TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

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  • Roid rage inconclusive

    Roid rage inconclusive

    Questions still loom in Benoit case:

    Again, if you won’t believe me that roid rage in the deaths of the Benoit family is not a foregone conclusion, then how about Georgia’s top coroner?

    Pro wrestler Chris Benoit had more than 10 times the normal level of testosterone in his system when he hanged himself in his home after killing his wife and 7-year-old son last month. But did that have anything to do with the slayings?

    “I think it’s an unanswerable question,” said Dr. Kris Sperry, Georgia’s top medical examiner.

    Test results released Tuesday neither bolstered nor entirely debunked speculation that anabolic steroids might have led Benoit, a wrestler with a family-man image, to commit the shocking crimes. Some experts believe steroids can cause paranoia, depression and violent outbursts known as “roid rage,” but Sperry noted that there is no consensus on the issue.

    Even the high levels of testosterone should not be overanalyzed, Sperry warned. They could indicate the wrestler was being treated for “testicular insufficiency,” he said.

    Well, I think we know that Chris Benoit had “testicular insufficiency” because only a nutless coward is capable of killing his family, but I digress.

    In the end, he said, authorities will never know whether the steroid could have caused the murderous outburst.

    Not only that but if roid rage is as prevalent as some people falsely claim, then how come there isn’t a murder a week coming out of Major League Baseball or the NFL?

  • craigslist job interview gone wrong

    craigslist job interview gone wrong

    Woman: Craigslist Ad Leads To Inappropriate Interview:

    This is a new one to me, since people who place employment ads on craigslist have to actually pay for the ad. I guess you can’t even trust employment ads on the internet’s hive of scum and villainy.

    PHILADELPHIA — A Conshohocken woman said she was just looking for work when an online ad on Craigslist caught her eye.

    Aleshia Endy, 22, said she now hopes police catch the man who ran the ad.

    “I thought it was a legit position. I really thought it was something, but now I’m grossed out,” Endy said.

    Endy said the job ad on the nationwide Web site, Craigslist.com, appeared to be perfect for her.

    “I responded to it, said apply for personal assistant/office manager, so I sent my picture and resume,” Endy said.

    Endy said she later found out that when the author wrote “female preferred” and “obey instructions” in the ad, he meant it.

    After responding to the ad, Endy called her potential employer, Eber Devine.

    Endy said Devine told her he was moving from one office to another, so he wanted to set up the interview at the University of Pennsylvania campus at the Van Pelt Library.

    “He met me outside. We went upstairs to where there’s, like, conference rooms,” Endy said.

    Endy said, at first, everything seemed fine. She filled out an application and agreed to a background check, and he promised her a generous salary.

    But right in the middle of the interview came the shocker.

    “He told me, ‘I want you to stand up. Go walk around the room. Go stand in the corner. I want to look at your ass,’” Endy said.

    Endy said she told him no, and when she started to walk away it became uncomfortable.

    “He stood up. He came over and started touching my shoulders and my chest and got real close and started breathing on me heavily,” Endy said.

    Endy said she pushed him away and left, but Devine had Endy’s cell phone number from the application and apparently was not finished talking.

    “Yeah, Aleshia, I think you are an excellent candidate,” one message said.

    “He called me about six times. I have it in my call log,” Endy said.

    Endy contacted the NBC 10 Investigators and the police.

    NBC 10’s Harry Hairston started looking into Devine’s background and found pages and pages of court records.

    Court documents show Devine’s criminal history goes back as far as 1986.

    NBC 10’s investigation turned up five different mug shots, some of which were taken between 2002 and December 2006.

    The self-proclaimed CEO also has a laundry list of guilty pleas.

    Records show he pleaded guilty to theft of leased property, unlawful use of a computer, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.

    NBC 10 went to Devine’s Philadelphia home. The 38-year-old self-styled entrepreneur lives with his father.

    Hairston asked Devine’s father if he knew anything about the ad on Craigslist.

    “That’s something he’s doing. He’s a grown man. I don’t know anything about it,” Devine’s father said.

    Hours after the visit, Devine called NBC 10. He wouldn’t go on camera, but he did admit to placing the ad on Craigslist, claiming to be the CEO of his own company and interviewing Endy.

    Devine denies anything inappropriate happened during the interview,

    That may be for a court to decide. The district attorney’s Office has issued a warrant for his arrest.

    He’s facing charges of sexual harassment, false imprisonment, indecent assault, unlawful restraint and burglary.

    “I just want him off the streets. I want the women out there to know what kind of person he is. I want him off the streets,” Endy said.

    Police said they are looking for Devine.

