Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
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Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:30 pm
Tests show shoes belong to missing Coquille teen
Posted: Wednesday, August 2, 2000 12:00 am
Two shoes found miles apart have been linked to a Coquille girl who disappeared late last month.
Coquille Police Chief Michael Reaves said Tuesday that DNA testing shows the two white Nike tennis shoes belonged to Leah Freeman, 15, who vanished June 28.
Freeman was last seen sometime after 9 p.m. walking on Central Boulevard near 10th Street. She was wearing a white tank top, blue jeans and white Nike tennis shoes with a blue swoosh.
Yellow ribbons are tied to signs and fenceposts along the route Freeman was supposed to be taking from a friend's house to her home on Knott Street.
The first shoe was turned in to police by a private citizen on July 4. Police have yet to identify the person who found the shoe, but Reaves told investigators the shoe was found across from Coquille High School on the evening of June 28, the day Freeman disappeared.
The second shoe was discovered July 5 by Coos County Sheriff's Cpl. Kip Oswald alongside a road on Hudson Ridge, approximately 13 miles northwest of Coquille.
Reaves said Oswald was on routine patrol and was checking areas where juveniles were known to go. According to Oswald's reports, the deputy was not specifically checking the road for evidence.
"He just had a missing girl and he knew there were spots where kids go to hide out or hang out," Reaves said.
Coquille Police turned the shoes over to the Oregon State Police crime lab in Coos Bay. After doing preliminary testing, the shoes were then sent to the OSP Forensic Laboratory in Portland where the DNA testing was done.
The tests showed the DNA evidence found in the shoes appears to match DNA on a toothbrush that belonged to Freeman, Reaves said.
Police did not wait for the DNA test results to search the rural area where the second shoe was found, Reaves said.
The first searches of the area were carried out immediately after Oswald turned the shoe over to police. Police assumed the shoe was one of Freeman's. "We just made our searches up there as if it were so we wouldn't be behind the curve when it came back positive," Reaves said.
Timber deputies with the Coos County Sheriff's Office searched the area twice, the second time using specially trained dogs. The area was searched twice more afterward. The most recent search was last week, when 15 to 20 people covered an area from Middle Creek Road over the top of the ridge and down to the community of McKinley.
Reaves said he did not view the DNA findings as a major advance in the case.
"We had assumed that they were hers," the police chief said. "It's just confirming our assumptions. It's actually not really a major break. An assumption that we had was confirmed and we're going forward from that point."
The mother of the missing girl, Cory Courtright, had little to say this morning about the latest findings.
"I don't know how to take it," she said, discussing the confirmation that the shoes belonged to her daughter.
Courtright said she is dealing with the strain of Leah's disappearance one day at a time, but has not given up hope.
"You can't ever quit," she said.
Dennis and Denise Freeman, Leah's father and stepmother, said the news about the shoes leaves them with mixed feelings.
"We more or less decided that if the shoe that was found 13 miles out of town was hers, we're never going to see her again," Dennis Freeman said Tuesday.
He said he thought if the shoes hadn't proved to have been Leah's, it might indicate that his daughter had been abducted by a stranger and taken from the area.
But they still haven't given up hope, Freeman said. "We're hoping for a really pleasant surprise or miracle, whatever you want to call it. But at this point in time, it doesn't seem likely. But we pray every night."
http://theworldlink.com/article_1596b663-42cd-5821-b8c5-86d3dc4347c6.html
Posted: Wednesday, August 2, 2000 12:00 am
Two shoes found miles apart have been linked to a Coquille girl who disappeared late last month.
Coquille Police Chief Michael Reaves said Tuesday that DNA testing shows the two white Nike tennis shoes belonged to Leah Freeman, 15, who vanished June 28.
Freeman was last seen sometime after 9 p.m. walking on Central Boulevard near 10th Street. She was wearing a white tank top, blue jeans and white Nike tennis shoes with a blue swoosh.
Yellow ribbons are tied to signs and fenceposts along the route Freeman was supposed to be taking from a friend's house to her home on Knott Street.
The first shoe was turned in to police by a private citizen on July 4. Police have yet to identify the person who found the shoe, but Reaves told investigators the shoe was found across from Coquille High School on the evening of June 28, the day Freeman disappeared.
The second shoe was discovered July 5 by Coos County Sheriff's Cpl. Kip Oswald alongside a road on Hudson Ridge, approximately 13 miles northwest of Coquille.
Reaves said Oswald was on routine patrol and was checking areas where juveniles were known to go. According to Oswald's reports, the deputy was not specifically checking the road for evidence.
"He just had a missing girl and he knew there were spots where kids go to hide out or hang out," Reaves said.
Coquille Police turned the shoes over to the Oregon State Police crime lab in Coos Bay. After doing preliminary testing, the shoes were then sent to the OSP Forensic Laboratory in Portland where the DNA testing was done.
The tests showed the DNA evidence found in the shoes appears to match DNA on a toothbrush that belonged to Freeman, Reaves said.
Police did not wait for the DNA test results to search the rural area where the second shoe was found, Reaves said.
The first searches of the area were carried out immediately after Oswald turned the shoe over to police. Police assumed the shoe was one of Freeman's. "We just made our searches up there as if it were so we wouldn't be behind the curve when it came back positive," Reaves said.
Timber deputies with the Coos County Sheriff's Office searched the area twice, the second time using specially trained dogs. The area was searched twice more afterward. The most recent search was last week, when 15 to 20 people covered an area from Middle Creek Road over the top of the ridge and down to the community of McKinley.
Reaves said he did not view the DNA findings as a major advance in the case.
"We had assumed that they were hers," the police chief said. "It's just confirming our assumptions. It's actually not really a major break. An assumption that we had was confirmed and we're going forward from that point."
The mother of the missing girl, Cory Courtright, had little to say this morning about the latest findings.
"I don't know how to take it," she said, discussing the confirmation that the shoes belonged to her daughter.
Courtright said she is dealing with the strain of Leah's disappearance one day at a time, but has not given up hope.
"You can't ever quit," she said.
Dennis and Denise Freeman, Leah's father and stepmother, said the news about the shoes leaves them with mixed feelings.
"We more or less decided that if the shoe that was found 13 miles out of town was hers, we're never going to see her again," Dennis Freeman said Tuesday.
He said he thought if the shoes hadn't proved to have been Leah's, it might indicate that his daughter had been abducted by a stranger and taken from the area.
But they still haven't given up hope, Freeman said. "We're hoping for a really pleasant surprise or miracle, whatever you want to call it. But at this point in time, it doesn't seem likely. But we pray every night."
http://theworldlink.com/article_1596b663-42cd-5821-b8c5-86d3dc4347c6.html
Last edited by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 2:37 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:33 pm
How forensic tests are conducted
Posted: Wednesday, August 2, 2000 12:00 am
Evidence in criminal cases is often tested using a variety of complex and time-consuming procedures. Test results can often determine someone's guilt or innocence.
The tests are also used to confirm whether potential leads are linked to police cases, as in Monday's confirmation that a pair of tennis shoes did belong to missing 15-year-old Leah Freeman.
Oregon State Police Lt. Jim Pex said the shoes were turned into the OSP's Coos Bay crime lab by Coquille Police in early July.
"We did a preliminary exam to see if there were any biological fluids to test," Pex said. Besides sweat, the other body fluids that are tested by the crime lab include saliva, semen and vaginal fluids. "In this case we were looking for her own sweat to confirm these were her shoes," Pex said.
After the initial local examination, the shoes were sent to the Portland crime lab, for DNA testing.
The process for extracting DNA is complex, Pex said. During the testing, nucleated cells are removed from the material.
"All our body fluids have cells," Pex said. "Inside those cells is the DNA. A process is then used to separate out the components of the DNA."
Each person's DNA is unique, Pex added. When the DNA testing is complete, results show a genetic pattern that is unique to an individual.
In the Freeman case, the evidence from the shoes was compared to a sample taken from the missing girl's toothbrush.
The lab found a match.
"DNA testing is very accurate," Pex said. "The only difference between DNA and fingerprinting is a matter of law. Fingerprints are considered unique to each individual by law, while DNA is not yet. I think that will change in the future."
DNA test results refer to the pattern of the material. Calculated frequency tests determine how rare it is. Many times, the patterns are found in one in a million people, or even one in a billion, Pex said.
The testing is helpful both to the defense and the prosecution in a case, the OSP lieutenant added.
"DNA tests can be used to put someone away in a case," Pex said, "but in reality they can also demonstrate that a person was not involved in a crime."
http://theworldlink.com/article_94dedcfd-aee7-5528-b6f2-efc5a6a5b2e1.html
Posted: Wednesday, August 2, 2000 12:00 am
Evidence in criminal cases is often tested using a variety of complex and time-consuming procedures. Test results can often determine someone's guilt or innocence.
The tests are also used to confirm whether potential leads are linked to police cases, as in Monday's confirmation that a pair of tennis shoes did belong to missing 15-year-old Leah Freeman.
Oregon State Police Lt. Jim Pex said the shoes were turned into the OSP's Coos Bay crime lab by Coquille Police in early July.
"We did a preliminary exam to see if there were any biological fluids to test," Pex said. Besides sweat, the other body fluids that are tested by the crime lab include saliva, semen and vaginal fluids. "In this case we were looking for her own sweat to confirm these were her shoes," Pex said.
After the initial local examination, the shoes were sent to the Portland crime lab, for DNA testing.
The process for extracting DNA is complex, Pex said. During the testing, nucleated cells are removed from the material.
"All our body fluids have cells," Pex said. "Inside those cells is the DNA. A process is then used to separate out the components of the DNA."
Each person's DNA is unique, Pex added. When the DNA testing is complete, results show a genetic pattern that is unique to an individual.
In the Freeman case, the evidence from the shoes was compared to a sample taken from the missing girl's toothbrush.
The lab found a match.
"DNA testing is very accurate," Pex said. "The only difference between DNA and fingerprinting is a matter of law. Fingerprints are considered unique to each individual by law, while DNA is not yet. I think that will change in the future."
DNA test results refer to the pattern of the material. Calculated frequency tests determine how rare it is. Many times, the patterns are found in one in a million people, or even one in a billion, Pex said.
The testing is helpful both to the defense and the prosecution in a case, the OSP lieutenant added.
"DNA tests can be used to put someone away in a case," Pex said, "but in reality they can also demonstrate that a person was not involved in a crime."
http://theworldlink.com/article_94dedcfd-aee7-5528-b6f2-efc5a6a5b2e1.html
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:35 pm
Police seek murder clues
Posted: Friday, August 4, 2000 12:00 am
Coos County Sheriff's Sgt. Rod Summers stands next to police barrier tape sealing off the scene where a body, tentatively identified as 15-year-old Leah Freeman of Coquille was found Thursday afternoon. Freeman vanished on June 28 and the disappearance has been the focus of an intense police investigation since. World Photo by Madeline Steege
COQUILLE -- An autopsy was scheduled Friday to help investigators determine what killed a teen-age girl whose death is considered a homicide.
The body, tentatively identified as that of 15-year-old Leah Freeman, was removed from a forest area east of Coquille on Thursday night after being discovered by police searchers earlier that afternoon.
A police investigation of the scene was completed late Friday morning, but the section of road above and below the area remained blocked off.
Lt. Jim Pex, director of the Oregon State Police Crime Lab in Coos Bay, said the body had been taken to Roseburg for the autopsy. Coquille Police Chief Michael Reaves said he had not received the autospy results as of Friday night and special prosecutor R. Paul Frasier could not be reached for comment at press time.
Freeman vanished June 28, while walking toward her home on Knott Street sometime after 9 p.m. Two of her shoes, one found in Coquille on the night she disappeared and the second found approximately 13 miles away on Hudson Ridge, were the only evidence found of the girl before the body was discovered Thursday.
The body was found off the north side of Lee Valley Road approximately one-and-a-half miles from its intersection with Fairview Road.
The north side of the road, which runs along the Coquille River's north fork, slopes steeply down the hillside and the body was found at the foot of the embankment, which ends about 15-feet below the roadway.
In an impromptu press conference held at the roadblock on Lee Valley Road shortly after 10 a.m. Friday, Pex said investigators had finished their examination of the area and other personnel, including North Bend police explorers and Coquille Fire Department rescue workers, had searched the gravel road leading to and from the area.
The forested area is Bureau of Land Management property, said Ranger Ted Gage, who was helping Coos County Sheriff's deputies supervise the checkpoint on Lee Valley Road. The road connects with other roads that lead to Norway and Myrtle Point, Gage added.
Pex said the body had not been buried or otherwise concealed and had apparently been there "for awhile." However, he would not comment on any other details about the search or what investigators found.
"I can't really tell you much other than we did a standard search which we always do with a body found in the woods," he said.
The area where the body was found was marked off Friday by yellow barrier tape emblazoned with the words "Crime scene -- Do Not Cross," stretching between the tall trees surrounding the area.
Other signs of police activity included a strip of roadside grasses cut to allow access to the spot and white lines painted in the gravel on both sides of the scene as reference points for searchers.
The investigators who combed over the site Thursday and Friday were only part of a small corps of officers and detectives that are involved in the investigation.
Pex said that along with the crime-scene investigation, approximately 20 detectives from local and State Police agencies were being briefed Friday morning to help in the hunt for a suspect.
Jim Judd, whose home is only a short distance from the roadblock, said he had not noticed anything unusual happening on the road either on June 28 or afterward.
"I never heard anything. If I had known anything I would have called (police) instantly," he said Friday morning, as he smoked a cigar and drank a cup of coffee while standing in the roadway.
Although the area is regularly visited by campers and others, especially during the recent Fourth of July holiday, nobody apparently came across the body before Thursday, he said.
Reaves said Thursday night that with the discovery of the body, the Coos County Major Crime Investigation Team has been formally activated.
The team includes officers from Coos Bay, North Bend and Myrtle Point police departments, the Coos County Sheriff's Office, the OSP and South Coast Interagency Narcotics Team, the Coos County Medical Examiner's Office and the District Attorney's Office.
Police also are being aided in the investigation by FBI agents, Reaves said.
Leah's mother, Cory Courtright, was in seclusion at the family's Coquille home Friday and had no comment on the discovery, said Richard Courtright, Leah's uncle.
After the teen-ager disappeared, Myrtle Lane Motel manager Buster Conley used the Central Boulevard motel's large roadside signboard to post a description of Freeman and advertise the offer of a $10,000 reward for information leading to her return. Conley said he put the messages up at the request of Freeman's grandmother, Dorothy Courtright. The advertisements stayed up until Thursday.
But on Friday, that message was replaced with a quote from the Old Testament, Book of Job 1:22: "The Lord gives. The Lord takes. Blessed be the name of the Lord."
Conley said he was not a close friend of the Courtright family, but added "we're all friends in a small town. That's a comfort you can have here."
He said the discovery of the missing girl's body was sad, but that the family and community could finally gain some peace of mind knowing Freeman had been found.
"We can all go on with our lives now," Conley said. "We prayed for her to return, and now we can pray for whoever did this to be caught."
http://theworldlink.com/article_654d441b-c852-56db-88b3-cdf883c14543.html
Posted: Friday, August 4, 2000 12:00 am
Coos County Sheriff's Sgt. Rod Summers stands next to police barrier tape sealing off the scene where a body, tentatively identified as 15-year-old Leah Freeman of Coquille was found Thursday afternoon. Freeman vanished on June 28 and the disappearance has been the focus of an intense police investigation since. World Photo by Madeline Steege
COQUILLE -- An autopsy was scheduled Friday to help investigators determine what killed a teen-age girl whose death is considered a homicide.
