------ ENTRY ------
Date: 2015-06-03
Words: 827
Minutes: 19
I have absolutely no idea what brings me to this thought whatsoever, but at this current time, I am engrossed with it. Chip Mize. The man that stole my childhood. Not for the reasons you think. There was no rape or incest or molestation involved. I really didn't even know the man personally. I had a relatively happy childhood. But I say he stole my childhood because he rocked what it meant to be a child. I was 12 when he committed his unspeakable act. He was 23. He turned my world on its head. There comes a point in every child's life where they realize that the world is not a good place to live. It takes some children longer to get to this realization. Because my family was not religious at all, God did not exist. So this has nothing to do with the presense of God. But I was raised in a family where I trusted people. I was fortunate to grow up with two loving parents, a (realtively) normal brother, and a supportive community of friends from various activities around Atlanta. I was a suburban pre-teen. One of my favorite places in the city was Tucker Recreation Center. I went to summer day camp here every summer from the time I was 5 to the time I was 16. They even gave me my first job when I graduated high school and this is where I realized I had a passion for early childhood education and working with children. But that's besides the point. What happened on that day in 1994? I will remember it like it was yesterday. Which is ironic because I don't remember yesterday at all. I hate when people say that. My best friend at the time, Anne Schipani, told me that she had some disturbing news. I didn't know what disturbing news was. (I told you I'd lived a charmed life up until this point!)
Anne told me that someone we know had done something awful. OK. I had no idea what to do with this information. Her face was so pale, and she didn't continue until I wouldn't go away. I didn't press her for details, but she evenutally let out that her mom had read something horrible about the karate instructor at Tucker Rec Center. I didn't really know the man, but I knew of him. He was a camp counselor, and he was in my room at camp. I had gone to Six Flags with him, and he had led some intense soccer games. I wasn't a student of Karate, but I knew kids who were and loved him. He was so fun! Anne continued to tell me of this article her mom had read. It said that Chip was a murder suspect. He had killed his dad and stabbed is mom a number of times. I went silent. I don't remember what I thought or said after that point. Knowing what I know now about psychology, I went through all the stages of grief. First was denial: no way. Not Chip. Not the guy that was so friendly all the time and let all of the girls hang all over him at the pool. Then came anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Or whatever order those come in. I may or may not have made a C in Psychology 101 sophomore year of college.
I don't know when I accepted this. I don't know if I ever did. I don't know even what makes me think about this now. But I do know that this was the exact point in time that I went from being a carefree child to one that doubted the existence of good in the world. This was the exact event that made me believe that people did evil things. And it rocked my world entirely. He was an adult I trusted. And though he never did anything to me, I was in shock that someone could do that....before now, in my pleasant little town of Decatur, GA (and my small smiley elementary school) no one ever had. I still have a hard time trusting people, and it's not all because of Chip. This event happened before the advent of the Internet (the Internet was to come ten years later) so it left a lot of children and adults with a lot of unanswered questions....) and I have recently learned way more about this case that I will share in later posts with you, but upon thinking about it now, I definitely know more than I ever cared to know. Ah, internet, you never cease to disappoint that way. I will share those details and my thoughts probably in a future post. But until then, do you remember the exact point when you lost your childhood innocence? When you began to question authority and everything you'd been told? What did that feel like? What would you tell your childhood self today?
