Ep 15 | JAMES LOVE Transcript

Ep 15 | James Love Transcript

Before we begin this podcast, please be advised that the following episode contains language that some listeners may find offensive and inappropriate. The opinions expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not reflect the views of the podcast producers. Listener discretion is advised

Way back in 1975, you did something that really hurt a community. How much of it is true? All of it. I was not a human being at that point. I was a vicious, stupid animal. This whole ordeal, sir, has been the worst thing I've ever gone through in my life. God has been with me these 48 years, kept me safe.

He's given me a purpose. I would do anything at all to undo the events of that night.

You are now listening to the podcast Voices of a Killer. I'm bringing you the stories from the perspective of the people that have taken the life of another human and their current situation thereafter in prison. You will see that although these are the folks that we have been programmed to hate, they all have something in common.

They are all humans like us that admit that they made a mistake. Will you forgive them or will you condemn them? They are currently serving time for their murders and they give us an inside glimpse of what took place when they killed and their feelings on the matter. Now here are the voices of those who have killed.

On this episode of Voices of a Killer, we bring you the case of James Love. In 1974, James' life took a dark turn when he claimed the lives of two-year-old Jeffery Berger and 14-year-old Sheilia Curtright in Lee's Summit, Missouri. Although James initially denied the crime, he has since pled guilty after experiencing a spiritual awakening.

In this episode, we'll delve into James' life in prison, explore the events of that tragic night, and try to understand what could have driven him to commit such a brutal act of violence. So, sit back and listen closely to this exclusive interview with James Love on Voices of a Killer.

So, James, tell me, where are you from? I'm from Lee's Summit, Missouri. How old are you right now? 73. Tell me a little bit about your childhood. Do you feel like you had a normal childhood whenever you were growing up as a young child? Yeah, we were poor, but we never went without. We were taught to forage in the forest and in the streams. Catch it, grow it, or kill it if you want to eat it. Survival skills that most youth today don't know anything about. 

What did your parents do for a living? My dad was a auto mechanic and my mom worked as a waitress. Did you have any kind of abuse when you were a child or anything like that? No. You feel like you had a normal childhood? I know that people today would consider spankings that I got growing up abuse.

I don't consider them abuse. They were justified. So you got some whoopings a lot? Not a lot, but if you did wrong seriously enough, you got whooped. Sometimes you were told to go get the whip yourself and told it better be a good one. Sure. What did you do whenever you got out of your parents' house as a young kid?

Before I moved out, I started working in fast food restaurants, and then I went to work at Western Electric, and then I joined the Marine Corps, and then I took a vacation here. Tell me about the Marines. Where were you stationed? I actually got stationed in Kansas City at the Automated Services Center on Bannister Road.

I got paid to live at home. I was a computer programmer for the Marine Corps. How old were you when you were in the Marines? I enlisted when I was 24. Yeah. What I want to ask you about before we get to the murder stuff is, you had actually been to prison prior to the murder? No. You had never been in prison before? No.

Okay. There is a letter from someone that was opposing your parole release. It says, "James Love was released from prison due to overcrowding. Shortly after that release, he committed these murders." That young lady is severely mistaken. I was in the United States Marine Corps from 1973 till 1978, three years after I was in prison.

Okay, I'm glad I asked then. So that's out there for people to read. Maybe they can do the research themselves and see that is actually inaccurate. I'm glad I brought that up. So, let me ask you, James. Way back in 1975, you did something that really hurt a community. How much of it is true? All of it. Just cause say, before you committed the crime, did you plead guilty or not guilty?

I pled not guilty. Do you still claim innocence? No. So you admit to it now? Yes. Let's wind back to that fateful night of James' crime. It was New Year's Eve in 1974, a night we typically associate with joy and celebration. But for the Berger family, that New Year's Eve turned into a nightmare they would never forget.

The Bergers had gone out to a New Year's Eve party, leaving behind their toddler Jeffery with his teenage babysitter, Sheilia Curtright. Many members of the Lee's Summit community were attending that party, among them, James. He was the Bergers' neighbor at that time. However, James left the party early.

He headed home to his duplex in Columbus Street and ended up knocking on the door of the Berger's home. Less than an hour later, he left. It was Sheilia's father who later discovered Sheilia and Jeffery's lifeless body on the kitchen floor. From our conversation, I didn't pick up on any red flags that could point out to a troubled past.

His childhood was fairly ordinary and he hadn't been to prison before like people had claimed. But we have to ask the question, what could have driven him to commit such a heinous act that night? 