The body, tentatively identified as that of 15-year-old Leah Freeman, was removed from a forest area east of Coquille on Thursday night after being discovered by police searchers earlier that afternoon.
A police investigation of the scene was completed late Friday morning, but the section of road above and below the area remained blocked off.
Lt. Jim Pex, director of the Oregon State Police Crime Lab in Coos Bay, said the body had been taken to Roseburg for the autopsy. Coquille Police Chief Michael Reaves said he had not received the autospy results as of Friday night and special prosecutor R. Paul Frasier could not be reached for comment at press time.
Freeman vanished June 28, while walking toward her home on Knott Street sometime after 9 p.m. Two of her shoes, one found in Coquille on the night she disappeared and the second found approximately 13 miles away on Hudson Ridge, were the only evidence found of the girl before the body was discovered Thursday.
The body was found off the north side of Lee Valley Road approximately one-and-a-half miles from its intersection with Fairview Road.
The north side of the road, which runs along the Coquille River's north fork, slopes steeply down the hillside and the body was found at the foot of the embankment, which ends about 15-feet below the roadway.
In an impromptu press conference held at the roadblock on Lee Valley Road shortly after 10 a.m. Friday, Pex said investigators had finished their examination of the area and other personnel, including North Bend police explorers and Coquille Fire Department rescue workers, had searched the gravel road leading to and from the area.
The forested area is Bureau of Land Management property, said Ranger Ted Gage, who was helping Coos County Sheriff's deputies supervise the checkpoint on Lee Valley Road. The road connects with other roads that lead to Norway and Myrtle Point, Gage added.
Pex said the body had not been buried or otherwise concealed and had apparently been there "for awhile." However, he would not comment on any other details about the search or what investigators found.
"I can't really tell you much other than we did a standard search which we always do with a body found in the woods," he said.
The area where the body was found was marked off Friday by yellow barrier tape emblazoned with the words "Crime scene -- Do Not Cross," stretching between the tall trees surrounding the area.
Other signs of police activity included a strip of roadside grasses cut to allow access to the spot and white lines painted in the gravel on both sides of the scene as reference points for searchers.
The investigators who combed over the site Thursday and Friday were only part of a small corps of officers and detectives that are involved in the investigation.
Pex said that along with the crime-scene investigation, approximately 20 detectives from local and State Police agencies were being briefed Friday morning to help in the hunt for a suspect.
Jim Judd, whose home is only a short distance from the roadblock, said he had not noticed anything unusual happening on the road either on June 28 or afterward.
"I never heard anything. If I had known anything I would have called (police) instantly," he said Friday morning, as he smoked a cigar and drank a cup of coffee while standing in the roadway.
Although the area is regularly visited by campers and others, especially during the recent Fourth of July holiday, nobody apparently came across the body before Thursday, he said.
Reaves said Thursday night that with the discovery of the body, the Coos County Major Crime Investigation Team has been formally activated.
The team includes officers from Coos Bay, North Bend and Myrtle Point police departments, the Coos County Sheriff's Office, the OSP and South Coast Interagency Narcotics Team, the Coos County Medical Examiner's Office and the District Attorney's Office.
Police also are being aided in the investigation by FBI agents, Reaves said.
Leah's mother, Cory Courtright, was in seclusion at the family's Coquille home Friday and had no comment on the discovery, said Richard Courtright, Leah's uncle.
After the teen-ager disappeared, Myrtle Lane Motel manager Buster Conley used the Central Boulevard motel's large roadside signboard to post a description of Freeman and advertise the offer of a $10,000 reward for information leading to her return. Conley said he put the messages up at the request of Freeman's grandmother, Dorothy Courtright. The advertisements stayed up until Thursday.
But on Friday, that message was replaced with a quote from the Old Testament, Book of Job 1:22: "The Lord gives. The Lord takes. Blessed be the name of the Lord."
Conley said he was not a close friend of the Courtright family, but added "we're all friends in a small town. That's a comfort you can have here."
He said the discovery of the missing girl's body was sad, but that the family and community could finally gain some peace of mind knowing Freeman had been found.
"We can all go on with our lives now," Conley said. "We prayed for her to return, and now we can pray for whoever did this to be caught."
http://theworldlink.com/article_654d441b-c852-56db-88b3-cdf883c14543.html
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:38 pm
A sister mourns
Posted: Monday, August 7, 2000 12:00 am
COQUILLE -- The sun beats down on the patio, on the salt-and-pepper-colored outdoor carpeting where Bailey, Leah Freeman's 4-year-old cat, waits for her to come home.
Bailey rubs against Denise Freeman's leg. She reaches down to pet him.
From now on, Bailey will have to turn to 18-year-old Denise, Leah's older sister, when he wants to be cuddled.
Since her 15-year-old sister's disappearance June 28, Denise's summer days before starting her senior year at Coquille High School have been filled with exhausting newspaper and television interviews, working at Denny's Pizza and Hunter's Eatery and Creamery, and thinking about her relationship with her little sister.
"It totally infuriates me when I see sisters arguing now, and I just want to scream, 'Appreciate them while you have them!'" Denise said.
She said she never realized what a big part of her life Leah was until she was gone. Sometimes she thinks, "Usually I'm doing this with Leah" or "I should be picking up Leah."
At first glance, Denise, with her short, dark hair, bears little resemblance to the picture of the blond girl on posters that command attention in windows around Coquille. But the smiles are the same. Only now, Denise is smiling through the tears when she talks about living across the hall from Leah a month ago.
Although different sizes, the two shared clothes and shoes. Like most girls her age, Leah enjoyed buying clothes, putting on makeup, coloring her hair and doing her nails, said Denise, picking at the cuticle of her own ragged nails that have been chewed down to the skin.
Leah also liked to run, walk and be healthy, Denise said. She used to spot her sister around town jogging.
But Denise is frustrated that she doesn't remember seeing her sister the day she disappeared walking home from a friend's house. She said Leah's boyfriend, 18-year-old Nick McGuffin, stopped in at Denny's Pizza where Denise was working and asked if she had seen Leah.
"I didn't think anything of it because this is Coquille. Nothing happens here," Denise said.
"I used to think this town sucks because nothing happened here. Now I think it sucks because something did happen here."
Yet Denise, who wants to study nursing and had planned to leave home next summer for Humboldt State University, now thinks she will stay with her family and go to Southwestern Oregon Community College for a year.
Denise lives with her mother, Cory Courtright, and her grandparents, Alton and Dorothy Courtright. She has two half-sisters, two stepbrothers and one stepsister. Leah was her only "full-blooded" sister, she said.
"She's priceless, and that doesn't even begin to explain, …" Denise said in a choked voice.
"She's like her own little ray of light. She could brighten a whole room … as you can see, a whole town."
http://www.theworldlink.com/article_7ce5047f-b3fa-5c6f-8446-7215d88a8405.html
Posted: Monday, August 7, 2000 12:00 am
COQUILLE -- The sun beats down on the patio, on the salt-and-pepper-colored outdoor carpeting where Bailey, Leah Freeman's 4-year-old cat, waits for her to come home.
Bailey rubs against Denise Freeman's leg. She reaches down to pet him.
From now on, Bailey will have to turn to 18-year-old Denise, Leah's older sister, when he wants to be cuddled.
Since her 15-year-old sister's disappearance June 28, Denise's summer days before starting her senior year at Coquille High School have been filled with exhausting newspaper and television interviews, working at Denny's Pizza and Hunter's Eatery and Creamery, and thinking about her relationship with her little sister.
"It totally infuriates me when I see sisters arguing now, and I just want to scream, 'Appreciate them while you have them!'" Denise said.
She said she never realized what a big part of her life Leah was until she was gone. Sometimes she thinks, "Usually I'm doing this with Leah" or "I should be picking up Leah."
At first glance, Denise, with her short, dark hair, bears little resemblance to the picture of the blond girl on posters that command attention in windows around Coquille. But the smiles are the same. Only now, Denise is smiling through the tears when she talks about living across the hall from Leah a month ago.
Although different sizes, the two shared clothes and shoes. Like most girls her age, Leah enjoyed buying clothes, putting on makeup, coloring her hair and doing her nails, said Denise, picking at the cuticle of her own ragged nails that have been chewed down to the skin.
Leah also liked to run, walk and be healthy, Denise said. She used to spot her sister around town jogging.
But Denise is frustrated that she doesn't remember seeing her sister the day she disappeared walking home from a friend's house. She said Leah's boyfriend, 18-year-old Nick McGuffin, stopped in at Denny's Pizza where Denise was working and asked if she had seen Leah.
"I didn't think anything of it because this is Coquille. Nothing happens here," Denise said.
"I used to think this town sucks because nothing happened here. Now I think it sucks because something did happen here."
Yet Denise, who wants to study nursing and had planned to leave home next summer for Humboldt State University, now thinks she will stay with her family and go to Southwestern Oregon Community College for a year.
Denise lives with her mother, Cory Courtright, and her grandparents, Alton and Dorothy Courtright. She has two half-sisters, two stepbrothers and one stepsister. Leah was her only "full-blooded" sister, she said.
"She's priceless, and that doesn't even begin to explain, …" Denise said in a choked voice.
"She's like her own little ray of light. She could brighten a whole room … as you can see, a whole town."
http://www.theworldlink.com/article_7ce5047f-b3fa-5c6f-8446-7215d88a8405.html
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:45 pm
Remembering Leah Freeman
Posted: Monday, August 7, 2000 12:00 am
Tana Smith, left, Ashley Olson, Holly Hajdu, Melissa Smith, Brian Harmon, Stacie Erlur, Austin Fisher and Melissa Brugnoli gather around a campfire Friday at Harmon's house. The group of Leah Freeman's friends looked through photo albums and remembered growing up with her. Fisher said "The last time we were all together, Leah was here and it was my birthday." World Photo by Madeline Steege
COQUILLE -- A big, green plastic bowl of dark pink watermelon wedges nestles in the center of the outdoor trampoline. Pink ribbons float in 15-year-old Holly Hajdu's red hair. Pink was Leah Freeman's favorite color.
Grouped cross-legged around the edge of the trampoline are 11 of Leah Freeman's closest friends. Austin Fisher, Brian Harmon, Melissa Smith, all 16; John Bower, Melissa Brugnoli, Holly Hajdu, Ashley Olson, Tana Smith, Nikki Watts, all 15; and 14-year-olds Stacy Erlur and Sharie Mitchell pay tribute to Leah with an informal feast of pop, chips, cookies and M&Ms; a scrapbook of newspaper clippings and photos; and a trove of memories.
"The last time we all got together like this, Leah was here," Austin said, shaking his shaggy blond head. "It was my birthday party."
Leah, who has been missing from her friends' lives since she disappeared walking home June 28, loved parties. Searchers found her body Aug. 4 near Fairview. She had been murdered.
Everyone agrees that if Leah was there, she would be eating all the snacks, burping, rolling around in her friends' laps and trying to make them laugh.
They say it just doesn't seem fair that Leah can't be there enjoying the fun. Nikki, who said she believes everything happens for a reason, just can't understand what possible reason God would have for letting tragedy befall Leah, her family and circle of friends. The tragedy has made them feel unsafe in their own quiet town.
"I used to go jogging every single night in the dark by myself … I can't do that now," said Sherie.
Other girls say since Leah's disappearance their parents have become more strict about what they do, where they go and when they leave the house. All of Leah's friends agree the town of Coquille will never be the same.
"Everywhere you go, you see a ribbon or see a picture, and you think about her all the time," said Holly.
But most of them also say the tragedy hasn't really sunk in.
"It just doesn't seem real to me," said Holly, who woke up the morning after hearing Leah's body was found and asked her mom if it was dream.
Other friends thought the news was just another one of the rumors circulating Coquille since Leah's disappearance.
"I want everyone to remember what a fun-loving person she was," said Nikki.
Although most of her friends say they broke down after hearing about the discovery of Leah's body, they also say the news brought closure to the long month of waiting. Sherie said she kept thinking Leah would be back for her friend's birthday or when school started.
But in September, her friends won't see Leah's backpack bouncing as she navigates Coquille High School's halls with her springy steps. They won't lend her their pens, which she would always keep. They won't hear her loud chatter, or see her handwriting scrawled across the entire back page of their yearbooks.
That's when reality will kick in.
The girls say they can't envision Leah missing from their volleyball and basketball teams. They can't imagine getting their drivers' permits without her or walking in the CHS commencement ceremonies without hearing Leah say, "What are you crying for, we're not in school anymore!"
Although Leah is gone, she left memories with her friends. They pass pictures of her back and forth and talk about possessions she misplaced at their homes. Austin said Leah left a sweatshirt at his house. He plans to keep it. Others acknowledge similar items left in their care.
"I think everyone has a little something that reminds them of Leah," Holly said.
http://theworldlink.com/article_38ef01cc-9b57-55b5-9fad-cd82fcb6b3ab.html
Posted: Monday, August 7, 2000 12:00 am
Tana Smith, left, Ashley Olson, Holly Hajdu, Melissa Smith, Brian Harmon, Stacie Erlur, Austin Fisher and Melissa Brugnoli gather around a campfire Friday at Harmon's house. The group of Leah Freeman's friends looked through photo albums and remembered growing up with her. Fisher said "The last time we were all together, Leah was here and it was my birthday." World Photo by Madeline Steege
COQUILLE -- A big, green plastic bowl of dark pink watermelon wedges nestles in the center of the outdoor trampoline. Pink ribbons float in 15-year-old Holly Hajdu's red hair. Pink was Leah Freeman's favorite color.
Grouped cross-legged around the edge of the trampoline are 11 of Leah Freeman's closest friends. Austin Fisher, Brian Harmon, Melissa Smith, all 16; John Bower, Melissa Brugnoli, Holly Hajdu, Ashley Olson, Tana Smith, Nikki Watts, all 15; and 14-year-olds Stacy Erlur and Sharie Mitchell pay tribute to Leah with an informal feast of pop, chips, cookies and M&Ms; a scrapbook of newspaper clippings and photos; and a trove of memories.
"The last time we all got together like this, Leah was here," Austin said, shaking his shaggy blond head. "It was my birthday party."
Leah, who has been missing from her friends' lives since she disappeared walking home June 28, loved parties. Searchers found her body Aug. 4 near Fairview. She had been murdered.
Everyone agrees that if Leah was there, she would be eating all the snacks, burping, rolling around in her friends' laps and trying to make them laugh.
They say it just doesn't seem fair that Leah can't be there enjoying the fun. Nikki, who said she believes everything happens for a reason, just can't understand what possible reason God would have for letting tragedy befall Leah, her family and circle of friends. The tragedy has made them feel unsafe in their own quiet town.
"I used to go jogging every single night in the dark by myself … I can't do that now," said Sherie.
Other girls say since Leah's disappearance their parents have become more strict about what they do, where they go and when they leave the house. All of Leah's friends agree the town of Coquille will never be the same.
"Everywhere you go, you see a ribbon or see a picture, and you think about her all the time," said Holly.
But most of them also say the tragedy hasn't really sunk in.
"It just doesn't seem real to me," said Holly, who woke up the morning after hearing Leah's body was found and asked her mom if it was dream.
Other friends thought the news was just another one of the rumors circulating Coquille since Leah's disappearance.
"I want everyone to remember what a fun-loving person she was," said Nikki.
Although most of her friends say they broke down after hearing about the discovery of Leah's body, they also say the news brought closure to the long month of waiting. Sherie said she kept thinking Leah would be back for her friend's birthday or when school started.
But in September, her friends won't see Leah's backpack bouncing as she navigates Coquille High School's halls with her springy steps. They won't lend her their pens, which she would always keep. They won't hear her loud chatter, or see her handwriting scrawled across the entire back page of their yearbooks.
That's when reality will kick in.
