Judge denies Terri Horman's request to delay Young's civil suit
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PORTLAND, Ore. - A judge has denied a request by Terri Horman to delay a civil lawsuit brought by Desiree Young that could force Horman to reveal the location of Kyron Horman.
The ruling is a victory for Desiree Young and is expected to keep the civil lawsuit moving forward.
In a motion filed July 25 to hold the case in abatement, Terri Horman said the civil suit seeks facts that could lead to a criminal prosecution and is claiming via her attorney that her rights to self-incrimination are violated if the civil case moves forward.
She wanted the judge to delay the case by two years. Terri Horman has not been charged with any crimes related to Kyron's disappearance.
The suit (PDF), filed by Kyron Horman's biological mother Desiree Young, seeks $10 million and asks a judge to order Terri Horman to return Kyron or, if he's dead, say where his remains are located.
The civil lawsuit accuses Horman of kidnapping Kyron, by herself or with help.
On Wednesday, Young's attorney said the reason this case was filed two years after Kyron's disappearance was because Young gave the criminal justice system the chance to do something and nothing was done.
Terri Horman's attorney argued the lawsuit assumes to take over law enforcement's investigation into the disappearance of Kyron Horman and could influence a future trial jury.
"This is in fact an active, ongoing investigation with a laser pointed at my client," said Horman's attorney Peter Bunch.
Young's attorney argued the Desiree has a constitutional right to know the location of or what happened to her son.
"My client is looking for her son," said Young's attorney Elden Rosenthal. "I don't see how there could be any greater harm than a continued delay in the most important aspect of her life."
Civil allegations require a lower standard of proof — a preponderance of evidence — than criminal charges, which must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
On Wednesday, the Multnomah County Judge Henry Kantor said he will set parameters for the proceedings to protect the constitutional rights of Terri Horman.
Kantor is allowing Terri Horman's 18-year-old son, James Moulton, to be deposed in the case Wednesday.
7-year-old Kyron disappeared in June of 2010 when he did not come home from school. Terri Horman said she dropped him off at a science fair at the school in the morning. Photos of Kyron in front of his science fair project on tree frogs were some of the last pictures taken of the boy.
The school, located on the outskirts of Portland, did not have a video security system at the time.
Law enforcement continues to investigate the disappearance. Kyron's father, Kaine Horman, has said in the past he believes his son is still alive.
We solved this case long ago, over on oregonlive. Then they deleted it since they want Terri to go free.
Logic dictated that Terry tricked Kyron to climb into a vehicle with her accomplice, at the east entrance to the school. Terri convinced Kyron to do this after he dropped off his backpack and coat. The pickup occurred while Terri was getting her alibi receipt at Fred Meyers. Terri then met up with him sometime before checking into 24 hour fitness, to view proof of his deed and pay him off. Terri's mistakes were in failing to actually arrange for a doctor's appointment for Kyron, failure to arrange for Kyron in writing to be at a Doctor's appointment, failure to get the go ahead to pick up Kyron's display before lying about needing the white truck to pick it up when instead she just did not want to be driving the easily noticeable red mustang when she later met up with her accomplice to pay him off, failure to not draw suspicion to herself when she met the 24 hour fitness employee at Fred Meyers, failure at multple lie detector tests, failure to stick with one story, failure to recall 1 1/2 hours of missing time, failure to refer to Kyron in the present tense after he went missing, failure to conceal her hate for Kyron, failure to conceal her murder for hire plot, failure to keep Kiara at home when she was sick but instead went alibi building at 24 hours fitness and whatever else the FBI is going to blow us away with. Dede's total involvement was likely purchasing a throw away phone for Terri, at Terri's request, and setting Terri up with an attorney who specializes in getting guilty parties off scott free. This is all an opinion of course, and you are free to come up with your own opinion of the events and guilty parties.
Personally, I hope the police get the information they need so they can close this case and give the parents some peace and some answers.
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However, constantly bickering about who did what, when the only information the public has is what is released by the police and reported by very biased media should stop.
Unless we were there, involved in everything everyone in this family did, we really don't know what happened.
