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Author Topic: Shasta Groene (found alive), Dylan Groene (remains found)  (Read 13271 times)
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MuffyBee
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« on: December 03, 2007, 10:47:54 PM »

I didn't know where to post this.  Finding Shasta Groene alive was amazing, after finding most of her family had been murdered.  Sadly, her brother Dylan didn't survive.  I found this update:

Dec. 3, 2007

Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Idaho Boy

By REBECCA BOONE
Associated Press Writer
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DUNCAN_SLAYINGS?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
 BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- A man who murdered the family of two young siblings, then sexually abused the children before killing one of them at a remote Montana campsite, pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges that could lead to his execution.

Joseph Edward Duncan III did not make a plea deal with prosecutors and earlier pleaded guilty to state charges. He told the judge he wants to take responsibility for his actions.

"I will continue to accept that responsibility to the death," he said.

Duncan admitted kidnapping Shasta Groene, then 8, and her 9-year-old brother, Dylan, sexually abusing them and killing the boy. Shasta was rescued about seven weeks after the 2005 abduction when people spotted Duncan and the child at a restaurant.

Duncan's guilty pleas to 10 federal felonies mean that Shasta Groene will be spared having to testify at a trial.

"For my family, we're happy," Shasta's father, Steve Groene, said by telephone. "She does not have to testify in this phase of this."

Shasta and her father were not in the courtroom Monday. They live in Coeur d'Alene in a home built for them through donations from the community.

Duncan earlier pleaded guilty in state court to kidnapping and murdering other members of the Groene family at their home in May 2005. Shasta and Dylan's mother, Brenda Groene; her fiance, Mark McKenzie; and her 13-year-old son, Slade Groene, were bound and bludgeoned to death with a hammer.

Duncan was sentenced to life in prison without parole for kidnapping the three older victims. The death penalty remains a possibility for the state murder counts; the judge deferred imposing punishment on those counts to give federal prosecutors time to pursue their case, which is centered on events in Montana after the children were abducted.

While it is The Associated Press' policy not to identify alleged victims of sexual assault in most cases, the search for Shasta and her brother was heavily publicized and their names are widely known.

Duncan was on the run from a child molestation charge in Minnesota in May 2005 when he drove past the Groene home east of Coeur d'Alene, spotting the children playing outside, court documents say. Duncan stalked the Groene family for several days before attacking.

Duncan took Shasta and Dylan and drove into the mountains near St. Regis, Mont., where he sexually abused them for weeks before killing Dylan, documents say.

Duncan videotaped the abuse of Dylan before shooting him with a sawed-off shotgun, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Whelan.

Duncan has been quoted in court documents as saying he was trying to return Shasta to her father when he and the little girl were spotted in a Coeur d'Alene restaurant.

Duncan faces the death penalty on three of the federal felonies: kidnapping resulting in death, sexual exploitation of a child resulting in death, and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence resulting in death.

He also pleaded guilty to kidnapping, two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, being a felon in possession of a firearm, transportation of a stolen firearm, possession of an unregistered firearm, and transportation of a stolen vehicle.
-------------------------------------------------


« Last Edit: November 09, 2008, 08:29:18 AM by Nut44x4 » Logged

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« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2007, 05:29:43 PM »

Yes.....I heard this on TV the other night!! Thanks for posting!
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« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2008, 12:52:50 PM »

Girl Describes Abduction, Brother's Murder on Tape in Sentencing for Pedophile
Friday, August 15, 2008

BOISE, Idaho —  After her older brother was shot in the head, his remains were burned in front of her, an 8-year-old girl told a police officer in a gut-wrenching tape played for jurors deciding whether a convicted sex offender should die for his crimes.

Shasta Groene spoke to Coeur d'Alene police Officer Shane Avriett on July 2, 2005, shortly after she was rescued from weeks of torture and despair.

Avriett testified Thursday that he turned on his vehicle's dashboard-mounted video camera, with the camera pointed away from Shasta, and recorded her talking about her ordeal.

