Natalee Case Discussion #832 4/22/10 - 6/2/10

[texasmom]

Truth & Justice for Natalee!

[texasmom]

http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2565315

Help sought for 3 boys after fatal crash

Posted By KYLE REA TIMES-JOURNAL

Posted 7 hours ago

Tom Norman was a happy father with three young boys, a wife of six years, and a good life in St. Thomas.

But three weeks ago, the family dynamics changed forever after Tom, 41, was killed and his wife, Christine, seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash in Aruba.

"It's so tragic. They've got these three boys and they were very happy," said Tom's sister, Kelley Norman.


Tom was born in Brampton, Ont. but, along with his family, spent most of his life in London. Christine and Tom moved to St. Thomas about a year ago with their three children Cole, 6, Trent, 4, and Reed, 2.

In April, the couple decided to go on vacation, their first in 10 years, and decided on a cruise of the Caribbean.

They set sail on April 12 and visited islands in the area, stopping at Aruba on April 16. They went to a nearby lot to rent an ATV, but before they could even leave the parking lot, a pickup truck struck their vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle, a 30-year-old-man, was arrested and police are investigating.

Kelley Norman said they never saw it coming.

"The pickup truck swerved into them. Christine said all she could remember seeing was the grill of the truck and she felt pain."

She believes Tom was killed instantly, while Christine suffered a shattered pelvis and leg injury. She was airlifted back to hospital in London, where she remains, having undergone extensive reconstructive surgery.

Kelley Norman expects she'll be in hospital for another four months and the children cared for by family members.

Kelley Norman said her brother was an "amazing" man and father.

"And everybody we've talked to said the same thing. He was the friendliest, most approachable man," she explained, adding more than 200 people gathered on the weekend to pay tribute to him.

Tom worked for Diamond Aircraft in London as a test pilot and flight-line supervisor and, in his spare time, was involved with hockey and sports, regularly took the boys camping and planned to teach them to ski and play hockey this winter.

To assist the boys, Kelley Norman said a trust fund has been set up at TD Canada Trust. She explained that, due to his occupation, Tom was only eligible for limited life and accident insurance. "We've set it up for the family, and for the boys, just to be able to survive and for their education, and for whatever we can do for them," Kelley Norman said, adding about $20,000 has been raised.

Those interested in helping out the Norman family can contribute to the fund at TD Canada Trust St. Thomas, 378 Talbot St. Account # 6371107-02.

Kelley Norman said they're considering legal action against the driver involved in the crash. It's a concern because 12 drinking-and-driving related fatalities have occurred in Aruba this year. "Even if we don't get any compensation for Christine, just to make people aware. I would like tourists going there to know about this. If the place is a death trap, it's a concern."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thestar/obituary.aspx?n=frederick-thomas-norman-tom&pid=142116000

   This is just so sad...

http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010/04/30/13771241.html

Family shattered by death

By RANDY RICHMOND, THE LONDON FREE PRESS
Last Updated: April 30, 2010 11:13am

Tom Norman's identical twin brother won't see the young boys yet.

He looks so much like Tom, the boys might get confused if he walks through the doors and into their house.

Is daddy home? they might wonder.

The twin brother can't take that risk, because daddy's not coming home. Ever.

Daddy -- Tom Norman -- was killed by a drunk driver in Aruba on April 16.

As his closeknit family, horribly injured wife Christine, and his many London friends mourn his loss, they are doing all they can to protect his sons.

Cole, 6, understands what happened a bit. Trent, 4, a little less.

Reed, 2, saw a photograph of his dad and his dad's twin brother the other day and said. "Two daddies."

So the twin brother, Tim Norman, stays away.

"He is a little bit worried about seeing them the first time," sister Kelley Norman says. "He doesn't want to confuse them. We're just not sure."

Unsure as well of the boys' financial future, the family has just set up a trust fund for them.

