By David Lohr

(Continued)

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During questioning, Pitts admitted to picking Amanda up, and allegedly told investigators that they drove to Edgewater Park and smoked marijuana cigarettes while walking the nature trails. After getting high, Pitts said he pulled out the jack handle, an item he told detectives he was carrying for "protection," and struck Amanda in the back of the head. He then threw her body down an embankment next to the river. Afterwards, Pitts drove back to his apartment and told some of the details to his girlfriend, 20-year-old Barbara Howard. Pitts and Howard then went to the park to check on Amanda. Shortly thereafter, Pitts called 911 and reported finding the body.

Jesse Pitts

Pitts has a profile on the popular social networking website, MySpace. In it, he said he was working on going to college so he could get an associate's degree in criminal law. He listed some of his favorite television shows as CSI, and Law and Order. He said he enjoyed those shows because he likes "to stay smarter than the law." In light of his current situation, it would appear as though he missed an episode or two.

On Sunday, a MySpace user by the name of Amanda Nicole Burns eloquently summed up many people's thoughts when she left the following unedited comment on Pitts' page:

"How the f—k u going to kill my friend? ur f—ked up in the head. I have known u for 6 yrs and u just did not seem like that, but I know now to watch myself and my kid around people for the rest of my life. ur a sick f—king bastard and u will go to hell for this u dumb f—k. She had so much ahead of her, why did u have to kill her? She was f—king 14 and wouldn't f—k u so u kill her. ur sick dude. They need to kill u the same f—king way u did her. Now ur kid will know u as a killer and not his father. I wish u would die. ur sick. She deserved to live as much as u did."

Pitts is being held without bond in the Madison County Jail. According to police, he has given several conflicting statements to investigators, including one version in which he "accidentally" struck Amanda with the jack handle, a claim police consider absurd.

Contact David Lohr  at           crimewriter74@adelphia.net

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