When Avriett asked where her 9-year-old brother Dylan was, she told him, "in heaven ... there may be some evidence down in the Lolo forest, because that's where we were."

She cried as she told Avriett how Joseph Edward Duncan III shot her brother in the stomach at a campsite, then shot him again in the head and burned the body.

"He's killed way a lot more people that you don't even know about," Shasta told the officer. "He killed Dylan."

The testimony came on the second day of the sentencing hearing for Duncan, 45, who faces either life in prison or death. The convicted pedophile from Tacoma, Wash., pleaded guilty in December to 10 federal charges related to the kidnapping of Shasta and Dylan. Three of the counts carry a potential death penalty. He is representing himself in his sentencing.

The children were taken from their Coeur d'Alene home in May 2005 after Duncan fatally bludgeoned the children's mother, Brenda Groene; their 13-year-old brother, Slade; and the mother's fiance, Mark McKenzie.

Both children were sexually abused before Duncan shot and killed Dylan at the western Montana campsite. Shasta was rescued when a waitress spotted Duncan and the girl in a Coeur d'Alene restaurant and called police.

In the videotape, Avriett told Shasta a lot of people were looking for her. "What made you end up here?" he asked. "Just hungry?"

"He was going to take me home," Shasta replied, talking about Duncan, whom she called "Jet."

When Avriett asked why Duncan changed his mind, her voice broke.

"He was going to change his mind because he said I taught him how to love," she said.

It wasn't clear what was meant in the discussion about Duncan changing his mind, and lawyers in the case weren't able to elaborate. They are under a gag order imposed by U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge.

The children's father, Steven Groene, took the stand Thursday morning, showing pictures of his youngest children and choking up after confirming their handwriting on notes apparently written at their kidnapper's behest.

Groene said it was the first time he had seen one of the letters, which offered a false promise. "Dear Dad, I have very good news. And it is we are coming home soon! It might be a week or 2 so we will be back," the unsigned letter read.

Prosecutors avoided discussing the contents of the letters. But they're believed to be the letters found in the car Duncan was driving just before his arrest.

Duncan's past is littered with arrests and prison time for crimes ranging from car theft to rape and molestation. He is suspected in the 1996 slayings of two half-sisters from Seattle and is charged with the 1997 killing of a young boy in Riverside County, Calif.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,404303,00.html
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« Reply #3 on: August 18, 2008, 05:58:59 PM »

Duncan writes mother about 'evil demon' inside him

10:02 PM PDT on Friday, August 15, 2008

BOISE, Idaho -- Idaho State Police crime scene investigator Fred Swanson testified for the second straight day at the Joseph Duncan sentencing hearing Friday, detailing the long list of evidence seized from Duncan's Jeep.

Police found Duncan's laptop computer, knives and a shotgun that was used to kill Dylan Groene. Dylan's DNA was found on the barrel of the gun.

Most compelling, however, was a hand-written letter from Joseph Duncan to his mother found in a jacket pocket. It read, in part:

“Dear Mom,

You are probably wondering if I am even alive, much less doing okay. I am alive, but not doing well.

I have once again become a medium of violence in the world and once again, wish I was not alive.

I have considered suicide, but my will to live in spite of my own misery is too strong.

I have been inflicted by an evil ‘demon’ that is nurtured by our so-called criminal justice system.

Love always,

Your son Joseph Duncan"

Police also found a black T-shirt with the words "Dad Rocks" on it and a blue and tan baseball cap with the words "World's Greatest Father".
http://www.krem.com/topstories/stori....4c60ed20.html
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« Reply #4 on: August 22, 2008, 10:21:30 PM »

Aug 22, 8:12 PM EDT

Jury: Confessed killer of Idaho boy can get death


By REBECCA BOONE
Associated Press Writer
 BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- A man who kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered a 9-year-old Idaho boy was deemed eligible for the death penalty by a jury on Friday, soon after the killer himself came close to thanking prosecutors for showing the panel sickening videos of him abusing the child.

