My name is Rex Downie and I co-defended with George E. James, Roy E.Wetzel in a murder charge made regarding the death of Willie Wetzel in Roy's residence in Monaca Pa in the mid seventies. The area I speak of is 32 mi. north of Pittsburgh on the Beaver River. There is a lot of stupid/misinformed stuff about this floating around so I'll give a brief review here...if there's a Marial Arts magazine around that someone can refer me to, I'll write an article for it. At the time of the fight Roy lived in Monaca with his wife Tatha and his 3 yr old Daughter, Rochelle. Roy had served with the Marines at Khe Sanh and had been blown up by a 60 mm morter and needed numerous reconstructive operations to his left hip, which he quite successfully protected in full contact fighting. I watched him spar and fight many times - after the trial. At the time in question, Roy was teaching in a school on 7th street in Beaver Falls along with Willie.
Willie had divorce Roy's mother, married again, divorced or deserted #2 and taken up with a young girl from Zelienople, Pa. Willie was a bully and tried to teach by intimidation. Several of students around here will tell you that, including my next door neighbor. Willie had developed a mystique, however telling students that he was part of a Master's association that met every ten years in Idonesia and one had to have one fight to the death to continue a member. The steel mill workers around here ate it up. Willie WAS very gifted. He could jump up and touch an 8ft ceiling with is toe. He made a lot of money betting people at Westinghous that he could jump out of a 50 gal drum, straight up.
Roy was very gifted in numbers, so he did Willie's income tax and got him a approx. 700$ return. Roy was an excellent teacher and drew many more students to the school, and there very soon developed a competition between "Roy's Students" and "Willies Students", and, hence a lot of jealosy developed. Willie came to Roy's house in Monaca one evening to sign the tax return for the Karate school. He was very angry because he was paying support to his two prior wives. When he signed the return, he just shot the pen across the paper, knocking it to the floor. He went to the front door, beside which was a Hawaiian Ceremonial sword. He grabbed it, began to unsheath it, and screamed out a Keeya. Roy was behind him to say something, and got to the sheath in time to bend it, preventing Willie from drawing it. The fight ensued, which I will not detail at this time. It did involve a shorter suppuku sword, a riggers knife and oak nunchucks. And Willie died of asphyxiation because Roy had gotten the nunchucks on is neck like a nutcracker. Willie had used his riggers knife and had sliced Roys chest and biceps numerous time with shallow cuts. I visited the house the next day and it looked like a pig had been slaughtered in there. The trial lasted a week, the Chief of Police testified that he thought Roy had acted in self-defense, and Roy was acquitted. Willie apparantly was a Satanist, or at least practice voodoo, because the police found voodoo dolls in his apt with pins stuck through them. The dolls were of Roy, Wim, Jim and Jane and his two x wives. Roy died of heart valve failure about 8 or ten years ago. He is survived by three children, Christian, Kaylen, and Rochelle. Willie had 5 children. By his first wife, Roy, Jim, Wim and Jane.
After the trial, Roy and I became close friends, and we spent a lot of ti me kicking things around. I went to two or three tournaments and started on lessons twice, both interrupted by badly sprained ankles gotten in long distance running 20-40 mi per week. I took Roy into the Canadian bush at least 3 times up near Nakina Ont. and we spent many hours going over quetions about Christianity, for he bacame a Christian the night of the fight. HE always told me it was a ":spiritual fight". His favourite book in the Bible was Isaiah. There is much more I could relate, but won't here on a public site. I have a considerable file on the matter, with all the relavant dates, but cannot locate it at this moment; but the above is truth as best as I know it. Rex Downie Jr.
No one has skills greater than the Master of Sinanju. 