I've referred to it many times, but evidently it needs to be said again: Jaycee Dugard disappeared years ago as a child. Her step-Dad was instantly found guilty in the court of public opinion, and by almost every officer involved in the case. (yes I know a few officers who were involved in it for years) The police had tons more information than the public did.  Yet in the end, we find he had absolutely nothing to do with it, other than being the last person to see her.
@Owt_Raged ~ Excellent post..!   (Off topic for a second... I love your avatar!)
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I think another thing for people to remember is that Miss Dugard was missing for 18 YEARS; then was finally rescued.   Without getting into all the possible reasons why she was not found before then, my point is that, at this time, we have no absolute proof that Kyron Horman is dead... much speculation and guesswork, but no proof.  Until such irrefutable evidence comes to light, perhaps we should just back off the speculations...Â
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In re your comments about Miss Dugard's step-dad; yes, I remember that many, many people had him accused, tried, and convicted... and yet, that turned out totally wrong.   Along that same line, the fact that a lot of people "like" Teri Horman for whatever happened to Kyron, does not prove that she is guilty of anything.  Â
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Believe me; if it IS proven that she did something to Kyron - or conspired with someone else to do it - I'll be right there helping to build the scaffold!   But until then, folks, let's let LE and the courts do their jobs.
 @margay1 Also, even though the public does not know it, the police were still working on the case against the step-dad up until the day they found Jaycee. I happen to know a few sheriffs that called him and apologized to him as they were closing the file on him.
The legal basis for the suit is found in Oregon's Senate Bill 1041 (2005), known as Aaron's Law for my late son Aaron Cruz.
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SB 1041 has its roots in the disappearance of my four children in a Mormon shunning/abduction that began in 1996 and continues to this day.
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There is much more to the law beyond creating the civil cause of action.
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The first thing I noticed was the speed. Decision yesterday, taking first deposition today. That is the speed at which things ought to happen when your child is missing. Every minute counts.
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Oregonâs Custodial Interference I statute reaches âa(ny) personâ who takes, entices or keeps a child from the childâs lawful custodian.
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So does Aaronâs Law.
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More than 200,000 cases of parental and family kidnapping take place in the US each year, according to the US DOJ, with many involving multiple perpetrators.
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She is a calculatiog person and the police need to take another approach to the case.
 Such as Horman taking the body to the island area and covering him with bags of lime to cover up scents and any trace of the body.
 Her gardener friend could have easily got the bags of lime when they met the day of the murder.
Lime is a common garden supply for gardening.Â
  Law enforcement does not want to consider this possibility as a last resort with no other leads which make any sense.  What do they have to loose. Use this to turn up the heat on the evil stepmother and her friend. They are vert calculating and sure of themselves as they know how to use lime powder.
    Lime is favored by farmers to quickly do away with animal caruses.
@Leinenkugle's DeDe Spicher, her long-time friend, could also hve supplied the lime. She's an avid gardener, and since those bags are heavy, I'm sure she and TH would have gotten the landscaper to "help". DeDe was working in TH's garden the day it happened, and was seen abruptly stopping, driving off, and never coming back again. It'll all come out.
 @Leinenkugle's Law enforcement has a LOT to loose. Once this civil suit gets underway, and the rightfully indignant fingers start getting pointed, the truth about LE's shoddy reactions to this crime won't be limited to the court of public opinion. It'll open the door to hold those clowns accountable for having badly, badly bungled this case. If they weren't working for/under Terri Horman to begin with, then those cops did everything she wanted for free. If it were my child, I'd harass those $0.25 Toy & Joy Badge clowns morning, noon, and night to make sure that they slept as poorly as I did. I am not a cop-hater; I simply have a firm sense of the righteousness in demanding accountability. This State's In-Justice System failed Kyron, and it failed every tax payer who had the unbelievable expectation that those so-called detectives would actually do their job and uncover the truth about this foul deed.
(And, for the record, I couldn't care less if people on this forum, or anywhere else continue to howl "racism" and "bigotry" for pointing out that the gardener was a Mexican. It's relevant to the case, since it's most likely that his south-of-the-border buddies were the ones who abducted Kyron and then killed him. The fact that I distrust and despise illegal criminals--I refuse to refer to them as "immigrants"--is absolutely related here. Kidnapping and killing a little boy on the orders of a skank like TH is NOT them "taking jobs that Americans don't want"!!!
