Remaining Unchanged

Last night we finally saw the 48 Hours Mystery on CBS profiling the Roseboro murder case.

I was surprised to learn that many who sat down to watch the show shed tears. Some who cried knew Jan and Mike personally. Many never met anyone directly involved in the tragedy. But their sadness wasn't diminished by that fact. They cried for Jan and her children. They cried for the Roseboro family.

It all remains unchanged.

Jan Roseboro, wonderful, giving, loving and spirit-filled Mom, is dead.
Mike is incarcerated and devoid of morals. I offer the appearance of his wedding ring and his empty remark that he 'misses' his wife.
Angela Funk is still mirroring what she thinks she needs to display. Ever the Narcissist, she said she is 'sorry'.
That's what normal people would say. She simply is playing a role. With the absence of any true scruples, conscience or integrity, she dipped into the emotion pool to try to appear normal. It didn't work.
Mike committed two crimes. But only one seriously affected Angie.
He lied to her. He had other affairs. THAT was the wobbly spinning plate in Angie's world.

Years before they had actually met face to face, Angie spied Mike and fantasized about being the wealthy, socially prominent Mrs. Michael Roseboro.
Her plan seemed to be finally coming together.
If Mike needed to kill his wife for Angie to become the new Mrs. Roseboro? I think Angie could live with it.
But Mike bedded other women, many other women, and that was infuriating to Angie.
Heaven knows it just got worse when Angie checked out the other women. Mike had fooled around with women much younger and far more attractive than Angie Funk. And she found that out.

Angie orchestrated a pregnancy. She and Mike had had a 'near miss' previously to the latest pregnancy. The risk of becoming pregnant wasn't a risk in the normal sense to Angie. It was her goal. Even when they thought she had become pregnant in a previous dalliance together and 'missed the bullet', Angie never took extra precautions to make sure it didn't happen again. Quite the contrary.

If anyone believes that Angie Funk was simply an uninvolved bystander in this tragedy they are badly mistaken.
Mike Roseboro was played and it cost him his life for all intents and purposes.
Mike Roseboro was played and it cost his children the most of all.
Jan Roseboro and Angie Funk couldn't be any more different.
For all of the light and love that Jan Roseboro shed on those around her, Angie is a dark force who seeps into people's lives, coating them slowly with her muck.
She's like a kudzu vine.

It's a shame that CBS didn't share more of the truth about Angie. But networks hate lawsuits, even if they win in the end. They're costly and time consuming.
But don't think for a minute that Angie fooled them. There are hours of investigative data that never made the show. Pages and pages of 'facts' about this tragedy that just couldn't be shared in the guise of a mystery show.

Angie Funk has cheated before. She has a penchant for other womens' husbands. And she takes what she wants.

It all remains unchanged.

Angie is still a reprehensible shell of a human being. And now not only does the east coast know it, the nation does. She fooled no one in the end.
What kind of a human being, especially a wife and mother, makes out in a parking lot with the husband of a woman who has been choked, beaten and drowned? We all know the answer to that question clearly.
And even when Angie found out about all the other affairs, she clung to the Roseboro dream with both fists.
She truly believed she was headed for a bigger house, a bigger life and a bigger perch in the local society.

She isn't fit to lick Jan Roseboro's shoes. Never was, never will be.

Trash. Angie is still trash.

It certainly does ring true. You CAN put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.

The Reactions To The News Of An Upcoming Book....

The press release issued regarding William Phelp's plan to write a book about the Roseboro murder has garnered varying responses.
I knew there would be the normally expected backlash of the masses feeling offended that an "outsider", no matter how talented, would profit from writing and publishing anything related to Jan's brutal murder and the tremendous loss her family and friends have suffered.

Being a writer, there is no crime in Mr. Phelps wanting to write a book chronicling the details and events leading up to and including the murder and aftermath.

I believe that there are quite a few who have taken umbrage at his comment regarding Jan's legacy.
This may be a Lancaster County specific response, or it may be an expected response from people in any geographic location.
I fully acknowledge borrowing this comment from Becky's site. It represents the feelings of very many people, most who wish to not post.

1. MysteryScribe August 6th, 2009 at 10:25

   How dare you Phelps? Do you really think it is up to YOU to “transform (Jan’s) legacy into more than a headline”??!!!

   The parent, sister, daughter, aunt, friend, neighbor Jan Binkley Roseboro was has already established that.

   Shame on your audacity.

In layman's terms, and I quote the emailers loosely, they want to know..
"Who the hell are YOU to represent or speak for Jan or in any way act on her behalf????"
Writing a true crime book about the case, the murder and the trial are one thing.
But taking up the "cause" of furthering Jan Roseboro's legacy is best left to those who knew and loved her.
Lancaster County is a tightknit bunch. You can relocate and live there for fifty years. You can work alongside the natives, go to their churches and break bread with them. You will remain an outsider. Truth.
The people of the northern end are hard working, God fearing, loving and giving people.
And they will circle the wagons anytime it's necessary.
Turning the book plan into a cause celebre wasn't a wise decision.
Publishers publish books to turn a profit.
Writer write to feed their soul, share themselves....and make a living.
If this book is intended to stand for Jan Binkley Roseboro in any real sense, then all profits or proceeds need to be donated to a foundation established in her name.
Any other course of action makes the banner- waving tasteless and pedestrian.
No one should be profiting from a book about Jan or her life and death unless they knew her and had the blessing of Jan in their lives.
But if a writer wishes to tell her story, then donate the proceeds.
And if a writer simply wants to write a book about the tragedy, then call a spade a spade and just write the book.
Don't shout from the rooftops that you are here to save the day.
Jan Roseboro doesn't need any help furthering her legacy. They live and breath as I type.
I know that Mr. Phelp's was quite unsure if this "story" had all the twists and turns that he loves to write about. That uncertainty was still on his mind as of a few weeks ago. I have an email that says such.
Now, he has decided to write a book.
Not a problem. I'm actually a fan.
But please, please don't come out of the gate telling the world that your purpose is to further Jan's legacy. You are writing because writer's write. And you are a best-selling author.
Publishing is about money. And this book has the potential to make the publisher and the author quite a bit of money.
That is not treating Jan very well at all. In fact it's feeling like picking over bones.
Donate ALL the proceeds. That would tell us all that this isn't just a way to profit over a heinous, horrible attack and murder of a beautiful Mom and human being.

