Mom Parties At Bar Hours After Her Baby's Funeral

[matcom]

<snip>

From her barstool, Anissa Francis and the 30 or so other patrons at Jug's Hitching Post had just finished watching news accounts Monday night of her friend being charged with shaking her 6-month-old daughter to death, when someone started up the jukebox and Eddie Money's "Shakin' " blared out.

"It was weird. Everyone was just in awe," Jug's owner Jason Jug said Friday, noting that the song was played by another customer who didn't know what had happened.

On Thursday night, just hours after her baby's funeral, Francis, 21, was back at Jug's in rural Kohlsville, singing karaoke until near closing time, Jug said.

"She was singing a bunch of songs. Not love songs, or sad songs. Like party songs," Jug said.

Craig C. Tolonen, 22, was charged Aug. 21 in Washington County Circuit Court with first-degree reckless homicide for violently shaking Serenitee Halbert, Francis' daughter, and then throwing her on a couch the morning of Aug. 18, causing injuries that led to her death Aug. 19 at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa.

In addition, Junior Weiss, Francis' boyfriend, was charged with felony child abuse, accused of slapping Francis' 19-month-old son across the face, leaving a hand print across his face and drawing blood.

Washington County Social Services has taken the child from Francis and placed him with a foster family, officials say.

Numerous attempts by a reporter to reach Francis, including three visits to her Allenton apartment, and efforts to reach other family members were not successful.

According to a criminal complaint, Francis, Weiss and Tolonen had been drinking the night of Aug. 17 and into early Aug. 18. Tolonen told investigators he was hung over at the time the baby was shaken.

Tolonen and Weiss have a history of violence and drug and alcohol abuse, which caused one of Jug's employees to not want to be identified by a reporter.

"It's a bad crowd. I don't want them gunning for me," said the employee, who was present Monday night when Francis asked that the jukebox be turned down and the TV turned up.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=488159&format=print

[Darth_Kitten]

1. Shit, anything can breed, it seems......

How unfortunate for those little babies.... :(

[Love Bug]

2. "Serenitee"? Sweet Jesus

Poor thing. I'm not one to dis how another grieves, but this whole thing just boggles.

[Midlodemocrat]

3. Well, you know Babs played golf the day Robin Bush died.

So apparently, it isn't an economic thing, just an evil thing.

[Vidar]

4. Could have been worse; she could have gone golfing.

[Kickoutthejams23]

5. Worthless white trash family

Since 1999, dozens of criminal charges and citations - everything from petty alcohol and drug offenses to theft, disorderly conduct, domestic abuse and homicide - have involved Craig Tolonen, his brother, Eric, 24, Junior Weiss, 24, or his brother, Jay Weiss, 22.

"They are well-known by everyone in our department," said Washington County Sheriff Brian Rahn. "Every deputy has had to deal with them. Everyone in the jail knows them. Every detective has investigated cases involving them."

Eric Tolonen and Jay Weiss are serving 20-year prison sentences for beating a Beaver Dam man to death in November 2002 outside an Allenton tavern.

Craig and Junior could soon join their brothers.

Craig Tolonen was charged Monday with first-degree reckless homicide, accused of violently shaking Serenitee and then throwing her on a couch because she would not stop crying. The infant died Saturday.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=487060


Honestly trash like this should have been in jail a long time ago. They certainly had enough charges against thier sorry drunken a$$es

[Lerkfish]

6. I'll just point out that people grieve in different ways.

There are Irish drinking wakes, for example.
When I lost my wife, half the people thought I wasn't grieving enough, others thought too much.
Grief is a horrible thing, and when you lose a child, its worse. Because of what I've been through, I give every grieving person a free pass, even if its not what I would have chosen as a grieving method.

I also know some people want to be alone with their dead child and give it a final bath, that sort of thing. Not something I think I would do, but unti I'm in that situation, and until I'm those exact people I will not judge.

IMHO grief is not a performance for the benefit of providing OTHER people a comfortable propriety zone.

I edited to make clear: I'm NOT commenting on the particulars of this case, just the outrage that she would be in a bar after the funeral. I'm only commenting on judgements made of that activity.

[tigereye]

7. I think that would be called pathological denial

:(