Riehl World View

A New Jersey State Disgrace

Authorities found Bruce Jackson, then 19 but appearing to be about 7 years old, rummaging through a neighbor's trash can in Collingswood in October 2003. Three of his younger adoptive brothers were similarly undersized.

Authorities say their adoptive parents, Raymond and Vanessa Jackson, withheld food and the boys subsisted on gypsum wallboard and uncooked pancake batter. Child welfare workers had visited the Jackson home regularly to check on the family's foster child but did not take action regarding the bone-thin adopted boys.

Facciarossa said that under the agreement, Bruce Jackson will receive $5 million and his brothers - Michael, Keith and Tyrone - will each get $2.5 million. Bruce Jackson would get more than his brothers because he was in worse shape, weighing just 45 pounds when he was found, said his lawyer, Michael Critchley.

Watch it!

Don't let government make a monster out of you. I'm not kidding.

Fawley's Other Strange Fixation

There's really no other way to say it except this guy Ben Fawley is just flat out weird. Seriously, imagine being fixated on Skulls, Kink, license plates and Dodge Darts?? For God sakes, he may be in only perv in the world to fantasize about young girls in knee socks and orthopedic shoes.

Fawley stole two cars in Doylestown - both of them Dodge Darts, an unusual target for thieves, Cummings said.

"He had this strange penchant for '64 and '65 Dodges. He had one and he stole two. Most kids wouldn't even think about them. They're old ladies' cars - and he stole them from old ladies."

New Hurricane Katrina Photos

Take a look at what Katrina did to reader Jules' house - read the captions for an explanation.

The house was designed and built by Robert Seaton, an architect from New Orleans in the mid-1800's. The elevation of the land is 32 feet above sea level. The water came up up 4 to 5 feet in the house and smashed it like an eggshell and rocked it off its foundation.

I think the word is devastation.

About George W.

I've always been a major Bush 43 fan - though I am starting to become concerned as it seems he may be proving himself to be a bit more of a moderate when it comes to fiscal policy than I would like. His next Supreme nomination is going to say a lot to me about my overall assessment of his comittment to a smart conservative agenda.

And while much of the following is information I knew about him from a previous print article, many people don't. You really should take a look.

By The Way

As an aside to my previous post - it is nothing more than a hunch, but I'm thinking Fawley is going to be charged with murder.

I have absolutely nothing to base that opinion on. However, Chris Collins has tried over 80 capital murder cases and it seems to be his forte. I have a hard time imagining he wants to be involved based only upon a child porn rap. But I certainly could be wrong. As I said, it is nothing but a guess, basically.

But to get some mileage from this post - take a look at this - Sadie designed a blog for someone and I love her classic style - I can be something of a leg man, I suppose.

Taylor Behl Disappearance: Fawley's Child Porn "Real"

In breaking news as regards the disappearance of Taylor Behl, a few specific facts have emerged. It appears prosecutors believe that the child pornography found in Fawley's possession is real, meaning actual children were used to produce the films, as opposed to digital grahics of some kind.

The Virginia Attorney General's office is working with Richmond authorities on the case. Deputy Attorney General Richard Campbell tells us he believes real children ages 1 through 14 were used to make the sex movies allegedly found in Fawley's home.

"In a case of a person who's skilled in photography it's likely you're going to be dealing with real images- there's no need to morph images," Campbell said.

Additionally, it seems previous attorney Chris Collins is back in the picture and the Public Defender has stepped away from the case.

The public defender representing Ben Fawley has stepped away from the case. The attorney Chris Collins originally retained to handle media inquiries regarding Fawley's relationship with 17-year-old Taylor Behl, will now defend him against 16 counts of possession of child pornography.

I started thinking about another interesting and possible pertinant fact as regards Fawley in reviewing a post today at Steve Huff's temporary home away from blog while his server gets squared away.

We know there were many items found in Fawley's garbage from the search warrants found here. Those items included videotapes, clothes, a watch, a hammer axe, a beaded necklace, and more. But if you read this previous report of mine, you'll see that Fawley supplemented his income by cleaning out the homes of estates - selling basically everything he could.

Obviously, there could be an explanation for so many items in the trash - outside of what you might anticipate. But it also seems strange to me that in the middle of this investigation, an admitted pack rat from another post of his, who sold every little item he could clean up from the dead, suddenly had an urge to apparently "clean house."

It's an observation, anyway. Steve Huff has a post up which deals with a stain on the box spring being analyzed. I was under the impression it was from a sheet or mattress - but haven't had time to look into that just yet.

Did Nursing Home Residents Have To Die?

A bus which caught fire and burned killing many of the nursing home residents aboard during their evacuation from the recent hurricane was part of a fleet for a company with a very troubling  past.

On Sept. 23, a group of 37 nursing home residents was being moved from the Houston area because of Rita's approach when their Global bus caught fire while stuck in traffic near Dallas. A series of explosions - probably medical oxygen canisters igniting - fueled the flames and trapped most of the occupants.

Investigators have said the fire could have been caused by mechanical problems, possibly with the brakes.

Along with several documented licensing and vehicle problems, as far as back as two years ago the company had received complaints from riders as regards the smell of fuel while traveling on board one of the company's buses.

One of the 2002 complaints was written by Donald Spotts of Weslaco and sent to the Texas attorney general and other state officials. Spotts wrote that there was a "very strong odor of diesel fumes" on a Global bus that was carrying 48 senior citizens from Weslaco to Corpus Christi.

Many of the passengers were coughing and wheezing both ways on the 320-mile round trip, he wrote. In another complaint, a man named Ross Gunning claimed one of Global's buses was "swaying all over the road."

Another complainant identified as Sara Martinez wrote that most of the company's buses had oil and air leaks. A 2002 state inspection found several violations, including failure to implement an alcohol or drug testing program, failure to retain inspection and maintenance records for the proper period of time and failure to retain evidence of a brake inspector's qualifications.

According to federal records, drivers for Global Limo were ordered to stop driving five times in the past three years, mostly for infractions regarding bus logs. In 2004, the company was rated as "satisfactory," with no evidence of major safety problems in recent years, records show.

The driver of the bus that caught fire, Juan Robles Gutierrez, 37, was arrested Tuesday and jailed on immigration charges, the Houston Chronicle reported Thursday. Gutierrez is from Mexico.

Related story here.

Taylor Behl Disappearance: A Timeline

This is a work in progress I'll be updating and linking as the investigation into the disappearance of Taylor Behl goes forward. It's part time line, part fact collecting and should read fairly clearly. It includes links to MSM stories chronicling the disappearance since reporting began.

There will be some discrepancies which I hope will be clarified, perhaps some of them already have. Some re-formatting will be in order, too.

VCU police said Taylor Marie Behl, 17, of Vienna in Fairfax County, was last seen leaving her dorm room around 10 p.m

Taylor Behl: Items Seized At Fawley's Residence

h/t's to Steve Huff and Missing and Abducted on this item.

The items seized at the apartment of Ben FAwley make for interesting reading, however, it is unclear if the cell phones or clothing items belonged to Taylor Behl.

Full navigation for Search Warrant here. I found the motorcycle chain necklace interesting as they were looking for it going in.