Dear Folks,
Yes, I am still here... and life goes on... Tuesday, sentencing day, felt very much like the internment of our entire family as we once knew it. Take for example our Christmas traditions for the past 20 years. We would all gather at Joan and Peter's home to celebrate, share a delicious meal, and exchange gifts the weekend before or after Christmas...At our last Christmas together, 2003, there were even our grandchildren present. It was a wonderful day, including Joan's brother and Peter's sister. This year, there will be no Christmas celebration together. Joan is recovering from surgery she had the day after the sentencing; the rest of us will be traveling to New Jersey for the funeral of another family member, and then return to our separate lives. Chris will be in Fishkill prison trying to convince everyone that it was was the police...it was the DA...it was his aunt...it was poor judgment and overconfidence on the part of his defense attorneys...it was the too emotionl and not quite intelligent jury...causing him to be adjudged guilty of crimes he "couldn't possibly have committed."
We all admire Joan's strength as she pleaded for leniency for Chris...so that he could go free in her lifetime. She and Peter could never have raised a son who would have tried to murder them. Loving parents everywhere can understand that it would be such a devastion to have a child who turned out to be so corrupted to his/her core.
Patty, in her dignifed manner, spoke for all of us of the horror and tragedy of Peter's death. Chris' last demented act, as he left his Brockley Drive home, was to cut the telephone wire, and in effect, cut any lifeline that Peter might have had as he walked through his home for the last time. Patty made Peter's agonizing death so real to us again. She also made the public realize that she has been made the scapegoat for Chris' prosecution and conviction by Joan. Joan's rejection of her in-laws is as painful to Peter's mother and siblings as Peter's horrific death at the hands of his son.
Our once close-knit family has unravelled. I wish I could tell you that we will recover.. we won't. We will re-arrange our bonds but we will be forever segmented.
Many families have experienced worse tragedies, more pain, more loss. We now can understand more fully what others suffer at the hands of fate. We now appreciate what we had so much more than we did when we had such an idyllic extended family. We are grateful that we shared so much with each other.
Chris' parole date is 5/16/2049... What a waste of a life, extraordinary talents, and missed opportunities!
Thank you for listening to me! I fear that I will want to reach out to you in the future when Kindlon/Shanks try to pull off their appeal with more treachery, deceit, and false accusations.
Wishing you all the love that comes with this spiritual season and those with whom you share it!