Brodie Clayton of Lochbuie has tattoos of the letters ICP on his left hand and a picture of a hatchet on the other hand, according to court records.

Tess Damm of Lafayette calls herself a "Juggalette" who designed her MySpace .com page with several pictures of two rappers dressed in clown makeup.

Her boyfriend, Bryan Grove, constantly played tunes from a Detroit-based rap group, according to a friend.

All three are young fans of the rap music group Insane Clown Posse, but they have another thing in common:

They've all been implicated in murder.

As police investigate recent violence committed by teenagers, some officials are seeing crimes, and even gangs, linked with fans of Insane Clown Posse.

"We know Insane Clown Posse gangs exist," said officer Greg Ruprecht who works for the Longmont Police Department's gang unit.

The two-person group, also known as ICP, is known for its violent lyrics and descriptions of murder. Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope formed the group in the early 1990s and perform in black and white clown makeup.

Messages left with the group and its manager were not returned.

Some ICP songs include killing a pig and stabbing people. In the song, I Stab People, the duo raps, "I order food just to stab the guy when he gets there. I don't care, I stab anybody anywhere."

Violent music can have an effect on young people and their actions, said Kathleen Heide, a criminology professor at the University of South Florida and author of Why Kids Kill Parents.

"Music is one of many ingredients that can cause a child to commit murder," she said. "Violent music itself is not enough to cause someone to go over the edge. But if one is angry, alienated or abused, music with violent themes can ignite violence."

In 2004, Colorado Springs School District 11 banned students from wearing ICP apparel after several acts of violence were committed by fans of the group.

There are many people who dress up as clowns who are good people, but fans of ICP "tended to act more violent," said Elaine Naleski, spokeswoman for the school district.

Ruprecht said gangs based on ICP sometimes wear clown makeup. He said he has not seen ICP gangs in Longmont for three years, but said there is a problem with them in northern Colorado.

"I sometimes wish I could understand what these kids go through when they're exposed to this music," Ruprecht said.

Nationwide, ICP fans committing acts of violence also have garnered media attention. Fans are called Juggalos and females go by Juggalettes.

Valessa Robinson was 15 when she held her mother down as Valessa's boyfriend stabbed and killed her. The Tampa, Fla., teen was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2000. Robinson listened to ICP, and after stealing money from her dead mother, bought more of the group's CDs.

Last year, an 18-year-old ICP fan killed his girlfriend and a police officer in Arkansas. Jacob Robida earlier had shot at patrons in a Massachusetts gay bar. Robida, who was later gunned down, wrote about his fascination with ICP and neo-Nazism.

In Colorado, Brodie Clayton is facing a second-degree murder charge for the stabbing death of 17-year- old Kyle McCune on Feb. 25. Clayton, 18, is also accused of assaulting two girls and cutting one of them on the neck with a butcher knife.

"I hit an artery, you are going to bleed to death," Clayton told the victim, according to an arrest affidavit. "The job is not done. I am the Grim Reaper and I am doing my work."

Clayton describes himself as "the psycho pathic killa with an axe" on his MySpace .com page. The logo of Juggalo fans is a picture of a person running with an axe.

Tess Damm, 15, faces a charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of her mother, Linda Damm, 52. Her boyfriend, Bryan Grove, 17, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the fatal stabbing in February.

In her blog, Tess wrote that she started hanging out with Juggalos in the past year.

Lyrics to Insane Clown Posse songs

• I STAB PEOPLE

I stab old people, old ladies, little kids, I don't give a f---I stabbed a fat guy in the butt, what?

I met Pete Rose, stabbed him twice in his nipple.

I'm Violent J, I stab people

Maybe somebody can help me.

• ANOTHER LOVE SONG

I'm the one that killed your precious cat and stuffed him in your f------ mailbox

If I only hadn't cut off my hair, I'd choke you with all my dreadlocks

When I scream at the moon every night

You should've known something just ain't right

Cuz' I'm gonna slap you

And then I'm going to kill you

Cuz' the moon told me to, and it's watching us right now

• MY AXE

My axe is my buddy, I bring him when I walk

Me and my axe will leave your head outlined in chalk

My axe is my buddy, he always makes me laugh

Me and my axe cut bigot spinal cords in half

My axe is my buddy and when I wind him back

Me and my axe will give your forehead a buttcrack

My axe is my buddy, I never leave without him

Me and my axe will leave your neck a bloody fountain

doligosaf@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2970

Back to Top