Dave Iannicca (Destructor) Petition

[Oliver/Keep-It-True]

<a href='http://www.petitiononline.com/iannicca/petition.html' target='_blank'>http://www.petitiononline.com/iannicca/petition.html</a>

Hello!

Here is a link to an on line petition to keep the murderer of my friend and former bass player of Destructor Dave Iannicca in prison. Anyone who remembers this incident knows what a devastating effect it had on me personally, along with many other friends, family and loved ones. Dave's father passed away shortly after as a direct result of his son's murder so two lives were lost, not just one. Robert Bedzyk was convicted and sentenced to life in prison but is eligible for parole in May. I volunteered to help the Iannicca family. They are a very close, large Italian family who still love and miss Dave very much. Unfortunately, they will have to relive this entire incident again to fight to keep Bedzyk off the streets. It is not going to be easy for them.

Dave's two sisters, Pam and Sue, are leading the organized effort. The statement on the petition was written by them. They are going to present all of these signatures at the parole board hearing. Your e-mail addresses will not be posted, nor will Bedzyk see the petition. It is only for the Ohio Parole Board to view. I am hoping a strong showing of support from the heavy metal community will have impact on at the parole hearing. Even for people who did not know Dave personally like I did, the music he created in Destructor touched a lot of people all around the world. He played and contributed song writing on their now classic "Maximum Destruction" album that was released on my Auburn label in 1985. We were in the studio recording our major label debut, "Decibel Casualties", at the time this tragedy happened. Dave had just gotten engaged to his girlfriend Rita on Christmas Eve. The band was celebrating both the engagement and the major label record deal with a small private party at their practice spot in Euclid for New Year's Eve. I was supposed to be there too but did not make it over in time because another family event I was attending ran late. Bedzyk, a stranger, crashed the party after wandering in from a bar down the street. He was bothering the guests and refused to leave. Dave, always the peacemaker, went up to him in the parking lot with open arms trying to reason with him to just leave and that no one wanted any trouble. Bedzyk had a long knife hidden behind him and stabbed Dave directly threw the heart. He tried running away but was caught down the street and held until the police arrived. Dave never made it out of the parking lot alive. He bled to death minutes later with the band and Rita by this side. It left a lasting impression on everyone involved. I will never forget the phone call I received from Dave Just shortly after it happened. It was one of the saddest moments ever in my life.

Both the band and my Auburn label had a very difficult time continuing after the incident. We went on hiatus for a while because we needed time to recover. The outpouring of support from the entire Cleveland metal community at the time was overwhelming. We need this same kind of support now to keep this murderer in prison. Please help spread the word for the Iannicca family. This would really mean a lot to them.

Thank you,

Bill Peters

P.S. I will have a banner on my website and MySpace page linking directly to the petition. If anyone wants to add the banner to their site, I can forward you the artwork or you can copy it from the site. It was designed by our good friend Chris Aiken. Thank you Chris!

[Oliver/Keep-It-True]

(X) done

[MetalHart]

(x) Done

Ich hab mir das erst in Ruhe durchgelesen aber wenn auch nur die Hälfte der gegen den Täter in's Feld geführten Argumente zutrifft dann hat er es verdient weiter zu sitzen.

[Moppes]

(x) Done

[morpheus_ahrm]

na, viel Resonanz kommt hier ja nicht. Ich hab mich gleich registrieren lassen, als das Mail von Bill kam.

Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, dass diese Petition irgendwas bewegen wird. Auch gebe ich zu, dass man als Aussenstehender bei solchen Sachen schon vorsichtig sein soll, da man sich ja kein echtes Urteil bilden kann, auf Grund mangelnder und einseitiger Infos.

Aber - In union we stand. Ich glaube, dass es Bill und der Familie einfach gut tun würde zu sehen, dass Dave nicht vergessen ist und Spuren in seinem Leben hinterlassen hat und die Metal fans ihn und seine Musik nicht vergessen haben.

