State Police Reopens Investigation into Teen’s Death
At the request of his family, the Arkansas State Police reopened their investigation into the September, 2003 motor vehicle accident that claimed the life of 17-year-old Timothy Stone of Chidester. Stone’s family believes there is substantial evidence that his death as well as the deaths of three other area teens in an eerily similar accident several months earlier were homicides.
Chidester, AR (PRWEB) October 8, 2004 -- At the request of his family, the
Arkansas State Police reopened their investigation into the September, 2003
motor vehicle accident that claimed the life of 17-year-old Timothy Stone of
Chidester.
Stone’s family believes there is
substantial evidence that his death as well as the deaths of three other area
teens in a similar accident several months earlier were
homicides.
Citing inconsistencies in
the original accident scene investigation, the observations of the coroner at
the scene as well as threats of physical harm made against Stone in the days
prior to his death, his family hired a private investigator to further examine
the evidence. That investigation is near completion and files have been turned
over to the Ouachita County prosecutor and the Arkansas State Police’s Crime
Investigation Division in Camden.
Stone died the night
of September 23, 2003 after his car left Arkansas Highway 57 near Chidester.
According to the State Police’s final report, the car became airborne and rolled
three times before slamming into a tree. Stone’s lifeless body was found a few
feet away.
The coroner, who examined the body at the
scene, told the family that Stone’s massive head injuries were not consistent
with ejection from a roll-over accident. Moreover, the condition of the vehicle
did not indicate a roll-over. Photographs recorded the following day show
distinctive markings on the ground consistent with the body being dragged away
from the vehicle. Personal items were missing from the vehicle and were later
found in the possession of one of parties who had threatened Stone previously.
Stone’s family finally located the vehicle a week
later and observed a small black mark, possibly made by another vehicle’s bumper
along the rear of the Stone vehicle. Stone’s family notified the Sheriff’s
Office and when police returned several hours later that day the mark had been
scratched off. Stone’s family now believes he was dragged from the vehicle and
beaten to death.
Despite the suspicious findings of
the coroner, the State Police investigators and the family’s private
investigator, Ouachita County officials have steadfastly refused to reopen the
case. One Ouachita County official dismissed the family’s findings as
“irrelevant” and labeled Stone “a druggie and a homosexual.”
Once Townsend Investigations turned their reports and
findings over to the State Police Investigator, Terrie Smith and County
Prosecutor, Jamie Pratt, the case was re-opened.
To
date, Stone’s family has spent over $10,000 seeking the truth about Timothy’s
death. After his family began their own investigation, the home where his
grandfather lives and mother visiting was sprayed with bullets and the family
has received harassing and threatening phone calls. Stone’s mother, Renata
Balleza of Houston, Texas, recently made an appearance on a program hosted by
COURT TV legal analyst Nancy Grace to discuss the case and the family’s quest
for justice.
Anyone with information about the death
of Timothy Stone is asked to contact the family’s investigator, Townsend
Investigations at 501-455-4650 or to email the family at their website: www.timothystonefamily.com
“We want to do what we can
to get these people who brutally murdered my son behind bars where they belong.
We believe they are responsible for multiple murders and will kill again.”
Renata Balleza said.
Townsend Investigations: http://www.townsendinvestigations.com/
Carla Baron's
Official website: http://home.att.net/~carla.baron/missing.html
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/10/prweb165096.htm