Arthur and Berit Costas''From a victim's standpoint, the punishment doesn't even begin to equate to the magnitude of the crime,'' said Costas. He said he resented a justice system that placed Protti in a facility where she could have a boyfriend and complete her high school education -- opportunities that were denied his daughter.
''You can't replace your child so you think about that all the time,'' said Costas, who said that he worries that Protti remains dangerous to the public. ''The emotions and the public safety -- we lose on both counts.''-Arthur Costas
Here is a current photo of Berit, she is the petite brunette third from R-L in white and tan. Here's what the dissenting Parole Board Officer Victor Wisehart said:
"Bernadette remains a danger to the public and is in need of further treatment to address her inability to control her anger and impulses.''
Wisehart referred to a recent incident during which Protti demonstrated ''anger and a lack of impulse control'' in a confrontation with her boyfriend at the Youth Authority school.
''I hate to think how she would have handled the incident had she been on parole and able to arm herself and stalk again another victim,'' Wisehart said.
''She has a hidden trigger that anyone can pull just by not giving (her) what she thinks she should get in a relationship.''
So scary that she was released in a 2-1 vote. In those days there was pressure on the Judicial system to rehabilitate especially youthful offenders. Also the cost of housing inmates definitely went into that decision.
I can't believe they went against the Costas' wishes. They were failed by the police investigators they were failed by the courts and the parole board. Jeannette should really just now be getting out. A seven year sentence just wasn't adequate in this case. This was a horrendous crime. Kirsten suffered immensely.
TOTALLY AGREE!!!! Bernadette should thank her lucky stars everyday!! She had a mouse for a judge; and the California youth authority facility is a joke. She was able to con the parole board. It's disgusting!
ReplyDeleteIt's insane that Bernadette got such a short sentence. What a slap in the face that was/is for Kirsten's family. "The law is an ass"- Charles Dickens
ReplyDeletePlease read through "My Life Of Crime" under Bernadette Protti. Then look at "Elgars" posts. You will see my name going back and forth with this person back in like 2012. Well, when "Elgar" got really upset when I mentioned the above parole officer I should have stuck with my gut feelings of this "Elgar" being a family member. Now, knowing that Virginia is a banker and the "Elgar" is a banker but with a male's photo it doesn't take a genius to know that "Elgar" is Virginia. Just another example of the many posts that this family makes that proves they are all crazy. Bernadette for sure is a cold heart with that burning jealousy. This story needs to be re told with the psychological facts! Not the made up bullying. The stories of bullying are people who are usually terrified of their bully. This is about a jealous sociopath who should still be in jail.
ReplyDeleteEXACTLY. Virginia sounds as psychotic as her sister.
ReplyDeleteI read it. Virginia came across as disturbing and vile. I read a comment recently that I think Bernadette wrote about "God" viewing murder in the same light as a lie. Really Bernadette? Wouldn't a lie be viewed more as a venial sin than murder which is considered to be a mortal sin? You are such a nutty twonk, Bernadette.
ReplyDeleteBernadette has some confused ideas about god. She also hates atheists, apparently. lol I really got under her skin on another website.
ReplyDeleteI am a Christian, and I agree she has no idea of the teachings of Christ and how to genuinely apply them to your life. She and her sister are deeply disturbed and their posts demonstrate that. I stay away from name calling and stick with the facts of the case. There are many cases during that time in which a minor killed and got 20 to life. Bernadette should be in jail.
ReplyDeleteReread your post. Umm..you sure sound like a Christian who stays away from name calling. Hypocritical much!?!
DeleteI agree about refraining from name calling, but where I am from "twonk" is about as insulting as "silly billy". I also agree that she should be in jail.
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ReplyDeleteI loved Kirsten and Diane McDonald, they were so cute and funny. Diane McDonald was homecoming queen at Miramonte.
ReplyDeleteBernadette couldn't handle the rejection from Kirsten, they all knew she wasn't all there to start with but when she stalked Kirsten she went in way over and Kirsten was right all along. Bernadette s high school boyfriend stopped seeing her cause he knew she had problems with stalking.
ReplyDeleteHow gut wrenching for Kirsten's parents.
ReplyDelete>Bernadette s high school boyfriend stopped seeing her cause he knew she had problems with stalking> Really? Did you know him?
ReplyDeleteI know a lot more than you think. He just spotted she was strange and there were stalking comments about it yes I knew who he was and that relationship was short lived, after her killing Kirsten he didn't want a thing to do with her and he ended up hating her after that so did Miramonte students. She was publically humiliated at her trial, and students and familes were there to watch her fry at least we were hoping. Why are you defending a murderer?
