pps

That wasn't to suggest that you were wrong!! Just , IF

sylvia
Walk in the Sonshine!!

permanently.

---

Hey Seems to me you've had several of us comment on how well spoken you are Cool off, girl The debate isn't worth it

I love you

Hugs in Christ,
Sylvia

p.s. so what if you're wrong? That's a good place to start, isn't it Peter was wrong before he was at his best. Saul was very wrong before he was right (and he still was wrong at times ) Nicodemus was wrong before he was right. etc. etc. etc.

So if there's anything you need to "shut up", perhaps it is the negative self-talk, my friend.

Just a thought

---

If you wish to discuss this further, create another thread, do it by PMs, or email or how ever you want...

Stay on topic! this is about the Fresno murders...

Nico can have the last word if she wants to respond, otherwise take it somewhere else.
Not trying to censor you guys, just do it in the correct place ok guys.

my last word... have great day /i]

SOURCE http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/8334255p-9165796c.html

Two funerals held for 9 victims
Minister says seeing slain relatives 'very hurting to the heart.'

By Doug Hoagland, Pablo Lopez,
The Fresno Bee

(Updated Thursday, March 25, 2004, 6:01 AM)

Ministers offered prayers and spoke words of comfort Wednesday as family members grieved at funeral services for the nine victims of Fresno's worst mass murder.

Two separate services were held: one at a west Fresno funeral chapel for seven of the victims, and another at a Clovis church for the other two. The services occurred the day before Marcus Wesson is scheduled to be arraigned on charges that he murdered nine of his family members March 12 in a small blue house near Roeding Park.

Family members walked past seven bodies in open white caskets at the 10 a.m. service in the chapel of Jesse E. Cooley Jr. Funeral Service. Some relatives kissed the bodies; others just touched them as two singers sang a hymn, according to Elder T.J. Caldwell, pastor of Fresno's Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church, who helped officiate.

"It was eerie. It was traumatic because of the babies," Caldwell said. "I kept thinking, 'We have to depend on the Lord to get us through.' "

Some relatives sobbed as children as young as 1 lay in caskets with arrangements of pink flowers resting near each one. After the service, family members walked outside into a sunny spring day and released white doves that flew away on a cool breeze.

Caldwell and the Rev. Paul Binion, pastor of Westside Church of God, performed the service at the request of Jesse Cooley Jr. Neither minister knew the Wesson family before the killings.

Binion offered remarks at the service: "I told the family when I started to speak, I'm not a criminologist. I'm not a psychologist or sociologist. I'm here to offer hope."

Binion told about 30 family members that he didn't come to cast aspersions or reach conclusions: "I'm just here to let you know that God loves you. ... I told them: 'You're not by yourselves. There are people out here who will help you.' "

Victims mourned

As tears were shed for the slaying victims Wednesday, the legal process facing Wesson continued to churn. A letter from Fresno attorney David Mugridge was released announcing his decision not to represent Wesson. Police Chief Jerry Dyer announced that items at the sidewalk memorial outside the killing scene at 761 W. Hammond Ave. will be boxed up today. The memorial had grown to a 45-foot swath of stuffed animals, balloons and religious mementos by Wednesday afternoon, and some people supported its removal.

"Now that the funerals are starting, they need to get this to the mothers and get it off the streets," Adrienne Sandoval said at the sidewalk memorial.

The service at the Cooley chapel was for Sebhrenah April Wesson, 25; Elizabeth Breani Kina Wesson, 17; Illabelle Carrie Wesson, 8; Ethan St. Laurent Wesson, 4; Sedona Vadra Wesson, 11/2; Marshey St. Christopher Wesson, 11/2; and Jeva St. Vladensvspry Wesson, 1.

The two other victims were Aviv Dominique Wesson and Jonathan St. Charles Wesson, both 7.

All of the victims were fathered by Wesson with six women, including two of his daughters and three of his nieces, a source close to the investigation has said.

For the seven, 72-year-old Caldwell prayed and read two passages from the Bible. Psalm 23, often used at funerals, offered this solace: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil."

Caldwell also read from the Gospel of John in which Jesus Christ says: "Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me."

The mood was somber, but a Christian hymn, "Amazing Grace" spoke of hope. Still, Caldwell was shaken.

"It was very, very, disturbing, looking at seven people from the same family at the same time," he said. "Even for a minister, who does it for a living, it was very hurting to the heart."

KFSN, Channel 30, was the only local media allowed inside the Cooley chapel to cover the funeral service. Channel 30 did not show close images of the bodies. News director Joel Davis said the station followed its policies.

Davis said Cooley convinced the family to allow some media coverage: "Jesse Cooley told the family that there was such incredible interest in the community in regards to the family that they should let us be there."

Another branch of the Wesson family gathered at 10:30 a.m. at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Clovis for the other two victims, Aviv and Jonathan.