    And a spokeperson for Craigslist said illegal activity is forbidden on Craigslist by the company’s terms of use, and is not welcome on the site.

    I can almost see the craigslist spokesperson winking as they said that.

  • Benoit family toxicology report released

    Benoit family toxicology report released

    GBI: Benoit had steroids in system:

    Yeah, yeah, yeah. Chris Benoit had steroids in his system. No big shock there. He was a professional wrestler, after all. But before all of you roid rage zealots start pointing fingers at me with your “I told you so” attitudes, you may want to unbunch your panties for a second.

    Chris Benoit also had Xanax and Hydrocodone in his system, a sedative and a painkiller. Now I’m not a doctor, I don’t even play one on the internet, but I’ve been prescribed both drugs, luckily not at the same time. Taking either one has pretty much knocked me on my ass. I’m not a small guy, either. I’m over 6 feet tall, and I hover around the 200 lb. mark. Not as big as Benoit, but not a small guy either. So in my estimation, I think the inclusion of the Xanax and Hydrocodone pretty much precludes any ‘roid rage’ that so many of you have been shouting from the rooftops.

    Nancy Benoit also had Xanax and Hydrocodone in her system as well. Daniel Benoit had Xanax in his system, which leads me to believe that Chris Benoit sedated his son before killing him. What a freakin’ humanitarian.

  • Hainstock may face additional charge

    Hainstock may face additional charge

    Teen may face another charge:

    Prosecutors are trying to get an additional charge of attempted murder pressed against Eric Hainstock. Hainstock is accused of shooting and killing Weston Schools principal John Klang.

    Prosecutors allege that Hainstock also pointed the gun at his own special education teacher, James Nowak, prior to the death of Klang. Nowak is the same teacher who Hainstock allegedly threw a stapler at.

    Of course, the defense is not happy…

    “We have eight business days between now and the day we pick a jury and go to trial,” said Rhoda Ricciardi, one of the Madison-based attorneys representing 16-year-old Hainstock. “And now we are also supposed to defend against an attempted homicide? If that’s not prejudice, sir, I don’t know what is.”

    The prosecution offered this explanation…

    Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett said she previously mentioned the possibility of additional charges to Hainstock’s defense team, but only recently received the transcripts of prior testimony necessary to go forward with the additional charge. She said there is no new evidence defense attorneys must study.

    As much as I’d like to see Hainstock get as much time as possible, I doubt the attempted murder charge will stick or even be allowed.

    The trial is set to start on July 26th.

  • Versace not the only victim

    Versace not the only victim

    Versace’s mansion, 10 years after murder:

    This is something that’s been sticking in my craw for 10 years now.

    Back in 1997, serial killer Andrew Cunanan went on an interstate killing spree. It started in Minnesota when he killed his friend Jeffery Trail. Two days later, he killed architect David Madson also in Minnesota. According to Wikipedia, police recognized a connection, as Trail’s body had been found in Madson’s Minneapolis loft apartment, and started an intensive nationwide manhunt. This barely made a blip in the national media.

    Next, Cunanan killed 72-year-old real estate developer Lee Miglin in Chicago. Cunanan escaped Chicago in Miglin’s car. His next murder kind of hit home for me.

    Cunanan’s next victim was William Reese from Pennsville, New Jersey. In 1997, I was living one county over from Pennsville. The local media exploded all over the story but still hardly anything on the national front.

    Cunanan stole Reese’s truck with which he drove to Miami, where he claimed his most famous victim, fashion designer Gianni Versace. That’s when the story blew up in the national media. Yet, all the focus was on Versace. Very little mention was made of Cunanan’s other victims. Eight days later, Cunanan killed himself in a Miami houseboat.

    All I saw on the national media at that point were stories about other celebrities who lived in the Miami area who feared for their ‘lives’ while Cunanan was on the loose after Versace’s murder. Again, little to no mention of Cunanan’s other victims.

    Fast-forward to today. Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the death of Gianni Versace, and nothing has changed. No disrespect intended to the Versace family, but again the article I linked to above made no mention whatsoever of Cunanan’s other victims.

    So what’s my point? Well, besides the fact that the national media obviously doesn’t really care about murder victims unless they’re famous, my point is that not everyone has forgotten the names of Jeffery Trail, Dave Madson, Lee Miglin, and William Reese.

  • American Teens Gone Wild

    American Teens Gone Wild

    Voyeurs ‘R Us: What parents need to know about Stickam:

    This is a great article from Amy Tiemann at Wired about every parent’s worst nightmare on the internet, Stickam.

