CO - Richard & Mayumi Heene charged in Balloon Boy hoax, Fort Collins, 2009 - #1

[BuzzieCat]

The sheriff mentioned that they've looked at the finances of this family and don't think there's much restitution to get unless some media outlet pays them something for this.

I just think it's hilarious that the jiffy pop thing is held together with duct tape. Oooh, serious scientific research going on there. :angel:

 

[jjenny]

Did the thinng not have high voltage like Richard claimed? (IDK - just asking)

tia

They didn't say anything about high voltage. The sheriff said they gave the dimensions the father gave them to professor at Colorado State University, and professor told them this balloon could carry a boy. But when they gave him the actual dimensions they got when the found the balloon, professor recalculated and it couldn't, because of a 18 pound difference between what the father gave them as dimensions and weight, and the actual dimensions and weight. But nothing was said about high voltage and whether the balloon had any high voltage equipment on it.

 

[mycroft]

Ya know?.....I thought about the comment from the dad stating the they don't 'ground' the kids. and then thought about young Falcon's comment that he hid because he was 'skeered'. I wondered to my self, "Self what could Falcon have been 'skeered' of?"

Read the interview with the former assistant who knows both the kids and the garage. He says that the father never disciplined them, and he would never need to hide in fear. He also says that an adult couldn't get into that space easily, not to mention a kid.

What's interesting about that video is that the Dad has a tantrum yelling at the wife, but didn't bother to include some element of them thinking that the kid was in the balloon on the tape. Falcon is clearly missing from the tape. One is seen on camera, and the other is taping. Given the statement that the timeline for the FAA call doesn't match that reported by the parents, I wonder if Falcon was drugged and placed in hiding well ahead of this event.

For people who planned for two weeks, they sure left some gaps in their story. Why not attach a basket or some area that the kid could plausibly have been inside? After watching the Wife Swap, I think the mother's English on the 9-11 call shows quite a slide.

The deliberate use of "flying saucer" on the 9-11 call is also a total blunder, even if they wanted other people to think it was a space craft. That's the real question for me: How could these people think this Jiffy Pop thing would look like anything but a balloon?

He needs to get cable and watch some more Scooby Doo. If he had, maybe he would know how to set up a proper phony alien or spacecraft.

 

[jjenny]

Do we know if the kid was told to stay in a box for five hours or did I read that wrong? That alone sounds abusive to me... among other things.

No, the sheriff isn't even sure the kid was in the attic the whole time. The sheriff said for all he knows the kid might have been playing on a swing set somewhere else.

 

[STEADFAST]

Mr Heene ...the "scientist" only has a high school education

That's why, when they come back from their "scientific" storm-chasing family expeditions, all the dad says he expects his kids to have learned is "storms are very dangerous." It's pretty telling that he doesn't say they come back with a greater knowledge of our atmosphere and how storms form. He seems like a complete idiot to me.

 

[waltzingmatilda]

Oh I can see "Dr". Phil all over this.............rofl

LOL! It does have Dr. Phil written all over it, doesn't it?:dance:

 

[jjenny]

Read the interview with the former assistant who knows both the kids and the garage. He says that the father never disciplined them, and he would never need to hide in fear. He also says that an adult couldn't get into that space easily, not to mention a kid.

What's interesting about that video is that the Dad has a tantrum yelling at the wife, but didn't bother to include some element of them thinking that the kid was in the balloon on the tape. Falcon is clearly missing from the tape. One is seen on camera, and the other is taping. Given the statement that the timeline for the FAA call doesn't match that reported by the parents, I wonder if Falcon was drugged and placed in hiding well ahead of this event.

For people who planned for two weeks, they sure left some gaps in their story. Why not attach a basket or some area that the kid could plausibly have been inside? After watching the Wife Swap, I think the mother's English on the 9-11 call shows quite a slide.

