Murderer Jed Waits Leaves Behind Graphic Novel

Jed Waits, killed in a shootout with police after murdering special ed teacher Jennifer Paulson, left behind a disturbing graphic novel.

Jennifer Paulson, 30, was a special eduction teacher at an elementary school in Tacoma, Washington. She was also the victim of obsessive stalking by Jed Waits, who had been stalking her on and off since they worked together in a cafeteria in college. Until the spring of 2008, the obsession seemed to kick in only once a year, when Waits would call Paulsonten or fifteen times in a single day.

Then, in 2008, Waits tracked Paulson to the school where she worked, and began showing up, sending flowers and stuffed animals, and watching her from the parking lot. Calls to his commanding officers in the National Guard, which eventually contributed to his discharge, did not stop the stalking, and neither did a 2008 court order.

Just recently, Paulson had Waits arrested for violating the order, but as soon as he was released from jail, she began trying to avoid her own home and other places where he could find her, sensing she was in trouble. Her fears were justified, as Waits shot her repeatedly, killing her, as she walked into work on Friday morning.

This story is unfortunately not all that unusual in today’s world, except for one point of interest. Instead of a written manifesto, website rantings, or creepy videos, Waits left behind a different record of his psychosis – a graphic novel. The book called A Captain’s Tale, is online right now, still available for order. It can be viewed here: http://www.zygotecomics.com/ . We have to assume, however, that Waits, who is currently dead, will not be filling any online orders.

The website, crude in design, offers a chilling look into the obsessed mind of a killer. The About The Author section contains the following description:

The journey of one lone wanderer…the story of a new century!

Raised
an only child borne into this desolate wilderness, Jed Waits has
traversed the globe in search of wisdom and elusive insight. Pen in
hand and notebook by his side, our intrepid author has set out to
explore vast, uncharted realms within the world of the graphic novel.

A
published cartoonist and author, Jed Waits has found his calling
through his artwork, combining both illustration and words into a
graphic novel format.

This is currently his second online graphic novel.

The site also contains a blog, which begins the month after the first harassment charges were filed, resulting in the court order against Waits:

Tuesday, Nov 03, 2009

Day 10
We find ourselves travelling through a narrow tunnel…yet another entrance is revealed…a labyrinth into the very heart of this forbidden place…

– Jed Waits. 11:06:15 PM

Sunday, Nov 01, 2009

Day 9
A Gateway is revealed…an entrance into a new dimension…what lies beyond these doors? What compels our curiosity? Who established this place? We are captivated by the remnants of a lost culture…a world apart from time…this is the Point of No Return…

– Jed Waits. 8:03:54 PM

Thursday, Oct 29, 2009

Day 8
A virtual moonscape lays before us as we venture further into this alien realm, complete with jagged saw-tooth rocks towering like ominous souls…a lifeless realm not fit for human habitation…a sanctum preserved in infinite history…

– Jed Waits. 8:32:35 PM

Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009

Day 7
An island once teeming with life, now empty…Mystery encapsulates this place…Who were these people? How did they conduct their lives? What stories did they tell? What caused their disappearance? Such questions surface as we begin to explore this place…a riddle wrapped in time…

– Jed Waits. 10:37:31 PM

Sunday, Oct 18, 2009

Day 2
Our story begins – appropriately enough – on the high seas, where our fearless captain is aboard his ship, surveying the horizon. What new adventures lie ahead? What does the future hold? Such questions surface as we, the reader, begin our journey…"Home Away from Home"…

– Jed Waits. 10:48:02 PM

Saturday, Oct 17, 2009

Day 1

When I set out to create "A Captain’s Tale," I wanted it to be an adventure story narrated from the point of view of our heroic captain. Each page throughout the story is different, compelling the reader to see what’s next. Along the journey, our narrator captain encounters various seemingly-insurmountable obstacles in his relentless pursuit of truth. Each page is a doorway to the next, allowing our fearless reader to enter further to discover what lies ahead…

– Jed Waits. 11:31:21 PM