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By Mary Thompson Phil Ellenbecker says the Friday morning release of Jeremy Holmes from Jackson Correctional Institution in Black River Falls dishonors the memory of the young people who died and were permanently disabled in the March 25, 1999 van crash that killed his own daughter Malinda Turvey. Holmes, 25, of Clinton, Iowa, was the driver for a 14-person magazine sales crew that worked for Youth Employment Services (YES) and ranged in age from 14 to 22. The night of the crash Holmes was driving south on I-90 when he spotted a Town of Milton police officer pull out behind the van. Holmes was driving without a valid license and had several traffic tickets pending against him. When he passed the officer the van was traveling 81 mph. While attempting to switch places behind the wheel with another person the van careened out of control, and rolled twice, killing seven and permanently injuring five. Holmes escaped with minor injuries. He pleaded guilty in 1999 to seven counts of vehicular homicide and five counts of injury by the negligent use of a motor vehicle. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to pay almost $500,000 in restitution. Under Wisconsin sentencing laws Holmes could be released after serving three quarters of his sentence, or four years and four months. Following his Friday release Holmes returned to Iowa. He will now report to two parole officers, one in Wisconsin, and one in Iowa, and will continue to pay restitution. Ellenbecker says he doesn't remember ever being told Holmes would be released so soon. "I thought seven years was seven years," he said. "During the whole process of us going to court, going to the hearings, going to the attorneys offices, talking to the attorney general, and the district attorneys and the prosecuting attorneys, my lawyers, the judges, Victim/Witness, not one person told us when he was sentenced to seven years that he would get out in four years. The judge could have sentenced him to two years per death, that’s the statute for vehicular homicide, but he was lenient and gave him seven years." Dee Roberts of DeWitt, Iowa lost her son, Marshall, in the van crash. She says she remembers being told Holmes would serve only three-quarters of his sentence. "As it turns out," she said, "he has been released two months sooner than the December, 2003 date. "I don't believe any of us who have lost a loved one feel that was an adequate equivalent, however it was determined by the courts . . . Jeremy will be paying monetary restitution for the rest of his life. I know he must think of this every day, just as we think of our loved ones every day. I know he wishes that it could all just have never happened, as we do. Is this empathy? Maybe. Do I have conflicting thoughts on all of this? Very much so. What usually stops me from my tormenting thoughts is when I ask myself, 'What would Marshall think?' He was a caring young man and he knows that Jeremy will feel the impact of this for the rest of his life, imprisoned or not. Sometimes the thoughts in your mind can be as much of a locked cell as a prison door." Ellenbecker says when Holmes was sentenced he felt seven years was far too lenient. He did what he could to keep Holmes in jail as long as possible. "Every year they’d send a letter saying he was up for parole," Ellenbecker said. "And every year I’d send them a real strong letter back saying 'Don’t you let him out.'" Roberts says living in the same community as Choan Lane and Holmes will put a strain on her family. Lane ran Youth Employment Services (YES), the company the sales crew worked for, when the crash occurred. YES was convicted of seven counts of homicide by negligent use of a vehicle connected to the crash and ordered to pay $132,000 in fines and pay restitution to the victims' families. YES was also convicted of two counts of physical abuse of a child, three counts of reckless injury, one count of recklessly endangering safety and four misdemeanors of contributing to truancy. "Actually both Choan Lane and Jeremy Holmes are from the same town as we are," said Roberts. "As for one report that my husband and I "dread" perhaps meeting up with either Mr. Lane or Mr. Holmes in the community, well, "dread" sounds like a strong word. But no, I don't believe either of us would like to be standing in a checkout line and realize that was who was next to us in line. It is strange that they have both returned to this vicinity." Roberts says although many Wisconsinites see Lane and Holmes as the villains in the crash, she sees Karleen Hillery as the person who is most responsible. Hillery is the former president of Subscriptions Plus, the company that maintained subscriptions for the DeWitt-based YES. Lane is Hillery's ex-husband. "I personally need to see Karleen Hillery, who Choan Lane reported to, held accountable," said Roberts. "As of yet she is listed in civil suits which are still in appeals. She was the direct link as to why our son was involved in the first place. . . She needs to be stopped." Hillery has remarried and lives in Sun City, Ariz. "She is still running crews across the states," Roberts said. Roberts says she finds the focus on the Do Not Call registry money ill spent as compared to the lack of interest she sees in dealing with the issue of magazine sales crews. ""They will not tackle the legislation needed that will stop this travesty of injustice or to limit the magazine publishers and clearing houses from doing business in this manner," she said. "I am deeply disappointed that the lawmakers won't tackle this topic." Oct. 23, 2003 edition page 5, Volume 123, No. 43 Copyright (c) The Milton Courier; Milton Wisconsin Mary Kay Thompson Associate Editor The Milton Courier 608-868-2442 E-mail Milton Courier Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission. Posted October 25, 2003 |