So I wanna ask you a couple of questions. On that day there was a babysitter named Sheilia Curtright, who was babysitting a two-year-old Jeffery Berger.

And the parents actually went to a New Year's Eve party. Do you recall that night? Yes, I do. I was at that same New Year's Eve party. Yeah, before you went to that New Year's Eve party, you actually went over to their house. How far did you live from this house where the babysitter was? That was a duplex. I lived in the other half of the duplex.

So you knew those people pretty well? Yes. How well did you know the babysitter, Sheilia Curtright? I didn't know her at all. What about the two-year-old Jeffery Berger? Had you known him, seen him around? Yeah, I had played with him. You played with him. What did you think about the toddler at the time? 

Like I do all toddlers, I loved him. I enjoyed children. I know it sounds strange to say that knowing why I'm here, but I do, I care deeply about children. Yeah. So, Jeffery, at this time, on this day, you have a drug or alcohol problem? I had an alcohol problem real bad. In fact, I was drunk at the time this occurred.

What did you drink? I was drinking, that night, I was drinking vodka. You drink a lot of it? I had a fifth there at the New Year's Eve dance and I probably drank most of it. So James, that night you actually went to the party before you went to the house next door? That's correct. And you drank a lot over there?

I drank a lot at the party, yes. Was the couple that lived next door, were they at the party yet? They had not yet gotten there. So what made you wanna leave the party? I was treasurer for the JC there in Lee's Summit, and I needed to take the proceeds that we'd collected for the dance, because the JC sponsored it, home and secure it.

Okay. Were you mad at anybody that night? No. Okay. After you took care of that, you actually went back to your duplex. I went back to the duplexes to secure the money in the treasurer briefcase in my bedroom. In your bedroom. You went next door and you actually knocked on the house. I went next door for the purpose of getting some more folding chairs.

I knew that the Bergers had six folding chairs in their garage or somewhere in their house that could be used. And I went there to borrow those and take them back to the dance. The effects of alcohol can be terrifying. Alcohol can cause people to snap into a senseless rage, losing all control. James admits that he was battling a drinking problem

and that night he had indulged too much at the New Year's Eve dance. By the time he had left the party, he was heavily intoxicated. First, he stowed away the money from the dance safely at home. Then, he went over to the Bergers, hoping to borrow some chairs he could take back to the dance. We already know a bit of the timeline from the case report.

Sheilia was actually on the phone with a friend just moments before James entered. The call was cut short when Sheilia went to answer James' knock at the door. But when Sheilia's friend called back a while later, the phone just rang and rang. Sheilia was already dead. According to James' story, the murders were not premeditated.

He wasn't angry at anybody. He even cared about Jeffery. His only intention when he entered the Bergers' home was to pick up some chairs. Something must have gone terribly wrong to escalate the situation so quickly. What was it? Okay, so you knocked on the door, the babysitter answered, and that's when you asked her about the chairs?

Yes, so I guess she agreed and said, "Come on in and get them", or what was her reaction? We tried to get permission from the Bergers, but they still had not arrived at the house. And then she said, "Since I know you live next door, it'll be okay." And then I said or did something out of the line, to this day I don't know what it was, but I know the slap I got was justified.

So you hit on Sheilia the babysitter? I guess that's the way you'd call it. I don't know what I did. I said or did something that was inappropriate. And she slapped you across the face? Yes. Whenever she slapped you, did you pause for a minute and say something, or you just immediately attacked her?

I instantly went into a rage. I lost it. I became an animal, and I attacked her. What did you do? Was she facing you when you attacked her? Yes. Did you punch her? I punched her, I choked her, I kicked her, and at some point, little Jeffery came up and said, "Stop fighting", and the animal jumped on the noise and attacked him.

You attacked the two-year-old? I attacked, yes. Not knowing what I was attacking, I had no idea what I was doing at the time. I jumped on the two-year-old, not knowing that it was a two-year-old because, like I said, I was not a human being at that point. I was a vicious, stupid animal. Whenever you jumped on the toddler, did you already finish off Sheilia, the babysitter?

No, she wasn't dead yet. I went backwards and forward between the two until the phone rang. How did you end up finishing off Sheilia? I don't think she actually physically died until after the medics got there, but I had cut both her and Jeffery's throat with a pairing knife. That's how long that rage lasted for you to get up and get a knife and do that?

