Mystery deepens: Another foot washes up in British Columbia
Update: Coroner confirms ID of foot found on Richmond beach ( Vancouver Sun, November 5, 2009)
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Another human foot has washed ashore in British Columbia.
According to a story filed on CTV’s website late this afternoon, foot number 8 was found on Tuesday by two men walking along a beach in Richmond, B.C.
The foot was inside a white, size 8.5 Nike running shoe, according to Cpl. Annie Linteau of RCMP E Division. -CTV
CTV reports that an autopsy performed today confirmed that the foot is human.
The case of the “mystery feet” began with the discovery of foot number 1 in August, 2007.
Interestingly, the latest CTV report uses the words, “…another severed foot has washed up.” To my knowledge, there is no proof that any of the feet in this case were severed. As previous reports on this blog have stated, researchers have said that it is possible that the feet simply “disarticulated” as a result of the predictable patterns of decomposition beneath the sea.
Media around the world have followed the mostly unsolved cases of the “mystery feet” (investigators have identified one foot).
Still unanswered: Are any of these cases the result of foul play?
And one must wonder if another foot will wash ashore? Unless it’s a match (providing helpful evidence) to this week’s discovery, let’s hope not.
Eight is enough.
**Additional stories concerning foot number 8
***Pig video lends insight into B.C.’s human feet mystery (One of my favorite posts to date, but please be warned that it includes pictures and videos of dead pigs)
AG asks NM Supreme Court to deny Bent’s petition
Update: High court rejects sect leader’s bond petition, (KOB-TV/AP, 10/27/09)
Update: Attorney John McCall Responds to the AG (strongcity.info, 10/19/09)
(Note from Mark: This development in the Wayne Bent case was addressed with an “update” link in a previous post, A message from Jeff Bent. However, I thought it would be best to provide this separate post so that new links/resources specific to this development can be conveniently located here. This approach also provides readers with an opportunity to comment specifically on the Attorney General’s response to Bent’s petition. A pdf file of the AG’s response can be downloaded at a link provided below.)
“The State disputes any contention that Petitioner’s memorandum and the record are ‘uncontested’ or that there is ‘overwhelming evidence’ that Petitioner is not a flight risk, is not a danger to society and has raised substantial non-frivolous questions in the appeal which could result in the reversal of the convictions.” -from State of New Mexico’s response to Wayne Bent’s petition for an appeal bond
1. News release from NM Attorney General (October 16, 2009)
2. NM AG’s response to Bent’s petition for appeal bond (pdf / 11 pages)
“Fly At Your Own Risk” is excellent journalism
Earlier this week, I came across a very compelling story out of Canada. The headline: “Fly At Your Own Risk: Why is Transport Canada moving toward self-regulation for the country’s airlines?”
I find that my mind keeps going back to reporter Carol Shaben’s story, featured in The Walrus magazine. So, I’ve decided to write a bit about it here, not just because the topic itself is worthwhile. But also because the reporting really shines.
This is journalism that matters. And it’s done the good ol’ fashioned way; with lots of digging and relevant interviews. To top it all off, Shaben is an excellent writer.
Perhaps you think you don’t care about some aviation story out of Canada. And maybe you really don’t. Still, here’s my little challenge for you: Read the first few paragraphs of Shaben’s story. And see if you really want to stop reading.
The beginning of Shaben’s story begins below, followed by a link to the rest of the story.
***
Fly At Your Own Risk
Why is Transport Canada moving toward self-regulation for the country’s airlines?
by Carol Shaben
photographs by Eamon Mac MahonTHE WIDOW
in a small ballroom at the Best Western Hotel near Vancouver’s airport, Kirsten Stevens, a tattooed single mother of three, rises to take the podium, her hands trembling. Dressed casually in black cords and an emerald green shirt, the forty-two-year-old resident of Campbell River, BC, known as the Widow to many in attendance, stands out from the suit-clad presenters who preceded her. Petite — just five feet three and 115 pounds — with a barely tamed bob of cinnamon-coloured hair and brown eyes, she surveys the audience from behind stylish cat’s-eye glasses.