The jury deliberated for two hours before issuing its unanimous ruling. When the hearing resumes next week, jurors must decide whether Joseph Edward Duncan III should be put to death for killing Dylan Groene in 2005.

Friday's verdict was not surprising after Duncan's closing argument, in which he told the jurors they didn't yet "have a clue" about the depths of his "heinousness."

Duncan, 45, didn't react to the verdict. The slain boy's father, Steven Groene, and other family supporters embraced after the verdict but seemed to keep their emotions in check.

Duncan, acting as his own attorney, will have the chance next week to convince jurors to give him life in prison without the possibility of parole instead of a death sentence. The jury's sentencing recommendation is binding on U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge.

Duncan pleaded guilty to 10 federal felonies for the trauma he inflicted on Dylan Groene and his then-8-year-old sister, Shasta, in May 2005 after murdering their older brother, their mother and her fiance in the Coeur d'Alene area. Duncan pleaded guilty to those three murders in state court, where he also could be sentenced to death.

He kidnapped the two young children and took them deep into the Lolo National Forest, where he sexually abused and tortured them for weeks. He ultimately shot the boy point-blank in the head while his sister watched. He was arrested after returning with Shasta to Coeur d'Alene, where a waitress recognized the girl as the two ate at a Denny's restaurant.

Jurors cringed and cried when they viewed videos Duncan made in which he molested, tortured and hanged Dylan Groene until the boy was unconscious and nearly dead. Duncan told the panel that government lawyers helped him victimize the jurors by making them watch and listen to the evidence.

"I should actually thank the government for helping me get my eye for an eye by showing you the evidence that you've seen, the videos," Duncan said during his closing argument Friday.

Duncan, a convicted pedophile originally from Tacoma, Wash., told jurors that by presenting the evidence, the government was "helping me to take away your heart and your innocence."

"That's what they have done, and I should thank them but I won't," he said.

Steven Groene declined to discuss the case much, saying a gag order remained in effect, but said he was pleased with the ruling.

Groene said he would lobby for stronger victims' rights in the future. He objected to spectators at the hearing being permitted to view the videos of his son being abused, and said the spectators should have been screened to make sure they weren't sex offenders looking to take pleasure from the highly publicized case.

"My murdered, molested son should have had the same rights as a living victim," Groene said. "I've had too much focus on keeping my family together and protecting my daughter, fighting cancer for the last few years but now that this appears to be close to over, I'm going to work on changing that."

Duncan said he wasn't in court because he was caught, but because Shasta Groene - the sole survivor of the kidnapping and attack - didn't judge him for his actions, prompting him to take her home.

It's not yet clear if Shasta will testify - and face the prospect of being cross-examined by her attacker - in the next phase of the trial. She did not testify in the phase just completed.

The court has ruled that if the girl does testify, it will be by closed-circuit camera and that the courtroom will be closed to the public, with a transcript of her testimony given to reporters afterward.

Duncan, originally from Tacoma, Wash., was a convicted pedophile before the killings. The rampage was the culmination of years of planning, he said, and he originally intended to rape and kill until he was killed.

Duncan has a long string of arrests and convictions for crimes ranging from car theft to rape and molestation. He is suspected in the slayings of two half-sisters from Seattle in 1996 and is charged with killing a young boy in Riverside County, Calif., in 1997.

A witness testified for the prosecution on Thursday that Duncan had raped him at gunpoint in 1980, when the man was just 14 years old.

