Research Paper On Matthew Heikkila

On January 29, 1991, a vile crime occurred in the Heikkila home in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Twenty-year-old Matthew Heikkila, the adopted son of Richard and Dawn Heikkila loaded up a “sawed-off 20-gauge shotgun” (Sullivan). He labeled shotgun shells “Mom” and “Dad”, and shot his parents both in the head. Matthew plotted the murder to get the chance to steal his parent’s credit cards, and treat his girlfriend to a birthday dinner. Matthew then left his parent’s dead bodies on the floor of his home and he and his girlfriend enjoyed a night in NYC. After dinner, the couple drove back to Matthew’s house so he could show his girlfriend her birthday “gift”. The gift was his parent’s dead bodies. Many assumed that he had intentions of killing her

He was charged with 2 counts of murder and for kidnapping his girlfriend and keeping her hostage. This was not the young man’s first brush with violence. Previous behaviors led many to believe that Matthew was mentally ill and very capable of killing his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Heikkila thought differently. Less than a year before this crime, Matthew had threatened his father’s life and shot at him, but didn’t hit him. It was actions like this that should have been a red flag to the Heikkila’s, but they never picked up on

Merton’s theory says that “the problem is created not by sudden social change but by a social structure that holds out the same goals to all its members without giving everyone equal means to attain the goals.” This description accurately represents the way the Heikkila family home was run. The parents always treated their sons equally, when in truth, Matthew always struggled. Merton’s theory includes components that show just how different the two brothers were. Matthew continuously failed at things his brother excelled at such as high school academics, college, jobs and making money. This created an immense amount of jealousy and frustration. In the heat of the crime Matthew chose money as the goal he wished to attain. Unlike Joshua, money didn’t always come easy to Matthew and he chose an alternative means of attaining it. Merton’s Modes of Adaption categorizes each brother and explains how society had similar goals for them, but they chose different paths. Joshua the younger, more intelligent brother conformed to society’s goals and means for achieving. He graduated, went to Dartmouth and got a job. Joshua became an average citizen that abided by society’s rules, he conformed to what was expected of him. Matthew was not on that same path. Matthew was an innovator. Innovators are commonly a group of criminals. Often, they choose alternative/criminal means of attaining the goals that