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TwitThisAttempted Murder
An hour after sunrise on April 21, 2004, Jim Eickhoff turned into his long, concrete driveway. He, Stephanie and the kids had been away for a night of fun and relaxation. They'd stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge, a hotel and spa with an indoor water park in Kansas City. Jim had dropped Ashley off at school about 15 minutes earlier.On the front porch, he found a package wrapped in brown paper and masking tape. The parcel had been sent from Lenexa, the neighboring town, addressed to "James and Stephanie Eickhoff and Family." Inside were a box of glazed doughnuts, a Bavarian-cream coffeecake and a two-liter bottle of Vess root beer.
There was also an unsigned card congratulating Stephanie on being elected mayor. Jim immediately suspected something was wrong. Stephanie had been mayor for more than a year. Why would anyone be sending congratulations now?
Looking closer, he could see that the seal on the soda bottle had been broken and it had a slightly green tinge. He called Stephanie, who was still at the Lodge. "A strange package came in the mail," he told her. "Don't touch it. Don't even go inside the house. Call the police and have them meet you here."
An hour later, Stephanie arrived, followed by two police officers. They took one look at the contents and removed them to send to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) for testing. A couple of days later, investigating officer Alvin Doty phoned. "We have reason to believe that this was an attempt on your life," he said. "Perhaps you should leave your house until we get this straightened out."
The Eickhoffs spent the next six weeks staying with friends and relatives. They returned home in mid-June determined to stand their ground . "This is our home," says Stephanie. "Running is a bad message to send your kids."
In the meantime, the KBI determined that the doughnuts and soda contained lethal amounts of lye and antifreeze. The Edwardsville police found evidence in Ozuna's garbage linking her to the package contents. And a postal worker in Lenexa identified her as the sender.
On July 1, police arrested Ozuna and husband Ralph for attempted first degree murder. The two made bail and were released. They held a news conference on the steps of the Wyandotte County courthouse proclaiming their innocence and again accusing the Eickhoffs of racially motivated harassment. Ozuna insisted that she and her family had always minded their own business and had never bothered their neighbors.
From July until March, the couple was free on bail, living across the street from the Eickhoffs. Then on March 31, 20 0 5, someone reported to the police that Ozuna had once again threatened the Eickhoffs. A judge ordered her back to jail.
Trial was set for July 25, then postponed until September 19. Facing up to 20 years in prison, Donna Ozuna pleaded to two lesser felony counts of criminal threat. Her husband, who faced up to 16 years, pleaded to one misdemeanor count of assault. Ozuna received 18 months probation, her husband six months. They had moved from Edwardsville and were ordered to stay out of town.
Plea bargaining seems outrageous to many citizens, but often offers a means to expedite the judicial process, get quicker relief for the plaintiffs and reduced terms for the accused . Though people in their neighborhood feel Ozuna got off easy, Stephanie and Jim Eickhoff are thrilled that they got their lives back -- that their children can go outside to play and go to school without fear, that their neighborhood is peaceful and friendly once again.
Bonnie Jacobson, a clinical psychologist and adjunct professor at New York University, says that feuding behavior is common among people with fragile personalities. "They feel easily invalidated and react with rage at the smallest infraction. So if a person crosses a boundary into their 'territory,' it's not like a tap on the shoulder; it's like a punch in the back. If a family member doesn't side with them, they feel betrayed. Trying to make peace with them often doesn't work, because it makes them feel justified, and their behavior escalates. You have to be firm and tell them, 'That's over the line.' "
Sitting in her living room with the wistful sound of a freight train passing west down the Union Pacific line, Stephanie Eickhoff shudders at the prospect of what could have happened if the children had somehow come home first that day. If they had unsuspectingly opened the package and eaten the doughnuts and taken a drink.
With her family's ordeal behind her, Stephanie Eickhoff can begin to relax in her home again. And at last report, Donna Ozuna has moved on to another neighborhood in Kansas.
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