The Associated Press generally does not identify victims of sexual assault. In Shasta and Dylan Groene's cases, however, the search for the children was so heavily publicized that their names are widely known.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DUNCAN_SLAYINGS?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
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« Reply #5 on: August 23, 2008, 01:58:22 PM »

Every time I read about Shasta's ordeal, my heart just breaks for her. And the suffereing of that poor child Dylan is just unbearable to hear. I hope Slade died quickly, because I'd hate to think another child was tortured by that monster.
I admire Steve Groene's restraint, because I would have to kill Duncan with my bare hands if those were my children. I don't know how he can stand being in the courtroom with him.  He must be getting his strength from his brave little girl. I hope his health holds out until she's an adult, because thanks to Duncan, she only has her Dad left.
This is such a horrible story, really and truly, one of the worst. Duncan should be put to death, but not before some of his fellow inmates have their fun with him.
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« Reply #6 on: August 28, 2008, 07:32:07 AM »


Duncan Gets Death Penalty for Murder of Idaho Boy
Duncan sentenced to death for kidnapping, torture and murder of northern Idaho boy
By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press Writer
BOISE, Idaho August 27, 2008 (AP)
The Associated Press

A jury has sentenced Joseph Edward Duncan III to death for the kidnapping, torture and murder of 9-year-old Dylan Groene.

A longtime sex offender was sentenced to death Wednesday for the 2005 kidnapping, torture and murder of a 9-year-old northern Idaho boy after federal jurors who watched video of some of the brutality deliberated just three hours.

The jurors' recommendation was binding on U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge, who thanked them, dismissed them and then sentenced Joseph Edward Duncan III.

Relatives of the victim, Dylan Groene, remained somber as the jury's decision was announced. Duncan murdered Dylan's mother, older brother and his mother's fiance to kidnap him and his younger sister, who was sexually abused along with her brother but survived.

"The jury speaks the mind of the community," U.S. Attorney Tom Moss said. "By the verdict today, they have given voice to the victims."

Duncan showed no reaction other than smiling as the verdict was passed to the judge.

He took Dylan and the boy's then-8-year-old sister, Shasta, to a remote western Montana campsite where he raped, tortured and threatened them before shooting Dylan in the head and burning his body. Jurors viewed horrifying video Duncan made of him sexually abusing, torturing and hanging Dylan until the boy lost consciousness.

"This defendant is dangerous. He is a predator who takes pride in his work," prosecutor Traci Whelan said. "He earned this day. His actions ... call out for the death penalty."

Duncan acted as his own attorney but had offered no response to prosecutors' closing argument.

"I have no argument," he told the court.

With an eye toward kidnapping the two children, Duncan stalked their family. In 2005 he entered their Coeur d'Alene-area home and used a hammer to fatally bludgeon their 13-year-old brother, Slade Groene, his mother, Brenda Groene, and her fiance, Mark McKenzie.

Duncan was arrested and Shasta rescued weeks after the kidnappings when a waitress at a Denny's in Coeur d'Alene called police after recognizing the two as they ate.

Duncan pleaded guilty in December to 10 federal charges involving the kidnappings and the murder of Dylan. He pleaded guilty to the other three murders in state court, where he also could be sentenced to death.

"I am so glad this is over. Justice has been served," said Darlene Torres, Brenda Groene's mother. "It's been very painful."

She said that when she saw Duncan in court, "I seen nothing but an evil, empty, coldhearted shell."

In closing arguments, Whelan reminded the jury of Duncan's lifelong "pattern of violence," including a conviction for raping a boy at gunpoint in 1980. Duncan has told investigators he killed two half-sisters from Seattle in 1996, and he is charged with killing a young boy in Riverside County, Calif., in 1997.

Duncan may now be brought to Riverside County to stand trial in the death of Anthony Martinez.

Whelan told the jury that Duncan would pose a risk even to prison guards and fellow inmates.

"This defendant uses the time that he has to think out these plans and he is dangerous," she said. "He is adaptable and he is dangerous."

The heinousness of the evidence in Dylan's murder made it particularly difficult for the jurors to remain impartial as they deliberate, said Art Patterson, a jury consultant and senior vice president of the trial consulting firm DecisionQuest.

"Generally, for human beings, it's pretty hard to maintain impartiality when confronted with such horror," Patterson said.