Tom Norman was a test pilot at Diamond Aircraft and could get only minimal insurance because he was in a high-risk career, Kelley said.

His wife Christine was working part-time and going to Fanshawe College before the crash that took her husband's life and smashed her legs and pelvis.

"She is pretty shattered," Kelley said. "She is in emotional and physical pain."

Kelley is one of five Norman siblings with deep roots in London. She and her sisters, Tracy and Kristie, came first.

Then came the twin boys, Tom and Tim.

"They were fabulous. They were terrible," Kelley recalls with a laugh.

"Mom had a repeater plan at the hospital. They were there so often getting stitches or something."

The boys did everything with each other and to each other. They tried to put each other in the dryer and set it on spin. They proudly came into the family home on Lynngate Place one day and announced to their mother, "We finally broke every window in the garage."

An adventurous boy, Tom became a pilot as an adult.

Along the way, he met Christine, a waiter at the bar his father owned across the road from Fanshawe College, Carey's Pub.

His twin, Tim, met his wife, Stephanie, also a waiter at the pub.

Tom got a job at Diamond Aircraft, where as flightline supervisor he tested aircraft and did orientation flights for customers.

About two years ago, Tom surprised Christine with a cruise vacation.

But the couple learned she was pregnant with their third child, and delayed their plans.

This spring, they boarded the Caribbean Princess for their first vacation together.

Tom was like a little kid, Christine told the family after the accident.

"He was so exited,' Kelley said.

"He was roaming all over the ship, saying 'This is the life. This is the life.' They were just having a ball."

Four days into the cruise, the ship stopped in Aruba and the couple rented an ATV.

"They didn't even get out of the parking lot," Kelley said.

A pickup truck hit them head on. Tom was killed instantly and Christine was thrown over the front of the truck. Aruba news reports state the driver of the truck was drunk and there were drugs in the truck.

But the news reports also got Tom's name wrong, and the family is still waiting for the definitive word from Aruba police.

There is no mistaking, however, the impact of the crash.

"Christine is not doing well," Kelley said yesterday.

The boys are afraid to visit the hospital and see their mother so injured. She had to lie helpless while others arranged for her husband's body to come home.

"Christine is devastated because Tom had so many plans for the boys," Kelley said.

He had already taken them camping and started them skating. This weekend, the older two boys will start soccer. Tom had registered them before he left for the cruise.

"Anyone who ever knew Tom is devastated for these little boys," Kelley said.

"He will never walk back through the door and take them in his arms."

--- --- ---

TO HELP

Tom Norman's family has set up a trust fund to help with his sons' financial future. The fund is at TD Canada Trust, 378 Talbot St., St. Thomas. The account number is 6371107-02.

E-mail randy.richmond@sunmedia.ca or follow Randyatlfpress on Twitter.

[klaasend]

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100506/NEWS/5060332

Can psychic help find killer? Local couple willing to try anything to solve daughter's 1992 death

 
Psychic tour

What: Robbie Thomas “Psychic Justice” tour


When: 8-10 p.m. Friday


Where: Masonic Temple, 216 E. Washington Blvd.


Cost: $30 per person in advance, $40 at the door
By Kevin Leininger
of The News-Sentinel


When you're desperate, even the bizarre can seem rational.

And so Friday, more than 17 years after a still-anonymous arsonist murdered their daughter, John and Janice Purcell will get on a stage in downtown Fort Wayne and listen as a traveling psychic tries to identify her killer – in front of people who have paid up to $40 each to watch the show.

Being intelligent people, the Purcells realize it all sounds more than a little strange. They don't care.

“If it helps solve this thing, I'll do anything. If I stop (looking for the killer), he's won,” said John Purcell, whose life was changed forever on Christmas Eve 1992 when a house fire in Harlan killed his 32-year-old daughter, Joesette, and her boyfriend, Jeff Koop.