The deliberate use of "flying saucer" on the 9-11 call is also a total blunder, even if they wanted other people to think it was a space craft. That's the real question for me: How could these people think this Jiffy Pop thing would look like anything but a balloon?

He needs to get cable and watch some more Scooby Doo. If he had, maybe he would know how to set up a proper phony alien or spacecraft.

If there was a basket attached then it would have been clear the boy wasn't in it. And his story was that he didn't know balloon boy was in the balloon until the older kid told him after a take off that balloon boy was in the balloon, so that video would make sense if you believe the story the father came up with.

 

[BuzzieCat]

Do we know if the kid was told to stay in a box for five hours or did I read that wrong? That alone sounds abusive to me... among other things.

Sheriff said they really don't know where the kid was the whole time. They doubt he really was in the attic. He did admit that they didn't search for the child in the house thoroughly enough and for all they know, the kid could have been outside the house somewhere.

They didn't say anything about high voltage. The sheriff said they gave the dimensions the father gave them to professor at Colorado State University, and professor told them this balloon could carry a boy. But when they gave him the actual dimensions they got when the found the balloon, professor recalculated and it couldn't, because of a 18 pound difference between what the father gave them as dimensions and weight, and the actual dimensions and weight. But nothing was said about high voltage and whether the balloon had any high voltage equipment on it.

The sheriff was going to allow the media to take pictures of the balloon "from a distance." I hope the pictures will show more details. Stupid thing couldn't even be inflated fully. :innocent:

 

[Linda7NJ]

My hope is that they throw the book at both parents! I do not agree that the
wife is acting in fear of her husband, but conspiring along with him.
It's hard to believe that a controlling, jealous husband would have gone for the idea of the "wife swap" show.
They met in acting school and in their scheme to seek fame, they've taught
their children to lie and break the law!
They act like it was all a big joke. Well, it wasn't funny at all! It's just a miracle
that no one was injured trying to rescue the boy that wasn't in the balloon!
In my opinion this hoax deserves severe punishment!

The father acts like a selfish narcissistic bullying child. He's no parent. His mistake was thinking his children were his equals and his friends. All of this because Mr. Heeny didn't want to be responsible and get a real job. He wanted to be famous for being something he isn't...SMART! lol

 

[Capri]

Contributing to the delinquency of a minor was the other charge.

 

[angeleleven]

Do we know if the kid was told to stay in a box for five hours or did I read that wrong? That alone sounds abusive to me... among other things.

It was confirmed last night on the news that he was never in a box. Today they said he probably wasn't even in the attic the whole time and could have been down the street playing. There never was a box....that was an error in reporting.

 

[fran]

LOL, imagine my surprise to see this morning that I was WRONG about this family. They're frauds!

Well, I'm sure children's services is already compiling a file on this family and they'll have to do a number of interviews and perhaps family counseling and they'll still not be out of the woods.

What an example to teach your children, NOT! :banghead:

JMHO
fran

 

[waltzingmatilda]

:clap::clap::clap:
Post of the day! I loved that you ended it with a touch of humor.

Read the interview with the former assistant who knows both the kids and the garage. He says that the father never disciplined them, and he would never need to hide in fear. He also says that an adult couldn't get into that space easily, not to mention a kid.

What's interesting about that video is that the Dad has a tantrum yelling at the wife, but didn't bother to include some element of them thinking that the kid was in the balloon on the tape. Falcon is clearly missing from the tape. One is seen on camera, and the other is taping. Given the statement that the timeline for the FAA call doesn't match that reported by the parents, I wonder if Falcon was drugged and placed in hiding well ahead of this event.

For people who planned for two weeks, they sure left some gaps in their story. Why not attach a basket or some area that the kid could plausibly have been inside? After watching the Wife Swap, I think the mother's English on the 9-11 call shows quite a slide.

The deliberate use of "flying saucer" on the 9-11 call is also a total blunder, even if they wanted other people to think it was a space craft. That's the real question for me: How could these people think this Jiffy Pop thing would look like anything but a balloon?

