The Murder of Gregory Janowski
For this case, I watched an episode of Unraveled. It’s season 1 episode 4, titled ‘Supermarket Slaughter.’
A man is found dead in the parking lot of a popular Florida grocery store.
Background
So, I do just want to let you know that this case discusses more of the life of the perpetrator than of the victim. I will do my best to talk about both.
Gregory Janowski worked as a meat cutter at Publix, in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Publix is a popular grocery stores, which has locations in Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Gregory had been a meat cutter for about 15 years. He was married, and had a daughter, who according to the show, was 7-years-old at the time.
Gregory was described as jovial, outgoing, and as a good employee. He was very popular with a lot of the regular customers. However, Gregory wasn’t liked by everyone.
Gregory Janowski
The Feud
Gregory worked with a 41-year-old woman named Arunya Rouch. Arunya was originally from Thailand, and was married to a man named Tom. Tom also worked as a meat cutter for Publix, but at a different location.
Gregory and Arunya worked in nearby departments, which were in close proximity. Gregory was known for being a jokester, and would constantly crack jokes with other employees. Arunya didn’t find Gregory’s jokes that funny.
Gregory would joke about Arunya’s haircut, her small stature, and would say that she needed to back into her hole. By that he meant, she needed to go back into her department.
Arunya would mention this to her husband and family. Arunya had told her manager, but they didn’t do anything about it. Arunya’s family told her that she needed to go above her manager, and speak to someone higher up in the company. Arunya said no, because that would be going against authority.
Tom said that he spoke to Gregory about it, but that Gregory just laughed in his face. Arunya was becoming more depressed, and would sleep a lot after work. Arunya didn’t want to go to work, but would force herself to.
The Breaking Point
On March 27, 2010, Arunya arrived at work. She often arrived early before her 6am shift. Before clocking in, she liked to make sure everything in the seafood case looked perfect.
On this particular day, Gregory told Arunya that he was going to tell the manager that she had been working off the clock. Arunya was heard threatening to kill him if he messed with her work.
Gregory told the manager. Arunya was written up for working off the clock, but she refused to sign the form. She also crossed Gregory’s name off the schedule.
Arunya had the next two days off, and spent time with Tom. Tom had told Arunya that there was an open position at his store. Arunya decided that she just needed to get through the next few months, and then she would transfer.
On March 30, 2010, Arunya arrived back at work. She was called into the manager’s office, and was fired for threatening Gregory.
The Shooting
Several hours later, Arunya arrived back at the store around noon. Gregory often sat in his car for awhile before going into work. Arunya walked up to his car, and fired several shots. Gregory was shot 4 times, twice in the chest, and twice in the head.
Arunya, armed with her .9mm gun, then could be seen walking into the Publix. She walks upstairs to the manager’s office. Luckily, the manager was away at a business luncheon.
After walking back downstairs, Arunya ran into one of her former co-workers. The co-worker saw the gun in Arunya’s bag, and was able to notify other employees.
Arunya was about to shoot another employee, but she extracted a bullet from the chamber. The employee was able to get away. The police were called, and were notified about a woman with a gun inside the store.
When the police arrived, they walked in with their guns drawn. When they confronted Arunya, she continued firing. She was hit 4 times, ending the rampage. Arunya was handcuffed, and was in critical condition. She was then airlifted to a trauma unit.
Tom arrived at the store, but was handcuffed by the police. The police told him that they believed he was there to finish what Arunya started.
The Trial and Conviction
Arunya was in the hospital for 44 days before being put in jail to await trial. Arunya’s family couldn’t make sense of what she had done. They knew she was upset about the bullying at work, but didn’t know that she was going to just snap.
Arunya sat in jail for two years, before her trial, which started in June 2012.
Arunya’s defense had her plead insanity. They said that she had been hearing voices, telling her to go back, and confront the people that had wronged her.
The prosecution said that Arunya knew exactly what she was doing. They said that Arunya had been planning to kill Gregory, and then commit suicide by cop.
One more detail came out at trial. It was revealed that Arunya had an outburst after she was fired. She had told the managers that she was going to come back and kill Gregory. Nobody had notified Gregory that Arunya had been planning this.
Arunya Rouch was found guilty of first degree murder, two counts of first degree attempted murder, and two counts of aggravated assault. She was sentenced to life in prison.
Arunya Rouch
FINAL THOUGHTS
Arunya’s family has said that she has never told them the truth about why she did this. It seemed like Arunya took everything Gregory said to her seriously, and maybe just snapped. Maybe Gregory should’ve listened to Arunya when she asked him to stop, but he didn’t deserve to be shot and killed. The managers should have also stepped in. I believe that they knew what was happening, but chose to look the other way. Bullying anywhere should be against the rules, just like threatening to take someone’s life.
Arunya didn’t deserve to be bullied, but she took someone’s life. She also attempted to shoot several police officers and other employees. She deserves to be in prison.
Sources
https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2012/6/20/closing_arguments_ma
https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2012/6/21/jury_in_publix_murde
https://hernandonewstoday.com/dispute-over-hours-worked-preceded-publix-shooting-father-in-law-says/