The girls say they can't envision Leah missing from their volleyball and basketball teams. They can't imagine getting their drivers' permits without her or walking in the CHS commencement ceremonies without hearing Leah say, "What are you crying for, we're not in school anymore!"
Although Leah is gone, she left memories with her friends. They pass pictures of her back and forth and talk about possessions she misplaced at their homes. Austin said Leah left a sweatshirt at his house. He plans to keep it. Others acknowledge similar items left in their care.
"I think everyone has a little something that reminds them of Leah," Holly said.
http://theworldlink.com/article_38ef01cc-9b57-55b5-9fad-cd82fcb6b3ab.html
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:46 pm
Family plans service; police await more from autopsy
Posted: Monday, August 7, 2000 12:00 am
While authorities are keeping a tight lid on details surrounding the murder of Leah Freeman, plans are moving ahead to commemorate the memory of the 15-year-old girl.
A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday at Coquille High School, where Leah would have been a sophomore next month. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Amling-Schroeder Funeral Service of Coquille.
Also, a memorial scholarship fund is being set up to honor the girl's memory, said Cory Courtright, Leah's mother.
"It's something that is very positive for other kids for their education and I thought it was a wonderful idea," Courtright said Sunday.
Courtright said Sunday the outpouring of community support has been overwhelming.
"An extreme amount," she said. "I can't even express it."
Freeman's body was found Thursday afternoon at the foot of a steep embankment off Lee Valley Road, about a mile and a half from the road's junction with the Fairview Route leading from Coquille.
Oregon State Police Lt. Jim Pex, who is head of the Crime Lab in Coos Bay, said Friday that the body, which was not buried, appeared to have been at the location for some time. He refused to give further details.
The teen-ager had been missing since June 28. She vanished sometime after 9 p.m. while walking home from a friend's house on Elm Street near downtown Coquille to her home at 1173 Knott St.
Despite constant appeals for information and a $10,000 reward, few breaks in the investigation were reported.
The latest development occurred shortly before Freeman's body was found, when DNA tests confirmed that two white Nike tennis shoes, one found across from Coquille High School and the second found approximately 13 miles away on a road on Hudson Ridge on July 5, belonged to her.
In a press release issued Saturday, Senior Deputy District Attorney R. Paul Frasier said an autopsy performed in Roseburg Friday confirmed the body was Freeman's and initial findings showed she had been murdered.
However, Frasier said Freeman died of "homicidal violence," but refused to say more, adding it would harm the investigation.
Efforts to contact Frasier and Coquille Police Chief Michael Reaves on Sunday for more information were unsuccessful. A man who answered the phone at Frasier's home immediately hung up when a reporter identified himself.
Dr. James Olson, a forensic pathologist, conducted the autopsy late Friday afternoon at the Douglas County Morgue in Roseburg.
Frasier emphasized that no arrests have been made in the case and none are anticipated in the near future
http://theworldlink.com/article_9b7c7d47-4a5e-5dc9-93c0-929692bcafc2.html
Posted: Monday, August 7, 2000 12:00 am
While authorities are keeping a tight lid on details surrounding the murder of Leah Freeman, plans are moving ahead to commemorate the memory of the 15-year-old girl.
A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday at Coquille High School, where Leah would have been a sophomore next month. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Amling-Schroeder Funeral Service of Coquille.
Also, a memorial scholarship fund is being set up to honor the girl's memory, said Cory Courtright, Leah's mother.
"It's something that is very positive for other kids for their education and I thought it was a wonderful idea," Courtright said Sunday.
Courtright said Sunday the outpouring of community support has been overwhelming.
"An extreme amount," she said. "I can't even express it."
Freeman's body was found Thursday afternoon at the foot of a steep embankment off Lee Valley Road, about a mile and a half from the road's junction with the Fairview Route leading from Coquille.
Oregon State Police Lt. Jim Pex, who is head of the Crime Lab in Coos Bay, said Friday that the body, which was not buried, appeared to have been at the location for some time. He refused to give further details.
The teen-ager had been missing since June 28. She vanished sometime after 9 p.m. while walking home from a friend's house on Elm Street near downtown Coquille to her home at 1173 Knott St.
Despite constant appeals for information and a $10,000 reward, few breaks in the investigation were reported.
The latest development occurred shortly before Freeman's body was found, when DNA tests confirmed that two white Nike tennis shoes, one found across from Coquille High School and the second found approximately 13 miles away on a road on Hudson Ridge on July 5, belonged to her.
In a press release issued Saturday, Senior Deputy District Attorney R. Paul Frasier said an autopsy performed in Roseburg Friday confirmed the body was Freeman's and initial findings showed she had been murdered.
However, Frasier said Freeman died of "homicidal violence," but refused to say more, adding it would harm the investigation.
Efforts to contact Frasier and Coquille Police Chief Michael Reaves on Sunday for more information were unsuccessful. A man who answered the phone at Frasier's home immediately hung up when a reporter identified himself.
Dr. James Olson, a forensic pathologist, conducted the autopsy late Friday afternoon at the Douglas County Morgue in Roseburg.
Frasier emphasized that no arrests have been made in the case and none are anticipated in the near future
http://theworldlink.com/article_9b7c7d47-4a5e-5dc9-93c0-929692bcafc2.html
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:47 pm
Police say rumors interfering with Freeman case
Posted: Thursday, August 24, 2000 12:00 am
This photo of Leah Freeman was taken the day she dissapeared. The clothes she is wearing is a white tank top. blue jeans and Niki Tennis shoes. Please note that her is blonde, not the red she was born with.
COQUILLE -- Rumors and misunderstandings are clouding the investigation into the death of Leah Freeman, Coquille Police Chief Michael Reaves said Wednesday.
Although police at present have no new information to release, Reaves said the investigation in the 15-year-old girl's death is proceeding.
However, Reaves said, rumors that are flying through the community "have caused us quite a bit of problems because we're having to spend investigative time following up stuff that circles back to just bad stuff that's being put out on the street, and it's costing us a lot of man-hours to do those things."
"In addition, a few authority figures in the community have advised potential witnesses not to answer questions to cooperate regarding Leah's death," Reaves said. "As a result, some leads in the case have been more difficult to fully develop. Despite these roadblocks, case investigators have moved forward in the investigation."
Reaves refused to identify who the "authority figures" are. "We know who they are, we just don't want to put that out because there are already enough problems out there as it is," he said.
Reaves said reports that the police are desperate, don't have any leads or are making no progress are also hindering matters "because we're having to answer a lot of complaints about that."
"We're working toward a conclusion," he said. "We do have leads on the investigation."
Freeman disappeared sometime after 9 p.m. on June 28 while walking from a friend's house in Coquille to her mother's house on Knott Street. The only evidence reported found were the teen-ager's white Nike tennis shoes, one found on July 4 on a street across from Coquille High School and the other found by a sheriff's deputy on July 5 at a location on Hudson Ridge, 13 miles northeast of Coquille.
But what had been a missing-person case became a homicide investigation the afternoon of Aug. 3, when Freeman's body was discovered by police officers searching a section of Lee Valley Road approximately one and a half miles from the road's intersection with the Fairview Road.
Since the discovery of the body, police have been tight-lipped about the investigation and have disclosed no details about how Freeman died other than to say the cause of death was "homicidal violence." Reaves declined to say Wednesday on what the next phase of the investigation may entail, saying that decision would be up to Senior Deputy District Attorney R. Paul Frasier of the Coos County District Attorney's Office.
Reaves said police are continuing to ask that anyone with information about the case contact the Coquille Police Department at 396-2114.
http://theworldlink.com/article_74f1d639-8e99-51ba-bd2b-0d0e1458fa02.html
Posted: Thursday, August 24, 2000 12:00 am
This photo of Leah Freeman was taken the day she dissapeared. The clothes she is wearing is a white tank top. blue jeans and Niki Tennis shoes. Please note that her is blonde, not the red she was born with.
COQUILLE -- Rumors and misunderstandings are clouding the investigation into the death of Leah Freeman, Coquille Police Chief Michael Reaves said Wednesday.
Although police at present have no new information to release, Reaves said the investigation in the 15-year-old girl's death is proceeding.
However, Reaves said, rumors that are flying through the community "have caused us quite a bit of problems because we're having to spend investigative time following up stuff that circles back to just bad stuff that's being put out on the street, and it's costing us a lot of man-hours to do those things."
"In addition, a few authority figures in the community have advised potential witnesses not to answer questions to cooperate regarding Leah's death," Reaves said. "As a result, some leads in the case have been more difficult to fully develop. Despite these roadblocks, case investigators have moved forward in the investigation."
Reaves refused to identify who the "authority figures" are. "We know who they are, we just don't want to put that out because there are already enough problems out there as it is," he said.
Reaves said reports that the police are desperate, don't have any leads or are making no progress are also hindering matters "because we're having to answer a lot of complaints about that."
"We're working toward a conclusion," he said. "We do have leads on the investigation."
Freeman disappeared sometime after 9 p.m. on June 28 while walking from a friend's house in Coquille to her mother's house on Knott Street. The only evidence reported found were the teen-ager's white Nike tennis shoes, one found on July 4 on a street across from Coquille High School and the other found by a sheriff's deputy on July 5 at a location on Hudson Ridge, 13 miles northeast of Coquille.
But what had been a missing-person case became a homicide investigation the afternoon of Aug. 3, when Freeman's body was discovered by police officers searching a section of Lee Valley Road approximately one and a half miles from the road's intersection with the Fairview Road.
Since the discovery of the body, police have been tight-lipped about the investigation and have disclosed no details about how Freeman died other than to say the cause of death was "homicidal violence." Reaves declined to say Wednesday on what the next phase of the investigation may entail, saying that decision would be up to Senior Deputy District Attorney R. Paul Frasier of the Coos County District Attorney's Office.
Reaves said police are continuing to ask that anyone with information about the case contact the Coquille Police Department at 396-2114.
http://theworldlink.com/article_74f1d639-8e99-51ba-bd2b-0d0e1458fa02.html
_________________
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:48 pm
Still no arrest in Freeman investigation
Posted: Thursday, September 28, 2000 12:00 am
Balloons, stuffed animals and messages take up part of the fence to Coquille High School. Leah Freeman's mother, Cory Courtright spends hours each week replacing balloons and reading messages. World Photo by Lou Sennick
COQUILLE -- After months of following leads and double-checking information, the Coquille Police Department has not named a suspect in the murder of 15-year-old Leah Freeman.
The Coquille teen-ager disappeared three months ago today, on June 28, sometime after 9 p.m. while walking home along Central Avenue from a friend's house. Her body was found by police more than a month later about 10 miles from town in the Lee Valley Road area.
"In cases like this, we sometimes reach a slow-down point until we get more evidence," Coquille Police Chief Mike Reaves said. "Right now we have had to verify a lot of things."
The Coquille Police Department is leading the investigation into the murder case, along with assistance from the Coos County Major Crime Investigation Team and the Oregon State Police.
In late August, the Coquille Police chief issued a press release stating that an "authority figure" in the community was advising potential witnesses not to answer questions or cooperate in the investigation of Leah's murder. Reaves said the authority figure, whom he declined to identify, is no longer dispensing advice.
The officers involved in the investigation are continuing to work on the case and are also waiting for an autopsy report to be completed by the state pathologist.
"I was told that (report) could take months to get back," he said.
When asked if there were any suspects in the murder case, Reaves said, "None I want to talk about."
For Cory Courtright, Leah Freeman's mother, the past three months have been filled with grief over her loss and the frustration of not being able to find out who killed her daughter. That frustration is compounded by the feeling of being kept out of the informational loop by the police.
"We haven't heard from the Coquille Police Department in about a week," Courtright said. "I don't know, maybe they have run out of leads. I don't know what they are doing. I just know we haven't heard from them in quite a long time."
Courtright acknowledged that her daughter's case is going to take time, but it still doesn't make it easier for her family. She said she feels the investigation is slowing down "but this is not over and done with by a long shot."
"We're still waiting for the autopsy reports. A waiting game, that's very much what this is," she said, "one that is starting to drive my family insane."
Courtright's mother, Dorothy, said she hopes the police catch whoever committed this crime soon.
"Three months of waiting is a long time," Dorothy said. "It's devastating for our family, especially because this was such a horrendous crime. The memorial gave us partial closure, but until a person is apprehended, we will not be able to get full closure."
The persistent rumors about Leah's disappearance and death have plagued the town almost from the start. Cory said she has had to learn to push aside what people tell her for her own sanity.
"I don't believe anything until the police tell me something now," she said. "It's hard to do because you want to believe some of the things you hear, but you can't. So we are learning to just take things one day at a time."
Some days, Cory said, she feels like she is watching a movie instead of what has happened in her life. She always believed this sort of thing doesn't happen to people in real life.
Cory said she thought finding her daughter's body would bring her closure, but it didn't. Then the month of September arrived and opened fresh wounds. Leah would have been a sophomore this fall at Coquille High School.
"She's supposed to be there … . School started and that's where she is supposed to be," Cory said. "Now it is just frustrating and disturbing to know that the person who killed her is still freely walking the streets."
As a way to help the town and her friends remember her daughter, Cory and a few of her friends have created a memorial out of balloons, stuffed animals and even a mailbox where people can leave messages for Leah at the front entrance to Coquille High School.
"People have put a few letters in the box for her and it lets people say things they need to to her," she said.
Cory spends about six hours a week replacing balloons, reading messages and making sure the wall looks good. Most of the work is done late at night when she gets off work.
"It's not the best time to work on it, but it's the only chance I get," she said. "It is easier then too."
Cory said she is furious with the "authority figure" who was complicating the case by telling people not to come forward with information. It is hard knowing that someone out there knows what happened to her daughter and is just not talking to the police, she said.
"I can't believe that her life didn't mean anything, that no one has come forward, that Leah didn't mean any more than that," Cory said, wiping away tears. "She was a good, decent person. She deserves for someone to come forward and say something if they know anything."
"How can people live with themselves if they know something and are not saying anything," she said. "Where is their conscience?"
Leah Freeman's family is establishing a scholarship in her name.
"It will be a legacy in a way," Leah's mother Cory Courtright said. "It will be something positive to come from this."
Donations can be sent to the Coquille School District Office at 201 N. Gould St., Coquille, Ore. 97423.
http://theworldlink.com/article_3e2bf6a9-6aef-52ef-9541-bbd81eb04c14.html
Posted: Thursday, September 28, 2000 12:00 am
Balloons, stuffed animals and messages take up part of the fence to Coquille High School. Leah Freeman's mother, Cory Courtright spends hours each week replacing balloons and reading messages. World Photo by Lou Sennick
COQUILLE -- After months of following leads and double-checking information, the Coquille Police Department has not named a suspect in the murder of 15-year-old Leah Freeman.
The Coquille teen-ager disappeared three months ago today, on June 28, sometime after 9 p.m. while walking home along Central Avenue from a friend's house. Her body was found by police more than a month later about 10 miles from town in the Lee Valley Road area.
"In cases like this, we sometimes reach a slow-down point until we get more evidence," Coquille Police Chief Mike Reaves said. "Right now we have had to verify a lot of things."
The Coquille Police Department is leading the investigation into the murder case, along with assistance from the Coos County Major Crime Investigation Team and the Oregon State Police.
In late August, the Coquille Police chief issued a press release stating that an "authority figure" in the community was advising potential witnesses not to answer questions or cooperate in the investigation of Leah's murder. Reaves said the authority figure, whom he declined to identify, is no longer dispensing advice.
The officers involved in the investigation are continuing to work on the case and are also waiting for an autopsy report to be completed by the state pathologist.
"I was told that (report) could take months to get back," he said.