If this were a TV show, the police would have cracked this case long ago. But they haven't, which is why the Purcells have resorted to unconventional methods – billboards, rewards, regular media appeals for information – in their long search for justice and peace of mind.

That's why, when Canada-based psychic sleuth Robbie Thomas called a few months ago, the couple was willing to listen and, ultimately, cooperate.

According to the Purcells, Thomas has already given them credible information about the fire that has not been publicly available – and even drew a sketch of the man who Thomas believes set the fire that closely resembles a prime suspect in the case.

The Purcells have tried psychics before, John said, and even paid a Florida woman $600 for her services – with nothing to show for it but more frustration. But they think Thomas is on the level and, besides, he's not charging them a dime, and the show will further publicize their search for Joesette's killer. So what have they got to lose?

“You have to have hope or you'll give up,” Janice Purcell said.

In spirit, the Purcells plan to bring bittersweet mementos of their daughter that they hope will evoke useful images in Thomas' mind, including Joesette's last photograph and a Merry Christmas wish she wrote on a message board just two hours before her death.

Janice Purcell doesn't expect miracles, maybe just a few snippets of information that police could piece together like a real-life jigsaw puzzle.

Thomas claims to have worked with police and families on other high-profile unsolved cases, including the 2005 disappearance of Alabama high school student Natalee Holloway in Aruba. Thomas' Fort Wayne show is also scheduled to include Marilyn Williams, whose daughter, Sheila Wimes, was murdered in 2001.

Not everyone is as receptive to Thomas' “help,” however. Several websites are devoted to debunking him and his alleged exploitation of grieving families – including one bluntly called “Stop Robbie Thomas.”

Allen County Sheriff Ken Fries isn't willing to go that far.

“Police are always looking for help, even when it's unconventional,” he said. “You never know what the brain is capable of.”

No, you don't. As the Purcells' long ordeal proves only too well, the mind is capable of incomprehensible cruelty and indifference. In my business, skepticism is a virtue, which is why I'm not convinced Thomas can help. But then, I'm also skeptical of claims that he can't. Nor would I begrudge Thomas an income from his “gift,” if his intentions and concern are genuine.

Because life isn't a TV show, the police haven't solved this case, even though Fries said they continue to pursue leads. That reality is, ironically, reflected in the TV shows about psychics who solve cases that cops can't.

And, on those shows, the psychic never fails.

Thomas, however, may very well fail – in which case the Purcells will go on with their seemingly endless quest for justice for their daughter, and rest for themselves.

“I don't like doing all this, but we have to solve this thing,” John said.

“Whoever did this is still out there, doing whatever he wants to do,” Janice added. “We need closure. You have to have hope, or you'll give up.”

And if that hope is dashed again Friday, well, it's happened before. It's a price they willingly, if not eagerly, pay.

[Tamikosmom]

Remind me to check after 5/6 to see if there are any new documents posted 



Case Number: BC363201
DEEPAK KALPOE VS PHILLIP C MCGRAW

Filing Date: 12/13/2006
Case Type: Defamation (Slander/Libel) (General Jurisdiction)
Status: Pending

Future Hearings

05/06/2010 at 08:30 am in department 69 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Final Status Conference (TRIAL DATE OF 5-17-10 TO BECONTINUED)

05/17/2010 at 09:30 am in department 69 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Jury Trial

Klaas

Has there been any updates regarding this defamation suit that seems to be never ending.

Thanks

Janet

[texasmom]

http://www.amigoe.com/artman/publish/artikel_72081.php

Google translation:

ARUBA

Jail for jealous wife

May 6, 2010, 13:20 (GMT -04:00)

ORANGE CITY - A jealous wife has her revenge must pay for a prison sentence. The judge went yesterday with the requirement of the Public Prosecutor (OM) and sentenced the defendant to 90 days in jail, 80 suspended. They also must perform 120 hours of community service.

