MN - Beau Shroyer, Wife of Detroit Lakes missionary killed in Angola arrested in connection to his death

[RickshawFan]

That bit stuck in my throat, that's a terrific chunk of US dollars to have ready to hand over to your boyfriend, on his say so that he has two blokes ready to off one's inconvenient husband. Bernadino could not have got that anywhere else but from Jackie, and she could not have got it anywhere else but from a joint account, or a fixed account earning interest , the whole changeover from account balance to cold hard cash in the hand being a matter of record.

That kind of currency just is not handed around or just withdrawn from your local branch, she would have had to give notice, and get Beau's signature, possibly, and inform the Angolan Tax Dept. And this goes ditto for any other currency, even Angolan.

All these three men are war babies... (the war ended in 2002, sort of ) probably fatherless . possibly motherless, probably long periods of interrupted schooling. That is one hell of a temptation, to young blokes of no inheritance, no home, no cattle, no tools.

Their crime will be projected as less heinous than Jackie's , most likely, Her crime of suborning murder, for money, while preaching the Word of God will be seen , in Portuguese Law as the more serious of the series of crimes committed that day.

They do seem to have a concept for “mastermind” in their system, and that’s why we keep hearing that word. It’s a critical detail, I imagine.

I tend to forget that the murder was taking place under the auspices of “missionary” service.

The young blokes and ‘Dino also had a criminal history. This possibly makes them susceptible to torture.

 

[RickshawFan]

There is not a country on earth that does not make restrictions on how much actual currency you can bring into their country.. for example, you cannot bring more than %10.000.00 AU dollars into Au from overseas, NOR that amount in any other currency, I can't bring a bag full of US dollars into the US while travelling, I have to do it electronically, or by certificate, or by cheque... not cash.. I think my limit is $5000.00 in cash... which, I have to find in AU before I leave, AND I have to declare that to the US consulate .

If I bring in more than ten thou I have to have dealings with the USA tax dept. . The Revenuers!~

She could have collected the cash back in good old Minnesota, but she has to transfer it, over a certain amount, and I am sure it is less than $10.000 much less for sure, into an electronic or paper record....

If anyone is interested, this series at Australian customs and border control are very enlightening as far as what can go through or not, and why. FWIW The Australian locations are much more interesting than the USA and UK locations, ‘cos the Aussies have a flair for dramatics and are obviously particular.
There are several episodes organized around dollar limitations—I can’t find an exact one at the moment—but here’s a link to get you to the series:

 

[RickshawFan]

I suppose you mean money smuggling?? .. you can put it delicately, but that's what it is!! . in other words?? because that's what Angola Customs would call it, if they found it. what a risk!! but .. you know, she appears to have been a tremendous risk taker, so it is not something one could discount...

Maybe we’re in fact looking at money laundering? Sometimes, a zebra is in fact a zebra, and not a horse.

 

[RickshawFan]

No chance the money was less trackable? Meaning, cash donations received or from other sources while home in the US and transported back to Angola in September?

You could do that, but it would be against the law pretty much everywhere.

 

[Inthedetails]

You could do that, but it would be against the law pretty much everywhere.

So is hiring someone to murder.

I think she snuck money in after their last trip home.

jmo

 

[RickshawFan]

Angolan or Portuguese consulate?

Though they may speak dialects of the same language, they are very different countries. Consulates usually do not do translations for non citizens- and even for citizens, they likely do as a one of "favor" type basis.

The cost for professional grade legal translations is very high. And... they really need professional grade. Just like US courts throw in Latin, foreign courts in developing countries can toss in archaic French, Spanish, Portuguese etc. vocabulary, and classical literature based verb tenses that are not part of the day to day language- but can give sentences very different meanings.

As a side note, my former company did business in Latin America. Myself, and several other employees could do translations of letters of inquiry, memorandums etc. from / into Spanish, speak with Spanish using customers etc. But.... contractual and legal translations went to the pros- no matter how fluent us "in house" guys and girls were- and sometimes were not.

As for legal systems.....

Portugal and Spanish being two distinct countries, can have two distinct legal systems. An example of this is Spain and Mexico. Spain, nor surprisingly, uses Spanish code. Mexico, however, uses the very different French Napoleonic code.

