OUT OF CONTROL?: LaVon Chisley (top) might have committed murder most foul. |
One of America’s longest-running sports-crime suspense stories may come to a close this week, as police are expected to arrest former Penn State defensive end LaVon Chisley in connection with the stabbing death of PSU senior Langston Carraway.Carraway was stabbed 93 times last June 5, in what appears to be a drug-related killing. Chisley, 23, was immediately labeled a “person of interest in the case,” prompting many to believe that the former defensive end’s arrest was imminent. But not until this week was a warrant for first- and third-degree murder charges issued.
According to news reports, the warrant states there’s evidence that Chisely tried to leave town the morning after the murder; reports also claim that DNA evidence at the scene links him to the killing — not blood evidence, but “strong” evidence, according to a county prosecutor involved with the case.
Chisley has had an underwhelming career at PSU as a rotation D-lineman who missed the 2005 season due to academic ineligibility. He was part of a star-crossed seven that included end Ed Johnson (temporarily expelled for sexual misconduct and confining a student against her will), tackle Scott Paxson (involved in an off-field incident in which he was caught firing arrows at a dorm wall), and middle linebacker Dan Connor (suspended from the team for making prank calls).
Chisley was arrested on drug charges in June and jailed through October, but released when it was discovered that he had moved out of a residence prior to a police search that uncovered drug paraphernalia. Police are currently examining his financial records and apparently seizing records of his debts to his lawyer Karen Muir.
Obviously one has to let justice take its course here, but stabbing someone 93 times can’t possibly score anything less than a 99 on the sports-crime scale. It’s not a 100, only because it’s not quite as grisly and morally abhorrent as the Rae Carruth murder. This one will have to be watched closely, particularly since it seems to have been ignored by the national sports media, perhaps because Chisley wasn’t that good a player.
Two future QBs under fire
Out with the old, in with the new. This is the time of year when recent college football stars declare for the NFL draft, in many cases giving campus fans their first chances to review possible replacements for the departing studs. At LSU, for instance, star QB and possible first pick in the next NFL draft JaMarcus Russell announced his intention to move on — leaving Tiger fans to wonder who might fill his shoes.
One of the candidates for that job was Ryan Perrilloux, a scholarship quarterback on the LSU squad. But Perrilloux’s career may be in jeopardy, as news reports have indicated that the 20-year-old former star of East St. John High School is now the target of a Secret Service investigation, apparently for counterfeiting offenses.
Perrilloux was seen coming out of the offices of Baton Rouge defense attorney Nathan Fisher late last week. Fisher said little about the case, but did say that Perrilloux was being investigated along with two of his friends.
