Affidavit: Mom told deputies balloon saga was hoax

[951-Riverside]

Source: The Associated Press

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.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gNjDfxqke2Lg2A8JyZaRyg2ufgIQD9BH2ET83

[Drunken Irishman]

1. I'm guessing her hubby will beat the shit out of her now.

[fujiyama]

2. That guy seems mentally unstable

Freakin nuts.

[MetaTrope]

6. Actually, I'm waiting to hear whether her confession came out under waterboarding

[harvey007]

18. I agree - "freakin nuts"

After seeing him on "Wife Swap" screaming insults and throwing milk on the swapped wife, I had no doubt that the guy has a problem.

[Scairp]

36. You watch that nonsense?!

I have better things to do, such as scrub my bathtub or clean behind the refrigerator. All of those so-called reality shows are dumbing down society in a big way. I wish they would run their course and go away.

[Ken Burch]

3. Hopefully, the cops have her and the kids in protective custody

Hopefully, he just ends up in custody, period.

[KoKo]

14. There was a "worry" she was an abused wife from some DU'ers comments about reading the whole thing.

I wouldn't jump to that conclusion...but if she has her OWN LAWYER ...it might say she suddenly sees a way to distance herself from this situation and to keep her boys out of it.

It will be interesting to see how this all develops to see how the parents interact...and what becomes of the children.

[AzNick]

20. I would say subservient

And don't say that she is so because she is Asian, I know plenty who are everything but subservient.

There are plenty of comments pointing at this fact.

[LisaL]

25. She was offered to be taken to a safe house and refused.

Since she is an adult, ultimately it is up to her on what to do.

[SF342]

4. Why beat these people up...

This is what we do in America.....

I imagine they will be punished for their hoax being unsuccessful and transparent.

40 lashes and no dessert is my recommended punishment.

[Gormy Cuss]

8. That plus reimbursement for the cost of the search effort and the destruction of the wheat field.

That'd be fair.

[Raster]

16. And since traffic at DEN was temporarily halted, those costs should be passed along also.

[JDPriestly]

28. Meanwhile torture is not prosecuted, nor is the fraud on Wall Street

or the theft of billions by the biggest banks. What kind of values do we have?

[barb162]

38. Because a lot of money and manpower was used / wasted

because of these two lying turkeys. Let them reimburse the taxpayers for the costs.

[JBoy]

5. Is it normal for husband and wife in this situation to have separate lawyers?

Seems like Mom may be looking to pin it all on Dad. My gut says he deserves 95% of the blame.

[elleng]

7. Sure, if authorities are speaking with them separately.

'Blame' may be a difficult issue; figuring out their relationship?

[Swede Atlanta]

24. Two attorneys are recommended.......

Certainly in criminal cases but even in civil cases the issue of conflicts of interest arise when more than one client is being represented in the same matter by the same attorney. They may have different objectives, want to pursue different strategies, etc. The situation is further complicated if one party decides in a criminal case to provide evidence against the spouse. And not to mention the idea of client-attorney privilege is more complex when you have two clients.

Most of my practice is estate planning and while it is logical that couples often want to do mirror wills, etc. I always recommend each of the spouses obtain their own representation. I will represent both of them but require they sign a wavier recognizing and agreeing to the issues raised above.

Some people see it as a way for attorneys to make more money but it is actually from both an ethical and practical matter better to have two attorneys.

Early on I had a couple in which they both agreed to do mirror wills (i.e. each one leaves everything to the other during the surviving spouse's lifetime). Before either one had executed their wills, he came in and told me he was only leaving his spouse 1/2 of his personal property and interest in their joint property and giving the other half to a previous wife who had fallen on bad times. There was a tremendous ethical dilemma here. I had information that was relevant to her will in that she had agreed to leave everything to him based on an agreement he would leave everything to her. Now that I knew he wanted me to draft his will leaving 1/2 to the other former spouse what was I to do?

I ultimately withdrew from both representations based on inherent conflicts of interest after consulting with the General Counsel of the State Bar Association. I obviously could not disclose to her what I knew but suggested that it is always prudent to have separate counsel.

In situations where there is separate counsel but the understanding is mutual mirror wills, I have recommended to my client that they ask to see the spouse's unexecuted will before they execute their own. There is no guarantee the spouse will not modify the will before execution but it is at least a prudent step for them to take.

[JDPriestly]

30. Agree. In California, you have to have a written waiver if you

think there is a conflict of interest. This is a good thing for people to understand. This is not giving legal advice. It is just helping people understand how lawyers work and think in general.

[Hepburn]

26. It usually is considered a conflict for one defense atty to rep two defendants involved...

...in the same crime or series of crime.

Not an absolute rule, but IMO, it is better that each defendant have his/her own atty.

JMHO

[JDPriestly]

29. Yes. This is normal because a lawyer representing one of them

would have a conflict of interest if he or she tried to represent both of them. How could you bargain for a plea on behalf of both defendants at the same time? Also, in a case like this, there are likely to be questions about whether the parents are fit, and there again, the parents may have different interests.