“This is going to be my first time telling this story,” she says, clearing her throat and glancing at the sheets clutched in her hands. “Four years ago, I could not have conceived of speaking at an aviation leadership forum. Four years ago, I was a housewife with two children and a newborn baby. In just under two weeks, it will be the fourth anniversary of the day I became a widow — the day the picket fence blew down.”
On February 28, 2005, Stevens’ husband, Dave, a professional logger, and four others were en route from Campbell River to a camp near Knight Inlet on BC’s rugged west coast when their De Havilland dhc-2 Beaver float plane plunged into the water just six minutes after takeoff. Two days later, Dave’s body, buoyed by the survival jacket Kirsten had bought him years before, washed up on Quadra Island, five kilometres from where the plane had taken off. His was the only body ever recovered. The autopsy showed that he had escaped the aircraft largely unharmed, only to succumb to severe hypothermia and drown while awaiting a rescue that never came. A resident of Quadra Island heard cries for help but couldn’t see their source. It had taken four hours for the office of the air carrier (which has since shut down) to alert search and rescue teams, even though staff knew the plane was missing within twenty minutes of takeoff.
Dave’s death opened a chasm of what-ifs for Stevens. “What if the aircraft was perfectly maintained?” she asks her audience. “What if aircraft were always tracked? What if there had been no delay in notifying authorities of the missing aircraft? Could the accident have been prevented? Could all five men have been rescued? Could they have rescued the only man wearing a life jacket — my husband? Could we have celebrated a successful emergency water landing like the one on the Hudson River, instead of mourning the losses of five families? Ten children left without their fathers?”
After a three-day search failed to turn up any trace of the downed plane or the victims, government authorities handed the matter over to the rcmp, which classified it as a missing persons case. A month later, all official searches were completely shut down. Stevens expected that a government agency would investigate the deaths of her husband and the four others as workplace fatalities, but none did. Pooling their meagre resources, the families recovered the wreckage and, later, the plane’s engine. Stevens also appealed in vain to a wide and varied list of authorities: the federal minister of transport, infrastructure, and communities; BC’s minister of transportation and infrastructure; Canada’s Transportation Safety Board; the federal minister of labour; the provincial ministry of labour and citizens’ services; the provincial ombudsman of justice; her provincial mla; her federal MP; several BC senators; the standing committee on transport and communications; and BC’s Workers’ Compensation Board. Eventually, the families hired a private investigative firm, which found that the plane’s floats were “leakers” long overdue for reskinning, that there were non-conforming parts on the aircraft, and that the plane was due for a major overhaul. The firm also speculated that the airline had not carried out mandatory 100-hour inspections of the plane’s engine.
The only official report Stevens received came from BC’s chief coroner’s office — more than four years after the crash. The account, she says, was riddled with inaccuracies and omissions and failed to provide her or the other victims’ families with any sense of closure. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada — the independent agency mandated to investigate crashes for cause and contributing factors — did not follow up, claiming there was nothing new to be learned. (Nor, says Stevens, is there any reference to the accident on the tsb’s website, which lists only two passenger deaths by air taxi in 2005, the year of her husband’s crash.) In a discussion with the coroner, Stevens learned that Bill Yearwood, the board’s Pacific Region manager for aviation, had submitted a preliminary report on the accident, which she obtained by submitting an access to information request. In Yearwood’s account, the tsb’s inspection showed no evidence of problems with the aircraft’s engine, performance, or maintenance. Instead, it indicated that poor weather and the pilot’s qualifications and experience may have been factors — an outcome Stevens refers to as “blaming the dead guy.”
