Wachovia Bank Robbery

/in , , /by

There is an interesting story coming out of Hollywood, Florida. Have you heard about the bomb-strapping bandits, again? No, I am not talking about the Brian Wells story — where unfortunately, Wells paid the ultimate price.

I am speaking about Christopher W. Ferreira, and his girlfriend Cindy Wade. Ferreira says three people came to his home, strapped a bomb on him — and made him rob the Wachovia Bank where he works as a teller.

Read moreWhen I saw the story break, I was able to see Ferreira on video as he sat waiting for the bomb squad to dismantle him. I write about the story in more detail at The True Crime Weblog –formerly CrimeBlog.US.

Several things struck me as odd right off the bat:

  1. Why was Ferreira wearing work-type clothes on his day off — while he was at home? This may be explainable or it may not.
  2. While I can’t see for sure, I don’t clearly see a bomb strapped to Ferreira. I wondered if perhaps the bomb is strapped under his shirt? If that is true, it makes absolutely no sense. Why would a robber take the time to strap a bomb under someone’s shirt? What purpose would that serve?
  3. Look at Ferreira’s body language as he sits waiting for the bomb squad. Remember Brian Wells? He was tense, afraid and nervous. Do you see that with Ferreira?
  4. I find it strange that the robbers who put Ferreira up to the robbery stayed at his home two hours before robbing the bank– planning it all out. Most professional robbers have a plan. They don’t create one at someone’s house, or depend solely on the insight of a teller — that’s way too risky.
  5. I also found it odd that the robbers depended on Ferreira to drive to the bank in his car. They had to be sure he had keys, gas, etc. I thought that was odd.
  6. I also find it interesting how Ferreira’s girlfriend comes home in the middle of all of this, and is just gets included in. Wouldn’t you expect that instead of hauling her with them that they would have simply tied her up and taped her mouth shut to get her out of the way? Wouldn’t she be a liability going with them?

As the story continues to unfold, it appears that after being questioned by police, Ferreira didn’t show up for another interview police scheduled with him. Instead, he hired an attorney and from what news reports say, now he isn’t speaking to the police anymore.

One of his co-workers said she believed Ferreira was a nice guy — but when you watch this video, you see Ferreira giving the media the finger. If you were innocent of a crime such as this — wouldn’t the media be your friend and not an enemy? If you spoke, don’t you think you could help bring witnesses forward to help in the search for these robbers? Why isn’t Ferreira using the media to help him? Why does he see them as his enemy?

While I can’t come to any conclusions, my eyebrows are arched up and high. This behavior is certainly odd and not what I would expect from a victim. Developments can still emerge, and put a new light on the situation.

If only Ferreira would speak. If you see him make a statement which I don’t suspect he will do, let me know.

Integrity and Honesty

/in , /by

Honesty and integrity: They go together like the earth and moon. Where you find one, you will find the other. It’s an interesting mix, as both are related and somehow intertwined.

People who are honest, not only themselves but to others, have integrity. They stand strong on their word and in their actions, and will do everything in their power to be honorable. They raise the bar and challenge others—for the good of all.

People with integrity don’t struggle in a world of gray. They have definite boundaries for right and wrong. But don’t misinterpret this defining line: it doesn’t mean they aren’t of compassionate heart—quite to the contrary, they are compassionate, more so than the average person.

Read morePeople with integrity care not only about themselves, but also those around them, and that is what makes them honorable. That is what drives them to be truthful.

Truth is paramount in the world of someone with integrity—it rules supreme. It defines their code of ethics. It is their moral compass.

People with integrity don’t break pledges unless circumstances go beyond their control, and they expect the same from you. Let them down, and they will forgive you, but will not forget.

Put trust in the arms of people who have integrity, and you will get honest efforts—efforts to the bone of their existence. When they say they will do something, they will surmount big obstacles to keep their honor until they are no longer capable and able.

People with integrity don’t take words lightly, or use them without purpose. They say what they mean and mean what they say.

You will never hear a person with integrity berate someone—they just won’t do it. They will discuss the truth, however, within the boundaries of humanity.

People with integrity are self-assured, confident and know who they are. They are often passionate about life. They are honest, to their core. They are honest with others, but foremost, they are honest with themselves.

People with integrity are usually their own harshest critic. They stand out in a crowd.

When I see people with integrity— sincere, true and genuine integrity—I know I am looking at a person who I can trust, implicitly.

Two people who I have been reflecting on lately who place high value on integrity and honesty are Mehmet Oz and Oprah Winfrey.

If, due to some unforseen circumstance beyond my control, I had to place my life in the hands of these two people, I could close my eyes and feel confident that there would be no better hands at which to have to trust.

Who are others I would implicitly trust and who I believe have a high standard of honesty and integrity? Click on the label “People I trust” (below) to see who they are.

“Without integrity, there is no love”
Oprah

Melanie McGuire Diaries

/in , /by

48 Hours this past Saturday ran the Melanie McGuire story. Thanks to the people on the Court TV message boards for letting me know it was on. You’ve asked for my opinion of the show, and I promised to share it with you.

I wrote my opinion about Melanie McGuire back when Primetime told her story in late June. After watching the 48 Hour video diaries episode of Melanie this past weekend, my opinion hasn’t changed. I still see a manipulative, psychopathic murderess.

The only thing that stood out in the 48 Hours show was that Melanie couldn’t hide her incredible hatred and despisal for those around her. Before the trial in the Primetime interview, Melanie was still hopeful she was going to get away with murder. Even when she started taping the video diaries, she was hopeful –playing her part of the innocent person — loving the attention — believing she could fool the world.

But as the trial went on, and it looked worse and worse for Melanie, she couldn’t contain her feelings. She realized she was losing control in her manipulative game and with that, expressions of pure hatred and despisal came over her. They flashed like wicked lightening.