When asked if there were any suspects in the murder case, Reaves said, "None I want to talk about."
For Cory Courtright, Leah Freeman's mother, the past three months have been filled with grief over her loss and the frustration of not being able to find out who killed her daughter. That frustration is compounded by the feeling of being kept out of the informational loop by the police.
"We haven't heard from the Coquille Police Department in about a week," Courtright said. "I don't know, maybe they have run out of leads. I don't know what they are doing. I just know we haven't heard from them in quite a long time."
Courtright acknowledged that her daughter's case is going to take time, but it still doesn't make it easier for her family. She said she feels the investigation is slowing down "but this is not over and done with by a long shot."
"We're still waiting for the autopsy reports. A waiting game, that's very much what this is," she said, "one that is starting to drive my family insane."
Courtright's mother, Dorothy, said she hopes the police catch whoever committed this crime soon.
"Three months of waiting is a long time," Dorothy said. "It's devastating for our family, especially because this was such a horrendous crime. The memorial gave us partial closure, but until a person is apprehended, we will not be able to get full closure."
The persistent rumors about Leah's disappearance and death have plagued the town almost from the start. Cory said she has had to learn to push aside what people tell her for her own sanity.
"I don't believe anything until the police tell me something now," she said. "It's hard to do because you want to believe some of the things you hear, but you can't. So we are learning to just take things one day at a time."
Some days, Cory said, she feels like she is watching a movie instead of what has happened in her life. She always believed this sort of thing doesn't happen to people in real life.
Cory said she thought finding her daughter's body would bring her closure, but it didn't. Then the month of September arrived and opened fresh wounds. Leah would have been a sophomore this fall at Coquille High School.
"She's supposed to be there … . School started and that's where she is supposed to be," Cory said. "Now it is just frustrating and disturbing to know that the person who killed her is still freely walking the streets."
As a way to help the town and her friends remember her daughter, Cory and a few of her friends have created a memorial out of balloons, stuffed animals and even a mailbox where people can leave messages for Leah at the front entrance to Coquille High School.
"People have put a few letters in the box for her and it lets people say things they need to to her," she said.
Cory spends about six hours a week replacing balloons, reading messages and making sure the wall looks good. Most of the work is done late at night when she gets off work.
"It's not the best time to work on it, but it's the only chance I get," she said. "It is easier then too."
Cory said she is furious with the "authority figure" who was complicating the case by telling people not to come forward with information. It is hard knowing that someone out there knows what happened to her daughter and is just not talking to the police, she said.
"I can't believe that her life didn't mean anything, that no one has come forward, that Leah didn't mean any more than that," Cory said, wiping away tears. "She was a good, decent person. She deserves for someone to come forward and say something if they know anything."
"How can people live with themselves if they know something and are not saying anything," she said. "Where is their conscience?"
Leah Freeman's family is establishing a scholarship in her name.
"It will be a legacy in a way," Leah's mother Cory Courtright said. "It will be something positive to come from this."
Donations can be sent to the Coquille School District Office at 201 N. Gould St., Coquille, Ore. 97423.
http://theworldlink.com/article_3e2bf6a9-6aef-52ef-9541-bbd81eb04c14.html
Last edited by FystyAngel on Wed Oct 13, 2010 1:26 am; edited 1 time in total
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:49 pm
Family grateful to the community
Posted: Monday, October 9, 2000 12:00 am
Our heartfelt thanks go out to all the people, restaurants, stores, and churches for all their prayers and food during the time our Leah was missing and her body finally found. This was so deeply appreciated. A lot of time and effort went into this. Hopefully we didn't forget to thank anyone.
We wish to thank Joyce Ward, Linda Cornwell, Safeway in Coos Bay and North Bend, Colleen's, McKay's, Kings Table, Alder Smokehouse, Subway, Taylor Maid, Chinese Woody's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Canned Food Outlet, The Sizzler, Albertson's, Lighthouse grocery, North Bend Medical, Accounting Department and Medical Transcriptions; The World delivery, the Baldwins; Myrtle Lane Motel; and the Foursquare Church in Coquille for cooking our complete meals for three weeks.
The Family of Leah Freeman
Coquille
http://theworldlink.com/article_9bfafc45-95f4-52ea-af4c-7ce12427e295.html
Posted: Monday, October 9, 2000 12:00 am
Our heartfelt thanks go out to all the people, restaurants, stores, and churches for all their prayers and food during the time our Leah was missing and her body finally found. This was so deeply appreciated. A lot of time and effort went into this. Hopefully we didn't forget to thank anyone.
We wish to thank Joyce Ward, Linda Cornwell, Safeway in Coos Bay and North Bend, Colleen's, McKay's, Kings Table, Alder Smokehouse, Subway, Taylor Maid, Chinese Woody's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Canned Food Outlet, The Sizzler, Albertson's, Lighthouse grocery, North Bend Medical, Accounting Department and Medical Transcriptions; The World delivery, the Baldwins; Myrtle Lane Motel; and the Foursquare Church in Coquille for cooking our complete meals for three weeks.
The Family of Leah Freeman
Coquille
http://theworldlink.com/article_9bfafc45-95f4-52ea-af4c-7ce12427e295.html
_________________
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:50 pm
Still no answers in teen's death
Posted: Saturday, December 16, 2000 12:00 am
This candy cane heart is attached to a fence at Coquille High School that has become a shrine to 15-year-old Leah Freeman, who disappeared on June 28. The investigation into her murder continues. World Photo by Jess Newnham
COQUILLE -- On June 28, Leah Freeman, 15, disappeared from her family and friends.
Along with her vanished their notion that "things like murder" just don't happen in a small town like Coquille.
Nearly six months after the teen-ager's body was discovered by police in a forested area off Fairview Road, the community continues to mourn, law enforcement agencies keep investigating and the killer remains free.
"There's really no way to describe the feeling of your daughter being murdered and somebody getting away with it," Cory Courtright, said from her Coquille home Wednesday. "It's like I'm watching a horror movie … or dreaming and I just want to wake up or shut off the TV," she said.
But for Leah's mother, the horror doesn't end.
For Courtright, just being home is hard. A prom picture resting on the fireplace mantle; Leah's cat, Bailey, curled up on a living room chair; and an unused second-story bedroom are all reminders of the child she lost.
"She was such a good kid I can't understand why anyone would kill her," Courtright said, holding back tears.
Freeman was last seen sometime after 9 p.m. on June 28 walking from a friend's house on Elm Street in Coquille to her mother's house on Knott Street. She had been dropped off at the Elm Street address earlier in the day by her boyfriend, Nick McGuffin, who had planned to pick up Freeman around 9 p.m. However, Freeman left the house to walk home before he arrived.
Courtright said she became worried at about 3:30 a.m. when she woke up and found her daughter had not come home. After an unsuccessful search the following morning, Courtright notified the police.
The disappearance launched a search effort that lasted until Aug. 3, when Freeman's body was discovered.
Since the discovery, police have told the family only that the girl died of "homicidal violence."
The family said the lack of information from the police is upsetting.
"They haven't told us how she died. They say it will compromise their investigation," said Leah's stepmother, Denise Freeman. "They tell us not to listen to the rumors, but it's the only way we hear anything."
Leah's father, Dennis Freeman echoed his wife's frustrations.
"Some people are spreading such far-fetched rumors it bothers me a lot. It makes me mad that people are saying things … like she was at a drug party … . As far as we know, Leah never even smoked a cigarette," he said.
From the early stages of their investigation, Coquille Police have complained about the problems rumors have caused in the investigation and the anguish they cause the family.
Wednesday morning, Coquille Officer Dave Hall said the department continues to look for new clues and follows up on old ones that they hope could net an arrest some day and return a sense of security to the town.
"As I drive home, I still see young girls walking alone at night and it bothers me. It sends a chill down my spine," said Hall. "Parents might be more cautious."
Hall, who is the case's lead investigator, said he receives leads about Freeman's death on a weekly basis and he continues to communicate with outside agencies as the need arises.
"Last week, I spoke with the FBI about getting in touch with a person with possible information," he said, adding the person, whose name he would not release, was only being contacted for information and is not considered a suspect.
The officer said he was not sure if the growing length of time since the murder occurred is hindering the department's chances for a conviction. "This is the first case like this I have worked on," he said.
Hall estimated a minimum of 80 to 100 personnel hours a month are spent investigating Freeman's case.
In a phone interview on Thursday, Senior Deputy District Attorney R. Paul Frasier, who has worked closely with investigators on the case, said he could not comment on police activities surrounding the murder.
"All I can say is that the case is still open and active. I can't comment on any new directions the police may be taking," Frasier said.
For family members, however, "no comment" is not enough.
"I'm not saying (the police) don't want to solve the case but they could at least inform (Leah's) mother on a weekly basis," said Alton Courtright, Leah's grandfather. "We haven't heard anything in months."
Still, those who knew Leah, and many who didn't, remain hopeful her killer will be caught and justice will be served.
"Six months is a long time. After this much time has gone by, you just start to assume that it's going away … but I'll never lose hope," Courtright said. "One of my greatest fears is that something could happen to another girl. There is a murderer out there."
As the search for the killer goes on, there continues to be widespread support for Leah's still-grieving family.
"The community has been wonderful. They call and send mail. They let me know they still care. And the people I work with have been amazing. They held my job for me for seven weeks. That was hard for all of them -- they had to put in long, hard hours. I don't know how to say thank you," said Courtright.
Dennis Freeman said his family has received letters from people they have never met.
"This is a wonderful town. This is a real bad time of year with the holidays, but it seems like more people have responded lately -- maybe because of the holidays," he said.
In weeks to come, Courtright said she plans to take down the decorations that have been woven, like a memorial collage, into a fence along the Coquille High School property.
"I have kept the fence going because it helps me and I feel like Leah can see it. But after Christmas I will take it down … Leah's name will be the hardest part," Courtright said.
http://theworldlink.com/article_24e2155e-d25a-579c-8fd1-6d294a563222.html
Posted: Saturday, December 16, 2000 12:00 am
This candy cane heart is attached to a fence at Coquille High School that has become a shrine to 15-year-old Leah Freeman, who disappeared on June 28. The investigation into her murder continues. World Photo by Jess Newnham
COQUILLE -- On June 28, Leah Freeman, 15, disappeared from her family and friends.
Along with her vanished their notion that "things like murder" just don't happen in a small town like Coquille.
Nearly six months after the teen-ager's body was discovered by police in a forested area off Fairview Road, the community continues to mourn, law enforcement agencies keep investigating and the killer remains free.
"There's really no way to describe the feeling of your daughter being murdered and somebody getting away with it," Cory Courtright, said from her Coquille home Wednesday. "It's like I'm watching a horror movie … or dreaming and I just want to wake up or shut off the TV," she said.
But for Leah's mother, the horror doesn't end.
For Courtright, just being home is hard. A prom picture resting on the fireplace mantle; Leah's cat, Bailey, curled up on a living room chair; and an unused second-story bedroom are all reminders of the child she lost.
"She was such a good kid I can't understand why anyone would kill her," Courtright said, holding back tears.
Freeman was last seen sometime after 9 p.m. on June 28 walking from a friend's house on Elm Street in Coquille to her mother's house on Knott Street. She had been dropped off at the Elm Street address earlier in the day by her boyfriend, Nick McGuffin, who had planned to pick up Freeman around 9 p.m. However, Freeman left the house to walk home before he arrived.
Courtright said she became worried at about 3:30 a.m. when she woke up and found her daughter had not come home. After an unsuccessful search the following morning, Courtright notified the police.
The disappearance launched a search effort that lasted until Aug. 3, when Freeman's body was discovered.
Since the discovery, police have told the family only that the girl died of "homicidal violence."
The family said the lack of information from the police is upsetting.
"They haven't told us how she died. They say it will compromise their investigation," said Leah's stepmother, Denise Freeman. "They tell us not to listen to the rumors, but it's the only way we hear anything."
Leah's father, Dennis Freeman echoed his wife's frustrations.
"Some people are spreading such far-fetched rumors it bothers me a lot. It makes me mad that people are saying things … like she was at a drug party … . As far as we know, Leah never even smoked a cigarette," he said.
From the early stages of their investigation, Coquille Police have complained about the problems rumors have caused in the investigation and the anguish they cause the family.
Wednesday morning, Coquille Officer Dave Hall said the department continues to look for new clues and follows up on old ones that they hope could net an arrest some day and return a sense of security to the town.
"As I drive home, I still see young girls walking alone at night and it bothers me. It sends a chill down my spine," said Hall. "Parents might be more cautious."
Hall, who is the case's lead investigator, said he receives leads about Freeman's death on a weekly basis and he continues to communicate with outside agencies as the need arises.
"Last week, I spoke with the FBI about getting in touch with a person with possible information," he said, adding the person, whose name he would not release, was only being contacted for information and is not considered a suspect.
The officer said he was not sure if the growing length of time since the murder occurred is hindering the department's chances for a conviction. "This is the first case like this I have worked on," he said.
Hall estimated a minimum of 80 to 100 personnel hours a month are spent investigating Freeman's case.
In a phone interview on Thursday, Senior Deputy District Attorney R. Paul Frasier, who has worked closely with investigators on the case, said he could not comment on police activities surrounding the murder.
"All I can say is that the case is still open and active. I can't comment on any new directions the police may be taking," Frasier said.
For family members, however, "no comment" is not enough.
"I'm not saying (the police) don't want to solve the case but they could at least inform (Leah's) mother on a weekly basis," said Alton Courtright, Leah's grandfather. "We haven't heard anything in months."
Still, those who knew Leah, and many who didn't, remain hopeful her killer will be caught and justice will be served.
"Six months is a long time. After this much time has gone by, you just start to assume that it's going away … but I'll never lose hope," Courtright said. "One of my greatest fears is that something could happen to another girl. There is a murderer out there."
As the search for the killer goes on, there continues to be widespread support for Leah's still-grieving family.
"The community has been wonderful. They call and send mail. They let me know they still care. And the people I work with have been amazing. They held my job for me for seven weeks. That was hard for all of them -- they had to put in long, hard hours. I don't know how to say thank you," said Courtright.
Dennis Freeman said his family has received letters from people they have never met.
"This is a wonderful town. This is a real bad time of year with the holidays, but it seems like more people have responded lately -- maybe because of the holidays," he said.
In weeks to come, Courtright said she plans to take down the decorations that have been woven, like a memorial collage, into a fence along the Coquille High School property.
"I have kept the fence going because it helps me and I feel like Leah can see it. But after Christmas I will take it down … Leah's name will be the hardest part," Courtright said.
http://theworldlink.com/article_24e2155e-d25a-579c-8fd1-6d294a563222.html
_________________
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:51 pm
Victim's mother shares anger with council
Posted: Thursday, January 4, 2001 12:00 am
COQUILLE -- Quiet emotion flared into anger among audience members Wednesday night when Coquille City Council members had little to say following an emotional address by Cory Courtright, the mother of 15-year-old Leah Freeman, whose murder more than six months ago remains unsolved.
Courtright came before the council to discuss problems she and her family have been having with the Coquille Police Department including lack of information, cooperation and disrespect surrounding the case.
"When they told me on Aug. 3, that they had found her body I had no idea what the next six months would bring -- nothing but lies, anticipation and total frustration," Courtright said.
"The police have just left me sitting and waiting and wondering. I don't know my own daughter's cause of death. I have even been told by a police officer, on more than one occasion, that I just need to go get good and drunk," she said.
Freeman disappeared sometime after 9 p.m. on June 28 while walking from her friend's house on Elm Street in Coquille to her mother's house on Knott Street.
Courtright said she became worried at about 3:30 a.m. when she woke up and found her daughter had not come home. The following morning Courtright called the police -- initiating a search which lasted for 37 days.
