Hey Bunchpants.....exactly what story did Terri Horman give you about what happened to Kyron, anyway? Because we know that in order to advise your client to plead the fifth, you have to know enough about the case and your client's involvement to honestly see that not testifying is a good idea for your client. If Kyron was taken by someone else, or if he was the victim of a terrible accident, and your client truly knows nothing about it, and it all comes out in the wash later, just by happenstance, it will also come out in the wash that Terri Horman had testimony that would NOT have jeopardized her in any way, and all this "pleading the fifth" will have been, legally, for nothing. It will also have been a move that has helped keep a little boy missing for over two years. It's kinda, sorta like this: if Terri Horman were proclaiming lack of knowledge to her counsel, just like she did to the police, no one would ask for an abatement for Terri's personal response to the recent lawsuit filed against her by Kyron's mother. In fact, the lawsuit would probably never have been filed. If Peter Bunch were completely comfortable with his knowledge about Terri Horman's involvement with this case, he would have gone ahead and taken care of her divorce from Kaine Horman, Kyron's father. And this lawsuit would not be a problem. All Desiree Young actually wants from Terri Horman is her testimony. And if Kyron comes back alive, it will make all the difference in the world to her. So why is Bunchpants stalling? And what did Terri tell him?
Here's a question: if Terri murdered Kyron singlehandedly, would Bunchpants and Houzeboy understand the danger Terri presents to children and find a way to enter a plea? Or, if Terri sold Kyron, and got him involved with human trafficking, could either of those attorneys truly expect Terri to resist such criminal activity in the future? Probably not. And while they each have an obligation to defend their client, they also have an ethical obligation to report stuff like killing sprees and human trafficking. So what did Terri tell them about what happened to Kyron?
Perhaps Terri originally attempted to spin the whole disappearance as the fault of Kyron's mom, Desiree Young. Maybe she was planning to tell everyone that she thought Desiree had already picked Kyron up for the weekend. When it became clear that this was a story that would not work, as Desiree was already en route to Portland when she got the phone call concerning her son's disappearance, perhaps Terri told her lawyers that she thought Kyron was with a family friend, and that she thought the family friend would give Kyron back. One thing we know, at this point, is that whatever Terri Horman told the police, it was questionable enough to cause her failure of two polygraphs. Pleading the fifth is defeninately more advantageous from a legal standpoint than failing another polygraph or having one's testimony conflict with the testimony of someone who is telling the truth or having one's testimony conflict with fact.
It's probable that Terri Horman presented herself to both Bunchpants and Houzeboy as a victim. And if she testifies at all, she will probably play the victim card until the actually does go to jail for something. Even then, it will still probably be "all Kaine's fault", or the collective fault of all the people who want Kyron home safe.
If you know where this child is, please let law enforcement know.
Thumbs up for another great blog Julie. It appears that the walls are closing in for TMH, albeit very slowly. If her lawyers do know something about Kyron's whereabouts and say nothing to LE, can they be prosecuted?
ReplyDeleteThanks. Unfortunately, it appears the lawyers cannot be prosecuted for failure to relay that information, unless Oregon has specific laws concerning it. In California, murderers could plot their killing sprees and tell their lawyers, without the lawyer having to say a word about it, until the law changed in 2004. It took me a long time to write this post, because I spent so much time looking up attorney/client confidentiality. It appears that the laws governing this issue are so vaguely written that an unscupulous attorney can get away with almost anything. That said, there is still a $50,000 reward for information that leads to Kyron. I wish the amount would be raised.
DeleteIf her lawyers know he is endangered then they *can* be held accountable. My guess is they asked Terri two single yes or no questions: is it probable that investigators have damaging evidence against you? And, is Kyron still alive?
ReplyDeleteI honestly hope that they are required to know more than the cursery answers to those two questions before they advise anyone to "plead the fifth".....especially in a divorce proceeding, interfering with Kaine's right to be single instead of married.
DeleteI just thought of something: yes they CAN be held accountable. If Kyron is found somewhere that he does NOT need or want to be, as a result of Terri Horman's actions, and it becomes clear that their counsel kept him hidden and missing, someone might be able to file suit on Kyron's behalf, and if Kyron is still alive, he might file suit on his own after he grows up. Jaycee Dugard sued the government in CA. for abuses and indiscretions that kept her from being found.
I have to say I believe Maryann is correct. They will keep what the know as basic as possible and advise her if they believe there is incriminating evidence. That is why discovery is so important to them. They want to know what LE can make stick. They may have also asked if she has been involved in any criminal activities.
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Then Desiree's lawsuit should be very interesting, because the questions Rosenthal will ask will be outside the scope of "basic". Bunch really can't represent her with only a cursery knowledge of what went on the day Kyron disappeared. As a family law attorney, his knowledge of the case might not even be basic, but at this point, he is going to have to upgrade his facts. What on earth will he do if some chance witness can actually place Terri in a certain place at a certain time, say.....somewhere she says she never went.....and the witness accidently caught it on surveillance, but did not realize it until much later. Stuff like that happens, and if I had such footage, you can bet I'd be sharing it with law enforcement. I think Bunch is going to have to get the WHOLE STORY from Terri before they proceed any further.
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