When she realized her husband’s death might have been prevented, Stevens began reading everything she could about the aviation industry: Canadian aeronautics regulations, the Aeronautics Act, crash investigation reports, civil aviation studies and recommendations, and books with titles like Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents; Black Box: Why Air Safety Is No Accident; and Flying Blind, Flying Safe. She also joined AvCanada, Canada’s busiest aviation employment website and discussion forum, where she discovered that many aviation professionals shared her concerns about the lack of oversight of Canada’s commercial air carriers.
Then she got vocal. Fuelled by coffee and menthol cigarettes, she worked six hours a day out of a dimly lit den at the back of her three-storey house, not far from where her husband died. She wrote letters to unions and government officials, and launched QuestForJustice.ca and a blog called dhc2 Widow’s Space, both dedicated to aviation safety. She initiated a petition to Stephen Harper’s office, asking for a public inquiry into her husband’s accident and the air taxi industry in Canada. Slowly, others in the air safety community started paying attention.
Her mission has since… (read full story here)
A message from Jeff Bent
Update: AG asks state Supreme Court to deny Bent appeal (kob.com, 10/16)
Advisory: Comments in this thread have been re-opened
Update: “Imprisoned For Sabbath Keeping” (strongcity.info, 10/7)
*NEW*: VIDEO, “Wayne Bent defends his hunger strike” (krqe.com, 9/24)
Update: “Judge rules in favor of force feeding imprisoned cult leader” (koat.com, 9/23)
Update: “Judge puts fasting cult leader in doctor’s hands” (kob.com, 9/23)
*New: (updated to include *VIDEO* of KOB-TV’s 6pm news story) “Court could intervene on cult leader’s fast” (kob.com, 9/23)
Video: (KOAT, 9/22)
Update: “Cult leader Wayne Bent is scheduled to be in court on Wednesday as a judge decides whether the state should force feed him.” (koat.com, 9/22)
Update: Leader of NM sect goes on fast in prison (Associated Press on KOB-TV website, 9/17, 1:15pm PST)
***
(September 17) Beyond90Seconds received an e-mail from Jeff Bent at 7:10 am (PST) today. Bent is the son of “cult leader” Wayne Bent, whose criminal case has been extensively covered on this blog. Wayne Bent (aka Michael Travesser) and his followers have also been the subject of two National Geographic Channel documentaries and numerous news reports around the world. In December 2008, a New Mexico jury convicted Wayne Bent on one count of second-degree sexual contact with a minor and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. According to his son, prisoner Wayne Bent has been fasting for 18 days.
Jeff Bent’s unedited e-mail, apparently sent to numerous media outlets, is shared below with his permission:
Hello,
You are receiving this message because you have contacted me about my
father, Wayne Bent, or have reported on his criminal case. I have
sent copies of this message to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson,
Attorney General Gary King, and the Department of Corrections.My father is on the 18th day of a religious fast over his wrongful
conviction and imprisonment. Since Monday, September 14th, he has
been taking water only.John McCall, my father’s attorney, stated publicly, “Our office has
determined that this case is more of a trial of the media and the
structures in our society that are tasked with determining the truth.”