Not sure how we got to Mexico here. Angola uses Portuguese code, not common law, not Napoleonic, not Prussian.

The stateside Shroyers seem to be looking for info as much as anything. IMO it’s available to them, in English, but they haven’t found a source. Often, that takes a call to someone who can make a call.

 

[Cryptic]

Not sure how we got to Mexico here. Angola uses Portuguese code, not common law, not Napoleonic, not Prussian.

Illustrating that not all countries with former coionial ties to each other use the same legal systems.

 

[RickshawFan]

Illustrating that not all countries with former coionial ties to each other use the same legal systems.

Oh, ok. I didn’t see that anyone was making that argument.

 

[Inthedetails]

Illustrating that not all countries with former coionial ties to each other use the same legal systems.

I honestly don't think the family needs to understand and translate the legal documents themselves as much as ensuring the accused as a competent legal representation in Angola and hope that lawyer keeps them appraised of the process in layman's terms.

I understand they are in a horrible position and full of worry, but they need to focus their energy and resources on what actually has impact. Make sure she has legal help in Angola and make sure the kids are getting the attention and support they need.

I hope the family has people around them giving reasonable advice.

jmo

 

[Kemug]

Surely SIM has a duty to do all of the above? Any employer surely has, let alone a missionary organisation whose sole reason for existence is caring, surely. Plus, wouldn't Jackie's mother have some sort of idea of what is going on? And be able to communicate it to the rest of the family? And if the mother is being left in the dark, then how about that other missionary family in the area, who they were friends with? Aren't they in touch with each other? The Minnesota Shroyers make it sound like there is not a soul in the world who can give them any information. Unless they are referring to the money side of things, and it wouldn't surprise me if Angolan LE are still trying to work that out.

 

[Inthedetails]

Surely SIM has a duty to do all of the above? Any employer surely has, let alone a missionary organisation whose sole reason for existence is caring, surely. Plus, wouldn't Jackie's mother have some sort of idea of what is going on? And be able to communicate it to the rest of the family? And if the mother is being left in the dark, then how about that other missionary family in the area, who they were friends with? Aren't they in touch with each other? The Minnesota Shroyers make it sound like there is not a soul in the world who can give them any information. Unless they are referring to the money side of things, and it wouldn't surprise me if Angolan LE are still trying to work that out.

I don't like being callous but the fact is Jackie is accused of a heinous crime in a foreign country and nothing about this is going to be easy on anyone.

jmo

 

[Trooper]

I don't like being callous but the fact is Jackie is accused of a heinous crime in a foreign country and nothing about this is going to be easy on anyone.

jmo

For Jackie's family and Beau's for that matter, attending the trial will be one hell of an expense, Luanda is one of the most expensive cities in the world, due to , and who could have guessed this, OIL. ( which is what the war was about, who would control this resource? ) in which Angola has vast reserves of. This attracts highly paid operatives who demand high quality housing, etc..

In the past decade, tens of thousands of American and European employees of international oil conglomerates, fortified by generous cost-of-living allowances, have descended on Luanda. The country now produces 1.8 million barrels of oil a day; in Africa, only Nigeria produces and exports more. The boom has transformed a failed state into one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. (Author: Peter Vanham, Senior Media Manager, World Economic Forum )

Hotel prices are about on par with Manhattan, or Sydney...or London.

 

[Cryptic]

Oh, ok. I didn’t see that anyone was making that argument.

Argument?

Please note that I said "can have" different legal systems, and not "do have" different legal systems.

 

[Cryptic]

The stateside Shroyers seem to be looking for info as much as anything. IMO it’s available to them, in English, but they haven’t found a source. Often, that takes a call to someone who can make a call.

VIP level final callers can do a lot. In the practical sense, however, the family may well need to obtain their own translations for the time being.

 

[Cryptic]

Hotel prices are about on par with Manhattan, or Sydney...or London.

There maybe a caveat to that.

Undoubtably, Luanda is very expensive. The hidden caveat could be that Western level hotels are relatively few in number and are thus as expensive as cities "A", "B" and "C".

Non westerns level hotels used by locals, however, might be available for less. But... staying those hotels is not for everyone. This is doubly so for people who might expect western creature comforts to be 24/7/365 and also to approach that of the US level.