On Aug. 3, Freeman's body was discovered in a forested area off Fairview Road. Since the discovery of the body, no arrests have been made and police have only said the girl died of "homicidal violence."
Courtright said, "Another thing I don't understand is why my daughter's murder case only deserves a part-time officer. They have even told me that they don't have the man-power. Then why does the Coquille Police Department have this case?"
Courtright said she came before the council to explain the treatment she has received from the police department.
"I am asking you, the City Council, to investigate the Coquille City Police Department and their handling of this case," she said.
While some City Council members, including Kathy Hagen, identified with Courtright's anguish, they said there was little they could do.
"I sympathize with all she and her family have been through," said Hagen.
However, Coquille Mayor Mike Swindall told Courtright there was little the city councilors could do for her as they have no jurisdiction over the police department.
"We don't have anything to do with the police. We just run the city. The chief of police is hired by the city manager. You can go talk to (the police) anytime you want -- but not right now," said Swindall.
Despite the allegations, Assistant District Attorney R. Paul Frasier said the police department continues to view Freeman's case as a top priority.
"At this point, we are doing everything we can. The investigation has not been dropped and we have officers from a variety of different agencies, including the North Bend Police and the Sheriff's Office, following up on leads," said Frasier.
"In terms of the cause of death, we will not publicly release that information at this time. In my experience, some things need to be kept confidential. Sorry, but that's how it's going to be," he said. "At the time of an arrest the cause of death will be disclosed to the family."
Coquille Police Chief Michael Reaves was present at the meeting but did not address the allegations -- a point which was upsetting to many in the crowd, including Janet Reab, who attended the meeting expecting answers.
"The police chief didn't even stand up. He didn't say anything. You would think he would have some better answers. This whole thing is a joke," said Reab.
Courtright also said she felt let down by the meeting.
"This was a total waste of time," said Courtright surrounded by friends and supporters in the crowded hall outside the City Council chambers. "The next step will be to bring this to the Justice Department. The police can get it set in their heads that they will be seeing this face for a long time," she said.
Other audience members were looking for a more direct and visible approach to express their anger. Several in the crowd discussed the possibility of picketing in front of the Coquille City Hall as well as calling America's Most Wanted.
This morning Swindall said, "It was a bad situation last night. I was probably a little short, but I had to stop it before people started bashing each other."
"I know Cory, and I understand the frustration she must be feeling. If I was in her position I would be doing the same thing. But the City Council really doesn't know anything about the case. They don't tell us anything either," he said.
http://theworldlink.com/article_a6a17bc2-ea36-5d57-94f1-6c3fa7091bbc.html
Posted: Thursday, January 4, 2001 12:00 am
COQUILLE -- Quiet emotion flared into anger among audience members Wednesday night when Coquille City Council members had little to say following an emotional address by Cory Courtright, the mother of 15-year-old Leah Freeman, whose murder more than six months ago remains unsolved.
Courtright came before the council to discuss problems she and her family have been having with the Coquille Police Department including lack of information, cooperation and disrespect surrounding the case.
"When they told me on Aug. 3, that they had found her body I had no idea what the next six months would bring -- nothing but lies, anticipation and total frustration," Courtright said.
"The police have just left me sitting and waiting and wondering. I don't know my own daughter's cause of death. I have even been told by a police officer, on more than one occasion, that I just need to go get good and drunk," she said.
Freeman disappeared sometime after 9 p.m. on June 28 while walking from her friend's house on Elm Street in Coquille to her mother's house on Knott Street.
Courtright said she became worried at about 3:30 a.m. when she woke up and found her daughter had not come home. The following morning Courtright called the police -- initiating a search which lasted for 37 days.
On Aug. 3, Freeman's body was discovered in a forested area off Fairview Road. Since the discovery of the body, no arrests have been made and police have only said the girl died of "homicidal violence."
Courtright said, "Another thing I don't understand is why my daughter's murder case only deserves a part-time officer. They have even told me that they don't have the man-power. Then why does the Coquille Police Department have this case?"
Courtright said she came before the council to explain the treatment she has received from the police department.
"I am asking you, the City Council, to investigate the Coquille City Police Department and their handling of this case," she said.
While some City Council members, including Kathy Hagen, identified with Courtright's anguish, they said there was little they could do.
"I sympathize with all she and her family have been through," said Hagen.
However, Coquille Mayor Mike Swindall told Courtright there was little the city councilors could do for her as they have no jurisdiction over the police department.
"We don't have anything to do with the police. We just run the city. The chief of police is hired by the city manager. You can go talk to (the police) anytime you want -- but not right now," said Swindall.
Despite the allegations, Assistant District Attorney R. Paul Frasier said the police department continues to view Freeman's case as a top priority.
"At this point, we are doing everything we can. The investigation has not been dropped and we have officers from a variety of different agencies, including the North Bend Police and the Sheriff's Office, following up on leads," said Frasier.
"In terms of the cause of death, we will not publicly release that information at this time. In my experience, some things need to be kept confidential. Sorry, but that's how it's going to be," he said. "At the time of an arrest the cause of death will be disclosed to the family."
Coquille Police Chief Michael Reaves was present at the meeting but did not address the allegations -- a point which was upsetting to many in the crowd, including Janet Reab, who attended the meeting expecting answers.
"The police chief didn't even stand up. He didn't say anything. You would think he would have some better answers. This whole thing is a joke," said Reab.
Courtright also said she felt let down by the meeting.
"This was a total waste of time," said Courtright surrounded by friends and supporters in the crowded hall outside the City Council chambers. "The next step will be to bring this to the Justice Department. The police can get it set in their heads that they will be seeing this face for a long time," she said.
Other audience members were looking for a more direct and visible approach to express their anger. Several in the crowd discussed the possibility of picketing in front of the Coquille City Hall as well as calling America's Most Wanted.
This morning Swindall said, "It was a bad situation last night. I was probably a little short, but I had to stop it before people started bashing each other."
"I know Cory, and I understand the frustration she must be feeling. If I was in her position I would be doing the same thing. But the City Council really doesn't know anything about the case. They don't tell us anything either," he said.
http://theworldlink.com/article_a6a17bc2-ea36-5d57-94f1-6c3fa7091bbc.html
_________________
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:54 pm
June 28, 2001
A candlelight vigil is held on the first anniversary of Leah Freeman's death. Vigils were held annually until this year. World File Photo
http://theworldlink.com/image_58a06418-afa9-11df-a8c1-001cc4c03286.html
A candlelight vigil is held on the first anniversary of Leah Freeman's death. Vigils were held annually until this year. World File Photo
http://theworldlink.com/image_58a06418-afa9-11df-a8c1-001cc4c03286.html
_________________
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:55 pm
Community still reacting to murder of teenager
Posted: Tuesday, July 3, 2001 12:00 am
Leah Freeman's mother, Cory Courtright, weeps as she listens to "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton at a candlelight vigil for her daughter held Thursday night at Sanford Height Park in Coquille. World Photo by Madeline Steege
COQUILLE — It has been a year since Leah Freeman's body was found on the outskirts of this small town. The community, which was thrown into a tailspin for the first few months of the investigation, has settled down and life has apparently returned to normal.
Coquille was recently named one of the 10 most livable small towns in America by a national travel magazine, but rural ambiance notwithstanding, many Coquille residents say they don't feel safe living in a town with an unsolved murder.
Many residents say they're frustrated and angry at the lack of information and the seemingly slow pace of the law enforcement agencies involved in the case.
Coquille Mayor Mike Swindall said he is as frustrated as others in town, but he knows the Coquille Police are working on the case.
"This hasn't died," Swindall said. "People are still working on it. … But, I really don't know because they have never said anything to me."
While he feels his family is safe from harm, Swindall said, as a parent, it is a little disconcerting because he lives in the same neighborhood Leah did.
Initially, he and his wife became stricter with their teen-agers.
Swindall said his children are probably safer than many others because his father — his children's grandfather — was a state police captain.
"We taught them to be aware of certain things and situations," he said. "But we have lightened up a bit in the last few months."
Swindall said his home is often filled with his son's and daughter's friends, and it seems to him local interest in the case has waned.
"There is an awareness out there, but I get this sense that it's not a big thing to them anymore; that life goes on," he said. "It's a horrible thing to say, but it's true.
"But to me and the rest of the parents in town, this is still a big thing. We have a murderer running around," he added.
Lisa Adkins, manager of Hunter's Eatery & Creamery, said it is scary that a young girl was murdered in Coquille. The frustrating part of the situation is the police cannot catch the person, or people, responsible for it and that someone is out there, Adkins added.
"I have a 10-year-old and a 2-year-old, and they don't go anywhere by themselves," she said. "I used to let the 10-year-old walk to a friend's house alone, but not anymore."
Local teen-agers used to be very careful about not walking alone after dark, she said, but things have changed in the last few months.
"(The local kids) seem a lot more relaxed now," Adkins said. "I see teens walking by themselves all the time at night."
Coquille High School Principal Carl Wilson said that Leah's disappearance and murder will probably always be an issue with the local teen-agers and her close friends.
"I'm sure her friends still have feelings about her and still remember her," Wilson said. "Her close friends are also frustrated about not having any answers. They still remember her and still care. It's frustrating for them to not have answers when there is someone out there (who does)."
Wilson said he has talked to parents and other community members about being safe and not walking home alone at night. Many parents continue to be vigilant, he added, but he does see children and teen-agers walking alone.
"That does cause me some concern," he said. "I feel safe, but in the back of your mind, there is concern for the safety of the kids."
Faye Hopkins, who has lived in Coquille since 1951, said Leah's murder is frustrating for the whole community.
"I think the investigation is going too slow," she said. "Something needs to be done to speed it up. I'm sure (Leah's) folks are beside themselves. This is really frustrating and it makes me wonder if they are even working on it."
Hopkins said she used to feel safe working in her garden during the later evening hours.
"Now I don't do that," she said. "You just don't think something like (Leah's murder) is going to happen here."
http://theworldlink.com/article_984c8d71-8356-5364-aecb-ef093f6ed39c.html
Posted: Tuesday, July 3, 2001 12:00 am
Leah Freeman's mother, Cory Courtright, weeps as she listens to "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton at a candlelight vigil for her daughter held Thursday night at Sanford Height Park in Coquille. World Photo by Madeline Steege
COQUILLE — It has been a year since Leah Freeman's body was found on the outskirts of this small town. The community, which was thrown into a tailspin for the first few months of the investigation, has settled down and life has apparently returned to normal.
Coquille was recently named one of the 10 most livable small towns in America by a national travel magazine, but rural ambiance notwithstanding, many Coquille residents say they don't feel safe living in a town with an unsolved murder.
Many residents say they're frustrated and angry at the lack of information and the seemingly slow pace of the law enforcement agencies involved in the case.
Coquille Mayor Mike Swindall said he is as frustrated as others in town, but he knows the Coquille Police are working on the case.
"This hasn't died," Swindall said. "People are still working on it. … But, I really don't know because they have never said anything to me."
While he feels his family is safe from harm, Swindall said, as a parent, it is a little disconcerting because he lives in the same neighborhood Leah did.
Initially, he and his wife became stricter with their teen-agers.
Swindall said his children are probably safer than many others because his father — his children's grandfather — was a state police captain.
"We taught them to be aware of certain things and situations," he said. "But we have lightened up a bit in the last few months."
Swindall said his home is often filled with his son's and daughter's friends, and it seems to him local interest in the case has waned.
"There is an awareness out there, but I get this sense that it's not a big thing to them anymore; that life goes on," he said. "It's a horrible thing to say, but it's true.
"But to me and the rest of the parents in town, this is still a big thing. We have a murderer running around," he added.
Lisa Adkins, manager of Hunter's Eatery & Creamery, said it is scary that a young girl was murdered in Coquille. The frustrating part of the situation is the police cannot catch the person, or people, responsible for it and that someone is out there, Adkins added.
"I have a 10-year-old and a 2-year-old, and they don't go anywhere by themselves," she said. "I used to let the 10-year-old walk to a friend's house alone, but not anymore."
Local teen-agers used to be very careful about not walking alone after dark, she said, but things have changed in the last few months.
"(The local kids) seem a lot more relaxed now," Adkins said. "I see teens walking by themselves all the time at night."
Coquille High School Principal Carl Wilson said that Leah's disappearance and murder will probably always be an issue with the local teen-agers and her close friends.
"I'm sure her friends still have feelings about her and still remember her," Wilson said. "Her close friends are also frustrated about not having any answers. They still remember her and still care. It's frustrating for them to not have answers when there is someone out there (who does)."
Wilson said he has talked to parents and other community members about being safe and not walking home alone at night. Many parents continue to be vigilant, he added, but he does see children and teen-agers walking alone.
"That does cause me some concern," he said. "I feel safe, but in the back of your mind, there is concern for the safety of the kids."
Faye Hopkins, who has lived in Coquille since 1951, said Leah's murder is frustrating for the whole community.
"I think the investigation is going too slow," she said. "Something needs to be done to speed it up. I'm sure (Leah's) folks are beside themselves. This is really frustrating and it makes me wonder if they are even working on it."
Hopkins said she used to feel safe working in her garden during the later evening hours.
"Now I don't do that," she said. "You just don't think something like (Leah's murder) is going to happen here."
http://theworldlink.com/article_984c8d71-8356-5364-aecb-ef093f6ed39c.html
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:56 pm
Missing kids, unsolved murders tear at police, too
Posted: Tuesday, July 3, 2001 12:00 am
A wooden cross and flowers mark the spot where the body of Coquille teen-ager Leah Freeman was found on June 28, 2000. Leah was reported missing a month earlier and her body was found at this remote spot along Lee Valley Road east of Coquille. A year later, no one has been arrested in connection with her murder. World Photo by Lou Sennick
As unnerving and painful as the murder of Leah Freeman is for so many in the close-knit community in which she was raised, the questions surrounding her death are by no means unique. A handful of unsolved disappearances and murders occupy the case files of Coos County investigators, haunting police, just as they haunt the public.
Myrtle Point's Jeremy Bright disappeared in August 1986, at the age of 14. Lynn Lee Donaldson, of Coos Bay, was found dead in January 1982. She was 17. Eighteen-year-old Joy Shields disappeared from Coos Bay in 1986. Frank Pettingill, 37, was found dead near his Sumner home on Labor Day weekend in 1991. Kerby Dessey was 28 when he disappeared from Coos Bay in January 1987. The body of Leah Freeman was found Aug. 3, five weeks after she disappeared while walking to her Coquille home.
And there are more -- Debbie Lillie, Ken Art Mah.
For each name there is a story, and for each story, a surfeit of unanswered questions.
In the case of Freeman, Pettingill, Donaldson, Lillie and Mah, family members and investigators know at least one thing: An innocent person died at the hands of a murderer. Each of those victims has been identified and laid to rest. Investigators have been able to yield some clues from their remains. But in the end, each case remains unsolved and a killer walks free.
Even more disconcerting are the unknowns surrounding the disappearances of Bright, Shields and Dessey. Each has been missing for years and each is presumed the victim of foul play, according to Capt. Eura Washburn, a 25-year veteran of the Coos Bay Police Department. While no trace has been found of those victims and no arrests made, everything police know about their lives has led to the conclusion that they, too, were murdered. People -- even teen-agers -- do not simply disappear, leaving behind valued possessions and baffled and broken-hearted families, Washburn said.
"It's very atypical for a kid to run away and just disappear," she said. "Time is also a factor. It's just highly unlikely they left on their own. Even though we've never found their bodies, … it's just too far-fetched to think they are not the victims of foul play."
But such a conclusion can do little to vanquish the frustration felt by families and communities who seek closure, but find only more questions. And the frustration does not stop at law enforcement's doorstep. Police feel it, too.