"How could any juror not want to see this person removed from our list of living human beings? How could you live with yourself as a juror if there's any chance this human being could escape from jail and do something like this again?" Patterson said.

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/WireStory?id=5669801&page=2
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« Reply #7 on: August 28, 2008, 11:21:12 AM »

bye bye duncan,  rot in hell
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RIP Grumpy Cat :( I will miss you.


« Reply #8 on: November 07, 2008, 11:08:32 AM »

Nov 3, 11:08 PM EST

Idaho killer Duncan gets 6 additional life terms
 
BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Confessed child-killer Joseph Edward Duncan III received his final sentences Monday for the torture and slayings of an Idaho family with a judge telling him that his cruel rampage "exceeds the bounds of human understanding."

Six life prison terms in federal and state court were added to the death sentences a federal jury handed Duncan in August. He already is serving three life sentences handed to him by a state judge in 2006 on kidnapping counts.

In May 2005, Duncan kidnapped 9-year-old Dylan Groene, and his sister Shasta, then 8, from their Coeur d'Alene home and held them for weeks in western Montana. He tortured and sexually abused both children, eventually killing Dylan but Shasta was rescued after seven weeks.

Duncan had targeted the children, watching their home and killing their 13-year-old brother, Slade Groene, their mother, Brenda Groene, and her fiance, Mark McKenzie, in order to take the young siblings.

In state court Monday, Duncan was sentenced to three life terms for those murders, a penalty agreed upon mainly to spare Shasta the trauma of testifying. Shortly after that hearing, U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge sentenced Duncan to three federal life terms, one for kidnapping Shasta, and one each for sexually abusing Shasta and her brother.

"By any stretch of the imagination, your rampage ... exceeded the bounds of human understanding," Lodge told Duncan. "These crimes ... were unfathomable, cruel and sadistic."

Prosecutors say the Federal Bureau of Prisons will determine where Duncan, 45, should be held, a decision that may be influenced by whether California authorities pursue criminal charges against him for the 1997 abduction and murder of a 10-year-old boy.

Duncan, a convicted pedophile originally from Tacoma, Wash., has said his violence was motivated by a need to seek revenge on society.

Offered a final chance Monday to explain his actions or offer remorse to Groene relatives, Duncan was unapologetic and instead quoted a biblical passage stating he cared very little about being judged for his crimes.

Duncan had pleaded guilty to 10 federal crimes stemming from his kidnapping and sexual abuse of the children and the slaying of Dylan. Three of those charges qualified for the death penalty, which the federal jury delivered in August.

Prosecutors have said the law requires the multiple death sentences and life terms, and would act as safeguards if convictions or sentences are overturned on appeal.

Duncan has 10 days to file a notice of intent to appeal his federal sentence.

During his federal death penalty hearing, prosecutors spelled out the grim details of the weeks the children were held captive.

Four jurors who decided that sentence attended the sentencing Monday, as did Steven Groene, the father of Shasta, Dylan and Slade.

Lodge ordered Duncan to pay $100,000 in restitution to cover future costs of counseling and treatment for Shasta, though the judge acknowledged Duncan likely is unable to pay.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DUNCAN_SLAYINGS?SITE=WXNT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
 
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« Reply #9 on: November 03, 2015, 07:22:53 AM »

http://www.khq.com/story/30388788/shastas-story-shasta-groenes-new-path-10-years-after-tragedy

Shasta's Story: Shasta Groene's new path 10 years after tragedy
Posted: Oct 29, 2015 6:12 PM CDT
Updated: Nov 01, 2015 1:16 PM CST
by Gabe Cohen, KHQ Local News Reporter

BOISE, Idaho -

On a new path, far from home, Shasta Groene clears her mind. The 18-year-old walks the paved streets of southern Idaho, searching for inner peace. This is her new home and her new life, far from the troubled young girl who experienced tragedy a decade ago.