 

[RickshawFan]

I honestly don't think the family needs to understand and translate the legal documents themselves as much as ensuring the accused as a competent legal representation in Angola and hope that lawyer keeps them appraised of the process in layman's terms.

I understand they are in a horrible position and full of worry, but they need to focus their energy and resources on what actually has impact. Make sure she has legal help in Angola and make sure the kids are getting the attention and support they need.

I hope the family has people around them giving reasonable advice.

jmo

I believe the US embassy in Angola got a lawyer for her.
As far as I'm concerned, they need to focus on the kids.
It doesn't sound like the family has folks around them with experience abroad, or how to get information and help. It is available, though, as we've hashed out.
Also, there are major universities in MN and nearby North Dakota. There are plenty of academics around who'd be familiar with how things are done abroad. There's almost certainly someone (or several) who speak Portuguese. They might even have been to Angola, know how missions work, understand legal systems...many possibilities .

Bingo: the whole realm via Google AI

 

[RickshawFan]

Now that I dug up the UMN department, I wonder why the Shroyers didn't take virtual language classes there instead of jetting off to Brazil?

 

[Inthedetails]

I believe the US embassy in Angola got a lawyer for her.
As far as I'm concerned, they need to focus on the kids.
It doesn't sound like the family has folks around them with experience abroad, or how to get information and help. It is available, though, as we've hashed out.
Also, there are major universities in MN and nearby North Dakota. There are plenty of academics around who'd be familiar with how things are done abroad. There's almost certainly someone (or several) who speak Portuguese. They might even have been to Angola, know how missions work, understand legal systems...many possibilities .

Bingo: the whole realm via Google AI
View attachment 547082

To what avail?

I really am not cold-hearted, but running around trying to translate legal documents should not be the family's priority, imo. Jackie legal situation is out of their reach, out of their ability to help in any meaningful way other than emotional and perhaps financial support.

It's a horrible situation and accepting life with her in an Angolan prison has to be incredibly hard. But they can't be running a goosechase that will have zero impact other than burn themselves out and deplete their finances.

I hope they have wise counsel to help them prioritize meaningful action and to help them let go of feeling responsibility for something they cannot impact.

jmo

 

[RickshawFan]

To what avail?

I really am not cold-hearted, but running around trying to translate legal documents should not be the family's priority, imo. Jackie legal situation is out of their reach, out of their ability to help in any meaningful way other than emotional and perhaps financial support.

It's a horrible situation and accepting life with her in an Angolan prison has to be incredibly hard. But they can't be running a goosechase that will have zero impact other than burn themselves out and deplete their finances.

I hope they have wise counsel to help them prioritize meaningful action and to help them let go of feeling responsibility for something they cannot impact.

jmo

Totally agree. But some stateside folks are sounding helpless when it comes to info. They do have resources available to them as well as others. I really believe they can get a lot of their questions answered without too much difficulty and at no expense. And I wouldn’t expect the State Dept to be calling them with updates. A. It’s not the State Dept business, but Angola’s. 2. Jackie is not a POW or anyone representing the US in an official capacity. 3. She seems to have perpetrated a crime which would result in incarceration almost anywhere in the world.

Yes, it would be difficult to have a daughter in an Angolan prison, no matter she got herself there. And if I were family, I wouldn’t be bothering with Angolan legal documents. They tend to be impenetrable to a layperson, no matter the country.

 

[RickshawFan]

For Jackie's family and Beau's for that matter, attending the trial will be one hell of an expense, Luanda is one of the most expensive cities in the world, due to , and who could have guessed this, OIL. ( which is what the war was about, who would control this resource? ) in which Angola has vast reserves of. This attracts highly paid operatives who demand high quality housing, etc..

In the past decade, tens of thousands of American and European employees of international oil conglomerates, fortified by generous cost-of-living allowances, have descended on Luanda. The country now produces 1.8 million barrels of oil a day; in Africa, only Nigeria produces and exports more. The boom has transformed a failed state into one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. (Author: Peter Vanham, Senior Media Manager, World Economic Forum )

Hotel prices are about on par with Manhattan, or Sydney...or London.

Time to look up Expedia and cost it out.