The media’s role is to separate fact from fiction, and to seek the
truth. The courts are to judge according to the facts and the law -
nothing else.The media and the courts failed spectacularly at doing their job. My
father, Wayne Bent, found himself at the center of a national media
feeding frenzy in 2008, having become the subject of a largely
contrived and self-perpetuating storyline of a “cult leader” requiring
sex with the young virgins in his apocalyptic church while falsely
predicting the end of the world. While this fiction had mass appeal
and was much more interesting than the truth, it resulted in a highly
charged criminal case involving his healing practices with two teenage
sisters. Caught up in the maelstrom of publicity and unable, or
unwilling, to separate my father’s media created persona from the
actual events called into question, the court failed in its role to
stick with the facts and the law, delivering a great injustice to my
father and his church.This outcome should be of concern to everyone that understands the
importance of a legal system that protects people equally under the
law, especially unpopular minorities who may find themselves targeted
by the media’s powerful ability to mold public perceptions.The facts of my father’s criminal case are as follows:
1. My father was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact
with a minor (CSM), and two counts of contributing to the delinquency
of a minor (CDM). He was acquitted on one count of CSM, and convicted
on the other counts.2. These charges stemmed from a religious healing practice where the
teenaged minors asked to be in his presence unclothed. These
encounters were for the purpose of healing prior emotional trauma in a
safe setting. These encounters were decidedly and emphatically
non-sexual in nature. The minors’ parents were not unaware of the
healing practices some in the church were requesting of Mr. Bent. It
was a subject of open discussion within the church.3. It was common for Wayne Bent, when he was still ministering to his
flock, to put his hand on the sternum above the heart, just below the
clavicle. He did this to invest the soul of that person with his own
peace. It is believed by Mr. Bent that the heart is where the soul
resides.4. Witness A.S., age 16 at the time, was one of the minors who
requested of Wayne Bent to be in a state of naked vulnerability in his
presence so she could release prior emotional trauma that blocked her
from Oneness with God. This non-sexual 15 minute session with A.S. is
what resulted in my father’s conviction on one count of CSM. A.S.
left the church and chose a different lifestyle a couple of years
before this case went to trial. The other witness – her younger
sister – remains part of my father’s church.5. A.S. testified that my father, Wayne Bent, placed his hand on her
sternum over her heart. When asked if his hand touched any portion of
her breast, she replied, “I don’t remember.” The prosecutor asked if
Mr. Bent placed his hand anywhere else on her body. She answered,
“Not that I recall.”6. A.S. said Mr. Bent kissed her on her “breast.” When asked to show
the court where he kissed her, she pointed to an area on her chest
below her left clavicle and above the pillow portion of her breast.
There were significant questions during the trial of what constitutes
a breast that were never answered.7. Defense attorney Sarah Montoya showed witness A.S. a Barbie doll
wearing a bikini and asked her if Mr. Bent touched her anywhere on her
body where the Barbie was covered by the bikini. She answered, “No.”
Ms. Montoya asked “Are you sure?” A.S. replied, “Yes.”8. My father, Wayne Bent, testified under oath that he never touched
the breasts of either witness.9. During a bench conference with counsel at closing arguments, Judge
Gerald Baca can be heard on the record whispering, “There’s no
evidence to support that there was ever a touching of the breast.”10. During closing arguments, the prosecutor told the jury multiple
times that the witnesses both testified that they were touched on the
breasts by Mr. Bent. This falsehood, as well as others uttered by the
prosecutor, helped sway the jury in the direction of conviction,
according to one juror who was interviewed afterwards by The Alibi
newspaper.11. Judge Baca sentenced my father to 18 years in prison, with 8
years suspended. He also received 8 years supervised probation and
must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.To say the least, my father did not receive justice at his trial. The
State failed to meet any reasonable burden of proof that my father had
broken the law. Much of the trial consisted of testimony from the
State’s witnesses about my father’s controversial religious beliefs.
Having controversial beliefs is not a crime in New Mexico.The sentence he received is incredible beyond belief, being extremely
disproportionate by any measure of comparison. The sentence for
murder in the second degree is 14 years. The day before my father
received his sentence, a high school coach in Alamogordo was sentenced
to ten months work release for having sexual intercourse multiple
times with a 16 year old student at his mother’s apartment. This year
a fire captain in Rio Rancho received probation for having sexual
intercourse with a 15 year old multiple times in the fire house.My father has been turned down twice for a bond that he is legally
entitled to receive during his appeal. Why is that? Why is this
frail, physically at risk 68 year old man such as threat to everyone?