"We're part of the community, too. We want to see these solved," said Sgt. Craig Zanni of the Coos County Sheriff's Office.
Zanni said he can't help but pore over details of unsolved cases in his mind, struggling to find answers, new light, a break.
The mind-boggling task is not left to Zanni alone, nor any other solitary officer. Zanni is a member of the Coos County Major Crimes Team, an investigative body comprising officers from nearly every law enforcement agency in the county that responds to murders and other serious crimes.
Combining experience, brain-power and resources is the name of the game in a murder investigation, said Zanni. Information is shared as it comes in. New leads are followed, new questions are asked. Old evidence is re-evaluated through new eyes and new forensic techniques.
Assumptions? An investigative taboo.
Pride and ego? There's no place for such things in a murder investigation.
"We don't care about egos. We're there to solve a crime," said Zanni. "If you get info, you work it. If you can't, you turn it over. We try to make it a combined effort. There is a saying, 'A man who accepts no counsel is a fool.'"
Detectives meet often during the initial stages of an investigation, using all available resources to ferret out answers, said Zanni. As time passes and answers become harder to come by, investigators often must rely on chance leads, perhaps from another murder investigation. If new information does come in, or a new way of evaluating old evidence is developed, investigators will revisit their files to twist and turn unknowns into answers.
"We have solved some of these older cases," Zanni said, recounting a break in the murder investigation of a Gold Beach teen-ager that led to an arrest in 1991, some five years after the girl's death.
Does Zanni believe Leah's killer will be found, or, for that matter, the other murders and disappearances solved?
"If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be doing this," he said.
Yet, despite an ardent belief that mystifying cases can be solved and killers brought to justice, officers such as Zanni and Washburn harbor few illusions about what uncertainty can do to the family of a slain or missing person, especially a child.
"It's very, very hard for families not knowing," said Washburn, explaining what her department and other law enforcement agencies are doing to keep family members abreast of developments. When a death investigation begins, even if police have not yet determined if a crime has been committed, officers are assigned to act as intermediaries between victims' families and police, she said.
However, when a murder or disappearance has gone unsolved for years, families often disengage from police, seeking updates not once or twice a month, but maybe only once or twice a year.
"You can't help but think about what it's like," said Zanni of parents who have little choice but to hang onto hopes that an answer will arrive someday. "You can't help but empathize with them. Every time the phone rings or the door knocks, they're expecting that child. … We don't let these go."
http://theworldlink.com/article_1fadc05b-7f0a-502b-85f6-9e790300f433.html
Posted: Tuesday, July 3, 2001 12:00 am
A wooden cross and flowers mark the spot where the body of Coquille teen-ager Leah Freeman was found on June 28, 2000. Leah was reported missing a month earlier and her body was found at this remote spot along Lee Valley Road east of Coquille. A year later, no one has been arrested in connection with her murder. World Photo by Lou Sennick
As unnerving and painful as the murder of Leah Freeman is for so many in the close-knit community in which she was raised, the questions surrounding her death are by no means unique. A handful of unsolved disappearances and murders occupy the case files of Coos County investigators, haunting police, just as they haunt the public.
Myrtle Point's Jeremy Bright disappeared in August 1986, at the age of 14. Lynn Lee Donaldson, of Coos Bay, was found dead in January 1982. She was 17. Eighteen-year-old Joy Shields disappeared from Coos Bay in 1986. Frank Pettingill, 37, was found dead near his Sumner home on Labor Day weekend in 1991. Kerby Dessey was 28 when he disappeared from Coos Bay in January 1987. The body of Leah Freeman was found Aug. 3, five weeks after she disappeared while walking to her Coquille home.
And there are more -- Debbie Lillie, Ken Art Mah.
For each name there is a story, and for each story, a surfeit of unanswered questions.
In the case of Freeman, Pettingill, Donaldson, Lillie and Mah, family members and investigators know at least one thing: An innocent person died at the hands of a murderer. Each of those victims has been identified and laid to rest. Investigators have been able to yield some clues from their remains. But in the end, each case remains unsolved and a killer walks free.
Even more disconcerting are the unknowns surrounding the disappearances of Bright, Shields and Dessey. Each has been missing for years and each is presumed the victim of foul play, according to Capt. Eura Washburn, a 25-year veteran of the Coos Bay Police Department. While no trace has been found of those victims and no arrests made, everything police know about their lives has led to the conclusion that they, too, were murdered. People -- even teen-agers -- do not simply disappear, leaving behind valued possessions and baffled and broken-hearted families, Washburn said.
"It's very atypical for a kid to run away and just disappear," she said. "Time is also a factor. It's just highly unlikely they left on their own. Even though we've never found their bodies, … it's just too far-fetched to think they are not the victims of foul play."
But such a conclusion can do little to vanquish the frustration felt by families and communities who seek closure, but find only more questions. And the frustration does not stop at law enforcement's doorstep. Police feel it, too.
"We're part of the community, too. We want to see these solved," said Sgt. Craig Zanni of the Coos County Sheriff's Office.
Zanni said he can't help but pore over details of unsolved cases in his mind, struggling to find answers, new light, a break.
The mind-boggling task is not left to Zanni alone, nor any other solitary officer. Zanni is a member of the Coos County Major Crimes Team, an investigative body comprising officers from nearly every law enforcement agency in the county that responds to murders and other serious crimes.
Combining experience, brain-power and resources is the name of the game in a murder investigation, said Zanni. Information is shared as it comes in. New leads are followed, new questions are asked. Old evidence is re-evaluated through new eyes and new forensic techniques.
Assumptions? An investigative taboo.
Pride and ego? There's no place for such things in a murder investigation.
"We don't care about egos. We're there to solve a crime," said Zanni. "If you get info, you work it. If you can't, you turn it over. We try to make it a combined effort. There is a saying, 'A man who accepts no counsel is a fool.'"
Detectives meet often during the initial stages of an investigation, using all available resources to ferret out answers, said Zanni. As time passes and answers become harder to come by, investigators often must rely on chance leads, perhaps from another murder investigation. If new information does come in, or a new way of evaluating old evidence is developed, investigators will revisit their files to twist and turn unknowns into answers.
"We have solved some of these older cases," Zanni said, recounting a break in the murder investigation of a Gold Beach teen-ager that led to an arrest in 1991, some five years after the girl's death.
Does Zanni believe Leah's killer will be found, or, for that matter, the other murders and disappearances solved?
"If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be doing this," he said.
Yet, despite an ardent belief that mystifying cases can be solved and killers brought to justice, officers such as Zanni and Washburn harbor few illusions about what uncertainty can do to the family of a slain or missing person, especially a child.
"It's very, very hard for families not knowing," said Washburn, explaining what her department and other law enforcement agencies are doing to keep family members abreast of developments. When a death investigation begins, even if police have not yet determined if a crime has been committed, officers are assigned to act as intermediaries between victims' families and police, she said.
However, when a murder or disappearance has gone unsolved for years, families often disengage from police, seeking updates not once or twice a month, but maybe only once or twice a year.
"You can't help but think about what it's like," said Zanni of parents who have little choice but to hang onto hopes that an answer will arrive someday. "You can't help but empathize with them. Every time the phone rings or the door knocks, they're expecting that child. … We don't let these go."
http://theworldlink.com/article_1fadc05b-7f0a-502b-85f6-9e790300f433.html
_________________
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:58 pm
Year in review January/February: New year begins where old year left off -- with crime
Posted: Monday, December 31, 2001 12:00 am
The new year began in Oregon with the news that state's crime rate had dipped -- but it was a different story on the South Coast.
Barely four days into the year, another chapter was added to an unfinished crime story, when the mother of a murdered Coquille girl appeared before the Coquille City Council to share her frustrations with the police investigation into her daughter's death.
Cory Courtright's 15-year-old daughter, Leah Freeman, disappeared June 28, 2000, while walking home from a friend's house on Elm Street in Coquille. Her body was found 37 days later, in a forested area off Fairview Road.
More than six months later, the case still unsolved, Courtright asked the council to "investigate the Coquille Police Department and their handling of this case."
Also speaking at the meeting was Coos County Assistant District Attorney R. Paul Frasier, who said the police department still considered the case a top priority.
At this point, we are doing everything we can," Frasier told the council. "The investigation has not been dropped and we have officers from a variety of different agencies, including the North Bend Police and the Sheriff's office, following up on leads."
However, 12 months later, the year ended as it began for the family and friends of Leah Freeman, with no answers and no resolution to the girl's murder.
A week later, a former Bandon Police officer was sentenced after pleading guilty to having sex with a 16-year-old member of the department's Explorer program.
Michael Lee Peters, 30, was sentenced by Circuit Judge Richard Barron to 90 days in jail and 36 months of probation. Peters was also ordered to register as a sex offender and to pay more than $2,000 in fines.
Crime continued to be in the focus throughout the month. On Jan. 20, top law enforcement officials with the South Coast Interagency Narcotics team said the organization had funds sufficient for only one more year of operations. The financial crunch followed a vote to limit how Oregon law enforcement agencies can use forfeiture-generated funds.
Shortly after the SCINT announcement, a group of city leaders gathered in Coos Bay to ask the community to get tough on the county's meth-abuse problem.
"After we have thoroughly discussed the problem from all aspects, hopefully we'll have people step forward and say, 'Not here. Not now. Not anymore!'" The World's Publisher Greg Stevens said at the meeting.
The month, which began with the continuing story of the murder of a young girl, ended the same way. On Jan. 30, police were searching for a missing 13-year-old Bandon girl. That search and later, the discovery of the body of Daniella Elder in a brushy area north of Bandon, would be the top story on the last day of January. The arrest and arraignment of a suspect in the little girl's murder would be the first news as January turned to February.
Bail was set at $2 million for Steven D. Robertson at his first court appearance on a single charge of the aggravated murder of Daniella Elder. Robertson, 30, appeared in Coos County Circuit Court, sitting quietly and wiping tears from his face. The Bandon man, a former boyfriend of the mother of the slain girl, was arrested after a Coos County Sheriff's deputy found Daniella's body a few hundred yards from where Robertson lived with his parents on Portland Road, two miles north of Bandon.
Meanwhile, as the Coquille community did when mourning the death of 15-year-old Leah Freeman, students in Bandon began constructing a fluttering memorial to their schoolmate, affixing banners, posters and cards to a fence at Harbor Lights Middle School.
The crime stories continued as the month progressed. On Feb. 3, a family friend discovered the bodies of a Myrtle Point woman and her mother. On Feb. 5, authorities in Reno, Nev., apprehended Willem VanRooyen, 68, who was arrested by police at the Reno airport on two charges of aggravated murder in the deaths of Ruth VanRooyen, 64 and her 94-year-old mother, Eunice Johnson.
VanRooyen was arraigned in Coos County Circuit Court on Feb. 7, the same day a grand jury indicted Steven Robertson on counts of murder, rape and kidnapping in connection with the death of Daniella Elder.
News of the two men was to coincide again on Feb. 10, when not-guilty pleas were entered for each in a packed courtroom at the Coos County Courthouse. Emotions ran high as groups of grieving relatives came to face the accused men.
As February drew to a close, the first of what were to be many meetings was held to discuss SCINT's funding problems and more than 150 residents, civic leaders and officials gathered at McAuley Hall at St. Catherine's Residence in North Bend to brainstorm ways to rid Coos County of the plague of methamphetamine abuse.
January highlights
-- The 'C' word: At a first-ever meeting between the North Bend and Coos Bay school boards, members began preliminary discussions about consolidating the two districts.
Budget shortfalls were plaguing both districts: North Bend, to the tune of $1.5 million and for Coos Bay, about $1.6 million. While no specific steps were taken at the meeting, both boards advised staff members to work together to explore consolidation and other remedies to funding problems.
-- In with the new: Dale Jessup, for five years the chief executive officer at Bay Area Hospital, stepped down. Dan Smith was the hospital board's unanimous choice to succeed Jessup.
-- Representatives take a bruising: A standing-room-only crowd packed a meeting room at the Coos Bay Public Library to share their concerns and frustrations with Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., and Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden. Emotions were at high-octane levels as audience members quizzed the senators on a range of topics, from abortion rights to regulations for fishing and timber harvesting.
"Feelings run high on the South Coast," Wyden said following the meeting. "What I heard from people is that, 'we don't agree with you on everything, but we agree with you on a lot of things.'"
-- On the move: Students and teachers moved into Marshfield High School's new math and science building. Pirate Hall was built using $7 million of the Coos Bay School District's $9.9 million bond approved by voters in 1998.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for everyone," said MHS Principal Arnie Roblan, about the move into the new building.
-- Leader chosen: The South Coast Development Council announced the hiring of Melinda Anderson of Bend as the council's first president.
-- Honors abound: Volunteers, athletes and other outstanding citizens were honored at the Community Awards Banquet sponsored by the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. Top honors went to Trevor Woods, Prefontaine Athletic Award; Shirley Liberante, Chamber Member of the Year; Clair Jones, Citizen of the Year; Mel Campbell, Chamber Volunteer of the Year; and Skate Wave owners Cathy and Dale Bishop, who received the Bay Area Business of the Year Award.
February highlights
-- Year No. 2 for an uninvited guest: February 2001 marked the second anniversary of the arrival of the New Carissa, the wood chip ship that was grounded Feb. 4, 1999, in shallow water off the North Spit.
"It's been a long, long two years and I wouldn't want to do it all again anytime soon," salvage expert Bill Milwee said, of efforts to remove the wreck.
As the two-year anniversary of the grounding arrived, lawyers for the owner, manager and insurers of the doomed freighter filed suit against the federal government, alleging the New Carissa's grounding occurred due to the negligence of employees of the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Ocean Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The companies' losses caused by the grounding may be as much as $96 million, said Brian Bell, spokesman for the ship's owner and insurers.
-- Last days of a landmark: The Port of Bandon proceeds with steps to demolish the old Moore Mill Truck Shop. The cavernous wooden structure had withstood the wild and furious winds for more than 87 years, but officials decided the time had come to dismantle the aging building.
-- School budget woes: Residents of Coos Bay continued to monitor school board discussions of possible school closures. A crowd filled council chambers at Coos Bay City Hall Feb. 13 to learn more about the district's plans to close one or more elementary schools.
Two weeks later, on Feb. 27, Coos Bay School District Superintendent Giles Parker announced he was recommending the closure of both Milner Crest and Bunker Hill elementary schools to help the district mitigate an expected budgetary shortfall of between $1.6 million and $2 million.
-- There she is: Before a packed house at the Marshfield High School auditorium, Southwestern Oregon Community College student Leslie Lee Summers was named Miss Coos County 2001.
http://theworldlink.com/article_8eccadb5-665a-502f-88cb-5351706642be.html
Posted: Monday, December 31, 2001 12:00 am
The new year began in Oregon with the news that state's crime rate had dipped -- but it was a different story on the South Coast.
Barely four days into the year, another chapter was added to an unfinished crime story, when the mother of a murdered Coquille girl appeared before the Coquille City Council to share her frustrations with the police investigation into her daughter's death.
Cory Courtright's 15-year-old daughter, Leah Freeman, disappeared June 28, 2000, while walking home from a friend's house on Elm Street in Coquille. Her body was found 37 days later, in a forested area off Fairview Road.
More than six months later, the case still unsolved, Courtright asked the council to "investigate the Coquille Police Department and their handling of this case."
Also speaking at the meeting was Coos County Assistant District Attorney R. Paul Frasier, who said the police department still considered the case a top priority.
At this point, we are doing everything we can," Frasier told the council. "The investigation has not been dropped and we have officers from a variety of different agencies, including the North Bend Police and the Sheriff's office, following up on leads."