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 @LostSoul I was thinking the same thing.Â
Unbelievable, first she tries to have her husband murdered than she has the boy kidnapped or murdered. Why is it taking so long get this mental deficient killer off the streets?
@JayS I am trying to figure out why she wasn't charged with that? Was is truly LE's fault because they botched the sting?
For the interested, here are a couple .pdf's of the legal documents pertaining to this lawsuit. Some good information for people really keeping up with the case:
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http://images.bimedia.net/documents/abate.pdf (Terri's request for a 2 year abatement of Desiree's lawsuit, which was denied)
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http://www.koinlocal6.com/media/lib/107/b/b/0/bb0c90e0-b424-43d6-a31b-503eb0256e50/06_01_12_complaint_for_injunctive_relief.pdf (Desiree's lawsuit - she is asking for a jury trial)
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@Trish Ramirez  I find it very interesting that at the start of this thread, the first person to sign ion was "greenthings". Her very long rant on why TH is the salt of the earth, innocent, we should all put our efforts to Desiree...it went on and on. So I called her on the carpet telling her that I thought she might be actually DeDe Spicher, TH's gardening friend (greenthings?) It's odd she never responded to me, nor has she posted on here again. Another one that won't defend herself.
 @Bewitchin1 You're so insane, it's pathetic. Terri and DeeDee are not posting on this forum, and you're not going to crack the case. You need medication. Greenthings wasn't the first person to post on this story, either. Just out of curiosity, what was your old intensedebate username? I know there were several of you psychos running around, accusing everyone of being someone they aren't. Delusions. Get help.
 @badcat  @Bewitchin1 @badcat.  Wasting your great intelligence here.  Go back to oregonlive under your name there, under the articles by Sheriff Dan's pal reporter.  Everybody knows.  Scat bad cat.  Shoo, go home to oregonlive... the protectorate of all TH's. Â
I would love to see them solve this case. I just can't see how this will help . Terry doesn't have to say anything, what do they expect to get from her?
 @Luckylucy Maybe they are still operating under the assumption that there is a human being in there somewhere and hope said human will surface for the the hearing so that Desiree can finally get some closure.
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More likely, though, this is an effort to nail her financially in a manner so extreme that she will never be able to get out from under the judgement - and hopefully to prevent her from ever profiting from Kyron's disappearance. You know, like by trying to sell the story to a media outlet or something...
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 @BarbWire Thanks :)
 @marflar Go to where you can leave new comment and hover over your name, you then have the option to edit profile.Â
 @Trish Ramirez Off topic - We have profiles? I haven't seen mine yet since we moved to the new commenting system. How do I get to mine? (yeah, early morning, not enough coffee).
You're a rider of the legend alright. The legend of the stupid. If Trish is on here saying something, it's because people want to know what she thinks. It's called "engaging in a conversation". Oh wait...you wouldn't understand that.
 @Philip Marlowe Thanks, Philip :) I do care about this, and I have been following this case from the beginning. I've got more free time on my hands than usual right now and it happens to coincide with these developments, so I can't seem to keep myself from getting involved in these discussions LOL
 @Trish Ramirez for what it's worth, Trish, I am glad that you care about this. Keep fighting the good fight.
 @riderofthelegend I just checked out your profile and every comment you have left on this site has been as inarticulate as that one. LOL. If you are too ignorant to string together a properly worded and punctuated English sentence, you aren't even worth arguing with.Â
This is why the founding fathers deemed it important to give citizens the right to a speedy trial...so that the general public wouldn't have to put up with years of baseless speculation and inane comments.
It is the accused that is guaranteed the right to a speedy trial, not just citizens. Here is the text (from usconstitution.net): In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
So basically Terri Horman just entered a guilty plea. Terri seems to be the only person who doesn't want Kyron found. Â She already got away with the murder for hire plot against Kaine, who knows what else she's gotten away with, so far.
 @The Voice of Reason I think that anyone with any sense recognizes that Terri has done everything in her power to keep Kyron 'missing' for the last 2 years. It is good to finally see something being done about the fact that she has been basically giving his mom, law enforcement and everyone who has been working to bring him home the middle finger since he disappeared.