Why is the State so determined to keep him locked away?My father is mindful of the fact that the courts are heavily
influenced by public opinion regarding his case, and not the facts and
the law. There are no political costs for keeping him in prison, but
justice has taken a back seat to political expediency.This is why my father is now on a religious fast, and will not end his
fast until there is movement in the direction of justice, or he dies.
He was wrongly convicted and wrongly incarcerated as a result of a
modern-day witch-hunt, and he cannot continue to be a party to this
travesty of justice.Jeff Bent
Girly Chew Hossencofft remembered 10 years after her murder
AUDIO: Former prosecutor Paul Spiers shares memories of “no body” case (runs 53:07)
(Text of audio’s introductory remarks)
Welcome to Beyond90Seconds.com. I’m Mark Horner.
As I sit at my desk at home this evening…recording these words…I do so thinking about a murder that began to unfold exactly 10 years ago tonight.
For it was right around this time…on the evening of September 9, 1999…that a woman named Girly Chew Hossencofft was kidnapped from her Albuquerque apartment…
Her final breaths unfolding…along with the unspeakable acts that investigators believe led up to her death…and, in an even more grotesque fashion, the acts they say immediately followed Girly’s death.
You see…Girly Chew Hossencofft’s body…her remains, really…still have not been found.
But the evidence…the bloodstained tarp…the ninja sward…the saliva mixed with her blood…well, the prosecution, the police…they say it speaks volumes.
The man Girly was divorcing—the diabolical, severely impish, Diazien Hossencofft… is doing life in prison…So is his girlfriend, Linda Henning…a believer in the teachings of David Icke…to include the belief that many of our world’s leaders are, in their view, shape-shifting, blood-thirsty reptilians…who prefer nothing more than the drink of “starfire”…found within the blood of a freshly killed menstruating woman.
A third person in this case…the guy investigators claimed was the muscle behind the murder…was never convicted of anything resembling the gravity of all of that. Instead…Bill Miller pleaded guilty to a few misdemeanors related to the tampering of evidence. He got credit for time served….about 7 weeks in jail.
In fact, Miller’s filed suit against three of the investigators, essentially claiming he was the victim of their “malicious prosecution.”
The suit struck-out in one court. But the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals recently kicked it back for for another go-round…due to what you might say amounts to a technicality: The lower court’s addressing the allegations (from Miller) separately…rather than collectively as a single claim.
But back to Girly…for it is all too often that we forget the victim in cases of murder…and other severely brutal crimes…but not tonight. Not now.
And I assure you the significance of this night is not lost on many people.
To include the lead prosecutor in the case: Paul Spiers.
Earlier today…I spoke with Spiers by telephone.
Shortly after the 2002 Linda Henning trial…Spiers left the DA’s office in New Mexico and went to work for the United States Attorneys’ Office in Albuquerque. That is where he continues to work to this day as an Assistant US Attorney.
I now share our recorded, unedited, conversation.
I won’t even begin to further lay-out the extremely widespread facts of the case…but feel free to google Hossencofft…H-O-DOUBLE-S-E-N-C-O-DOUBLE-F-T. Or you might even choose to visit the website I started back in October of 1999…dedicated to this case. You can find that website at markhorner.com/hoss. That’s H-O-S-S. If you want even more information, you can feel free to look up my book, September Sacrifice…you can find it on Amazon…it’s also available at many local libraries.
One disclaimer before we hear from Mr. Spiers: The views he expresses during our conversation are not necessarily the views of the Department of Justice or the United States Attorneys’ Office. He was speaking to me not as an Assistant US Attorney…rather, he spoke to me in a personal capacity.
Now, with that said…I’ll share that our discussion began with my mention of this…the 10th anniversary of Girly’s disappearance. Does Paul Spiers find this benchmark date especially meaningful?