Aviv's mother, Ruby Sanchez, and Jonathan's mother, Sofina Solorio, are Wesson's nieces. Supporters of Wesson have blamed Sanchez and Solorio for going to his house March 12 to regain custody of their children. After a confrontation, Wesson retreated to a bedroom. He later emerged wearing bloody clothes.

Wednesday, death certificates for Aviv and Jonathan were filed with the Fresno County Department of Health. Death certificates for the other seven victims were filed Monday. All nine certificates stated that the victims were shot in the face and death occurred within minutes.

The funeral for Aviv and Jonathan was arranged by Yost & Webb Funeral Home. Two programs were handed out. On the cover of one was a picture of a smiling Aviv, her face ringed by curls. A photo of Jonathan sporting a sly grin was on the other. According to both programs, singers performed both "Amazing Grace" and "Jesus Loves the Little Children."

About 100 people went from the church to a graveside burial at Fresno Memorial Gardens west of Fresno. Family and friends huddled under two awnings around the two caskets, which were side by side.

Four Fresno police officers -- two on motorcycles and two in patrol cars -- escorted the family and waited outside the cemetery. Mourners left about 2:30 p.m.

The Fresno Police Department stationed officers at both funeral services. Chief Dyer reported no problems.

Today, police chaplains plan to box up mementos from the memorial and offer the items to the victims' families.

Wesson alone

Dyer said police also may end their round-the-clock guard at the crime scene and release it to the property owner.

By late Wednesday afternoon, about 450 candles filled the sidewalk memorial. Dozens of flowers had wilted, and a few of the pictures of Jesus Christ had begun to fade.

Signs written with bold markers declared: "God Bless the Children," "You Will Be Missed" and "Our Thoughts are With You ... Your Lamona Ave. Neighbors."

Longer notes on lined paper were written in English and Spanish.

Cars drove past slowly. Some people stopped to pray.

Melina BaDue, 42, came with four family members. They stood in a circle and clutched each others' hands. They asked God to grant Wesson forgiveness "for what he's done." They also asked God to have mercy on the souls of the victims.

"To be a true Christian, you have to have forgiveness in your heart," BaDue said. "This so sad, but they're free now."

Wesson sits in isolation in a cell in the Fresno County Jail. Police are not allowing family or friends to visit him, and they are denying him phone calls. They believe Wesson has the power to order his family members to commit suicide or crimes.

Attorney Mugridge, who stood by Wesson at a court hearing last week, said he has determined that the 57-year-old does not have enough money for a private attorney. Mugridge said he will not be at Wesson's arraignment, scheduled for this afternoon, but that attorney Gary Harvey will make an appearance.

SOURCE http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20954~2042199,00.html

Suspect denies he murdered nine kids

By Associated Press

The suspect in Fresno's worst mass killing pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he murdered nine of his children, while his newly appointed public defender asked a judge to lift the visitation restrictions that have kept surviving relatives from seeing his client.

Wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit, Marcus Wesson did not look at four relatives who appeared at his arraignment as he entered his pleas to nine counts of first-degree murder. The multiple slayings make him eligible for the death penalty.

"Our office will conduct a vigorous investigation," public defender Peter Jones said after the hearing. "He's still cloaked in a presumption of innocence."

Wesson has been kept in isolation at the Fresno County Jail, unable to receive visits or phone calls from relatives whom police said they fear might harm themselves at his direction.

Officials based the decision on a phone call from a woman who called the jail on March 14, two days after Wesson emerged from his Fresno home with blood on his clothes.

"We were told they would request his permission to commit suicide," said Wes Merritt, a chief deputy in Fresno County's Counsel's Office.

Officials intend to keep Wesson isolated until at least April 16. But Judge Brant Bramer scheduled a Tuesday hearing on the defense motion to have the restrictions lifted.

David Mugridge, the attorney who had represented Wesson in his previous court date appeared before the judge on Thursday to put details related to his former client's isolation on record.

Mugridge described Wesson's cell as a small 12- by 5-foot enclosure with a large window through which law enforcement officers could watch Wesson 24 hours a day.

"My client had little room to get up, move around, even pace," said Mugridge.

After the court appearance, a young woman who identified herself as Kiani Wesson, Marcus Wesson's 26-year-old daughter, asked the media to stop spreading "lies about how the family lived."

"Nobody knows Marcus," she said.

Kiani Wesson is named as the mother of victims Illabelle Carrie Wesson, 8, and Jeva St. Vladensvspry Wesson, 1, in their death certificates. Authorities believe Marcus Wesson fathered the children.

The arraignment took place one day after funeral services were held for the nine victims, who ranged in age from 1 to 25 and were all shot in the face. Wesson's remaining family members gathered Wednesday for funeral services honoring the nine victims found piled one on top of another, entangled in clothes, in the small house shrouded by pines.