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A man that killed seven human beings and maimed five for life was released from prison today. He had originally been sentenced to seven years, one year for each life. But Jeremy A. Holmes of Clinton Iowa did not serve seven years. Jeremy Holmes only served four years and four months. He was released back into society where he can live his life as he chooses. He has the rest of his life to enjoy all of the wonderful things that our children will never have or experience. He can fall in love, see the world, listen to music, watch the sunsets, stay up late on Friday nights, go to football games, and dream of tomorrow. Malinda, Peter, Crystal, Marshall, Joseph, Cory, and Amber will never dream. Their tomorrows were stolen by a killer four and a half years ago on March 25, 1999. Malinda, Peter, Crystal, Marshall, Joseph, Cory, and Amber will never see another sunset or fall in love. And we will never again be able to hold them in our arms and tell them how very much we love them. You have taken something so very precious away from all of us and it can never be replaced. You have your freedom and your life. We have only memories and fading pictures of our children. But our battle to end this national violence is far from over. We hold the magazine clearinghouses and the magazine publishers morally and ethically accountable for the tragedies that are occurring across this country. Their lack of control and inability to regulate the door to door sales industry is well documented. Our hope rests with every decent human being that reads this sad story, knowing that someday the criminal activities of the traveling door to door sales industry will be smothered by federal and state legislation, civil lawsuits, and public awareness. It is so very sad and so very unfortunate that 15 more human lives have been lost since March 25, 1999. The Dedicated Memorial Parents Group October 17, 2003 |
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September 15, 2003 Published in the Platteville Journal September 10, 2003 A motor vehicle crash with injuries occurred on CTH D, five miles south of Platteville, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6. Jenny Kwon, 18, of Freemont, Calif., was traveling northbound on CTH D when she lost control of her vehicle and went off the left side of the road rolling several times. Both Kwon and her passenger, Mariana Turner, 19, of Sausalito, Calif., were thrown from the vehicle. They were transported to Southwest Health Center where Kwon was treated for serious back injuries and a collapsed lung, and Turner was treated and released. No seatbelts were used. Platteville Journal Platteville Journal 25 East Main Platteville, WI. 53565 Editor: Jennifer Davis (608)348-3006 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission. |
| DMPG research has learned through police reports that Jenny Kwon and Mariana Turner worked for a company out of Nashville, Tennessee by the name of Southwestern Company. This company hires students as independent contractors to sell their products door-to-door across the country. The students purchase products from Southwestern at wholesale prices and sell them to the customers at retail prices. |
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August 1, 2003 Lawsuit Settled In Brutal Rape/Murder Case A lawsuit filed against the employers of a door-to-door magazine salesman (Rodger Eric Broadway) who raped and killed Eskalene DeBorde in her West Knox County home has been settled out of court. Eskalene DeBorde, 66, was raped, beaten, smothered and stabbed on Aug. 20, 2001. Elizabeth Noffsinger (Eskalene DeBorde’s daughter) found her mother's body pinned to the floor with a knife through the neck. Rodger Eric Broadway, 23, of New York City, admitted to the crime in April of 2003 and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Originally the prosecution was considering the death penalty but Broadway accepted a plea agreement to avoid the death sentence. The lawsuit was filed against American Community Services, which processes magazine subscriptions; and The Real Deal Inc., which provided transportation to magazine sales crews. Terms of the $20 million dollar lawsuit settlement were not released. The lawsuit alleged that the companies were negligent in hiring and did not properly supervise Broadway, who had a criminal record. Broadway's last known offense before the Eskalene DeBorde murder was aggravated burglary in Midtown, N.Y. He pleaded guilty to this charge. Broadway had also been convicted of credit card fraud. Eskalene DeBorde's son and daughter, James Michael Potts, and Elizabeth Noffsinger filed the lawsuit against American Community Services and the Real Deal’s owners Rodney and Tolliny Rankins. When Broadway joined the Real Deal magazine sales crew he had just been released from prison. Broadway was hired as an independent contractor by the Real Deal magazine sales crew. The Real Deal sales crew sold magazine subscriptions exclusively for American Community Services. State Of Tennessee County Of Knox: Criminal Complaint Criminal Conviction Police Report knoxnews.com oakridger.com WBIR.COM - Knoxville Tennessee ap.org For Further Information Please Visit: Profiles By Name Page |
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