    Common sense tells most parents that the whole idea of live video chats involving minors is a ridiculously risky business to start out with. As Stickam’s corporate relationships are being untangled in the press, a parent’s visit to the site reveals that there is already plenty to be worried about.

    My first question is where did the “age 14 and older” guideline come from? What possible reason could there be for anyone under age 18 to interact in live, unfiltered audio/video chat with online strangers or “friends?” No matter where the age restriction is set, it is blatantly unenforced. Stickam’s FAQ says, “While Stickam has established rules keeping children under the age of 14 from becoming a member, it is easy for children to lie about their age and thus gain access to content which may be inappropriate and unintended for them. It is up to parents to properly supervise their children’s online activities.”

    A close reading of Stickam’s privacy policy suggests that the video content that users post to the site can be recorded, repurposed, and commercialized by anyone. To quote the policy, which spells out the agreement between the user and Advanced Video Communications:

    “Any Personal Information (including video content) that you disclose on the Website (for example, on message boards or chat rooms, or within your personal profile page) becomes publicly available and can be collected and used by others. Your account name and other profile information (but not your email address) is displayed to other internet users when you upload videos or send messages through the Website, and you can be contacted by other users who send you comments. Any videos or other content that you submit to the Website (including any Personal Information contained therein) may be distributed through the internet and other media.”

    Does this mean that a 14-year-old’s Webcast make-out session (or worse) can be incorporated into an “American Teens Gone Wild” video sold worldwide? Could Stickam channels be fed to paying customers on DXLive or other adult sites? Think of all the stupid things each of us did as teens that thankfully faded into the past. Now in a highly sexualized environment, young teens are giving up their personal privacy to create online videos that will live on indefinitely to be used by anyone, for any purpose.

    As far as protection goes, it seems that families are on their own.

    I agree wholeheartedly with everything she says concerning Stickam. I never allowed my kids to have webcams, and I always looked funny at the parents that did. And now with Stickam’s alleged ties to porn, if they were still underage would be even more reason for them not to have one.

    And like I’m fond of saying, where are the attorneys general now regarding Stickam? It’s always better to stop a problem before it happens.

  • A Shefelbine strikes back

    A Shefelbine strikes back

    Defendant’s Father Punches Reporter:

    The saga of alleged serial predator Scott Shefelbine took a bizarre twist today. After his bail was revoked, his father, David Shefelbine, punched out a reporter…a female reporter.

    VERNON – After his son was jailed today, David Shefelbine punched a television reporter in the face outside Superior Court in Rockville.

    Erin Cox, from WTNH Channel 8, was asking him for a comment on the judge’s decision involving Scott Shefelbine, 32, when David Shefelbine, 67, swung his right arm and punched her.

    Vernon police were called, interviewed witnesses and viewed footage of the alleged assault taken by photographers for Channel 8 and WVIT Channel 30. Cox went to Rockville General Hospital at 2:35 p.m. to be evaluated.

    Police went to Shefelbine’s Tolland home after the incident to question him, but he refused to answer the door, police said. He later turned himself in at Vernon police headquarters, accompanied by his lawyer. He was charged with second-degree breach of peace and released without having to post bail.

    I’m not surprised he didn’t have to post bail. He should have a $1.5M credit.

    It also seems that a lack of respect for women runs in the family.

  • Third gang rape suspect arrested

    Third gang rape suspect arrested

    3rd teen arrested in gang rape of mother, son in Florida:

    The other day, I posted about the Florida woman who was gang-raped and forced to have sex with her son. Two teens have already been arrested for the brutal and disgusting attack. Those teens are Avion Lawson, 14, and Nathan Walker, 16. Now a third teen has been arrested.

    Fingerprints in the woman’s house linked 15-year-old Jakaris Sansay Taylor to the June 18 attack, West Palm Beach police spokesman Ted White said.

    The state attorney’s office will be seeking a grand jury indictment for all defendants in the case to ensure they are charged as adults, spokesman Mike Edmondson said.

    Taylor was arrested on charges of home invasion robbery with a firearm, wearing a mask while committing an offense, sexual battery and armed sexual battery with multiple perpetrators. He will be transferred to a juvenile detention center once investigators finish questioning him, police said.

    They shouldn’t even be tried as adults. They should be put down like dogs.

  • Marshals, please take Mr. Shefelbine into custody

    Marshals, please take Mr. Shefelbine into custody

    That’s the quote from Judge Stanley T. Fuger Jr. when he ordered the bail of Scott Shefelbine revoked.

    In his ruling, which came at noon, Fuger said he found the parents’ testimony not believable. The judge said he believed Shefelbine and his parents fabricated evidence and conspired to lie in order to keep him out of jail.

