What the man with a crossbow had in mind when he killed a hugely antlered buck in Clinton County a year ago can in truth only be guessed.
Nonetheless, evidence introduced during the unfolding prosecution of Christopher “CJ” Alexander offered a clue about intentions.
So reported Outdoor Life magazine last week: “I’m gonna get offered stupid money for this deer head babe. … Like buying house type money. … This deer is gonna make us money,” Alexander promised in an Oct. 17 text to his fiancée.
The text was sent a few weeks before the kill.
The money, it turned out, was not the most stupid aspect of Alexander’s apparently premeditated pursuit. Success rested on the certainty that everyone would buy unquestioned a remarkable tale sure to draw widespread attention and invite scrutiny.
Rather than get “buying house type money” and modest fame for killing what might’ve been scored as Ohio’s biggest buck, Alexander got investigated, indicted and last week pleaded guilty in a Clinton County courthouse to numerous charges.