Finally some movement in this case! Â We hope... Â Desiree is twisting the rod, good for you! Â I truly TRULY hope they find your son.... Â Alive. Â I hope that he has been safe, and unharmed.... Â If Terri was involved, I hope she serves the sentence she deserves. Â And if she ever gets out, I hope that she always feels the eyes on her. Â Come home Kyron........ Â
The new commenting system sucks. Won't even load all the comments from earlier.
 @badcat and the KATU comment administrators are far more strict as well. But alas, control is what they want and we are subject to their restrictions...
I predict some rather strange last minute developments. The proverbial you know what is about to hit the fan.
 @Doctor_Who I hope so. I've been waiting for the fan to splatter the proverbial you know what in this case for two years. And I can't even begin to imagine what Desiree is going through.
I empathize with this mother who constantly wonders if and what more she might do. Living everyday not knowing if her son might be alive she is compelled to do something. She is absolutely torn with hope that he is alive and dread she isn't doing enough to find him. It is sad to say but it if the boy is dead it would...at least...free her from this perpetual limbo of doubt.
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If Horman knows anything then she is evil for her deeds. If Horman knows nothing then she is still evil for refusing to talk and eliminate herself.
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This civil case is the only thing that the mother can do; it is the only focus for her search. I hope that it isn't in vane and that Horman either fesses up to knowing nothing or messes up her game. Rattle the cage mom & lawyer...see what rats shake out.
Desiree looks like she has aged 10 years since the last time I saw her on TV (which, if I remember right, was only 2-3 months ago)... Â
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She doesn't want money, folks... she wants her son back... or, if that is not possible, she wants to know what happened to him and, if possible, to be able to lay his remains to rest properly and lovingly.  But civil court can't "award" her those things, as much as I'm sure the judge would like to be able to do... so "damages" have to be expressed in monetary terms; hence, the $10 million prayer. Â
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Look at it this way... if either of Kyron's bio-parents were to be offered $10 million OR Kyron's return...is there ANY doubt whatsoever in your minds as to what they would choose?   Â
I think it's time that this trial begin and remember this trial really  isn't about money. It's all about getting answers. If any of you had a child who had disappeared I can't imagine you would be sitting by idly waiting for something to happen. You would be doing anything within your power to get the wheels in motion to find your child.
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Which I suspect is what Kyron's mother Desiree is attempting to do.
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It will all be sorted out in court -- we will discover what law enforcment knows and what it doesn't know. And if this creates a lead to finding Kyron and who's responsible regarding his disappearance then that's a good thing yes?
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 @onceagain Terri doesn't have millions of dollars. Desiree's suit has nothing to do with money - it has to do with getting answers. And I have been following this case since the beginning, so I DO know the facts in the case as much as anyone in the public possibly could, which is why I want to hang Terri. Because I have seen how she has sidestepped all responsibility in this case for 2 years, how she has refused to answer questions or do anything that would help find her missing stepson. Even if she had nothing to do with his disappearance - something which I doubt - her shady behavior has done nothing but hinder the investigation and slow any possible attempts to bring him home.
 @Trish Ramirez Trish i find it interesting that the police have let you in on all they know about this case. So you can be the crime solver.
 @oregongurl  @Trish I know. I keep asking myself why I bother arguing with someone who can't even string together a coherent English sentence, LOL. I have never professed to KNOW that Terri Horman is guilty of any wrongdoing in this case, but from the information that has been made available it certainly seems that way. I just keep looking at the case from Desiree's perspective - she has to be so frustrated with the situation, with the family court judge granting continuances in that case so poor picked on Terri won't have to incriminate herself, with the police not moving forward with criminal charges, and with the simple and heartbreaking fact that her son is gone and she doesn't know whether he's dead or alive.
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If I were her, I would be doing exactly the same thing. This woman was the last known person to have any kind of contact with Kyron and she refuses to say a word. It is ridiculous.