(Please click “play” button at beginning of this post in order to hear the unedited interview with Paul Spiers).
note: Over the years that transpired during the Hossencofft case, I took hundreds of photographs during my time spent reporting on the investigation and court proceedings. This all started before digital cameras were mainstream. So, a typical day involved shooting film, then rushing to TJ’s Camera & One Hour Photo on Tramway Boulevard immediately after work at KRQE-TV (and, in later years, after work at KOB-TV). I suppose that’s a long-winded way of saying that I also shot a lot of pictures of the large-scale search for Girly’s body conducted west of Magdalena, New Mexico on June 24 & 25, 2000. You can find 50 of those pictures here.
Unlike that big search in June of 2000, another attempt to locate Girly’s body on the outskirts of Magdalena went undetected by the media. I had recently become unemployed as my contract had not been renewed at KRQE. But that didn’t stop me from showing-up at the small scale search on July 7, 2000. Please click here to see pictures from that day (I started work at KOB about a week or so after these pictures were taken).
###
Update: KOAT-TV’s Rod Green revisits the Hossencofft case (11/4/09)
Wayne Bent fasting in prison again
New: A message from Jeff Bent (Beyond90Seconds.com, September 17, 2009)
Update: Bent may be forced to eat (Albuquerque Journal North, September 7, 2009).
“At the very least, the warden told him if this religious fast progresses into the extent of a hunger strike, force-feeding could be on the table,” Bland said. (Albuquerque Journal North)
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(September 1, 2009) Convicted sex offender Wayne Bent says he’s fed-up with (allegorically speaking) being sexually abused by the State of New Mexico. In an August 31 post headlined My Crown of Thorns on the Strong City website, Bent writes that he has been fasting for two days and will continue to go without the state’s food and water.
Bent’s latest writing begins with a salutation to his distant flock:
Dear little family at Strong City,
Today [August 19, 2009], I heard the message that my appeal for bond was denied [Read the brief filed with the NM Court of Appeals .
In setting-out to explain his rationale for his latest fast, Bent sets the table by sharing that he was twice the victim of sexual molestation during childhood. Those stories are followed by this excerpt:
Now, in my old age, I have been molested again by a dirty old man. He is the State of New Mexico. This present molestation of me has affected me a hundredfold more than when I was barely eleven. I have been used as a sex object for the State of New Mexico and Dragonfly Productions in the UK, as well as the National Geographic Channel, in their fantasy movie of me. This little boy is greatly abused again, many times over.
In an allegorical picture, I see myself as the little eleven-year-old; a dirty old man kidnaps me and takes me to his prison house at Los Lunas. He now molests me there for these nine months, and makes me his sex object.
Bent and many of his followers have fasted numerous times since his 2008 arrest. Last December, a Taos jury found Bent guilty of one count of second-degree sexual contact of a child and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
So, how long will this fast last? Some paragraphs near the end of Bent’s latest offering appear to provide some insight:
I must now refuse to take any sustenance from the State. I will eat none of their food, or drink none of their water. I will cut off this hypocrisy. I refuse to be the State’s “head on a pole.” I do not belong to the State, and no, I am not its property. I have a heart, soul, and mind that belong only to God. This will never change. I will eat only that food and drink that are brought to me by my family, as in the last two imprisonments, and for the same reasons. My family believes in me, and none of them lie and say I molested girls. Their food comes with love. I will no longer receive food from this false owner.
So what will happen if the prison refuses to let my family provide for me? I will die of starvation in this dirty old man’s house, who has molested me for nine months; and, I may die of dehydration, unless God Himself sends the delivering Angel to me. It will be up to the State whether I live or die, but I must be true to myself. It is up to my Father what my resolution will be. It is written of this moment, “Blessed are those believers who die in the Lord from now on.” Revelation 14:13. “Be faithful unto death, and you will receive a crown.” Revelation 2:10.
Whether Bent dies of starvation remains to be seen. In the immediate future, it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that one or more of his supporters will join him in his fast.
Indeed, the first person to comment beneath Bent’s Crown of Thorns is his devoted Esther.
DEVELOPING STORY: Phillip Craig Garrido
SIGNIFICANT BLOG FIND?