19 comments:
Again, I don’t know who you are but quite frankly this is none of your business. This Is a private family matter and you are NOT family. I’m not sure what type of crazy you have to be to claim someone’s actions destroyed part of your life when you BARELY know a person. This matter is a very sensitive subject for my family! I understand writing may be your therapy, but this is honestly inappropriate to post on the internet when you have no connection whatsoever and have no clue as to the details of what really happened? Thank you for listing my family member’s name next to molestation and incest! Just fabulous! Thanks for ruining my adulthood!! LMAO
Thank you for having the bravery to speak up about this. Coach Myles Dash Chuck Dash molested me and actually raped me well I was just 16. I was in his homeroom and biology classes during my sophomore and junior years and he pretended that he was my best friend well I was going through some difficult family matters. It culminated in him molesting me in the back of his biology classroom the day after school got out my junior year and then insisting that I meet him at Emery shopping center which I did because I didn’t know how to refuse. This is where he raped me. When he found out that I was a virgin before this – before this rape thank you for having the bravery to speak up about this. Coach mise Dash Chuck Dash molested me and actually raped me while I was just 16. I was in his homeroom and biology classes during my sophomore and junior years and he pretended that he was my best friend while I was going through some difficult family matters. It culminated in him molesting me in the back of his biology classroom the day after school got out my junior year and then insisting that I meet him at Emory shopping center which I did because I didn’t know how to refuse. This is where he raped me. When he found out that I was a virgin before this Dash before this rape Dash - coach Myles got very very angry at me and he drop me off just a bit of for my home at 2895 Dunnings and Circle in Chamblee. My parents read my diary and they discovered what was going on. They went to the principal of Henderson high school and this is why Coach Myles was transferred to another school during the summer of my junior year, 1982. I never received any help and I haven’t spoken about this until now. I know I’m finishing a masters degree in clinical psychology and I am a legally certified domestic violence advocate – partially and probably largely because of what I went through as a young teenager . Coach Myers was a predator and I’m certain this had something to do with his son chip attacking him.
I was using voice recognition software to write this so obviously there are some typos. I want to make it clear – very very clear – that I am speaking about coach mice at Henderson high school between 1980 to 1982. He was a groomer, and Lester, and a rapist.
Coach Charles “Chuck” - Mize
I’m so glad you are using the internet to slander a dead man’s name and reputation. Clearly, only someone illiterate and completely juvenile mentally would repeat themselves and continue on with horrible grammar to speak about their profound experience of overcoming a “hardship.” If you’re going to use the internet for sympathy, maybe you should learn to type and come up with a better story. “Victims” always speak up when the other person cannot defend their innocence. Isn’t that funny?
I was recalling a hit on the head (open electrical panel door I did not see) which reminded me of Chip Mize. My girls took gymnastics at the Tucker Rec center when Chip attacked his parents. He had always been so kind and cheerful, gave me something that evening for a bleeding head, and it was total disbelief that he lost it enough to attack his parents. But who knew about his home life, whether it was tranquil or intolerable? Anyway, occasionally I wonder if he is still jailed, how his life has turned out. And why good people do bad things.
It’s interesting that you say you remember this day like it was yesterday, but your facts are incorrect. First of all, it was May 1993... not 1994. Second of all, Chip was 24... not 23. There is a lot more to the story than what the papers & media ever said.
I knew coach mize. He was my teacher at Stone mountain high school. He was one of the fairest teachers I had during high school. I was class of 89 so I had already graduated when I heard about his death. At the time I thought wow how could a son so this to his parents... My son was born in 2000. I raised him as a single mom. When he was 14 he fell in with let's just say not the best crowd... We loved in a really small Town so there wasn't any type of activities for youth. By the time he was 15 he had been arrested for vandalism of school property, had been sent to the youth detention center and was on probation. He then became so angry at myself and the world. He told me many times he was going to kill me while I was asleep. He even tried to choke me in front of his probation officer. Everytime he became this way I thought of Coach Mize and of chip.
Now my son is turning 20 and has completely turned his life around. Yes he quit school when he turned 18. Working on his ged. Has a full time job. He is still angry at the world and will not speak to me. But I know it's nothing I personally did wrong other than raise him on my own while working full time. So many factors can contribute to the actions of our children. We will never know what factored into chips actions. And no I will never understand how a child or anyone could do that to anyone. I'm honestly lucky I didn't suffer the same fate by the hands of my son. It is very hard not to want to judge the actions of our children. I know the world is a lot different now than it was in the early 70s when I was born. All I want to do is pray for individuals like chip and my son. I do wonder at times if it really is something is as parents did that pushes or children to that point...
Coach Mize was absolutely a predatory child molester. He used his position as a teacher and as celebrated coach to gain access to teenage girls. He used his position as a teacher and as celebrated coach to gain access to teenage girls. I know because I was one of those girls. I also have personal knowledge that I was not the only one but that they were many of us. I was only 16 years old when he convinced me that he “loved” me and ultimately, he raped me and then discarded me when he found out that I was a virgin before that. I will offer a hint here – at that time he grove a dark green Pinto, he used to love to wear his baseball hats backwards, and he had aviator-like sunglasses, and he thought he was a real true stud. Now how would I even know that if I hadn’t been with him outside of the classroom environment? Now how would I even know that if I hadn’t been with him outside of the classroom environment? I have often wondered what was going on and Coach Mize’s home that would cause Chip – this biological child of his and his only son - to attack him the way that he did. I have often wondered, was Chip perhaps angry-over-the-edge because Coach Mize was also molesting his little sister? I realize that I will never know the answer to this question, but I am a licensed therapist today and I deeply know that traumatized people act in traumatic ways. Hurt people hurt people.