    Shefelbine’s mother sobbed. He showed no emotion, stood and faced the marshals and held out his hands.

    I’ve seen mothers in denial about their kids before, but Mrs. Shefelbine takes the cake.

    Since Shefelbine’s bail was revoked, doesn’t that mean that his family loses that $1.5M that they posted? If I was on the verge of losing $1.5M because of an ungrateful son, maybe I would fabricate evidence, too.

    But let’s not lose sight of something. Shefelbine should have had his bail revoked a long time ago. He was arrested multiple times for pretty much the exact same thing. His bail should have been revoked after his second arrest. The first arrest of his that I posted about was back in October 2006. Why in God’s name did it take 9 months to finally get him off the streets?

    And why is no one asking these questions to Conn. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal? You know him, he’s the guy who started all the MySpace hysteria. He likes to brag about how much he does to keep Connecticut’s children safe, yet a serial predator like Shefelbine is allowed to walk free.

    Maybe I’ll have to ask him that question myself.

    Thanks to A Mom for the link.

  • As the Shefelbines turn

    As the Shefelbines turn

    This story gets more bizarre with each passing day.

    Yesterday, the mother of Scott Shefelbine testified in her son’s bail revocation hearing. Her alibi for her son was that he was at church and not trying to molest a 14-year-old girl. Was church really the best thing she could come up with?

    Scott D. Shefelbine was not in West Hartford on the evening of April 19 trying to hook up with a 14-year-old girl, but at Victory Tabernacle Church in Middlefield praying for the Virginia Tech massacre victims, his mother told a Rockville Superior Court judge Wednesday.

    Gail Shefelbine’s offer of an alibi for her 32-year-old son, accused of sexually assaulting several teenage girls, came during the second day of a hearing on the state’s effort to send Shefelbine to jail until his trial.

    The defense offered a dated church bulletin as evidence of the April 19 visit to Victory Tabernacle.

    Gail Shefelbine also said that on May 13 and May 20 she was at church with her son – at St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in West Hartford. Under cross-examination, she acknowledged that she unsuccessfully sought after the fact to obtain a dated church bulletin to offer as proof of the May 13 visit.

    The defense Wednesday presented a May 20 church bulletin from St. Thomas and date-stamped photographs of Gail and Scott Shefelbine in front of the church. Gail Shefelbine testified they posed for the shots as further proof they were there May 20.

    Shefelbine’s mother also said an elderly nun at the church wrote on the bulletin “Gail and Scott were here.”

    The electronic monitor shows that Shefelbine was out of his house from 4:45 to 5:53 p.m. May 20. Gail Shefelbine and Cooney testified that they arrived at the church late and stayed only about a half hour, leaving before communion because as non-Catholics they could not partake.

    Leaming wasn’t buying it. “You arrived late, left early and you drove all the way to West Hartford to attend Mass?” Leaming asked. Yes, Gail Shefelbine responded.

    Leaming also asked whether “anything on [the May 20 church bulletin] proves you were at that church on that date?” Shefelbine responded that she did not know. When Leaming asked her whether date stamps on a digital photo, such as those of her and her son at the church, could be manipulated, she replied: “I have no idea.”

    For those of you who aren’t Catholic, this is an old Catholic trick that most of us did when we were kids. Back in the day when you could send your kids to church alone, my parents would always make me bring back a church bulletin to prove that I was there. So I would go to church, grab a bulletin, and then run off to the mall. It worked on Mom but not Dad, and I sure as hell wouldn’t use it as a defense in criminal proceedings.

    His sister’s explanation wasn’t much better.

    The girl and her sister have identified Shefelbine in court, but said he looked different in May. They said he didn’t have a beard as he does now.

    Cindy Shefelbine, the suspect’s sister, testified on Wednesday that her brother has had a beard for nearly a year. Photos taken in May, just a day or two before the victim said she saw Scott Shefelbine, were shown in court on Wednesday. The pictures depict that he did have a beard.

    Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Susan Raff reported Cindy Shefelbine appeared agitated when asked about her brother’s whereabouts.

    Cindy Shefelbine said her brother was with her at church the day that one of the victims said Scott Shefelbine came to her home. Prosecutors asked whether Cindy Shefelbine felt her brother was being unfairly prosecuted and she said she didn’t know what that meant.

    So their best explanations for Shefelbine’s whereabouts are church and a beard. Are you sure it wasn’t the one-armed man? Or maybe Shefelbine was saving babies from burning buildings at the time? Good luck with that.

    Proceedings are scheduled for today as well.