However, 12 months later, the year ended as it began for the family and friends of Leah Freeman, with no answers and no resolution to the girl's murder.
A week later, a former Bandon Police officer was sentenced after pleading guilty to having sex with a 16-year-old member of the department's Explorer program.
Michael Lee Peters, 30, was sentenced by Circuit Judge Richard Barron to 90 days in jail and 36 months of probation. Peters was also ordered to register as a sex offender and to pay more than $2,000 in fines.
Crime continued to be in the focus throughout the month. On Jan. 20, top law enforcement officials with the South Coast Interagency Narcotics team said the organization had funds sufficient for only one more year of operations. The financial crunch followed a vote to limit how Oregon law enforcement agencies can use forfeiture-generated funds.
Shortly after the SCINT announcement, a group of city leaders gathered in Coos Bay to ask the community to get tough on the county's meth-abuse problem.
"After we have thoroughly discussed the problem from all aspects, hopefully we'll have people step forward and say, 'Not here. Not now. Not anymore!'" The World's Publisher Greg Stevens said at the meeting.
The month, which began with the continuing story of the murder of a young girl, ended the same way. On Jan. 30, police were searching for a missing 13-year-old Bandon girl. That search and later, the discovery of the body of Daniella Elder in a brushy area north of Bandon, would be the top story on the last day of January. The arrest and arraignment of a suspect in the little girl's murder would be the first news as January turned to February.
Bail was set at $2 million for Steven D. Robertson at his first court appearance on a single charge of the aggravated murder of Daniella Elder. Robertson, 30, appeared in Coos County Circuit Court, sitting quietly and wiping tears from his face. The Bandon man, a former boyfriend of the mother of the slain girl, was arrested after a Coos County Sheriff's deputy found Daniella's body a few hundred yards from where Robertson lived with his parents on Portland Road, two miles north of Bandon.
Meanwhile, as the Coquille community did when mourning the death of 15-year-old Leah Freeman, students in Bandon began constructing a fluttering memorial to their schoolmate, affixing banners, posters and cards to a fence at Harbor Lights Middle School.
The crime stories continued as the month progressed. On Feb. 3, a family friend discovered the bodies of a Myrtle Point woman and her mother. On Feb. 5, authorities in Reno, Nev., apprehended Willem VanRooyen, 68, who was arrested by police at the Reno airport on two charges of aggravated murder in the deaths of Ruth VanRooyen, 64 and her 94-year-old mother, Eunice Johnson.
VanRooyen was arraigned in Coos County Circuit Court on Feb. 7, the same day a grand jury indicted Steven Robertson on counts of murder, rape and kidnapping in connection with the death of Daniella Elder.
News of the two men was to coincide again on Feb. 10, when not-guilty pleas were entered for each in a packed courtroom at the Coos County Courthouse. Emotions ran high as groups of grieving relatives came to face the accused men.
As February drew to a close, the first of what were to be many meetings was held to discuss SCINT's funding problems and more than 150 residents, civic leaders and officials gathered at McAuley Hall at St. Catherine's Residence in North Bend to brainstorm ways to rid Coos County of the plague of methamphetamine abuse.
January highlights
-- The 'C' word: At a first-ever meeting between the North Bend and Coos Bay school boards, members began preliminary discussions about consolidating the two districts.
Budget shortfalls were plaguing both districts: North Bend, to the tune of $1.5 million and for Coos Bay, about $1.6 million. While no specific steps were taken at the meeting, both boards advised staff members to work together to explore consolidation and other remedies to funding problems.
-- In with the new: Dale Jessup, for five years the chief executive officer at Bay Area Hospital, stepped down. Dan Smith was the hospital board's unanimous choice to succeed Jessup.
-- Representatives take a bruising: A standing-room-only crowd packed a meeting room at the Coos Bay Public Library to share their concerns and frustrations with Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., and Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden. Emotions were at high-octane levels as audience members quizzed the senators on a range of topics, from abortion rights to regulations for fishing and timber harvesting.
"Feelings run high on the South Coast," Wyden said following the meeting. "What I heard from people is that, 'we don't agree with you on everything, but we agree with you on a lot of things.'"
-- On the move: Students and teachers moved into Marshfield High School's new math and science building. Pirate Hall was built using $7 million of the Coos Bay School District's $9.9 million bond approved by voters in 1998.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for everyone," said MHS Principal Arnie Roblan, about the move into the new building.
-- Leader chosen: The South Coast Development Council announced the hiring of Melinda Anderson of Bend as the council's first president.
-- Honors abound: Volunteers, athletes and other outstanding citizens were honored at the Community Awards Banquet sponsored by the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. Top honors went to Trevor Woods, Prefontaine Athletic Award; Shirley Liberante, Chamber Member of the Year; Clair Jones, Citizen of the Year; Mel Campbell, Chamber Volunteer of the Year; and Skate Wave owners Cathy and Dale Bishop, who received the Bay Area Business of the Year Award.
February highlights
-- Year No. 2 for an uninvited guest: February 2001 marked the second anniversary of the arrival of the New Carissa, the wood chip ship that was grounded Feb. 4, 1999, in shallow water off the North Spit.
"It's been a long, long two years and I wouldn't want to do it all again anytime soon," salvage expert Bill Milwee said, of efforts to remove the wreck.
As the two-year anniversary of the grounding arrived, lawyers for the owner, manager and insurers of the doomed freighter filed suit against the federal government, alleging the New Carissa's grounding occurred due to the negligence of employees of the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Ocean Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The companies' losses caused by the grounding may be as much as $96 million, said Brian Bell, spokesman for the ship's owner and insurers.
-- Last days of a landmark: The Port of Bandon proceeds with steps to demolish the old Moore Mill Truck Shop. The cavernous wooden structure had withstood the wild and furious winds for more than 87 years, but officials decided the time had come to dismantle the aging building.
-- School budget woes: Residents of Coos Bay continued to monitor school board discussions of possible school closures. A crowd filled council chambers at Coos Bay City Hall Feb. 13 to learn more about the district's plans to close one or more elementary schools.
Two weeks later, on Feb. 27, Coos Bay School District Superintendent Giles Parker announced he was recommending the closure of both Milner Crest and Bunker Hill elementary schools to help the district mitigate an expected budgetary shortfall of between $1.6 million and $2 million.
-- There she is: Before a packed house at the Marshfield High School auditorium, Southwestern Oregon Community College student Leslie Lee Summers was named Miss Coos County 2001.
http://theworldlink.com/article_8eccadb5-665a-502f-88cb-5351706642be.html
_________________
We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly
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- Posts: 5339
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:59 pm
Murder suspect says he lived in North Bend
Posted: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 12:00 am
Oregon City murder suspect Ward Weaver's revelation that he lived in North Bend took back even longtime local police officers in the area, who said they never had any dealings with the now-39-year-old man and that he left no mark on the area's police system.
And while murder connections may be investigated elsewhere, no local police department has any cases it would tie back to Weaver at this time.
North Bend Police Chief Steve Scibelli said the FBI had not contacted his department as of Tuesday afternoon to see if Weaver was known to them during the time he reportedly lived in North Bend.
Scibelli added that the city doesn't have an open missing persons case that resembles Oregon City's involving Weaver and the missing Oregon City teen-age girls 12-year-old Ashley Pond and 13-year-old Miranda Gaddis. The teen-age girls' bodies were found during the weekend on the property rented by Weaver.
Similarly in Coos Bay, Weaver had no contact with police.
"We don't have anything here in Coos Bay but that's not to say we don't have anything in the county," said Coos Bay Capt. Eura Washburn.
Coos County's most ominous open case is the murder of 15-year-old Leah Freeman, whose body was found Aug. 3, 2000, five weeks after she disappeared while walking to her Coquille home.
Yet, Weaver was apparently living in Oregon City at that time.
"We have nothing," said Lt. Larry Leader, of the Sheriff's Office. "The only active case we have would have occurred after he left the area."
Beth Anne Steele, spokeswoman for the FBI in Portland, said agents continue to scour for any information throughout the country.
"The investigators have from the very beginning looked at cases within the state as well as all over the country for connections between Ashley and Miranda and any other possible case," she said. "The investigation continues on many levels, including that respect."
But Steele added the FBI doesn't have any clues tying the two girls' murders with other unsolved cases.
"At this time, there's no indication that Ashley and Miranda's cases are connected to any other cases anywhere else," she said.
http://theworldlink.com/article_4f75c611-3f5d-5532-85f5-55c18902d8f1.html
Posted: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 12:00 am
Oregon City murder suspect Ward Weaver's revelation that he lived in North Bend took back even longtime local police officers in the area, who said they never had any dealings with the now-39-year-old man and that he left no mark on the area's police system.
And while murder connections may be investigated elsewhere, no local police department has any cases it would tie back to Weaver at this time.
North Bend Police Chief Steve Scibelli said the FBI had not contacted his department as of Tuesday afternoon to see if Weaver was known to them during the time he reportedly lived in North Bend.
Scibelli added that the city doesn't have an open missing persons case that resembles Oregon City's involving Weaver and the missing Oregon City teen-age girls 12-year-old Ashley Pond and 13-year-old Miranda Gaddis. The teen-age girls' bodies were found during the weekend on the property rented by Weaver.
Similarly in Coos Bay, Weaver had no contact with police.
"We don't have anything here in Coos Bay but that's not to say we don't have anything in the county," said Coos Bay Capt. Eura Washburn.
Coos County's most ominous open case is the murder of 15-year-old Leah Freeman, whose body was found Aug. 3, 2000, five weeks after she disappeared while walking to her Coquille home.
Yet, Weaver was apparently living in Oregon City at that time.
"We have nothing," said Lt. Larry Leader, of the Sheriff's Office. "The only active case we have would have occurred after he left the area."
Beth Anne Steele, spokeswoman for the FBI in Portland, said agents continue to scour for any information throughout the country.
"The investigators have from the very beginning looked at cases within the state as well as all over the country for connections between Ashley and Miranda and any other possible case," she said. "The investigation continues on many levels, including that respect."
But Steele added the FBI doesn't have any clues tying the two girls' murders with other unsolved cases.
"At this time, there's no indication that Ashley and Miranda's cases are connected to any other cases anywhere else," she said.
http://theworldlink.com/article_4f75c611-3f5d-5532-85f5-55c18902d8f1.html
_________________
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 1:00 pm
District Attorney says case is still a priority
Posted: Saturday, June 26, 2004 12:00 am
The Coos County District Attorney's Office has opened and closed hundreds of cases since the June 28, 2000, disappearance of 15-year-old Leah Freeman, but for Chief Deputy District Attorney R. Paul Frasier, it's the one unresolved case that remains the most painful.
Despite the fact the murder investigation has stalled and progress has become painfully slow, Frasier said he still thinks of the case on a daily basis.
"At my house, in my den … I have, hanging up on the wall, aerial maps where the body was found," he said. "I look at it every night. I try to think of something that might break the case."
But that something has eluded investigators and the District Attorney's Office for four years and Frasier admits it becomes increasingly difficult to make an arrest and prosecute a case once so many years have passed.
"At this point, we're kind of at the mercy of somebody who will call in, who will come across something," he said.
Freeman's murder is one of three open homicides in the county. Both of the other cases, that of missing Myrtle Point teenager Jeremy Bright and the homicide of Eastside resident Frank Pettengill, are more than 10 years old.
Frasier said Freeman's murder changed the investigation landscape for police and the District Attorney's Office. There's been only one other case similar to Freeman's since 2000 in which a girl was found murdered near Bandon. Frasier said all agencies stand up and take more notice when reports of missing juveniles come in.
"Normally, until the police figure out it's not a runaway, we don't try to get involved in those things," he said. "Now, we're a little more concerned."
And Frasier said the District Attorney's Office remains interested in any information that comes up regarding the Freeman case. While leads and information once seemed overwhelming, tips now have slowed to an inconsistent trickle. When possible leads arise, Frasier said investigators are pulled back into the case to check the information.
"We're willing to break away from whatever we're doing, to give the case as much attention as it needs," he said. "If the public knows anything, it might be the key that breaks the thing open."
Frasier said he's not giving up on the case and maintains that eventually, even the most innocuous or minute detail about the investigation could become the missing link that pinpoints who killed Leah Freeman.
"Obviously, as a case gets older and older, the more difficult it is to solve it and or successfully prosecute it," Frasier said. "But I never give up hope. There's always a chance."
http://theworldlink.com/news/local/article_76be5475-4d21-5449-9a0b-e14da41c1b02.html
Posted: Saturday, June 26, 2004 12:00 am
The Coos County District Attorney's Office has opened and closed hundreds of cases since the June 28, 2000, disappearance of 15-year-old Leah Freeman, but for Chief Deputy District Attorney R. Paul Frasier, it's the one unresolved case that remains the most painful.
Despite the fact the murder investigation has stalled and progress has become painfully slow, Frasier said he still thinks of the case on a daily basis.
"At my house, in my den … I have, hanging up on the wall, aerial maps where the body was found," he said. "I look at it every night. I try to think of something that might break the case."
But that something has eluded investigators and the District Attorney's Office for four years and Frasier admits it becomes increasingly difficult to make an arrest and prosecute a case once so many years have passed.
"At this point, we're kind of at the mercy of somebody who will call in, who will come across something," he said.
Freeman's murder is one of three open homicides in the county. Both of the other cases, that of missing Myrtle Point teenager Jeremy Bright and the homicide of Eastside resident Frank Pettengill, are more than 10 years old.
Frasier said Freeman's murder changed the investigation landscape for police and the District Attorney's Office. There's been only one other case similar to Freeman's since 2000 in which a girl was found murdered near Bandon. Frasier said all agencies stand up and take more notice when reports of missing juveniles come in.
"Normally, until the police figure out it's not a runaway, we don't try to get involved in those things," he said. "Now, we're a little more concerned."
And Frasier said the District Attorney's Office remains interested in any information that comes up regarding the Freeman case. While leads and information once seemed overwhelming, tips now have slowed to an inconsistent trickle. When possible leads arise, Frasier said investigators are pulled back into the case to check the information.
"We're willing to break away from whatever we're doing, to give the case as much attention as it needs," he said. "If the public knows anything, it might be the key that breaks the thing open."
Frasier said he's not giving up on the case and maintains that eventually, even the most innocuous or minute detail about the investigation could become the missing link that pinpoints who killed Leah Freeman.
"Obviously, as a case gets older and older, the more difficult it is to solve it and or successfully prosecute it," Frasier said. "But I never give up hope. There's always a chance."
http://theworldlink.com/news/local/article_76be5475-4d21-5449-9a0b-e14da41c1b02.html
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 1:00 pm
Leah Freeman timeline
Posted: Saturday, June 26, 2004 12:00 am
June 28, 2000 - Leah Freeman is last seen on Coquille's Central Avenue where her boyfriend, Nick McGuffin, was supposed to pick her up.
June 29, 2000 - Police survey a home on Fir Street where Freeman was said to be at a party the night before. Police consider Freeman a runaway.
July 3, 2000 - First blood-splotched shoe is found in a cemetery across the street from Coquille High School.
July 5, 2000 - Second shoe is found 13 miles northwest of town in Hudson Ridge.
Aug. 3, 2000 - Leah Freeman's body is found in the forest nine miles east of Coquille. Police say her death was the result of "homicidal violence."
Aug. 10, 2000 - A memorial service is held for Freeman at Coquille High School.
Aug. 22, 2000 - Coquille Police Chief Mike Reaves reports "authority figures" in the community advised potential witnesses in the case not to come forward.
Jan. 2, 2001 - Cory Courtright, Leah Freeman's mother, goes before the Coquille City Council to discuss problems with the Coquille Police Department. Reaves said he would not release any further information until an arrest was made.