ReplyDeleteUnless you're Bernadette or Jeanette why you uphold her I know what all went down at that time frame. 2 innocent girls were accussed and Bernadette sat there and watched and knew and the shoe was on her foot at the trial she was Miramontes very most hated still is, although were all more mature and grown today if we saw Bernadette we d ignore her or walk the other way. No one would want to see her or talk to her, Nancy and Joanna maybe they d talk to them aim sure they would not Bernadette it's been over 30 years since we talked to her on good terms.
ReplyDeleteBullying wasn't the issue jealousy was, we all get bullied at some point, but she took it to extremes. She s just using that as an escape goat. Bob O Links is a popular club, she should of been delighted with that she had it far better than most kids. There was a girl in UK named Kelly Yeoman that killed herself over bullying she was homely and not smart and weak, she got stabbed with pencils, she was a true bully victim, took her own life as a result of it. They are cracking down on bullying today because of kids killing themselves like Columbine high school situation s where they kiled students and themselves over bullying it goes on rapid today. There was no proof of that with Bernadette, I never seen it. Her boyfriend and she didn't work out and all but as for bullying that's not so
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ReplyDeleteWhether or not bullying was the issue here and her high school boyfriend jilted her, the point is, it's all in the past, the case is ancient history, and Bernadette I doubt she ll even go to the reunion but Om sure there are some who d love to see her. Look at Karen a Severson she s living her life as if nothing happened she goes out publically and she didn't change her identity. The case is so so old.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for the Costas family and pray they can find peace and go on. It's hard what the endured, but hate is going to eat you up and anger and aggression. What Bernadette did was very inexcusable but she has to go before God and he s the one who decides her fate.
ReplyDeleteWho cares about the bullying. This isn't about whether or not she got bullied, it's about what she did, she took another life And gets away with it, a life that was so important to many people. It's not past to the a Costa s they live in a nightmare every single day, so tell them it's in the past.
ReplyDeleteOk. First off, if you did go to the same high school, why oh why, is your writing so poor? Secondly, nobody will ever convince me that Bernadette did not experience bullying. I'm interviews two separate women who attended school with Kirsten stated she was mean, and arrogant . Be nice, because you never know what someone else is going through. Everything has a consequence.
Deleteescape goat? :D It's scapegoat.
ReplyDeleteKristen bullied a lot of people she should never had died for it though. Bernadette was popular ive read a lot about this story and Kristen is not innocent like you all think!
ReplyDeleteYou are all over the place defending Bernadette. Learn to discern the difference between a movie and real life, you dumb Brit.
ReplyDeleteNo one deserves to be stabbed to death on their front lawn just for being snobbish. Bernadette planned the killing right down to the last detail, lying about the Bob-o-links dinner to lure Kirsten, alarm bells were probably ringing with Kirsten and that's probably why she fled. As for Bernadette being bullied, rubbish! Who begs the person bullying them to be friends? She was just an obsessed girl with issues. I hope the Costas family have gone on with their lives in peace.
ReplyDeleteYou lack critical thinking. What exact bullying examples did Bernadette give? Why didn't she give a clear answer as to why she killed Kirsten? Why did she want to spend time with her supposed bully? That makes no sense. Again, you lack critical thinking. The ID doc was very one-sided. None of Kirsten's friends were interviewed. One of the journalists couldn't even be bothered to pronounce Kirsten's name properly. Regarding the two women: were you liked by everyone in school? Considering how ignorant you come across now as an adult, I'm sure you had more than your fair share of people in High School who didn't like you. Nancy was very troubled. She wrote about wanting to see Kirsten's blood "drip, drip, drip". She was initially proud that people thought she was dark and killed Kirsten. She thought it was "cool" to spread rumours about herself being into drugs. She hated the popular crowd for being boring and not accepting her for who she was, but she didn't accept them either and talked and laughed at them behind their backs. I feel sorry for what she went through, but she was hypocritical and troubled. Kirsten was murdered because she didn't give Bernadette the validation Bern felt entitled to. Lying to get a person out of their house under false pretences will not endear to most people, but perhaps you are someone who thinks that type of behaviour is ok.
ReplyDeleteA lot of name calling and bullying in this thread. It's really uncalled for and not necessary. You can politely agree to disagree. I don't think anyone has condoned what Bernadette did. I think you have to look at this from different view points. There will always be more questions than answers. It's really a shame that Bernadette got away with this though. Being bullied doesn't justify murdering someone unless it was self defense where you were truly being physically attacked. Any way, I wish the Costas love, peace, and healing. I can't imagine living this nightmare for so long. I'm sending my prayers.
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