The woman, MC, drove her car on March 19, 2009 against a rival intentionally. The confrontation between the two women took place in a parking lot. They had agreed with each other. The conversation, which dealt with the affair between the husband of C. and the other woman, ended in a scuffle. A male passer-by pulled the women from fighting each other, but C. then walked resolutely into her car and drove at full speed toward the mistress.

The prosecution argued yesterday that the intention of C. had been to kill her rival. For that reason, they reported a little later is for the police. She thought she had slain woman, said the prosecutor. The injuries the victim had with the court verdict. The mistress has suffered permanent disfigurement to her hips. They also had surgery on her knees undergo. For six weeks she could not stand or walk.

The defense lawyer pointed out that C. yet not completely intact. The other woman had her finger bitten her, which had become infected meat that C. under operatiemes had.
In addition to the jail of 90 days, 80 suspended, was C. of the court to probation for two years. Her 120 hours of community service does not necessarily accomplish. They may also 60 additional days in prison, said the judge.

 

[texasmom]

http://www.amigoe.com/artman/publish/artikel_72087.php

Google translation:

The Aruban Resort sold for 35 million

May 6, 2010, 13:25 (GMT -04:00)

Email this article   
Print this article 
 
The Aruban Resort was auctioned today for $ 20,000,000.

ORANGE CITY - The Aruban Resort this morning during an auction for twenty million dollars (35 million florin) were bought by U.S. investment fund Icahn Partners. This so-called hedge fund billionaire Carl Icahn was the only bidder at the auction.

According to John Cole, a member of the board of the timeshare hotel, the auction was requested by Icahn Partners as co-owner already had a share in the timeshare hotel. "They have indicated the hotel to develop and build a new casino ', Cole left this morning after the auction Amigoe know.

Interim measures
before the auction could take place, there was a problem between timeshare owners and new buyers are resolved. There were some 15,000 unsold timeshare weeks at the hotel in question. The timeshare owners and their management, united in a cooperative harnessed lawsuit against the bank Wells Fargo. This bank, contracted by Icahn Partners, was a mortgagee of The Aruban Resort Development went bankrupt after KL. This company manages the hotel on behalf of shareholders. Lawyers Arie Swaen and Winfried Kloes, trustees in bankruptcy of KL Resort Development, were summoned. The cooperative association demanded a penalty of twenty million florin a day, the unsold timeshare weeks would not go in the auction. They wanted it remains free to claim to be taking their own security purchased weeks. According to Cole, it was more the latter. 'It was just a formality. We wanted to be sure of our position as timeshare owners and we have this interim action lawsuit. "Cole says himself happy with the auction and the buyer.

Sharp
It was during the trial to focus on. According to Milly Schwengle lawyer who acted on behalf of the cooperative, Wells Fargo could not claim the week. KL Resort Development would be in his capacity of timeshare owners are expelled from the association. KL, largest shareholder in the resort would have paid no maintenance for a long time. Wells Fargo's lawyer, Jeannot de Cuba and curator Kloes could be no question of expulsion if KL Development bankrupt them all. According to them there is no evidence that KL Resort Development at all was a member of the association. She also claimed that nowhere in the statute indicated that the bankruptcy detached weeks automatically expire at the cooperative. Protection of all sales weeks will be filled by the so-called 'non-disturbance' clause of the timeshares.

The court dismissed the claim on. Assigning would be erosion of the mortgage law and extends the mortgage over the statutes of the cooperative. The judge gave before the treatment is clear that legislation in his opinion, 'vague' timeshare industry was well in place.

[Lifesong]

Thank you for bringing us the news, Texasmom.  I'll be keeping the Norman family in my prayers now and for quite some time to come. 

It's an unspeakable tragedy, which there seem to be more and more of in Aruba.  And ALE just gets worse and worse.  Despicable! 