Normally, I wouldn’t rush a blog post like I’m about to do here. The Phillip Craig Carrido story out of California is still growing in media magnitude as details of Carrido’s arrest emerge. I had no time to write about about the story when it first broke this morning…the unbelievable development concerning an 11-year-old girl who’d disappeared in 1991 ….now very much a grown woman who’d just “walked into to a police station” all these years later (I did post a link on this blog’s facebook page late this morning). And it turned out she didn’t simply walk into a police station).
Then came the news conference. And soon the unimaginable details of the Jaycee Lee Dugard case finally began to see the light of this day.
I had no time write today. And because I’m about to go to the airport to pick up my son, little time to write now. But I want to share a possible nugget of insight…something that might even be a tad significant.
First, if you haven’t already done so, listen to KCRA-TV’s unedited audio interview with Garrido today. Pay particular attention to what he says about a church. I emphasize that moment as–while it may seem benign–it seems to gel with something I’d found on the Internet this afternoon, resulting from a quick Google images search.
At this LINK, you’ll find text and documents concerning a Mr. Phillip Craig Carrido. My hunch is that this is the same man arrested in the Dugard case. At least one document concerns Mr. Garrido’s “invention.” You’ll need to scroll down a ways to find that document.
You’ll also note that some of the text on that blog post concerns a “church.”
Is that blog post featuring Mr. Carrido’s name significant in any way to the Dugard investigation? Perhaps not. But after listening to KCRA’s exclusive interview with the suspect this evening, I have to wonder.
My apologies, in advance, for any spelling errors or poor writing here. It’s off to the airport now. My 12-year-old’s been away for the summer. Can’t imagine what it would be like not see him for 18-years.
KTLA: Gang Member Faces Death in Jamiel Shaw case
BREAKING NEWS
KTLA-TV in Los Angeles has just published a report stating that prosecutors will seek the death penalty for accused killer Pedro Espinoza. Espinoza is charged with killing high school football star Jamiel Shaw II last year.
It’s not only an emotionally charged case, but a political one, too. Espinoza, an illegal immigrant, had been released from jail only hours before Shaw was murdered while walking home.
Following Espinoza’s arrest, LAPD’s Special Order 40 received recharged scrutiny from detractors.
Beyond90Seconds has written numerous stories about the Shaw case. You can read them here.
Tina Davila murder suspect arrested
Update, August 12, 8:05pm PST: Man accused in woman’s death arrested in Mexico (39online.com)
“I knew this day would come, I just didn’t know when,” said Eric Matt, as he spoke of the arrest of Timoteo Rios, the man accused of killing his ex-wife. (39online.com)
Update, August 12, 4:53 PST: Two suspected killers from Houston caught hiding in Mexico / Nephew, uncle arrested for separate murder cases (KHOU-TV)
There’s a bizarre twist in the case of a mother who was murdered during a carjacking while trying to protect her infant. Authorities arrested the suspect in that killing in Mexico Tuesday and picked up another man for an unrelated murder — also in Harris County. -KHOU-TV
Update, 9:38 PST: Suspect in slaying of woman near phone store arrested (Houston Chronicle)
Update, 8:54pm PST: Video of last year’s Today Show interview with Davila’s family now appears on this post.
***
It’s a murder that much of America witnessed on surveillance video featured on national television more than a year ago. Now, KHOU-TV reports that a suspect in the Tina Davila murder investigation is finally in custody:
The FBI and the Harris County Sherrif’s office have arrested a carjacker who stabbed and killed a mother outside a Houston Cricket phone store. Investigators say the victim was killed while trying to protect her 4-month-old baby girl who was in the car. -KHOU TV
Also according to this evening’s breaking news story from KHOU-TV:
(24-year-old Timoteo) Rios was finally found and taken into custody in Mexico late Tuesday. Police say he is accused of killing Tina Davila during the April 2008 carjacking.