On May 16, 2005, authorities discovered the bodies of three members of the Groene family. Shasta’s mother Brenda, stepfather Mark, and brother Slade were found brutally murdered inside their Coeur d’Alene-area home. Deputies quickly discovered that two children were missing; Shasta and her brother Dylan.

The community prayed for Shasta and Dylan’s safe return, holding vigils, and openly weeping with despair at the idea of two sweet, local kids stolen from their quiet community. More than a month passed, and many believed hope was lost. They were wrong.

On July 2, 2005, Joseph Duncan inexplicably drove Shasta and himself to Coeur d’Alene, where they ate a meal at the local Denny’s. An employee and a customer recognized the young girl from media coverage and called police. Within minutes Duncan was in handcuffs, and 8-year-old Shasta was safe.

Many hoped this was the end of the ordeal. But in many ways, Shasta’s story was just beginning.

“I couldn’t really live my life or go out without someone recognizing me,” Shasta told KHQ in an exclusive sit-down interview. “Everywhere I went it was ‘Oh, there’s Shasta Groene,’ as if I were famous, and I didn’t like that. I was like ‘I’m a normal girl, treat me like a normal girl.’”

Shasta says she became a celebrity victim, defined by tragedy and plagued by guilt.

“There were years and years where I felt that what happened was my fault,” she said. “Like I could have done something to change what happened… I had my innocence taken from me. I felt really ashamed of that.”

Her childhood could never be normal.

“I didn’t feel like I was a normal 8-year-old and I hated that so much,” she said. “I wanted to be everyone else but myself.”

Shasta says the celebrity status sent her down a dark path. She was consumed by concerns about her body image. Soon she started drinking, and eventually doing drugs with older teens she’d met.

“It was like, ‘Oh Shasta, she’ll get high with us,’ or ‘She’ll party with us,’” she said.

She felt more at home in this scene. She finally broke the image that had been handed to her the day Joseph Duncan brought her back to Coeur d’Alene. But addiction had its consequences.

In February 2104, drug related crime landed Shasta in juvenile detention. She says that 12-month sentence saved her life.

“I don’t know where I’d be,” she said. “I don’t know if I’d be alive.”

During her time at the program in southern Idaho, her life changed. She met life-long friends, and eventually, the man who remains her fiancé today. When she got out, she decided to start a new life in the area, far from the home where she grew up.

For the first time in a decade, Shasta Groene has a clean slate.

 

She’s been working through that pain for 10 years, but today something’s different; a new life, with a future she never expected.

Shasta is due to have a baby boy in March.

“I almost feel like this is a miracle baby,” she said. “It’s something that’s going to change my life for the better.”

She had feared her captor, Joseph Duncan, had done too much damage for her to get pregnant.

“I think it just symbolizes me being able to take what’s happened to me and making something good out of it,” she said.

Shasta’s rebirth came quickly, after ten tough years. But a long journey of love lies ahead. Shasta describes herself as a survivor, who will no longer be defined by the worst tragedy you could imagine. She also hopes to help other survivors reach a point where they, too, can find peace and move forward.

She also shared a message for Joseph Duncan.

“I’d want him to know that he doesn’t control me, and he doesn’t control how I feel,” she said. “He’s the person who took away my family and my innocence, but I don’t ever really think about him. It’s just my family. And I want him to know he doesn’t have any power right now, because he’s the one sitting in prison while I’m out living my life.”

A long life filled with strength and struggles that together brought her to this new path. Shasta is somehow grateful for the tough times she’s experienced, because they made her who she is today – a strong young woman, and soon to be mom.

In many ways, Shasta Groene is still searching for the path that will take her where she wants to go. It’s hard to say when she’ll get there. But each step brings her just a bit closer.

“I’m getting there,” she said.

“And I feel a peace in my life that I’ve never felt before.”
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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
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« Reply #10 on: November 16, 2015, 08:47:07 AM »

Blessings to Shasta -- taking her power back!
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