A service in a west Fresno church was held for seven of the victims, and another at a Clovis church for the other two.

Family members present at the morning service for the seven victims walked by the caskets, touching or kissing them as two singers sang a hymn, Elder T.J. Caldwell, pastor of Fresno's Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church, told the Fresno Bee.

The service at the Cooley chapel was for Sebhrenah April Wesson, 25; Elizabeth Breani Kina Wesson, 17; Illabelle Carrie Wesson, 8; Ethan St. Laurent Wesson, 4; Sedona Vadra Wesson, 1; Marshey St. Christopher Wesson, 1; and Jeva St. Vladensvspry Wesson, 1.

"I kept thinking we have to depend on the Lord to get us through," Caldwell said, adding that some relatives sobbed as they passed the babies, who lay in their caskets with pink flowers resting nearby.

Another branch of the Wesson family grieved for the other two victims, Aviv Dominique Wesson and Jonathan St. Charles Wesson, both 7, at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Clovis.

Aviv's mother, Ruby Sanchez, and Jonathan's mother, Sofina Solorio, are Wesson's nieces.

SOURCE http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/8297334.htm

Posted on Sun, Mar. 28, 2004

Emotions swirl in wake of plea

By Matt Leedy and Kerri Ginis
FRESNO BEE


FRESNO - Moments after Marcus Wesson pleaded not guilty last week to murdering nine of his children, the 57-year-old's daughter defended him and his son affirmed his love.

"Nobody knows Marcus," Kiani Wesson said Thursday outside the Fresno County courtroom where her father was arraigned on charges that could lead to the death penalty.

Kiani Wesson, also the mother of two of the slain children, said her family has been smeared with false accusations.

"I just wish everyone would stop telling lies out there," the 26-year-old said. "We're dealing with a man's life."

Kiani Wesson directed a few comments to her uncle Mike Solorio, saying he should "(s)top saying false statements and accusations until he's acquainted with the full facts."

Her statements, made during a brief impromptu news conference after her father pleaded not guilty to nine counts of murder and firearm allegations, further exposed a growing rift in Marcus Wesson's family.

All of the victims were fathered by Wesson with six women, including two of his daughters and three of his nieces, a source close to the investigation has said.

Supporters of Wesson have blamed Ruby Sanchez, 26, and Sofina Solorio, 28, for going to his home near Roeding Park on March 12 to regain custody of their children. After arguing with the women, Wesson retreated to a bedroom and emerged with blood on his clothes.

Police found the nine bodies stacked together inside his home. The victims were shot in the face and they died within minutes of each other, according to death certificates. It was Fresno's worst mass murder.

Ruby Sanchez's daughter, Aviv Dominique Wesson, and Sofina Solorio's son, Jonathan St. Charles Wesson, were among the dead. Both children were 7 years old and were mourned together Wednesday in a Seventh-day Adventist Church in Clovis.

'He should pay'

Mike Solorio, Marcus Wesson's brother-in-law, spoke on behalf of family members who have rallied around Sofina Solorio and Ruby Sanchez.

"I'm not trying to put them down," Mike Solorio said of Wesson's children, including Kiani, "but their dad was wrong for what he did, and he should pay for it."

Mike Solorio's sister is Elizabeth Wesson, Marcus Wesson's wife. He has said Marcus Wesson had complete control over his family. Wesson did not allow his children to watch television and rarely let them leave the home without him, Solorio said. They did not attend school.

He believes Wesson's children have struggled with confusion and denial in the two weeks since their father was arrested.

"I still love them," Solorio said. "But they need to wake up."

Kiani Wesson, two of her brothers -- Almae and Serafino Wesson -- and Marcus Wesson's niece Rosie Solorio attended his court hearing Thursday in Fresno County Superior Court.

As 19-year-old Serafino Wesson rushed from reporters, he bemoaned security measures that have kept family members from visiting with Marcus Wesson or talking to him on the phone.

"We can't even talk to him," said Serafino Wesson, who added that he'd like to "tell him I love him."

Almae Wesson, 23, and Rosa Solorio, 22, left the downtown courtroom, which is attached to Fresno County Jail, without answering questions.

They all drove off in a turquoise Chevrolet Cavalier, leaving behind a dozen reporters and photographers.

At the arraignment, Pete Jones was appointed to represent Wesson. Jones is the public defender's chief defense attorney.

Hours before Wesson took his first substantial steps in his legal journey, neighbors huddled near the home at 761 W. Hammond Ave. where the victims were found.

Thursday morning, residents watched as 10 police chaplains boxed up a sidewalk memorial in front of the Wesson home. It was a growing tribute to the nine victims and included 450 candles, stuffed animals, balloons and religious mementos.

Chaplains carefully packed the items into large cardboard boxes that were taken to a storage facility.