For more on this case, please see this Beyond90Seconds’ archived story: Family of mother murdered during carjacking speaks-out.
(Please allow a few seconds for the video to load.)
done
Crime Interrupted
Crime Junkies
Jeremy Jojola
Mara Triangle
New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan
iTragedy: Do newsrooms have an ap for that?
with 3 comments
COMMENTARY
Please pardon any perceived insensitivity in my posing the question, but what if the events of September 11, 2001 had unfolded on September 11, 2009? I’m thinking of today’s cell phones, the iPhone and similar technologies.
I’m thinking of the potential for even more intense discussion in the newsroom wherein new and frightening scenarios must be considered. Not for the faint of heart, to be sure.
Unlike any time in history, the immediate horrors of war, political unrest (think Iran) and terrorist attacks can reach a worldwide audience in seconds (if not sooner).
So, what if 9/11 happened eight years later? Here are three possible scenarios for today’s newsrooms:
1: NEW YORK: While some might consider it far-fetched, it is possible that someone trapped inside the World Trade Center would use their iPhone to transmit live video of their final moments. If not the iPhone, someone with a laptop or netbook (and a wireless connection to the Internet) could use Skype, Ustream or a similar service to send-out video, too.
2. WASHINGTON, D.C.: A jet crashes into the Pentagon. Nearby, civilians stop along roadways and use their pda’s/phones to record from afar. A few people who work at the Pentagon also use hand-held devices to record the scene.
3. SHANKSVILLE: A commercial jet has just crashed near this rural Pennsylvania town. People on the ground are using iPhones and other hand-held devices to record the continuing arrival of emergency vehicles. Soon, several civilians (some now using laptops and netbooks) are “streaming live.” Already, news of this crash isn’t necessarily a surprise to millions of people. It was the feared outcome. To be certain, there is shock and horror. For the past hour-or-so leading-up to the crash, people around the world followed the unimaginable tweets from a passenger who had described how four men had hijacked the plane. The man using Twitter had also shared that several of his fellow passengers had used their cell phones to learn that two planes had hit the World Trade Center. His final tweet: “passengers will attempt to overpower hijackers.”
The inspiration for this post was not borne of any morbid curiosity. Rather, it started with my recent reflections of September 11. In all likelihood, you took time to remember that day, too.
Often a fan of emerging technologies, I found myself considering the question: How might we have experienced September 11 differently had today’s devices been available just eight years ago? I submit that the concussion of those events would have been felt even more severely.
The timeliness of this discussion seems even more appropriate at this moment. Having just returned from refilling my coffee cup, I’ve paused to review the latest news stories online. USA Today’s just published an article headlined, Panel: Electrical grid vulnerable to terrorist attack. The lead paragraph got my attention:
The spirit of this post is not aimed at fear mongering or trivializing September 11. I will share that while working for a New Mexico TV station, I reported from Ground Zero during the week of September 11. During my entire non-stop car ride to New York, radio reports held-out hope that survivors would be found. But a few miles out, I began to see the ash. Inches of it piled on cars. I still see the bumpers. It reminded me of having witnessed the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in my youth. Right then, I knew there would be no survivors.
I also reported from Shanksville and the Pentagon.
Outside of annual invitations to speak to journalism students at the University of New Mexico in the years that soon followed September 11, I find that I rarely talk about it. The “topic” feels almost sacred…reverent.
But the questions posed above feel as if they’ve been fairly raised for today’s newsrooms . Ultimately, one could argue the questions extend to any person who points his or her digital eye at tragedy.
To air or not to air?
To post or not to post?
Written by Beyond90Seconds
September 17, 2009 at 12:36 AM
Posted in Beyond 90 Seconds, Commentary, News
Tagged with iPhone, newsroom, Pentagon, September 11, Shanksville, terrorist attack, terrorists, Twin Towers, video, World Trade Center