Kyron's mother claims Terri planned disappearance
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The birth mother of an Oregon boy missing for over a month said she believes the boy's stepmother planned his disappearance just as the boy was asking to move out of the stepmother's home.
In a Tuesday interview with NBC's "Today" show, the birth mother, Desiree Young, reiterated her accusation that Kyron Horman's stepmother was involved in his June 4 disappearance.
"Without a doubt, I think it was very planned," Young said.
Terri Horman, Kyron's stepmother, has not been named as a suspect in the disappearance of 7-year-old Kyron Horman. Before he disappeared, Kyron lived with his stepmother and his birth father in Portland. Desiree Young lives in Medford.
"I absolutely believe that Terri Horman is responsible for Kyron's disappearance," said Tony Young, Desiree's husband and a detective with the Medford Police Department.
Terri Horman's attorney, Portland defense lawyer Stephen Houze, did not immediately return calls seeking comment on Wednesday.
Terri Horman has become isolated from the family since Kyron's father, Kaine Horman, filed for divorce and requested a restraining order against her, claiming that he believes she was involved with Kyron's disappearance.
Kaine Horman also said in his request for a restraining order that investigators told him that he had been the target of a murder plot by his wife in late 2009.
On Tuesday, a judge consolidated the restraining order and divorce into one case.
Young has said Terri Horman was supposed to drive Kyron to Eugene on the day he disappeared to turn him over to her and Tony Young to spend the weekend in Medford.
On Tuesday, Young told "Today" she had to work the day of the science fair, and is racked by guilt that she wasn't there.
"To know that I was four and a half hours away when he needed me to protect him," Desiree Young said, "the fact that I had to work that day instead of going to the science fair like I wanted to, that I feel guilty for, too."
She said Kyron was unhappy in his father and stepmother's house, and resisted being returned there.
"Kyron became increasingly unhappy about not spending time with me," Young said. "He wanted to come and live with us. Several times he would just break down and just sob because he wanted to stay."
Investigators re-interviewing people who saw Kyron
Meanwhile, investigators are re-interviewing people who say they saw Kyron at Skyline School the day he disappeared.
One person who has been asked again about what he saw is Skyline seventh-grader Tyler Kessinger, whose science fair project was on antimatter. He said investigators came back to interview him last week at his home.
“I just saw him (Kyron) in the gym, and I saw the truck out in the parking lot,” he said Wednesday. Kessinger said Kyron was looking at other students’ science fair projects, seemed happy and was with friends.
Kessinger said he hopes it’s all cleared up soon because it’s a frightening situation for him.
“Just knowing someone took him and not coming out and confessing, and that he’s probably in some other random place,” he said.
He said when he saw Kyron in the gym he didn’t see Terri Horman with him. He and his family have turned over pictures they took at the science fair to investigators, but they’ve been asked not to disclose the timeframe in which he saw Kyron.
Additionally, Kessinger said that investigators didn’t ask him anything new.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS IN KYRON'S DISAPPEARANCE
June 4, 2010 - Police issue an alert saying 7-year-old Kyron Horman has disappeared.
June 6, 2010 - "The reported disappearance from one of our schools is unprecedented," Portland School Superintendent Carol Smith says during a news conference, "and deeply troubling."
June 6, 2010 - The Federal Bureau of Investigation brings in members of its Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team as searchers move into the third day without a sign of Kyron.
June 7, 2010 - Police hold a news conference to provide an update on the search efforts.
June 8, 2010 - Police hold a news conference to provide an update on the search efforts.
June 10, 2010 - Two former detective supervisors say the lack of information investigators have released in the search for Kyron Horman points to potential criminal involvement.
June 10, 2010 - Police hold a news conference to provide an update on the search efforts.
June 10, 2010 - Officials display the type of clothes Kyron was last seen wearing.
June 11, 2010 - Three possible sightings in Yreka, Calif., turn out to be someone else who closely resembled Kyron.
June 11, 2010 - Family members speak at a news conference. It is the first time they have come forward in the public eye.
June 14, 2010 - As the search for Kyron intensifies, searchers defend their efforts.
June 14, 2010 - An 8-year-old boy who looks like Kyron Horman starts drawing attention.
June 14, 2010 - Police release a photo showing the type of glasses Kyron wears.
June 15, 2010 - Family and friends hold a vigil for Kyron as the school year ends.
June 18, 2010 - Police release a flier to the public, one that specifically asks for information about Terri.
June 24, 2010 - For the first time we see video of Kyron.
June 25, 2010 - Desiree and Kaine go on national TV.
June 27, 2010 - Terri's father talks to 'People' magazine and is quoted as saying "she's trying to be as cooperative as she can ... I guess they think she's going to break."
June 28, 2010 - Kaine files for divorce from Terri and is granted a restraining order against her.
June 29, 2010 - Friends of Terri urge the woman to speak and tell her side of the story.
June 30, 2010 - Terri hires criminal defense attorney Stephen Houze.
June 30, 2010 - We learn more about the two 911 calls that were placed from the Horman family home.
July 1, 2010 - Desiree reads a short statement asking Terri to cooperate with the investigation.
July 2, 2010 - Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton says during a news conference that Terri Horman is being cooperative.
July 4, 2010 - Reports arise that Terri allegedly tried to hire a man to kill her husband.
July 4, 2010 - A source confirms that the Oregon Department of Human Services opened a case on Terri Horman following a 2005 arrest and charge of driving under the influence.
July 6, 2010 - Desiree calls on Terri once again to cooperate with authorities.
July 8, 2010 - Kaine and Desiree put the pressure on Terri during a news conference.
July 8, 2010 - In a restraining order filed against Terri, Kaine writes “I believe the respondent is involved in the disappearance of my son Kyron who has been missing since June 4th."
July 9, 2010 - Sources reveal that investigators have collected surveillance videos from local grocery stores in the disappearance of Kyron Horman.
July 9, 2010 -KATU News reporter Dan Tilkin attempts to ask Kyron’s stepmother, Terri Horman, about her polygraph tests and if she knows where Kyron is.
July 10, 2010 - In an interview with ABC, Kaine Horman suggests Terri Horman may have suffered from some form of post-partum depression.
July 12, 2010 - Kaine Horman files a motion accusing Terri Horman of violating a restraining order against her by carrying on a sexual relationship with one of his childhood friends, sharing sealed legal information and trying to kidnap their daughter.
July 13, 2010 - Terri now wants money from her estranged husband, Kaine Horman, to move out of the family home.