If looks could kill, people would have dropped like flies in the courtroom and during interviews with 48 Hours. Her looks certainly caused my heart to race more than once. Did you see it?

It was bone-chilling as is Ms. McGuire.

Intuition

/in , /by

I am a firm believer in the power of intuition. I believe that if you learn to tap into it, you can get some amazing and powerful results that will guide you like nothing you’ve ever experienced before.

I honed in on my intuition years ago when I was still a teenager. My mom encouraged me by sharing with me her intuitive feelings when I told her what was going on in my life. She’d give me advice based on her intuition, and over time, her intuitive sense astounded me. She was always right. She told me how she implicitly trusted her intuition and that I should listen to mine.

And I must say after witnessing her successful track record first-hand, I decided to give it a try. When I got a message out-of-the-blue in my head that something wasn’t right, I listened to it. When I had fear but I got this gut feeling that I really shouldn’t be afraid, I worked hard to persevere, and it was life-changing for me.

Read more
At first, I kept a mental score-card, because I didn’t always have the strength to listen to it, but after seeing it’s track record, I became confident to trust it.

In didn’t take long for me to realize that I had someone to turn to in those difficult moments that I learned I could depend on: me. And more amazingly, I became a much more confident person because I knew I could trust myself. It was a powerful win-win situation.

What I learned through listening to my intuition is that emotions—most specifically, desire and fear—are two big roadblocks to good intuitive results. I realized that if I desired something or feared something, what I often thought was intuitive was hope or fear, and had nothing to do with my intuition.

That’s not to say I was rendered helpless in these situations. Instead, I’d ask myself: Is this your fear (or desire) speaking? Or is this something more?

When the answer would come back was that yes, I was afraid, or I truly wanted this outcome, then I knew that was all it was. It was only my desire or fear speaking. But there were times that I would get an answer back that told me this is not fear, this is not desire—this is something more. It was a deep feeling within me. It was strong and powerful, where my emotions were often meek and afraid and full of doubt.

Sometimes when my emotions were in the mix, I realized I couldn’t come to a determination, so I had to walk away until my emotions subsided. But I would persevere and continue until I knew I was dealing with my intuition.

Just this last spring, I learned that fear or desire can also stop me (or you) from acting on intuition, which is equally important. I had never realized this before! This could save your life. I had a flight response at a dentist’s office, but the fear of having to put myself in that same position again caused me to dangerously override my intuition. If you want to hear the story, ask me and I’ll share it in another post. It was heart-throbbing!

Understanding Rapid Cognition

Have you read Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink? If not, you might want to. It’s a great book to get you to start thinking about what you don’t consciously think about. In it, Gladwell talks about rapid cognition. He gives the example of a near-miss car crash. You’ve probably experienced it before: Out of the blue, something happens, and you have a split-second to react, and if you don’t, you’ll die. Well, you don’t sit there and rationally think through everything. If you did, you’d die.

Instead, your mind and body responds, and then after you have survived, your conscious brain tunes into it all, and you suddenly realize the magnitude of it all. It isn’t until it is all over that you begin to shake and realize you could have just died. How does this happen?

Intuition Disconnect

For those of you who feel a disconnect with your intuitive sense, there are many websites out there that offer suggestions to help you connect to your intuition. Here are just a few:

Relationships: Learning to trust intuition

Trust your hunches: 5 steps to develop your intuition—Intuitive Advice

Test Your Intuition

And this last article was the most amazing!! When I finished the article, I realized that my intuition was spot-on, once again. Read this article; and simply by doing so, you will likely test your intuition. Go ahead—give it a try.

How did you do? Are you surprised?

Truly, there is mystery behind the science of our brains. How can that be?! I don’t know the answer, but I am certainly a believer in the power of what we don’t yet understand.

Mystery Plagues Indiana Town

/in , /by

There is a sad story that is slowly emerging out of Indiana. I wrote about it on CrimeBlog.US which is now moved and redirecting to TrueCrimeWeblog.com.

I am keeping my eyes on Lonny Stanley at this point after listening to her 911 call. Her behavior is odd and definitely has peaked my interest.

Update 10-10-2007:
News has come out today that Erin Stanley’s boyfriend has been arrested and charged with her murder and her murder alone (at this point).

I sure do wonder if Lonny was on drugs during that 911 call. Her behavior was just plain weird but of course weird behavior is not conclusive to anything by itself. As I commented on CrimeBlog.US, drugs could explain her odd behavior.

If anyone sees any video of Lonny Stanley speak about the murders of her two daughters, please let me know.

Update 10-11-2007:
Police released a few more details of this case, and a comment made by Erin Stanley’s mother, Lonny. The statement in bold raises my hairs again. This woman is strange.

“Lonny Stanley, the sisters’ mother, called for an ambulance for Erin about 5:15 a.m. Sept. 1. Although she suggested during the 911 call that her daughter was still trying to breathe, court documents filed Wednesday indicate Stanley likely was dead before a police officer arrived.

Lonny Stanley later told investigators that “was more of a hope than an observation,” according to a probable cause affidavit.” Indy Star

Read more
I wonder what the police have that points directly to MacFarland, and why Lonny isn’t nor has been a person-of-interest as her behavior is just strange to me. Maybe they know she was on medication or drugs that night. Or, they have finger prints of MacFarland all over Erin’s neck (is that possible?), or the window to the house after Kelly’s death? I hope they have something substantial at this point.

Of course without watching either of them speak, I have very little to go on — so right now I can’t see anything conclusive — but Lonny keeps raising these red flags with what little she says. If she was on medication or drugs that night, and her probable cause affidavit was made during the same night– it could, again, all be explainable (due to drugs or meds).

What a mystery!