[tkmorris]

9. /marriage

These people are a train wreck.

[cosmicone]

10. Thanks to all of us reading this and posting

as well as similar people in the universe, their hoax has succeeded in garnering the very thing that they wanted - publicity. The hoax angle is actually giving them far more publicity and keeping this story in the news far far longer. In the end, they win. It is unlikely that they will be given jail time for a first time offense -- just restitution and community service. Some media outlet will pay the restitution in exchange for an exclusive.

Ultimately, WE create and nurture these characters. WE demand drama and are willing to pay for it.

[pattmarty]

11. Well he'll be getting his wish. He's going to have all the publicity he can handle.

[Psephos]

21. lol n/t

[barb162]

37. He's such a narcissist jerk; I hope he enjoys all the wrong kind of press.

[Jefferson23]

12. This is sad for the children, for the parents to use them this way is terrible.

The children have to deal with their peers knowing they have parents who lie to be famous. Sad, very sad.

[TheCowsCameHome]

13. He should get six months just for naming the poor kid Falcon.

[AsahinaKimi]

15. The other night on Larry King Live

Richard Heene's lawyer said in an interview that cases involving a family, its always wise for each Parent to have their own lawyer, which in this case, makes a lot of sense.

Richard Heene probably had this dream to get all this publicity for his family so they could get future opportunities, and she, being his wife went a long for the ride.

From the reports of his friends and acquaintances, he has apparently wanted to be in the spotlight for a long time. Since they both met in acting school, she probably also desired this as well. Like the kid said... they did it for the show.

[Raster]

17. I'm sorry. I call horsepucky. It's only wise to have separate attorneys if the two parents

will be taking different legal directions. It sounds to me like she is purposely distancing.

[AsahinaKimi]

19. Call it Horsepucky if you wish...

I am just reporting what the lawyer said... You can read the transcript here
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0910/19/lkl.01.html

DAVID LANE, ATTORNEY FOR RICHARD

BLITZER: And now, is there a reason why there are two different lawyers representing the two -- the husband and the wife?

LANE: Yes. Ethically speaking, in any criminal case, there's always a potential for a conflict of interest. So in -- in criminal cases presumptively, if there are more than one person -- if there's more than one person being looked at, each should have their own lawyer.

[Raster]

22. I realize that. I'm not calling horsepucky on you. I'm calling it on the attorney.

We supposedly already have the wife saying it was a hoax. We have at least one of the children that let it slip that the incident was "...for the show..." We have Blitzer asking the question: "why separate attorneys"? And we have Lane, the husband's attorney trying to present this as normal legal procedure. And that is what I'm calling horsepucky. I believe the wife has begun distancing and positioning herself to give evidence against her husband, or at least put as much distance between their actions as possible.

[JDPriestly]

32. This is not just a criminal case, Raster. This case may well involve

issues about which parent will be given custody of the children. That may be more important to the mother than the criminal case (if they are either indicted on criminal charges or face a Juvenile Court regarding their children. This is a very complicated case. The children are clearly very attached to both of their parents.

[JDPriestly]

33. Raster, are you an attorney? Because if you are, I don't understand

why you are asking this.

[Raster]

34. I am not asking anything. I am saying that if the family didn't do anything wrong,

they would probably have one lead attorney and/or a team representing the family. Stand as a family, maintain their innocence as a family, etc. The wife having her own attorney to represent her--and presumably her minor children--indicates that they want to separate their fates from the husband as much as possible. She's already admitting her guilt. He's still protesting THEIR innocence.

I am calling HORSEPUCKY because Counselor Lane bellows loudly about his client's innocence and suggests it was just a natural action for the husband and wife lawyer-up individually. It isn't, or at least not for innocent husband and wife and three small children.

[JDPriestly]

31. I disagree, Raster. If you go to Juvenile Court for a negligence of

abuse case, each parent will usually have his or her own attorney. This is due to conflicts of interest. Attorneys actually do have ethical obligations, and generally attorneys take them pretty seriously. I know that many are very cynical about attorneys. But an attorney owes duties of loyalty and confidentiality to clients. So conflicts of interest are a very serious matter.

[Turborama]

23. According to the search warrant she confessed on October 17

Number 12 on page 3 says she confessed on October 17: http://www.mynocodata.com/special_reports/heene2009.pdf

[JDPriestly]

27. I would imagine that the authorities confronted her with her own

body language and the fact that she might lose her children over this. She probably did not think about the consequences when she and her husband planned this. What immature, foolish people.

The sheriff hinted that someone in the family had confessed and also said that she had been helpful, if I recall the sheriff's words correctly. (Remember his video when he announced that there was evidence that the boy's disappearance had been a hoax.) This is really a very sad story.

[DesertRat]

35. Sir Walter Scott said it best

“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive”