, and his step-daughters love him, even if he can be a jackass sometimes. so dont necessarily judge this woman by the total company she kept because sometimes some people are smart enough to take the second chances they are given, only this man wasnt and i hope he cooks like a french fry in the chair
One of the biggest things I can’t seem to understand is how someone could actually strangle 5 people? My biggest question is this: In what order did he strangle them? Surely he killed the mom first. Or did she see everything and do nothing? If you’re going to put your kids in a negative position, how far does it have to go before you realize you shouldn’t be there?
I knew summer before she ever had kids and had just went to visit her about a week or so before josh did this. I was also married to Josh’s brother. This is a terrible thing and I will never understand what he was thinking. Those kids loved him and he was never abusive to summer or the kids. And Josh had been around my kids too and I would never have believed he would or could hurt them. I have so many questions and no answers. I miss the kids and summer everyday and as for her being with a bunsh of different men that is not the case at all she just never wanted to get married to there dad so that is why the different names. She just wanted to be happy like the rest of us and we do not know that she was breaking up with him either that is just hearsay. I believe a bunch of drugs and alcohol is the reason he was out of his mind but still does not explain why and who knows if we will ever know. But summer was a great person and just trying to make it in this crappy world the best she could with all the kids.
I was a single mom very briefly and I can tell you that I went out on two dates with one man. He never met my son and I never let him in my house but I did let him drop me off at home. When he said I love you after only knowing me for two weeks, I stopped returning his calls. I completely ignored him. He did not like this so I got stalked for a little while. He never did anything dangerous but he was always there. I never would have thought that he would be obsessed because he didn’t even really know me but he did. I didn’t do anything to encourage him but this situation could have happened to me and he never even met my children. You just never know someone. Thank goodness that I met a good man that is a wonderful husband and father. Not everyone is so lucky.
I wish you people would stop saying it’s my sister’s fault. She didn’t know he was a bad guy. I met him and spent two days with the guy and thought he was great. So, stop judging! I, as her sister, want to know what order they were killed in to get some peace of mind. If that will even give it to me I don’t know. But for you to say, did he kill the kids before her and she stood there and did nothing makes me sick! She loved those kids like any good mother does and for you to judge a mother you don’t know if effed up…..let alone a dead mother! My sister might have had help from the government, but then again she had her first child when she was 17. She had a job, had a car that the government sure didn’t provide for her and she had started going to school to better her life and the lives of my nieces and nephews. I wish she would have never even moved back to What if she just did nothing while her children were being murdered is NOT one of my what if’s……
I am truely sorry for your loss Anonymous. This is such a tradgey. I doubt too that your sister would have sat back and watched…its a mum thing. She loved her kids and would have fought tooth and nail to save them had she been alive.
The only thing that will help you move on is time. You just tackle each day as it comes and eventually it wont hurt so much.
I would just love to kill fat bastard slowly for two weeks of pain…Then cut his throat in front of a mirror.
Short fat sack of shit. I hope the prison sex is very painfull…
i hope that son of bitch rotts in hell for what he did to them,,,,,,,,,the worst part is to rape summer and her told older girls after he strangled them,,,,,,,,,,who does he think he is?????? i loved summer, teagin, evyn, kirsten, autum and would never imagine that something lke tht could happen,,,,,,,,,once he makes it to the penitentary into general population, he wount make it,,,,,,they will make sure tht he suffers a long hard tortured death,,,,,,,rape him in the ass and strangle him,,,mmmmmmmm,,,,,,,,that’s justice,,,,,,,,i truly miss my cousins dearly,,,,,,especialy evyn,,,,,,,,just so sweet,,,,,,,,,soft spoken,,,,,,,,i will miss you all a great deal and we will not rest until durcho is punished,,,,,,,,,
he needs to mann up and tell us why this has happened………summer dumped your insane, drug addicted ass,,,,,,you couldn”t cope…….find another to put up with your shit,,,,,,,,,,,,,you low life son of a bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! a not guilty plea? mutha fucka please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I really just wish everyone would quit trying to judge Summer and anything that she possibly made a wrong decision on. There no wrong decision that could in any way justify Josh and what he did to Summer and her four beautiful children. Half of everyone on here with their two cents didn’t even know her or anything about her life. But let me tell you she was an excellent mother and would have never knowingly put her children in harms way. For the record she was breaking up with him so she did obviously think there was something not right and tried to protect herself and her sweet babies. To set another record straight I’ve known Josh since I was in elementry school and any that knows him is having a hard time trying to figure out how he could have done this but justice will be served and that not for anyone to say what it is except the big man himself. Summer Kirsain Autmn Teagan and Evynn will all be greatly missed and I loved them all very much.
Does anyone remember thou shalt not judge…..
I don’t remember shit. She let this scum in to her life and the lives of her children. It was her responsibility to protect her children at all costs. She failed. That is fact. You might try to muddy the whole thing wiht your shit like “you didn’t know her” Or you didn’t know him. bla bla bla. Same shit different ipod. Everyone who knows the accused that has posted on this site say the exact same shit.
I have a 12 year old daughter. Just reciently she met my girlfriend. But only after I was together with her for over 6 months. I talked to her. Learned more and more about her. I won’t trust her to be alone with my daughter. If my girlfriend doesn’t like that then thats her problem. I would kill or die for my daughter. No woman or relationship is worth my daughter. Did Summer even hint at anything like that? If she did she obviously lied.
I feel for the family that lost their loved ones, but really, ENOUGH of this “thou shall not judge” crap. People like you need to understand. Not ALL of us are Christians. Why should I follow a religion which I do not believe in?
It truly amazes me how many assume everyone on the internet is American and follow their religion. The internet is global. Christianity does not rule the world.
Oh, and I meant that for “just me”. Forgive me for not hitting the “reply” button.
I’m thinking about making my own case but I have a question.,Obed
There’s news on this. His attorney has filed for a change of venue, and they mentioned PYSIH.
“New venue sought for Okla. man’s murder trial”
http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/state/Copy_of_OKFamily-Slain_18252454
hello im jessica and that woman and 4 babies that he killed were my cousins. that piece of !%&@ will get what he deserves. he is a scumbag and i hope i he rots in hell. that funeral was the hardest thing i have ever had to go to. i have 3 kids of my own and it hit me so hard!! really makes u open ur eyes.
What a punk assed coward! I hope the boys in the prison yard take care of his sorry ass when they find out he is a baby killer. Rotting in hell will be a nice break for him after some real men are done giving the bitch what he has coming to him. Do what you can to make sure they find out what he is! Once he is sent to prison, spread the word however you can till it makes it inside the walls! He cant hide and lie forever! He will get a little bit of justice…..
It’s all out now-
http://s3.amazonaws.com/content.newsok.com/documents/m19durchodoc0001.pdf
Here’s a link to the 14 page document to push for the death penalty. There is a trial in October 2011 (this year).
Apparently, Summer wasn’t thinking clearly in their last argument, as she threatened an EX-CON that she would call the police on him. She knew he was wanted for 2 felony counts from 2008. Joshua, like most ex-cons, ‘refused to go back to jail’, so he killed them all.
I’m going to bite my lip here and not say what I think…except for this:NEVER THREATEN AN EX-CON WITH CALLING THE POLICE OR YOU WILL MORE THAN LIKELY BE HARMED.
Other than that, I’m going to keep my mouth shut and agree with some of the other commenters here about questionable choices in life one makes.
Wow, this is one tough read. Durcho is an even worse piece of shit that I thought he was – He sexually molested one of the twins, Kirstin, and ejaculated on the genitals of the other, Autumn? God, not enough bad shit can happen to this freak.