Yes. What were you thinking at the time? I wasn't thinking. So you said the phone rang? Who called? I have no idea. So after you did that, did you stick around and see what you did, or did you leave immediately? I left immediately. Where did you go? Back to the dance. And, James, I want you to tell me if this is true or not, hopefully you can tell me whether it is or not, but I read that after you did this crime you went back to the dance and you actually walked up to Carol, the mother of the two-year-old you just killed, and gave her a hug. I don't remember that. It's possible, but I don't remember that. I don't remember seeing or speaking to the Bergers at all at the dance.

As I told James, Carol Berger actually recalls James hugging her at the party. Unknown to her, he had brutally killed her two-year-old son moments before. The thought is chilling. Little did Carol know, she was soon to get life-changing information about what James had done. But as James recounted his crime, a more complex picture of the man started to emerge.

Under the influence of alcohol, James transformed into something unrecognizable, something different from his normal self. It robbed him of his ability to think clearly, and he fell into an animalistic rage. When he regained his senses, the deed was already done. After committing the crime, James went back to the party, trying to make it seem as if nothing had happened.

He changed into fresh clothes, but there was still plenty of evidence tying him to the crime. Visible scratches on his arm indicated a struggle, fresh blood on his boots later matched a sample of Sheilia's blood, and a witness had seen him leaving the Bergers' residence at around 11pm. What was that like, sitting trial for the murder of two people?

This whole ordeal, sir, has been the worst thing I've ever gone through in my life. If there was anything that I could do to change it, I would. I would've rather gone to Vietnam and been disgraced and brutally killed over there than be in prison for what I'm in prison for. It was only a matter of time before the police identified James as the suspect. More on the police's investigation after the break.

So after you went back to this dance, tell me what happened. I tried to play it off like nothing happened. And then, when the dance was over, me and my sister went back home and then I got arrested. Did you have blood on you at the dance? From a cut on my finger, yes. How long after you left the dance did the police show up?

The police were already there at the scene. How did they know that it happened? I'm assuming that Sheilia's parents called. So they knew it was you for sure, right off the bat. No, they arrested me because I had the fresh blood on me and what appeared to be scratches on one arm. So did you get interrogated and you denied it the whole time?

I lawyered up immediately. So you wouldn't talk to them? That's correct. Did you get arrested and have to be bailed out? There was no bail. Okay. So you were arrested without, held without bail and you took it to trial and had a jury. Yeah. That's correct. My question to you, James, is at what point, because you pled not guilty, how long in prison did you finally say, "You know what? I did that"? When I went up for parole the first time. So you were actually sentenced to 300 years. 150 and 50. Ran while? While. So that's a really long sentence. How are you able to see the board so many times? Because back when it occurred, the law said that every two to five years you will see the board. Even now today, because I'm under the old law, I have to see the board every five years.

Initially, the first poll hearing got a five-year setback, and then after that for quite a long time it was two-year setbacks. What was that like sitting trial for the murder of two people? This whole ordeal, sir, has been the worst thing I've ever gone through in my life. If there was anything that I could do to change it, I would.

I would've rather gone to Vietnam and been disgraced and brutally killed over there, than be in prison for what I'm in prison for. I believe you. I think that alcohol is very powerful for some people in some instances and it's a shame that it's that way for some of you guys, but alcohol can be a very strong component to help people do acts of violence like you did.

Initially, James pled innocent to the charges he faced. Even so, the evidence was so damning that James was sentenced to a hefty 300 years in prison. Only after his first parole hearing did James have a change of heart and he finally admitted to his guilt. I was curious about what prompted this change in James.

Where did his newfound remorse come from? A sentence that long must be difficult to process. Was it the solitary nature of life in prison that gave him time to reflect and confront what he had done? Hoping to learn more, I asked James about his life behind bars.

After I did that, I told them I didn't want to be a holiday Christian. I didn't want jailhouse religion. I wanted what I called a full meal deal, all or nothing. God has been with me these 48 years. He's kept me safe. He's given me a purpose. He showed me things to do. There are several young men who came to prison and went back out of prison as young men rather than become the sex objects others wanted them to be because God sent them to me.

I have a letter from the wife of one of them in my possession, thanking me for keeping her husband safe while in prison. I taught to people with schooling, more than 180 inmates got their GED because God has given me the ability to teach. Right now, I'm what's called a daily living assistant. I have been since June here, no, not June.