He needs to get cable and watch some more Scooby Doo. If he had, maybe he would know how to set up a proper phony alien or spacecraft.

 

[kant]

Originally Posted by kant

If those kids have to show up at school tomorrow... yikes.

From the little I've seen of the kids on youtube clips, I think they're more likely to bully than to be the victims of bullies - and it's entirely the fault of the parents who encourage their bad behaviour. (One kid starts yelling and hitting his brother because he wants the whipped cream container he's holding - and neither the mother or father step in. They continue taping) I think the kids are innocent victims here and they need structure and guidance.

I could see it going either way. They could get ridiculed or it could go the other direction like perhaps if they're still maintaining their innocence, I can see the kids strutting around and disrupting everything. Not blaming them. They've been raised a certain way, and that way won't do them any favors as adults - or as kids for that matter.

MOO
.

 

[Capri]

MOO, dad's explosive temper? What possible violence have they witnessed towards their mother at the hands of their father.

I don't know, but the sheriff said they offered and encouraged a safe haven for her. She said no.

 

[Linda7NJ]

LOL, imagine my surprise to see this morning that I was WRONG about this family. They're frauds!

Well, I'm sure children's services is already compiling a file on this family and they'll have to do a number of interviews and perhaps family counseling and they'll still not be out of the woods.

What an example to teach your children, NOT! :banghead:

JMHO
fran

You tend to always give everyone the benefit of the doubt, that says a lot about your faith in people. That's not a bad thing.

 

[mycroft]

They didn't say anything about high voltage. ... But nothing was said about high voltage and whether the balloon had any high voltage equipment on it.

If you read the TV proposal about the balloon, it mentions that voltage stuff and whatever crackpot theory necessitated it.

I think the relevance of that claim, which the dad made a special point of working into the 9-11 call, was the claim that if touched it could electrocute someone. I wondered whether that was part of some effort to keep authorities from touching the balloon once they found it. It doesn't really enhance his scheme in any other way. Of course, it would be undermined by the fact that he sent them to rescue the kid.

It will be interesting to find out how long he thought this thing could remain airborne, and if the crash foiled some longer-range plan. It seems that once the crash occurred he had to "find" the boy to prevent a massive manhunt.

In the end, a lot of this plan makes no sense, even as a hoax.

 

[LFlorida]

That's why, when they come back from their "scientific" storm-chasing family expeditions, all the dad says he expects his kids to have learned is "storms are very dangerous." It's pretty telling that he doesn't say they come back with a greater knowledge of our atmosphere and how storms form. He seems like a complete idiot to me.

Just jumping off of your post for the hail of it.

When someone said that he built that thing to go into thunderstorms, I was like, "What?!" I'm no great scientific thinker, but the aerodynamics of that thing would prevent it from ever getting close to the center of a storm, imo.

His i-report on CNN from the center of Hurricane Gustav [I think that was the storm], made me wonder if they weren't just in a rain storm in Colorado or somewhere and video-taped that. I mean, from what I could see, our only point of reference was the laptop with the weather radar held up in front of the camera. [I admit I haven't watched the whole thing, though.]

There was a high voltage sticker attached to the side of the thing [I can't even bear to call it a craft or balloon]. In the video where it got away from the husband and wife hanging on to the strings or whatever, you can see the yellow sticker on the side facing the camera.

 

[Linda7NJ]

I want to file suit against Mr. Heene for emotional distress and the valuable time I've spent discussing it/ reliving it...perhaps a class action suit? LOL Who else is in?

 

[LFlorida]

The father acts like a selfish narcissistic bullying child. He's no parent. His mistake was thinking his children were his equals and his friends. All of this because Mr. Heeny didn't want to be responsible and get a real job. He wanted to be famous for being something he isn't...SMART! lol

Too much reality TV is influencing too many persons' behavior, imo.