07-21-2019, 12:01 AM
OOC: For the sake of chronological reference, this news article would've been released as of this morning, well before the Fanfest and pre-show were set to begin. The reason I couldn't keep up with this in terms of actual timing was because I wanted to have the actual piece this is referring to all finished and posted first to provide greater detail as to what happened, even if this article doesn't make the full contents of my RtG CD public knowledge. This is mostly to lock in something I discussed with Olek so that SCW has a way to publicly acknowledge the events of my CD to explain an extra last-minute detail that will be present in the Aaron/Bree match for RtG. Thanks to this, however, everyone is free to react to the events from my CD that are listed in this article accordingly however they see fit.
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SCW STAR ATTACKED, RISE TO GREATNESS STATUS UNCERTAIN
Keen-eyed viewers who watched last night's Hall of Fame Ceremony to officially kick off the festivities for Rise to Greatness weekend might have noticed one face that seemingly wasn't in the crowd, that being Aaron Blackbourne (28).
Police reports have revealed that the reason behind his absence is far more horrific than anyone could possibly imagine.
Friday night, roughly an hour before the ceremony was due to begin, reports indicate that Aaron was in his hotel room making final preparations before planning to depart for the event when he was attacked in his room by an assailant that was later revealed by authorities to be Dylan Jackson (26).
Dylan has been wanted in his home state of Massachusetts for months on charges related to drug distribution and trafficking in addition to recent revelations that he was ultimately responsible for the murder of Andrew Blackbourne, the younger brother of Aaron who he had revealed months ago in a tribute made to him through one of his 'demon' personas he has been known to use at major shows passed away at the beginning of the year. Andrew's death was initially ruled a suicide, however state authorities who took over the case following an internal investigation of the Lowell Police Department have changed the ruling within the past month following new evidence surfacing in addition to confessions made by several accomplices to Dylan, all of whom had minor roles to play in the murder as well.
Police received a 911 call from Liane Forte (25), Blackbourne's fiancée, roughly five minutes after hotel staff told police they'd informed Jackson of Blackbourne's room number under the belief that he was making an urgent delivery that needed to be received before Blackbourne left for the Hall of Fame Ceremony. Forte told authorities the delay in contacting them was due to warning Blackbourne in an effort to get him to escape before Jackson's arrival before the call dropped, which is when she immediately alerted authorities.
When police responded to the scene, Blackbourne was found slipping in and out of consciousness against the wall with lacerations both on his forehead and side as well as heavy bruising and discoloration around his ribcage and immense blood loss through his mouth. Jackson was discovered on the floor with the end of a crowbar having been driven through his throat, cutting off all oxygen and leading to medical personnel declaring him dead at the scene.
Investigations will continue this morning, however at this time it is very likely that police will not press any charges against Blackbourne as his statements, in addition to statements given by other hotel guests in nearby rooms that overheard the commotion, have made it clear any action on Blackbourne's part was purely in self-defense and Jackson was the aggressive party throughout the entire encounter, including phone recordings provided by one guest that revealed Jackson's intent to frame Blackbourne when the police arrived should he have been unable to “get the job done himself.”
As of this time, doctors have declared that while Blackbourne can still compete at Rise to Greatness despite what they have revealed to be heavily bruised ribs, including at least one rib confirmed to be cracked, they are heavily advising against the decision due to his current physical and mental state following this incident. SCW officials have forgiven Blackbourne for his absence at last night's Hall of Fame Ceremony and informed fans he will not be in attendance during today's scheduled Fanfest in the wake of this, however Blackbourne himself has told reporters that if he's technically cleared to compete then he still intends to perform in his scheduled United States Championship match against Bree Lancaster tomorrow night at Rise to Greatness. SCW officials haven't made a statement yet in regards to this, however reports seem to suggest that the card may not change if doctors do declare that Blackbourne can compete as long as he takes proper medical precautions beforehand even if they advise against the action.
This story is still developing and we will provide more details as we receive them.