The last 12 years here in Jefferson City Correctional Center in the Enhanced Care Unit. The Enhanced Care Unit has people in it who medically are unable to take care of themselves. They're wheelchair-bound or otherwise. My current cellmate is blind and has trouble speaking because of a stroke. He has to totally depend upon me for everything. Because of Christ in me, I can be that trusting friend that he needs. I can lead him where he needs to go, and he knows that I won't misuse him. He's been misused by others. His money was taken. Everything that he had was taken. I don't let that happen. I've been with terminal inmates, and helped them live their last days of life here to the best of their ability.

Their families have thanked me for the care that I've given. And again, I say I. None of this was me doing this. This is Jesus doing it through me. I'm just the instrument. I take no credit for anything that I've done in here myself. I live each day to the best of my ability for God. If the parole board or society sees it and recognizes it, praise God.

If not, praise God anyway, because I'm not doing it for parole. I'm doing it for God.

After the break, I talk to James about the controversy surrounding his parole.

James has undergone a religious transformation while in prison. From what he told me, it's evident that he has embraced his faith wholeheartedly and strived to do good within the confines of prison. Educating fellow inmates and tending to the medical needs of those in the Enhanced Care Unit, James has found a sense of purpose.

Although his chances of being released are slim, he finds solace in religion and tries to atone for his crime. Missouri law dictates that James is eligible for parole every five years. This gives him a chance to present his personal growth and reform to the parole board, but recently there has been an online outcry about the possibility of his release.

In 2017, an online petition opposing his parole gathered around 1000 signatures in just 72 hours. The petition argues that James' crime is unforgivable and he will always pose a threat to society. I wanted to hear James' perspective on this petition. 

So you know that there is an online petition to keep you in prison. No, I didn't know that. So there's actually a group out there that, I think it's about 1200 people signed a petition, 1200 signatures, and they got this in 72 hours, to keep you in prison.

How does that make you feel? If they're feeling that way because of what I did, what I actually did, I understand it. If they feel that way because of the lies that are also posted about me, then I don't understand that. What lies? Like I've been in prison before. Right. And just got out. Yeah. And the thing is we could definitely figure out if you were actually in the military or not.

But that's besides the point. At the end of the day, you know, the crime still happened and that really does strike a nerve with people no matter how long ago it was. You know, it's very difficult for people to be acceptance of or forgiveness of that. I want to actually read the rest of that letter that this person had actually wrote and then hear your reaction, so it says, "Dear parole board Members, We are current and/or former residents of Lee's Summit, and many of us were Lee's Summit students in 1975, when James Love brutally murdered our friend, classmate, and resident Sheilia Curtright and little Jeffery Berger, the baby whom she was providing care to on that tragic New Year's Eve. This sickening crime still haunts us to this day, not only on every New Year's Eve, but frequently over the last 42 years. We will never forget the violent and sadistic way this vibrant, beautiful, caring, and intelligent young woman's life ended.

Nor will we ever forget how Jeffery Berger, just a toddler, was butchered and mutilated by this monster, James Love. His vile attack was not quick. It was violent, forceful, cold, deliberate, and his victims suffered immensely. Sheilia fought death, which was inevitable, long enough to name her killer, James Love, and he was sentenced to 300 years in prison for his crimes of murder and he should serve out this sentence completely. James Love was released from prison due to overcrowding. Shortly after that release, he committed these murders. That release was his second chance at freedom, and he proved absolutely beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is and continues to be a threat to society.

It would serve absolutely no purpose to parole this man. Thank you for your time and consideration in this manner. It was greatly appreciated." And that was written, "Sincerely, all who have signed this petition against the parole of James Love." James, I want you to know that there's gonna be a lot of people that hear this.

I'm certain that somebody is gonna check to see if you were really in prison or not, or in the military at that time so.

Sadistic, cold, and deliberate. The raw anger and pain of the petition is palpable. It's easy to empathize with the victim's family. Their lives were shattered that day and their loss continues to haunt them.

And although James seems like a changed man now, it's impossible to expect the families to acknowledge this change or offer their forgiveness. The reality is that James never fully atoned for his crime, and he may never be released from prison. Instead, he can only focus on finding peace within himself.

This report from local Kansas news station KSHB gives us an insight into just how the victims' families really felt. 

Killer eligible to walk free. The two-year-old's mother fights to keep him locked up. I don't think he's capable of change. I just don't think so, I don't think he can do what he did and change.

