Metal group Slayer will once again face allegations that their music was partially responsible for the murder of a 15 year-old girl in 1995. In January, San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Burke ruled that the attorneys for the slain girl’s family failed to present sufficient evidence to warrant a trial. Allen Hutkin the attorney representing the parents of the 15 year-old victim, Elyse Pahler, filed a third amended complaint last Friday (March 23rd) in hopes of bringing the case to trial. 

When Judge Burke ruled on the last complaint in January he gave the family’s attorneys 60 days to file an amended complaint that provides sufficient evidence that Slayer’s music was responsible for the murder. 

The lawsuit accuses Slayer, their record label Sony Music, and others associated with the band, including producer Rick Rubin, of intentionally marketing death metal to minors. According to MTVonline,  Hutkin claims he is not out to censor Slayer or their music but wants to stop it’s marketing to minors; “It's the same thing as an X-rated movie: You can still make X-rated movies, you just can't show it to kids." 

The 50 page amended complain contains new evidence that Hutkin believes will help their case, including material from a study conducted by the Federal Trade Commission in 2000 that details the marketing practices of the Music, Film and Video gaming industries. 

When they were arrested, the three teenage boys who committed the murder, Royce Casey, Jacob Delashmutt and Joseph Fiorella, claimed that they were following instructions from Slayer’s music because they believed it would give them the “power” and “craziness” to make their own death metal band successful. However, Jacob Delashmutt, one of the convicted killers recently told the Washington Post that the music had nothing to do with the murder, “ She was murdered because Joe [Fiorella (one of the other convicted murders)] was obsessed with her, and obsessed with killing her."

Slayer has not commented to the press about the amended complaint. They have 30 days to submit an official response to the court challenging the plaintiff’s claims. The band is currently working on their next album and will tour North America this summer with Pantera, Morbid Angel, Skrape and Static-X. 
 

Related items on antiMUSIC - Rantitorial: Can Music Kill  - PanteraFest to feature Slayer and Static-X.

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