by NC WANTED Staff

Posted: Dec 5, 2008
Updated: Dec 8, 2008

WAKE COUNTY — A parent of an Apex High School student has contacted NC WANTED to express concerns that Matthew Silliman's killers may have been inspired by controversial material being taught at Apex High School.

Sensitive information in the tip has been passed along to investigators working on the Silliman murder case.

"All the kids are upset about this. My daughter has been crying and crying and going over and over this in her head," the parent said. 

The parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said her daughter and other students at Apex High School have been studying the book "Killing Mr. Griffin" and learning about psychopaths in their English class.

The parent believes that two of the four students accused of killing Silliman, Allegra Dahlquist and Aadil Khan, may have taken the class.. 

"I think it may have planted thoughts in the kids minds," the parent said.  "It just all fits.  I'm wondering if they read this book, and played it out.  There was a love triangle, a kidnapping and the villain who set fires, like the two fires that were recently set at Apex High School."

The parent asserted that one of the accused killers, Ryan Hare, had been dating Dahlquist, and had become furious with Silliman for his romantic interest in Dahlquist.

"Killing Mr. Griffin" is a novel by Lois Duncan, author of "I Know What You Did Last Summer," which was adapted into a horror-suspense film shot in Wilmington.

The book's story is about a teenage psychopath who convinces fellow high school students to kidnap their teacher, Mr. Griffin, and take him to a remote cabin for a torture session that leads to murder.

In a biography about the author, "Killing Mr. Griffin" was described as "the most controversial and frequently banned of Lois Duncan's books." 

NC WANTED obtained copies of the course study material that, according to the parent, had been created and distributed by Betty Brown, a member of the English Faculty at Apex High School.

NC WANTED spoke with Ms. Brown briefly Friday afternoon. She said she had no comment on the matter and hung up.

Brown's course material included study questions titled "Characteristics of a Psychopath," which asked students to consider seven traits of a psychopath, including  "Absence of Conscience," "Shattered Interpersonal Relations," and "Inadequately Motivated Behavior." 

Another trait on the list - "Emotional Poverty" - was defined in the handout as "the ability to feel deep emotions, but no ability to feel deep emotional attachments;  grief, pity and sympathy are not shown to victims."

The parent providing this information was afraid to be named out of fear of retaliation from "jugalos" and others at Apex High School.

In a WRAL News report, "jugalos" denotes a fan of the hip-hop group Insane Clown Posse, but was described by friends of Sillman as "a state of mind," and belief in the Dark Carnival, a fictional theme in the group's albums. 

Some have described the "jugalos" as a group of non-violent outcasts.  There have been conflicting reports as to whether the accused killers were "jugalos" or "goths" or a hybrid of the two.

The four teens charged with the killing in the case are: Allegra Rose Dahlquist, 17, of 601 Walcott Way, Cary; Ryan Patrick Hare, 18; of 100 Walnut Hill Court, Apex; Aadil Shahid Khan, 17, of 901 Bristol Blue St., Apex; and Drew Logan Shaw, 16, of 107 Woolard Way, Apex.

Court records indicate Hare was charged on February 21, 2008 with having weapons on school property

Shaw and Hare are reported to be students at Panther Creek High School in Cary, while Dahlquist and Khan are students at Apex High School.

"It's my child I'm worried about.  She's so stressed out.  But I have to remind her that those four kids are in jail and they're in trouble," the parent said.

If you have information on this case, call NC WANTED toll free at 1.866.43.WANTED (1.866.439.2683) or click on "Report a Tip" Your identity can be kept confidential.