Coach Mize had a huge reputation at Henderson High School when I was there for beingTHAT COACH – this was 1980 to 1983. The only reason I ultimately found out what happened to him was I was trying to track him down so that I could personally confront him after so many years for what he did to me and try to get some closure - even an apology maybe.
That obviously turned out to be impossible, and today I just pray for his family. I pray for Chip.
Trust me, there is far more to this story than the media has ever known.
I am absolutely astounded that a dim-sided, illiterate, would comment such slandering words on a post on somebody’s blog. I hope you were smart enough to block your IP address because these words are incriminating due to the slander they hold. I will track you down and file charges against you if I find out who you are. I am completely dumbfounded. Someone is dead and someone has been in prison for life. Have you thought about their family? They lost two people that day. The last thing they need is someone on the internet speculating about the worst day of their lives with incorrect information. You can absolutely go to Hell. People who tell lies like these absolutely deserve a special place there.
Wow, I am sorry to hear such anger in you. I completely spoke the truth. I did so because I think it’s high time someone does.
And I never meant to speculate. I was speaking about my own personal experience with Coach Mize.
If you do a Georgia inmate search on Charles Mize you will see that he has been transferred to the Atlanta Transitional Center. It looks like he may be getting close to the end of his incarceration.
Charles Ross Mize, Jr was released from prison on 02/05/2021 and is on parole. He lives in Flowery Branch in Hall County.
Dear Rose,
It was stunning to read other comments about the bubble of goodness that some people felt being around Chip Mize. That goodness is what made the savagery of his behavior so stunning.
Our sons were the beneficiaries of Chip's goodness. Chip recognized the frustrations of our older son and went out of his way to invite him into the Karate classes he was teaching. I even befriended Chip and was offering him software assistance.
Then "the event" happened.
I realize that "Unknown in March 28, 2019 at 12:22 AM" may be offended and not realize that some horrible events can happen in front of you and you will not see or realize them. But the story that "Unknown in June 9, 2019 at 8:25 PM" makes sense and has enough detail to seem credible.
The rage Chip exhibited had an origin. He apparently had flunked out of Georgia State but had not told his parents. Their shock and hostility was to be expected, but it did not seem to justify his emotional and violent response. He was skilled enough in Karate to have killed them both with his bare hands if he had wanted to, but the knife killing his father had a Freudian element to it. And if his father was defending his mother from Chip, then once his father was dead he could have continued and killed his mother.
Being a State-winning football coach has Authoritarian elements to it and a sense of privilege. The possibility of Coach Mize abusing that privilege, and hiding it, much like Chip hiding his dropping out of college, seems very real.
The "lesson" I learned was to treat our sons with respect and to NOT further traumatize them with their failures. I owe a debt of gratitude to Chip for that role model as to what NOT to do as a parent.
I am pleased that he is out of jail and on probation.
Thank you for your postings, and my apologies to the "Anonymous of June 12, 2019 at 11:21 PM" and "May 7, 2020 at 7:44 AM" person who claimed that the claimed horrible behavior by Coach Mize did not happen. While the Coach's behavior may be horrifying, it makes sense as to the emotions of the circumstance.
interesting. I went to a different HS in Dekalb and remember this story. It has always stuck with me a bit, along with that of the Tucker coach Venable where he had a violent thug break into his house before school and (iirc) killed him and his son that was trying to defend him. In general, I know that it was *very* common maybe up through the 1980s for coaches to fool around with and sleep with female students. At my high school, I don't think it ever reached the level of rape or anything like that. One coach married a girl that was a student (after she had graduated of course). For the Mize story, the media definitely said it was because he had flunked out of GA State (or quit going) but had been lying to his parents. I don't have any deep insight. It sounds like he paid his dues, he's probably not a threat to society, he did his time.