[KuttenBjuf]

Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, dass diese Petition irgendwas bewegen wird. Auch gebe ich zu, dass man als Aussenstehender bei solchen Sachen schon vorsichtig sein soll, da man sich ja kein echtes Urteil bilden kann, auf Grund mangelnder und einseitiger Infos.

So siehts nämlich aus
Ist nicht meine Aufgabe da Stellung zu beziehen.

[MetalHart]

Für die endgültige Beurteilung der Situation gibt es ja auch die Bewährungskommission die entscheidet, ob der Kerl freikommt oder nicht. Für meine Unterschrift entscheidend war die Information, daß der Täter nicht bereit war, an Güteterminen mit der Familie teilzunehmen. Wer nicht in der Lage ist zu bereuen und sich seiner Verantwortung zu stellen hat auch keine Rücksicht verdient.

[johnarch]

Ich urteile trotzdem ungern über Fälle, über die ich nichts genaues weiss.

[Franko]

DESTRUCTOR Bass Player's Murderer Denied Parole

Robert Bedzyk, Jr., who was convicted of murdering DESTRUCTOR bass player Dave Iannicca 21 years ago, was denied parole by the Ohio Parole Board in a decision rendered on July 14, 2009. His next parole hearing has been scheduled for November 2012.

A petition drive supported by the international heavy metal community to deny parole for Bedzyk generated 4,271 signatures. These signatures were submitted to the parole board for consideration before reviewing the case.

Iannicca played on and contributed songwriting to DESTRUCTOR's underground classic "Maximum Destruction" album, released by Auburn Records in 1985. The band was in the studio recording the follow-up effort and major label debut, "Decibel Casualties", for Island/Auburn Records when the tragedy happened.

Iannicca had just gotten engaged to his girlfriend on Christmas Eve. The band was celebrating both the engagement and their major label deal with a small private party at their practice spot for New Year's Eve. Bedzyk, a stranger, crashed the party after wandering in from a bar down the street. He began bothering the guests and refused to leave. After finally persuading Bedzyk out of the building, the band noticed he was still lingering outside. They were worried about any further trouble or damage to where they leased their practice spot from. Iannicca, always a peacemaker, approached him in the parking lot with open arms again asking him to just leave and that no one wanted any trouble. Bedzyk had a long knife hidden behind him and suddenly stabbed Iannicca directly through the heart, cutting it in two. He tried running away but was caught down the street and held until the police arrived. Iannicca never made it out of the parking lot alive. He bled to death minutes later with the band and his fiancée by his side.

Both the band and Auburn Records' Bill Peters, who had a very close friendship with Iannicca, had a difficult time continuing after the incident. It took several years to recover and both went on a temporary hiatus. After several bass players did not work out, DESTRUCTOR eventually connected with bass player Jamie Walters (MIDNIGHT, ex-BOULDER). They have gone on to record several more albums for Auburn and travel to Europe on a regular basis. Last year the Cleveland-based thrash band performed at both the Wacken Open Air and Headbangers Open Air festivals in Germany.

"Dave was a very close personal friend of mine", says Bill Peters. "I wish he could have been there with us to experience all of the recordings and tours we have done since his passing. We often talked about how great it would be to do things like playing overseas. The band's dream came true but it was without Dave. This tragic loss affected so many people."

Iannicca's father passed away shortly thereafter, due indirectly to the stress of having to deal with his son's death. Ianicca's surviving mother, two brothers and five sisters have had a difficult time coping with the losses.

"My brother was very special to me from the minute he was born", says Pam Iannicca. "We bonded at an early age and I vowed I would always be there for him. We were very close growing up. I supported him with the band. David had such a bright future. All of his hard work he had put into music was finally paying off and then to have this happen? During the holidays, I had asked David if he had made a resolution for the new year and he said he hadn't but did have one wish instead. He said 'I just want everyone to be happy'. He was such a selfless, quiet, humble kind of person. He promised me a black limousine ride to his first big concert after the new album came out but instead a black limousine ended up taking me to the cemetery. I lost my brother and my father. "