Sunday, December 30, 2018

Murder or Suicide? Death Of The Gray State Family Pt.1 The Beginning

The Netflix Documentary A Gray State, paints a picture of a family that went down a twisted spiral with a madman at the helm.
It is an intriguing piece that poses itself as a true depiction of what happened to film maker, writer, army veteran and family man, David Crowley.
In my opinion however, it is like any other Hollywood film, creating it's own narrative and making you see what the creator wants you to see.
Whatever conclusion you draw about David, there is one thing for sure, his wife and child were victims of an awful fate.
The dead can't defend themselves and it is up to the living to make sure justice is served.
So who was David Crowley? 
David Timothy Crowley was born on July 7th, 1985 to Kate and Daniel Crowley.
He was the middle child.
When he was little in loved to play kickball with his younger sister Allison.
David wrote this about his neighborhood 
"I enjoy being idolized by the little people of our neighborhood,

They'd even cheer when I came outside."
David and his older brother Daniel Jr. had a tremulous relationship, which emanated from Daniel Jr. allegedly bullying David due to Daniel's allegedly closeted gay tendencies. 
Tendencies that came to light when Daniel allegedly got into trouble molesting boys at summer camp.
David's life wasn't made any easier.
His mom and dad divorced allegedly due to her alcoholism.
David would make movies with his friends and in high school he wrote and directed his first short film.
Shortly after high school David joined the army.
He wanted to protect his country and was proud to be an american, but soon realized the trials and tribulations of war and the true reality of what government institutions are really like as apposed to how they appear.
He became disillusioned and didn't want to serve again after he finished his tour and payed his dues.
The government had other ideas for him however and called him up for another tour, much to his dismay.
He was at a stop loss.
As a soldier, he set foot in 13 countries, including combat deployments in Iraq and Kandahar, Afghanistan.
He saw some of his friends get blown up by an IED in Afghanistan.
David's cousin Laura Meyer Hokenson said,
"It was obvious he didn't want to talk about the things he saw."

Between tours, David spent his time at a base in Texas, where he met his wife Komel Rasool Alam at a bar.
Komel was described as an amazing woman, full or energy, driven, enthusiastic, vibrant and smiling.
She was beautiful, olive-skinned Saudi Arabia native.
She was born on November 20th, 1986 to Naila and Anjum Alam.
Komel had been raised Muslim in Pakistan and immigrated to the U.S. with her family in 2005.
On May 22nd, 2008, a few weeks after they met, in the shadow of the massive Fort Hood military base, Komel and David exchanged wedding vows before a justice of the peace.
Sometime in 2008, Komel is awarded the Rising Young Professional Award from Baylor University in Texas.
In June 2008, David was discharged from the army.
Their daughter Raniyah, "Rani" for short, was born on August 6th, 2008.
Rani was loved and described as bright light full of energy and perspective.
The three headed moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
David studied film while attending Minnesota School of Business.
In late 2010, David began working on his own script Gray State.
It is a fictional story of societal collapse, pitting the citizenry against a corrupt federal government hell-bent on destroying individual liberties.
David labored long hours to match the words on the page with the scenes from his mind.
His home office was plastered with note cards, a web of plot points and character development connected by different colored strings. David would have marathon writing sessions, ending only when he was satisfied that the product met his high standards.
Komel graduated on October 31st, 2012 from grad school at the University of Minnesota, earning a master's degree in public health nutrition.
Komel's family came to Minnesota to celebrate.
Komel became a dietitian who operated a business called Mind Body Dietitian, specializing in treating eating disorders.
She also had her own home cake business, which she excelled in.
http://cakesdecor.com/KCCakes
As Komel continued to bring home a steady paycheck, while David attempted to pitch in by partnering with childhood friend Mitch Heil, launching two businesses.
One of those businesses was The Bullet Exchange that supplied authentic military and police gear for film prop use.
They also providing training.
The second business was Hot Head Productions, it would make music videos and films.
David and Heil, along with local actor Danny Mason, toiled to bring David's screenplay to life. 
They made a Gray State trailer, raising more than $60,000 in production capital through crowdfunding.
In July 2012, the official concept trailer premiered.
It was 159 seconds, starting with 
"It happened while we were sleeping."
"When society falls, those who panic die first."
It has scenes with rioting, death squads and people being rounded up by FEMA microchipping people.
In a month, the Gray State trailer scored around 200,000 views. That number steadily began skyrocketing into the millions. 
Less than a month after the Gray State trailer's release, David flew to Tampa to speak at the Ron Paul Festival. 
David called the trailer "investor bait" with infinite commercial viability for Hollywood backers. 
He said the work was part resume, part marketing tool, and part vision statement.
David wanted to turn the trailer into a featured movie.
He said it would require tens of millions in capital and he's of the belief that 
"no Hollywood studio is going to back this film."
He was partially right.
He died before his vision could come to fruition.
In late 2013, the Crowleys were settling into their new home on Ramsdell Drive in Apple Valley.
Komel had quit her dietitian job and was now six months into running her own home-based small business, providing holistic counseling and nutrition service.

David plunged into rewriting the feature's script as well as embarking on a side project called The Rise.
The Rise is a documentary to the fictional work, full of interviews Americans who feared for their country's future.

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