 

[klaasend]

Remind me to check after 5/6 to see if there are any new documents posted 



Case Number: BC363201
DEEPAK KALPOE VS PHILLIP C MCGRAW

Filing Date: 12/13/2006
Case Type: Defamation (Slander/Libel) (General Jurisdiction)
Status: Pending

Future Hearings

05/06/2010 at 08:30 am in department 69 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Final Status Conference (TRIAL DATE OF 5-17-10 TO BECONTINUED)

05/17/2010 at 09:30 am in department 69 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Jury Trial

Klaas

Has there been any updates regarding this defamation suit that seems to be never ending.

Thanks

Janet

Thanks for the reminder Janet!

Nope - just checked and nothing new yet.  Hopefully later today or tomorrow there will be something.  I'll keep checking 

[klaasend]

Medleyrelay aka Jan Brennan has changed the name of her online book:

http://noevidenceofacrime.com/

It was:  No Evidence of a Crime

Now it's:  Natalee Holloway Missing in Aruba

Wonder if she agrees now there IS evidence of a crime 

[Tamikosmom]

Remind me to check after 5/6 to see if there are any new documents posted 



Case Number: BC363201
DEEPAK KALPOE VS PHILLIP C MCGRAW

Filing Date: 12/13/2006
Case Type: Defamation (Slander/Libel) (General Jurisdiction)
Status: Pending

Future Hearings

05/06/2010 at 08:30 am in department 69 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Final Status Conference (TRIAL DATE OF 5-17-10 TO BECONTINUED)

05/17/2010 at 09:30 am in department 69 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Jury Trial

Klaas

Has there been any updates regarding this defamation suit that seems to be never ending.

Thanks

Janet

Thanks for the reminder Janet!

Nope - just checked and nothing new yet.  Hopefully later today or tomorrow there will be something.  I'll keep checking 

Thank Klaas.

I am off for a few hours and ... I am expecting a miracle outcome when I return ... a miracle outcome that does not conform with my expectations.

1.  The judge will dismiss the lawsuit.
2.  The judge will order the Kalpoes to pay all associated costs.

 

Janet
2:30 PM PT

[klaasend]

http://www.wktv.com/news/local/93003379.html


Major crime detectives from around NYS gather in Vernon

Originally printed at http://www.wktv.com/news/local/93003379.html

VERNON, N.Y. (WKTV) - It's the nightmare of the major crimes detective: the unsolved case.

On Thursday, detectives from around New York State came to Vernon in hopes of learning something to help close their cold cases.

The regional meeting of the Association of Licensed Detectives of New York State took place in Vernon Downs. Among the featured speakers: Gil Alba, a former NYPD detective who, in private practice, worked on such high-profile cases as Chandra Leavy and Natalee Holloway.

Unsolved, cold cases were a major topic of discussion. Along those lines, a presentation from two of the investigators on the Kimberly Simon task force. Her 1985 murder was 'unsolved' in 2008 when DNA evidence exonerated the original suspect, who'd spent nearly 20 years in prison for the crime.

"Some information sharing to get different views, different ideas, it was mainly just to talk about the case. A lot of the stuff that's going on today is concerning missing persons and cold case investigations....being that ours started off as a missing person and now it is a cold case investigation," says Task Force Investigator Richard Ferrucci.

It was science that freed original Kimberly Simon murder suspect Steven Barnes, and it's science that investigators are hoping will bring Simon's real killer or killers to justice. Right now, they are waiting for word from a world-renowned laboratory in Texas; a lab investigators are hoping can work magic with 25-year-old DNA evidence. Investigators could know more next week.

"Next week at some point we're going to be having a big sit down with them either there or through a teleconference to compare notes and see if there's anything else we can do in the form of new testing, old testing," says Ferrucci.

[Tamikosmom]

FLASHBACK

Wrongful Death, Defamation Lawsuits Filed in Natalee Holloway Case; Dr. Phil Named As Defendant

Friday, December 15, 2006

Two lawsuits have been filed in the case of a college student who vanished in Aruba nearly two years ago, FOX News has learned.