June 28, 2001 - The "Justice For Leah" group erects a bench at Sanford Heights Park in Leah Freeman's honor.
http://theworldlink.com/news/local/article_8dc5c8bf-b096-55d6-88d5-4801775e886c.html
Posted: Saturday, June 26, 2004 12:00 am
June 28, 2000 - Leah Freeman is last seen on Coquille's Central Avenue where her boyfriend, Nick McGuffin, was supposed to pick her up.
June 29, 2000 - Police survey a home on Fir Street where Freeman was said to be at a party the night before. Police consider Freeman a runaway.
July 3, 2000 - First blood-splotched shoe is found in a cemetery across the street from Coquille High School.
July 5, 2000 - Second shoe is found 13 miles northwest of town in Hudson Ridge.
Aug. 3, 2000 - Leah Freeman's body is found in the forest nine miles east of Coquille. Police say her death was the result of "homicidal violence."
Aug. 10, 2000 - A memorial service is held for Freeman at Coquille High School.
Aug. 22, 2000 - Coquille Police Chief Mike Reaves reports "authority figures" in the community advised potential witnesses in the case not to come forward.
Jan. 2, 2001 - Cory Courtright, Leah Freeman's mother, goes before the Coquille City Council to discuss problems with the Coquille Police Department. Reaves said he would not release any further information until an arrest was made.
June 28, 2001 - The "Justice For Leah" group erects a bench at Sanford Heights Park in Leah Freeman's honor.
http://theworldlink.com/news/local/article_8dc5c8bf-b096-55d6-88d5-4801775e886c.html
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 1:02 pm
Four years later - Mother still grieves without answers in daugther's murder
Posted: Saturday, June 26, 2004 12:00 am
COQUILLE - When Cory Courtright walks down the street, citizens of Coquille see an average, middle-aged woman. But more than that, an unspoken thought comes immediately to many people's minds: "That's Leah Freeman's mom."
The quiet community hasn't been the same since Courtright's 15-year-old daughter was murdered. The case remains unsolved nearly four years later.
Leah's body was found in a forest about nine miles east of Coquille in August 2000, the result of what police said was "homicidal violence." But the investigation into her death is largely inactive.
"I often think of moving away, but I can't," Courtright said. "There's unfinished business here."
Courtright contends the Coquille Police Department botched the investigation when officers failed to collect evidence from a party scene on the morning of June 29, 2000. Courtright said her daughter had been at the Fir Street home the night prior, when she disappeared.
Police were there. They said they saw beer cans and a white sleeveless T-shirt on the house's deck that morning. The T-shirt matched the description of what Leah was wearing that night, but since it was a man's shirt, police did not seize it. According to court documents, when police returned an hour later after they realized those articles could be of potential significance, the mess had been cleaned and the T-shirt was gone.
Courtright still is angry police labeled her daughter as a possible runaway for close to a week until blood-splotched shoes were found and later shown by DNA tests to be Leah's. Kathy Wilcox, then an Oregon State Police forensic examiner, said in reports that the blood splatter was indicative of a high-impact wound.
One of the shoes was found July 3, 2000, in a cemetery across the street from Coquille High School. A day later, its mate turned up 13 miles northwest of town at Hudson Ridge.
It was to be 37 days before a search by police and citizens turned up Leah's body. Investigators determined it was clear she did not run away, but to this day no information has been released about how she died because the case still is open.
But that's only a technicality, according to Courtright, who believes police are powerless, leaving her fearful that Leah's killer still walks free through the quiet neighborhoods and shop-lined streets of Coquille.
"I will never take any information to any police agency again," Courtright said. "I am sick of the attitude they give and I am sick of being ignored."
Courtright said she believes police already have identified a suspect, but cannot prosecute because of too many missed opportunities to gather evidence. She also believes fear surrounding the case has prevented people with first-hand information from coming forward. From the investigation's outset, it was apparent police were struggling when Coquille Police Chief Mike Reaves said "authority figures, " as he referred to them, in the area were advising potential witnesses not to talk to police.
Dennis Freeman, Leah's father, said he too believes police made wrong assumptions at the time of his daughter's disappearance.
"They made a lot of assumptions for one reason or another. Cory was trying to tell them (Leah) had no reason not to come home and she would never spend the night away without permission," Freeman said, adding he doesn't believe the town's police has adequate resources to deal with a murder case.
"Even if they find who did it, I don't think that would change the loss that we've had," he added.
Without closure and consumed by intense anger, Courtright has taken matters into her own hands, spearheading the creation of a Web site containing all available public information about the case, a Web log for comments and an anonymous e-mail address for tips.
James Murphy, a shoestring relative of Courtright, and John Miles, both of Eugene, are building the site and expect to have it up and running soon on the Web at http://www.leahfreeman.com.
"It's something that needs to be done," Murphy said, "so there's no more rumor mill, so everyone has the public information."
Meanwhile, despite years of pain and confusion, Courtright is trying to focus on good memories of her daughter's short, happy life. She was a bright and bubbly petite girl, braces on her teeth and without a care in the world, waiting for her life to begin, her father said.
"Leah was definitely fun, loving, athletic, beautiful, sweet. I suppose anything good you could say about a person, you could say about her," Courtright said.
And she has not been forgotten.
Courtright recently gave away the fourth $500 scholarship in Leah's name to a Coquille High School student. Monday night, a candlelight vigil will be held in Coquille at Sanford Heights Park where Leah liked to play basketball. A plaque will be placed on a bench and dedicated to the much-loved teenager's memory.
Courtright said the community has been extremely supportive through the family's ordeal.
"Leah's no longer my child. She's Coquille's kid," Courtright said. "And I don't mind sharing her."
Courtright has taken to collecting angel figurines which she places near framed photographs of Leah taken when she was a freshman in high school, the last year of her life. Mementos line the walls of Courtright's bedroom, neatly placed around her daughter's cremated remains.
"I have my own angel now," she said.
In unresolved grief, Courtright's only comfort comes in Leah's last words to her.
"She was so short, you know, so she jumped up and pecked me on the cheek and said 'I love you Mommy' and I said 'I love you, too.' I'm glad it ended like that."
http://theworldlink.com/news/local/article_9de3cccd-f882-5472-bfeb-7d083df57f33.html
Posted: Saturday, June 26, 2004 12:00 am
COQUILLE - When Cory Courtright walks down the street, citizens of Coquille see an average, middle-aged woman. But more than that, an unspoken thought comes immediately to many people's minds: "That's Leah Freeman's mom."
The quiet community hasn't been the same since Courtright's 15-year-old daughter was murdered. The case remains unsolved nearly four years later.
Leah's body was found in a forest about nine miles east of Coquille in August 2000, the result of what police said was "homicidal violence." But the investigation into her death is largely inactive.
"I often think of moving away, but I can't," Courtright said. "There's unfinished business here."
Courtright contends the Coquille Police Department botched the investigation when officers failed to collect evidence from a party scene on the morning of June 29, 2000. Courtright said her daughter had been at the Fir Street home the night prior, when she disappeared.
Police were there. They said they saw beer cans and a white sleeveless T-shirt on the house's deck that morning. The T-shirt matched the description of what Leah was wearing that night, but since it was a man's shirt, police did not seize it. According to court documents, when police returned an hour later after they realized those articles could be of potential significance, the mess had been cleaned and the T-shirt was gone.
Courtright still is angry police labeled her daughter as a possible runaway for close to a week until blood-splotched shoes were found and later shown by DNA tests to be Leah's. Kathy Wilcox, then an Oregon State Police forensic examiner, said in reports that the blood splatter was indicative of a high-impact wound.
One of the shoes was found July 3, 2000, in a cemetery across the street from Coquille High School. A day later, its mate turned up 13 miles northwest of town at Hudson Ridge.
It was to be 37 days before a search by police and citizens turned up Leah's body. Investigators determined it was clear she did not run away, but to this day no information has been released about how she died because the case still is open.
But that's only a technicality, according to Courtright, who believes police are powerless, leaving her fearful that Leah's killer still walks free through the quiet neighborhoods and shop-lined streets of Coquille.
"I will never take any information to any police agency again," Courtright said. "I am sick of the attitude they give and I am sick of being ignored."
Courtright said she believes police already have identified a suspect, but cannot prosecute because of too many missed opportunities to gather evidence. She also believes fear surrounding the case has prevented people with first-hand information from coming forward. From the investigation's outset, it was apparent police were struggling when Coquille Police Chief Mike Reaves said "authority figures, " as he referred to them, in the area were advising potential witnesses not to talk to police.
Dennis Freeman, Leah's father, said he too believes police made wrong assumptions at the time of his daughter's disappearance.
"They made a lot of assumptions for one reason or another. Cory was trying to tell them (Leah) had no reason not to come home and she would never spend the night away without permission," Freeman said, adding he doesn't believe the town's police has adequate resources to deal with a murder case.
"Even if they find who did it, I don't think that would change the loss that we've had," he added.
Without closure and consumed by intense anger, Courtright has taken matters into her own hands, spearheading the creation of a Web site containing all available public information about the case, a Web log for comments and an anonymous e-mail address for tips.
James Murphy, a shoestring relative of Courtright, and John Miles, both of Eugene, are building the site and expect to have it up and running soon on the Web at http://www.leahfreeman.com.
"It's something that needs to be done," Murphy said, "so there's no more rumor mill, so everyone has the public information."
Meanwhile, despite years of pain and confusion, Courtright is trying to focus on good memories of her daughter's short, happy life. She was a bright and bubbly petite girl, braces on her teeth and without a care in the world, waiting for her life to begin, her father said.
"Leah was definitely fun, loving, athletic, beautiful, sweet. I suppose anything good you could say about a person, you could say about her," Courtright said.
And she has not been forgotten.
Courtright recently gave away the fourth $500 scholarship in Leah's name to a Coquille High School student. Monday night, a candlelight vigil will be held in Coquille at Sanford Heights Park where Leah liked to play basketball. A plaque will be placed on a bench and dedicated to the much-loved teenager's memory.
Courtright said the community has been extremely supportive through the family's ordeal.
"Leah's no longer my child. She's Coquille's kid," Courtright said. "And I don't mind sharing her."
Courtright has taken to collecting angel figurines which she places near framed photographs of Leah taken when she was a freshman in high school, the last year of her life. Mementos line the walls of Courtright's bedroom, neatly placed around her daughter's cremated remains.
"I have my own angel now," she said.
In unresolved grief, Courtright's only comfort comes in Leah's last words to her.
"She was so short, you know, so she jumped up and pecked me on the cheek and said 'I love you Mommy' and I said 'I love you, too.' I'm glad it ended like that."
http://theworldlink.com/news/local/article_9de3cccd-f882-5472-bfeb-7d083df57f33.html
_________________
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Re: Leah Freeman News Articles .....No Discussion Please
by FystyAngel on Tue Oct 12, 2010 1:03 pm
On anniversary, community gathers to mourn
Posted: Tuesday, June 29, 2004 12:00 am
Cory Courtright is comforted by two children Monday evening after a plaque was added to a bench dedicated to her daughter, Leah Freeman, who was murdered four years ago. Courtright spoke briefly to about 40 people who gathered at Sanford Heights Park in Coquille to light candles and be with her family on the anniversary.World Photo by Lou Sennick
COQUILLE - The clouds rolled gently across the sky over the city Monday evening, casting soft shadows over the sad faces of those who came to honor the memory of Leah Freeman, a teenager who was murdered four years ago.
Cory Courtright, Leah's mother, began the somber and informal ceremony at Sanford Heights Park by thanking members of the community she said have helped her through the worst time of her life.
More than 40 people came to the park to listen, watch and light candles, while Courtright dedicated a plaque that will act as Leah's headstone, she said, in a place that holds good memories.
"The 15 years we did have with Leah were happy years," she said.
Courtright also offered a prayer for Brooke Wilberger, a 19-year-old who went missing from Corvallis in May, and the young woman's family who are struggling with something she knows too well.
Courtright said she appreciated the simple gestures most while dealing with her own tragedy. She said Leah's friends were a source of comfort in an otherwise hopeless situation.
"They made my first Mother's Day without her bearable," Courtright said.
Some in the crowd were wearing T-shirts depicting Leah's image and a phrase: "We demand justice for Leah." A Web site was launched Monday, outlining all public documents available for the case and a plea to those with firsthand information about the murder: "Do the right thing."
And so, while they still wait for answers from an investigation that is currently stagnant, Courtright and Dennis Freeman, Leah's father, said they appreciate support from members of the community.
Likewise, Leah's family has not forgotten the community.
"I'm here for them," said Cody Hughlett, a recent Coquille High School graduate who received a $500 scholarship in Leah's name and who will attend the University of Oregon in the fall.
"She touched a lot of lives," Freeman said. "That's the thing about a small town, you know. You know your neighbors' kids as well as your own."
On Monday, people stayed until dusk, sharing their memories of the bright and enthusiastic young girl they once knew, in the park where she loved to play basketball.
"They're able to offer more than I'm able to comprehend," Freeman said. "I've never really been an open person, so it's overwhelming. Coquille is full of great people."
http://theworldlink.com/news/local/article_019c4fd6-ecd4-5421-a3bc-ed5181e627b0.html
Posted: Tuesday, June 29, 2004 12:00 am
Cory Courtright is comforted by two children Monday evening after a plaque was added to a bench dedicated to her daughter, Leah Freeman, who was murdered four years ago. Courtright spoke briefly to about 40 people who gathered at Sanford Heights Park in Coquille to light candles and be with her family on the anniversary.World Photo by Lou Sennick
COQUILLE - The clouds rolled gently across the sky over the city Monday evening, casting soft shadows over the sad faces of those who came to honor the memory of Leah Freeman, a teenager who was murdered four years ago.
Cory Courtright, Leah's mother, began the somber and informal ceremony at Sanford Heights Park by thanking members of the community she said have helped her through the worst time of her life.
More than 40 people came to the park to listen, watch and light candles, while Courtright dedicated a plaque that will act as Leah's headstone, she said, in a place that holds good memories.
"The 15 years we did have with Leah were happy years," she said.
Courtright also offered a prayer for Brooke Wilberger, a 19-year-old who went missing from Corvallis in May, and the young woman's family who are struggling with something she knows too well.
Courtright said she appreciated the simple gestures most while dealing with her own tragedy. She said Leah's friends were a source of comfort in an otherwise hopeless situation.
"They made my first Mother's Day without her bearable," Courtright said.
Some in the crowd were wearing T-shirts depicting Leah's image and a phrase: "We demand justice for Leah." A Web site was launched Monday, outlining all public documents available for the case and a plea to those with firsthand information about the murder: "Do the right thing."
And so, while they still wait for answers from an investigation that is currently stagnant, Courtright and Dennis Freeman, Leah's father, said they appreciate support from members of the community.
Likewise, Leah's family has not forgotten the community.
"I'm here for them," said Cody Hughlett, a recent Coquille High School graduate who received a $500 scholarship in Leah's name and who will attend the University of Oregon in the fall.
"She touched a lot of lives," Freeman said. "That's the thing about a small town, you know. You know your neighbors' kids as well as your own."
On Monday, people stayed until dusk, sharing their memories of the bright and enthusiastic young girl they once knew, in the park where she loved to play basketball.
"They're able to offer more than I'm able to comprehend," Freeman said. "I've never really been an open person, so it's overwhelming. Coquille is full of great people."
http://theworldlink.com/news/local/article_019c4fd6-ecd4-5421-a3bc-ed5181e627b0.html
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» Leah Freeman -- Found Deceased 8/3/00
» FAQs About Leah Freeman Case ???
» Leah Freeman ** Timeline**
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