@Trish Ramirez @onceagain Trish - you can lead a horse to water but you can't make em drink. Remember there are TH supporters here who are doing all they can to create chaos -- and clearly they haven't paid attention to the court documents which were public - not the stuff said on TV. I don't give media a lot of credit to get stuff right. This is going to be incredibly interesting. How I would love to just be a fly on the wall and listen to what happens in court. You know they televised the OJ Simpson civil trial I wonder if this one can be televisied as well.
 @onceagain I clearly said that I knew the facts of the case as much as anyone in the PUBLIC could. I never said I had insider access - but I know as much as there is to know based on the information that has been made publicly available. And based upon what I know, I believe that Desiree is doing the right thing here. The police have let her down, so she has to take things into her own hands.
Did you watch the video of when Desi first announced this at all? She doesn't want money. She HAD to put a monetary value on the suit and if awarded even one cent is not keeping it but putting it towards helping to find other missing children. Don't say such horrid things about her without even bothering to watch or read the footage and reports from when she filed the suit.
 @marflar This is the first I have read about this story in over 2 years, but to be honest I could care less. My comments are just about what is printed here in this story.
@onceagain Your comment is about Desi's intentions and saying she put a price tag on her son's life which is wrong. If you want to make such a strong accusation you should get caught up first.
This makes no sense at all, how can you have a civil trial before any criminal trial ? No matter which way this turns out , a criminal trial would get thrown out of court for tainted evidence.Â
@onceagain In civil litigation, the burden of proof is initially on the plaintiff. However, there are a number of technical situations in which the burden shifts to the defendant. For example, when the plaintiff has made a prima facie case, the burden shifts to the defendant to refute or rebut the plaintiff's evidence. That's how they are going to have a civil case before they have a criminal case/
 @onceagain I believe its because the DA doesn't have enough to ensure a conviction. Taking her to court over his death would most likely result in a statement of innocence. Then double jeopardy would come into play. DA would lose all chance of convicting her.
Civil court's agenda is not the same as the DA's. So....
@Agent Sydney Bristow @onceagain You are right Sydney, the DA doesn't feel he has enough evidence for an airtight case to ensure a conviction which is why she hasn't been charged.Â
Now t can wreck her parents lives too. By spending their assets on her defense.
 @joe bloe If they are willing to mortgage their assets to pay for her defense, that's on them. All she ever would have had to do is come forward with the truth rather than refuse to say anything at all from the beginning. She has put her own interests above Kyron's from day one, something that no sane parent (step or biological) would do. If she didn't do anything, she should be shouting it from the rooftops. She should be talking to the media about her whereabouts that day, handing over cellphone and email records, encouraging her biological son to tell people what he knows and helping in the search for Kyron if she is innocent. The only reason a person would want to keep silent to avoid incriminating themselves is that telling the truth would demonstrate their guilt.
@Trish Ramirez .....when you put your faith and money in a lawyer you'd better be prepared to take his advice...I have made some assumptions about you based on your rhetoric....BUT, I want to make clear I do not have proof that Terri had anything to do with Kyron's disappearance. If she is innocent then Desiree has used the courts to get even with Terri - and don't think for one minute the tax payer is not going to be responsible for some of the costs. We've already spent millions to find there is no proof she, Terri, was involved.
 @KHEB  @Trish You're right, if you are paying a high-priced defense attorney to keep your butt out of jail, you are going to want to do what they advise you to do - how else are you going to get your money's worth?? But if you are the concerned parent of a missing child, generally you are going to be more concerned about that child being found than anything else. Terri has demonstrated from the beginning that her primary concern is herself.
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And taxpayer money is spent on more ridiculous things than this all the time - if the civil lawsuit does anything at all to bring Kyron home or flush out the guilty party, then it is money well spent.
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The taxpayer money that has been spent on this case has been spent to try to find Kyron and bring him home, as well as bring his abductor to justice, and that, too, is money well spent.Â
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And I don't have PROOF that Terri is responsible for this debacle, but there is a lot of circumstantial evidence that suggests that she may well have been.
 @Trish Ramirez  @joe bloe OR you could be totally wrong,Â
 @onceagain  @joe bloe I could be wrong. Terri could be totally blameless in this horrible situation. But I doubt it. And at this point blame will be determined by the judge in this case...