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, two of the young men last seen with Natalee Holloway, the Alabama teenager who disappeared in Aruba in May 2005.

The suit of Beth Twitty and Dave Holloway was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court as a related case to a defamation lawsuit the Kalpoe brothers filed Wednesday against pop psychologist and talk show host Dr. Phil, CBS and Paramount, among others.

"All we want is justice for our daughter," Twitty said in a press release issued about the civil case. "There is no doubt in my mind that Deepak and Satish played a role in my daughter's death and should be held accountable. It's unconscionable that they have not been punished so far."

Allegations against the Kalpoes, who are residents of the Caribbean island where the 18-year-old Holloway was traveling on a class trip when she vanished without a trace, say the brothers caused her death by "intentionally, negligently, wantonly ... unlawfully conducting themselves," bringing about injuries that proved fatal.

The Kalpoes' suit against Dr. Phil, whose real name is Phillip C. McGraw, maintains that an interview filmed with the brothers "was manipulated and later broadcast by the 'Dr. Phil' show as being accurate and which portrays Deepak Kalpoe and Satish Kalpoe 'as engaging in criminal activity against Natalee Holloway and constitutes defamation per se.'"

Holloway was last seen alive with the Kalpoes and a Dutch teen, Joran van der Sloot, in a gray Honda early on the morning of May 30, 2005. The brothers and van der Sloot have all been arrested in connection with her murder — the Kalpoes on two different occasions — and later released, but none have been brought to trial.

Holloway's body has never been found and the highly publicized case — which drew swarms of reporters to Aruba for months during the summer of 2005 — has never been solved, despite numerous leads and extensive searches of various corners of the island.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,236558,00.html

[wreck]

Medleyrelay aka Jan Brennan has changed the name of her online book:

http://noevidenceofacrime.com/

It was:  No Evidence of a Crime

Now it's:  Natalee Holloway Missing in Aruba

Wonder if she agrees now there IS evidence of a crime 

She ought to write an autobiography : "No Evidence of a Mind" 

[Keepthefaith]

TICK_TOCK

[texasmom]

Thank you for bringing us the news, Texasmom.  I'll be keeping the Norman family in my prayers now and for quite some time to come. 

It's an unspeakable tragedy, which there seem to be more and more of in Aruba.  And ALE just gets worse and worse.  Despicable! 

 

You're welcome Lifesong!   

It will be interesting to see what becomes of the "investigation" into Tom Norman's death on Aruba.  If we'll ever even know.  But I will be keeping a watch for any news regarding it.  Considering that up to this point, any punishment for drunk driving and drugs seems to be very selective in Aruba...I truly hope that there WILL BE justice in this case.  I pray that Christine Norman will be able to recover physically and mentally from the devastation that she's endured with her injuries and the loss of her husband, so that she will be able to comfort and care for her very young sons that have lost their father. 

They will be in my thoughts and prayers too. 

[texasmom]

Truth and Justice for Natalee!

[Lifesong]

Medleyrelay aka Jan Brennan has changed the name of her online book:

http://noevidenceofacrime.com/

It was:  No Evidence of a Crime

Now it's:  Natalee Holloway Missing in Aruba

Wonder if she agrees now there IS evidence of a crime 

She ought to write an autobiography : "No Evidence of a Mind" 

Eh, I think she should title her autobiography:  "Face Like A Man"

[2NJSons_Mom]

 

[2NJSons_Mom]

 

Natalee's Candles

http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=5700.0

[MisGivings]

Medleyrelay aka Jan Brennan has changed the name of her online book:

http://noevidenceofacrime.com/

It was:  No Evidence of a Crime

Now it's:  Natalee Holloway Missing in Aruba

Wonder if she agrees now there IS evidence of a crime 

She ought to write an autobiography : "No Evidence of a Mind" 

Eh, I think she should title her autobiography:  "Face Like A Man"

It scared me when I saw it. Was wondering if Steven King needed a new leading lady.