But despite his centuries-long prison sentence, the convicted killer is up for parole again. Now new at 10, 41 Action News anchor Patrick Fazio found out why his chances at freedom keep on coming. I would truly be afraid if he were released. Carol Berger is petitioning Missouri's parole board to try to keep her child's killer locked up.

Why do we keep giving him all these chances? Her former next door neighbor, James Love, is up for parole again for the 1974 stabbing deaths of Berger's two-and-a-half-year-old son, Jeffery. He was a sweet little guy. And Jeffery's 14-year-old babysitter, Sheilia Curtright. We figured two counts at 150 years each would surely keep him in prison for the rest of his life.

300 years total for the murders before Missouri had the death penalty or life without parole. But this Friday Love will go to his 10th parole hearing. Berger worries this time might be different. As he gets older and the prisons become overcrowded, I am always afraid that they're going to start letting people out to make room.

Plus, parole board members change every few years. And Berger wants to know why they keep giving Love hearings. We get very vague answers from the parole board. We asked Missouri's parole board. They pointed us to the Department of Corrections, which sent us to their website. It shows various formulas for determining hearings and parole.

We must reform our corrections system. As governor, Eric Greitens appoints the parole board. And the last thing we want is somebody coming out of prison and committing another crime which hurts another family. Yeah, so. We asked the governor about the parole board granting hearings to a child murderer sentenced to 300 years.

His office never responded. With the governor's new budget cuts, including to corrections... Yeah, there's his hat. ...Berger worries her son's killer could walk free. I always say to the parole board members, "Do you have children, grandchildren? Do you want him to get out and move in next to you?" 

Carol Berger, the mother of Jeffery has been petitioning the parole board to keep James locked up in prison. She firmly believes that he is incapable of change, and the idea of him walking free troubles her deeply. This raises the question of the parole board's role in James' case. Throughout his sentence, James has appeared periodically in front of the parole board.

Parole can incentivize people to genuinely transform their lives, just as James claims to have done. It might grant somebody a second chance at life, enabling them to reintegrate back into society. However, the parole board also has a critical responsibility to protect society. They must carefully weigh up the risks of releasing an inmate who might be a threat to public safety.

Had James truly reformed? While his transformation may seem genuine to some, others, like Carol Berger, remain skeptical. Before our conversation ended, I wanted to give James a chance to address the victim's family directly, including Carol Berger. If given the chance, what would he say to them? 

So James, if you could say anything to the victims' family and loved ones, what would it be?

I would do anything at all to undo the events of that night. Life doesn't give us do-overs. I'm sorry and I don't understand why little Jeffery or Sheilia had to die at my hands. I don't understand that and I wish it hadn't. I wish there was a way to reverse time and not have it happen. I can't do that. And I'm sorry.

I'm sorry for what I did to them. I'm sorry for the pain that I've put you through, both the families and society as a whole there in the Lee's Summit area. I understand the grief that you're going through. I understand the loss. I can't undo it. I can't change it. I can only change me. And I've tried to do that. And I'm sorry.

I don't ask for forgiveness because I don't have the right to ask you for forgiveness. I want you to know that I am as sorry as I can be. If I could undo it, I would. I'd rather have died in Vietnam of a horrible, disgraceful death than be in here in prison for killing those two young people. James, I appreciate your time.

I hope that you find peace. I have peace in Jesus Christ.

On the next episode of Voices of a Killer.

It was bad. I wasn't in my right frame of mind. What was that encounter like when you saw each other after you just hit his wife like that? I didn't want to leave no witness. It happened so quick, Toby, like a flash. I can't believe I done what I did.

They ended up getting you to confess to it? Who's that? Just, people. The victim's family? Yeah. Y'all are in contact with each other? Yes.

That's a wrap on this episode of Voices of a Killer. I want to thank James for bravely sharing his story with us today. Through honest conversations like this one, we can learn more about complex human behavior and our capacity to grow and change. If you would like to listen to the raw recordings of these interviews, you can visit patreon.com/voices of a killer.

By becoming a patron, you can access not only this, but hours of bonus recordings, correspondence, and you can contribute to the way the show is produced. A big shout out to Sonic Futures who handle the production, audio editing, music licensing, and promotion of this podcast. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, make sure to visit our website at voicesofakiller.com.

There you can find previous episodes, transcripts, and additional information about the podcast. Lastly, if you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Your feedback helps us improve and reach new listeners. Thank you for your support and we can't wait to share more stories with you in the future. Thank you for tuning in. I'm your host Toby and we'll see you next time on Voices of a Killer.