Dear Anonymous,
What Chip did was pure rage. If he really wanted to kill his parents he likely could have done it with Karate alone rather than use a knife.
And if he wanted to kill his mother, he easily could have done it once his father was dead.
It is far more likely that much of the truth was covered up to minimize the embarrassment to the family as well as to Chip.
What is stunning is the transition from someone that everyone liked and admired to someone with such a violent rage against his parents.
At least, I hope, he has had time to heal.
Chip quit GA state but continued to college tuition money from parents. They found out, confronted him and cut him off financially. Chip returned to the house after teaching a karate class. He fought and stabbed his father (chuck) until he locked himself in a bathroom. Chip then went out to the tool shed, grabbed an ax, and returned to the house where he broke down the bathroom door and finish chuck off with the ax. THEN he sat there and slashed at his mother while she begged for her life until she convinced him to call 911. How do I know all this? I was playing football for Coach Mize at the time, and they called all of us into the school theater to tell us everything before we would get it from the local news. You need to know these details if you are letting him enter act with your children. Chuck mize was found with his head almost Decapitated. His own mother wanted the death penalty. How he escaped getting it was and is a gross miss justice.
This is a follow-up to my previous comments. Especially the comment:
"The "lesson" I learned was to treat our sons with respect and to NOT further traumatize them with their failures. I owe a debt of gratitude to Chip for that role model as to what NOT to do as a parent.
I am pleased that he is out of jail and on probation."
Our older son was adopted. His blonde hair and hazel eyes was so good looking that I was afraid he might become a victim of someone else's jealousy.
But he struggled in middle school despite his intelligence and verbal skills. We had him take Karate with Chip as an emotional and physical outlet. Chip functioned as a big brother to him and our and our younger (biological) son.
Our older son also developed a fascination with guns, and had bought a pistol in the spring of his freshman high school year. He and his buddies would go target shooting in an abandoned field near our house after school. Except he took the pistol to school and another student snitched on him. He was caught and suspended from high school for a year (only!!!!!).
That was about a year after Chip murdered HIS father. I am NOT an authoritarian person. I realized that my relationship with our older son could have gone the same way as did Chip's and his father.
Our son continued to struggle in high school, but he did graduate high school. He struggled in college, but joined the Army Reserves as an outlet for his fascination with guns. Then 9/11 happened. His Army Reserve Unit was activated full time, and a year later he was in Northern Kuwait and Southern Iraq to fight the "bad guys" even though Saddam had little or nothing to do with the Saudi Arabian assault on the US.
Our son liked the military because it was "easier" than having to deal with classroom academics. Twenty years later he was a Sergeant First Class (E-7) working full time for the Georgia National Guard. Except, he missed the excitement and challenges of combat. And he also brought back "souvenirs" from his third tour in Afghanistan: a Bronze Star, numerous commendations, PTSD, a brain concussion, and a "drinking problem."
He had smoked weed in high school and stopped when he joined the Army. But alcohol is the accepted "drug of choice" in the military.
He had tried to hide his drinking from us, but the VA finally had him doing remote counseling via Zoom because there were no rooms available in their rehab facilities.
He also tried to stop drinking. Cold Turkey. The shock to his system killed him in about four days.
I have no familiarity with alcoholism or severe drug abuse. The first time I have ever seen the words "alcoholic ketoacidosis" was in his autopsy.
Yet despite the "normal" (and horrible) sense of loss from his death, his mother, brother, and I also have a strange sense of being proud of him. He loved us unconditionally, and was respected and loved by everyone who knew him including his fellow soldiers, commanding officers, and National Guard Generals.
But the one secret I haven't shared was my gratitude to Chip for bringing our son back to Karate when he recognized the frustrations our son was feeling, and the role model Chip provided. The "role model" Chip provided was teaching me to love and accept our son for what he was and wanted to be. I learned indirectly from Chip that if OUR son wanted to kill me he probably could have. That role model of the need for love and acceptance (as well as competence) was why his death was such a shock to us and his peers.
We had our older son for only 42 years, but they were good years.
I felt grateful to Chip (even before our son died) for serving as a role model.
If possible, please let Chip know that our son died a "beloved Hero" in 2021 at age 42. I suspect he would realize who our son was and who I am.
I wish him well and want Chip to know that I thank him for what he taught us, and what we taught our son.
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