Minutes earlier, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer stood in front of the 45-foot-long memorial and called it tangible evidence of the community support of the Wesson family.

"We are hopeful that once this memorial is removed, we can begin the healing process for this neighborhood," he said.

Members of the Wesson family visited the memorial this week and removed items they wanted to keep, Dyer said.

Dyer said the neighborhood must now return to normal. He asked people not to leave anything else in front of the home.

Keys to the light blue house will be turned over to the Wesson family.

"I would ask members of the community to be respectful of the family," he said, "and to remember that this is a private residence and not to come onto the property."

As chaplains packed the memorial, two young women picked through the assortment of flowers, teddy bears and notes left for the family. The women, from San Jose, are friends of the Wesson family, Lt. Pat Farmer said.

One of the women picked up a purple rose and placed it in a box, saying "this one is for Jonathan."

They filled a couple of boxes and were led away from the memorial by police officers. Tears welled in their eyes as they got into a nearby car.

Neighbors said they were pleased police finally removed the memorial. In the past two weeks, they have grown tired of the constant stream of traffic flooding the street at all hours.

"It's nice that people care enough to do that, but I'm ready to get my driveway back," said Brian Caskey, who lives across the street from the Wesson home. "I feel it's time for it to come down, but I don't want to step on people's feelings either."

Lupe Montejano, who lives two houses away from the Wesson home, said the neighborhood deserves its privacy. He said residents "want their peace and quiet."

As for what will happen to the Wesson home, Montejano and other neighbors said they haven't decided whether they agree with city officials who want to purchase the property and turn it into a park. Some suggested turning it into a police substation.

Montejano had his own idea: "Just knock it down and don't put anything there. Just leave it and let it be."

SOURCE http://www.nadadventist.org/article/articleview/410/1/13/

Frequently Asked Questions about Marcus Wesson and the Seventh-day Adventist Church

Contact Information:
Caron Oswald, Director of Communication
Central California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Office: (559) 347-8675
Cell: (559) 352-8675

1. What is the Seventh-day Adventist Church's reaction to the events in Fresno?
• We share with all of Fresno a deep sense of anguish over the tragic events of this past Friday. At this time of tragedy, we pray that God will comfort those who have been hurt deeply by these senseless events.

2. Why is the Seventh-day Adventist Church releasing information now?
• We have learned this information only since the tragic events of Friday.
• We had to search records looking for any information about Mr. Wesson.
• There are no records in any church about Mr. Wesson, but he did apparently have occasional sporadic contact with Adventist churches.

3. Is Marcus Wesson a Seventh-day Adventist?
• As far as we can determine, Marcus Wesson has never been a member of any Seventh-day Adventist Church.
• Marcus Wesson has had sporadic contact with Adventist churches.
- His parents were members of a Seventh-day Adventist Church.
- As a child, he attended church services with his parents.
- As an adult, he occasionally took some of his children to church services.
- He has attended the Central California Adventist Camp Meeting in Soquel a few times, once as recently as five or six years ago.
- Camp Meeting is a 10-day spiritual retreat held annually in late July.
- He was employed as a janitor at the Soquel campgrounds during camp meeting in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
• As Police Chief Jerry Dyer said on Monday, “This is not about religion... Seventh-day Adventists are good people.”

4. Were any of the victims Seventh-day Adventists?
• Yes. Sebhrenah Wesson joined the Fresno Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1999.
- Church members do not recall her, because she rarely if ever attended.

5. Were any other members of the extended family Seventh-day Adventists?
• Yes. Kiana Wesson, Sofina Solorio, and Ruby Sanchez also joined the Fresno Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1999.
- Church members don’t recall these women either, saying they rarely if ever attended church services.
- Sofina Solorio is now a member and attending regularly an Adventist Church in the Bay Area. She joined in November 2003.

6. What is the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s role for these family members?
• The role of the church is to mourn with those who mourn. We are grateful to be able to minister to surviving family members who have suffered such immense loss.
• People turn to something outside themselves when they experience great tragedy, and often seek churches to help them in times of great grief.
• As Blaise Pascal said, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in every person.” Times of crisis lead us to turn to God for solace. We count it a privilege to be able to serve people in difficult times.

7. Does the Adventist Church believe in polygamy?
• No. Like all Christian churches, the Adventist Church finds murder, incest, and polygamy to be reprehensible.

8. Just what is the Adventist Church?
• The Adventist Church is a mainstream Protestant church with more than 13 million members worldwide. We have churches, along with hospitals and schools, in more than 200 countries.

9. What does the Adventist Church believe?
• We hold most beliefs in common with other Christian churches, including belief in Jesus Christ as God’s divine son and our savior. We also have some distinctive beliefs that differ from other Christian churches.
• As our name indicates, we worship on the seventh day of the week - Saturday - and we believe that Jesus is coming again soon.

Any update??