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Re: 6 year old stuck in helium UFO
That scene where the kid puked was a bit wierd. When I was young and I was off school vomiting, I would be laid up in bed and pretty damn unwell. And I'd be puking into a basin or the toilet, not some shitty wee tupperware tub that could barely hold a mouthfull.
It just didnt look real, hell even now when I'm going to puke it feels like I'm going to fuckin die.
Re: 6 year old stuck in helium UFO
Authorities: Balloon Boy's Mom Says Saga a Hoax
Friday , October 23, 2009
DENVER — The mother of the 6-year-old boy once feared missing inside a runaway helium balloon admitted the whole saga was a hoax, according to court documents released Friday.
Mayumi Heene told sheriff's deputies that she and her husband Richard "knew all along that Falcon was hiding in the residence" in Fort Collins, according to an affidavit used to get a search warrant for the home.
She allegedly told investigators the incident was a hoax meant to make them more marketable to the media.
"Mayumi described that she and Richard Heene devised this hoax approximately two weeks earlier.... She and Richard had instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax," the affidavit said.
Richard Heene has denied a hoax. His lawyer, David Lane, said Friday he is waiting to see the evidence in the case.
"Allegations are cheap," Lane said.
Mayumi Heene's lawyer, Lee Christian, was traveling and didn't immediately respond to messages left with his office.
Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden has said he will recommend charges against the Heenes including conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, making a false report to authorities, and attempting to influence a public servant. The most serious charges are felonies and carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison.
Alderden said authorities also would be seeking restitution for the costs of the balloon chase, though he didn't provide a figure.
His office has said it will likely be next week before it forwards its findings to prosecutors to decide on charges.
In frantic calls to a TV station, 911 and federal aviation officials, the Heenes reported that they feared Falcon was in the homemade, saucer-like balloon when it was accidentally launched from their back yard last week.
Millions watched as media and National Guard helicopters tracked the balloon across the Colorado plains. It landed in a dusty farm field, where ground crews looked inside but found no sign of the boy.
Later, the relieved-looking couple reported Falcon had been hiding in their garage the whole time. But suspicion heated up when Falcon made a comment on CNN that sounded like "You had said we did this for a show."
Sheriff's deputies questioned the parents separately on Oct. 17, two days after the flight. Mayumi Heene told authorities "she and Richard Heene had lied to authorities on October 15, 2009 (the day of the flight)," the affidavit said.
She told investigators "that the release of the flying saucer was intentional as a hoax.... The motive for the fabricated story was to make the Heene family more marketable for future media interest," the affidavit said.
The Heenes twice had appeared on ABC's reality show "Wife Swap," and acquaintances said Richard Heene had plans for other possible shows.
The producer of "Wife Swap" had a show in development with the Heenes but said the deal is now off. The TLC cable network also said Heene had pitched a reality show months ago, but it passed on the offer.
Sheriff's officials declined to comment Friday.
Among the items taken by authorities during the home search were video cameras, computers, hard drives, a picture of a flying saucer, receipts, papers, a phone/address book and a flight itinerary. The list didn't identify the passenger, destination or date of travel.
Re: 6 year old stuck in helium UFO
Lawyer: 'Balloon boy' parents to plead guilty to hoax-related charges
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Colorado couple to enter pleas, attorney says
* Richard Heene to accept felony charge, Mayumi Heene a misdemeanor
* Jail time possible, but prosecutor recommends probation
* Threat of deportation for mother played role in plea deal, attorney says
(CNN) -- The Colorado parents in last month's notorious "balloon boy" case will plead guilty to offenses for creating a hoax that their son had flown away in a large balloon.
Richard and Mayumi Heene are to plead Friday morning in Larimer County Court, according to a statement issued by Richard Heene's attorney.
Mayumi Heene is expected to plead guilty to an offense of false reporting to authorities, a misdemeanor of the lowest level, according to the attorney.
Richard Heene is expected to plead guilty to a felony offense of attempting to influence a public servant.
Though the Heenes could receive jail time for the charges, the prosecutor has recommended probation, Richard Heene's attorney said.
The threat of deportation for Mayumi Heene was a factor in the plea deal negotiation, the attorney's statement said.
"Mayumi Heene is a citizen of Japan. As such, any felony conviction or certain misdemeanors would result in her deportation, even though her husband and children are Americans," the statement said.
"It is supremely ironic that law enforcement has expressed such grave concern over the welfare of the children, but it was ultimately the threat of taking the children's mother from the family and deporting her to Japan which fueled this deal."
Prosecutors in the case could not be immediately reached for comment.
On October 16, a large silver balloon came loose from moorings in the Heenes' yard and floated over Colorado. Mayumi Heene called 911 and said the couple's 6-year-old son Falcon was inside the craft.
Millions of people across the country watched the saga on television for nearly two hours as military aircraft tracked the balloon in the air and rescuers chased it on the ground.
Mayumi Heene later admitted the whole thing was a hoax and that Falcon was safe in their home the whole time, authorities said.
Watch the moment the hoax was revealed
Court documents released last month said the couple hatched the plan about two weeks before the incident and "instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax."
Their motive? To "make the Heene family more marketable for future media interests," the documents said.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/12/bal … topstories