Final Accountability: The Long Road To Justice

A date has now been set for The State of Pennsylvania vs. Michael A. Roseboro. On July 17, 2009 the long and tedious work will begin. The initial "housekeeping" and setting the stage will begin. When all of the "business" of the trial is completed, the testimony will begin.

Voir dire will be interesting to say the least. We can all only hope and pray that the jurors will be representative of the citizens of the county and rely only on facts in evidence. I know many people that have remained focused on this case since the first report of Jan Roseboro's death was made public are still claiming to be able to put all personal theories and feelings aside.
As heinous as the crime was, and as much as the loss of a beautiful Mom of four young children breaks my heart, even I could review the evidence at hand and render a vote to verdict based solely on that. Any other option would terrify me. And it should terrify you.
No matter the previous interactions anyone has had with any of the parties involved, Michael Roseboro is supposed to receive a verdict handed down by a jury of his peers after and only after the evidence is reviewed.
The Roseboro jury has a very painful and heartbreaking duty ahead of them. No matter the final verdict, no one will ever come out a winner. There are no fixes here.
I believe that being a juror in this trial will change the lives of those chosen.
Mr. Sodomsky has a long and successful history to bring to the table. His client deserves the best he's got. Sodomsky is skilled and eloquent, knowing that the jury has to accept him before they will listen to him.
DA Steadman has his battle ahead. He bears the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. He represents every citizen of the State of Pennsylvania when he rises to stand at the lectern.
The murder of Jan Roseboro was a crime of murder to her person, and it was a crime against the State of Pennsylvania, and thus, to the society of Pennsylvania.

The time for conjecture and speculation is about to end. Evidence will be presented that hasn't seen the light of day yet. Defense maneuvers that we could only imagine will take on a vivid and colorful life of their own.
This will be a battle.
Mr. Sodomsky bears not ounce of burden in this case or any case in which he defends. He, in all reality, has to do nothing. He could, in a perfect world, never rise from his chair, never enter one item as evidence. He could let the ball in the State's court.
That rarely happens, although there have been cases where the defense is so absent that it might as well as be deemed not presented.
In this case, Mr. Sodomsky simply has to confuse, create wonder and doubt. And that may not be a difficult thing to do.
Mr. Steadman has to convince twelve people of facts and a chain of events beyond a reasonable doubt. They can't "have a good feeling" Mike did it. They can't "bet a dollar to a dougnut" he did it. They have to be sure enough that there is no other answer as to who killed Jan Roseboro.
We can all be grateful for that caveat. Not all countries operate the way we do in the United States.
Now don't get me wrong. I watched every minute of the OJ trial that they televised. And the verdict that resulted sucked the air out of my chest. That still terrifies me. The scientific evidence in that case was over the heads of those jurors. That is clear. And the State of California dropped the ball. They needed to educate that jury in a much more effective way. And they never should have allowed OJ's team to orchestrate the trying on of the gloves. But I doubt today that even if the gloves would have fit, that they would have convicted him. There was far too much going on behind the scenes to get an honest result based solely on evidence. The woman who saw OJ racing away from the area of the murder at the appropriate time, had he been the killer, blew it. She sold her story to a tabloid and her testimony wasn't admitted.
She saw him. Period.
Let's hope there are no missteps in the Roseboro trial. For either side.
There is a time lag between Jan being taken to ECH and the authorities returning to the scene for evidentiary work. Only when the autopsy was done did they return to the scene. There were many hours available for extra clean up and disposal of evidence. I hope that doesn't come back to haunt the State.
Mr. Steadman has a target. Mike Roseboro.
Mr. Sodomsky doesn't need one, but he has several if not more. He has everyone.
The defense doesn't have to prove who did it. They just have to show that everyone and anyone else could have killed Jan. From a mistress of Mike's to a random thug intent on robbing, the candidates only need to muddy up the waters.

Testimony may be given that will reveal parts of lives never before known. Many had no idea that when they had a very temporary fling with Mike or Angie that they would be facing a bailiff or a clerk of the court with their hand on the Bible. It has to seem macabre or surreal to them at the very least.
The combination of Michael Roseboro and Angela Funk was lethal and toxic. And the damage and devastation will go on for years and years. Lives not yet begun will be affected forever. Lives that are so young will never be complete.
A guilty verdict will repair nothing. An acquittal might allow the Roseboro and Binkley families a chance to heal and try to get through the days of their lives with some comfort. The damage done to families throughout the county will remain.
But a true and honest verdict is what our system is all about.
Unless a person steps forward who witnessed what happened at the Roseboro home that night, we have to rely on the jury to sift through it all and make the right decision.
No one wants to see Roseboro get away with murder. And no one wants to see him convicted of a crime he may not have committed. The loss has been so great already.
And at the center of it stands Angela Funk. Due any day now.
I can't imagine being that child, years down the road, trying to make sense of the events that led to my life. People often feel that they carry the stain of their parents or families. That poor baby has been given the worst possible burden to carry. And that burden was given freely by it's mother.
Given the fact that Funk has never made an attempt to "lay low" or avoid public scrutiny thus far, I can't see her stepping off the stage she's created in her own mind anytime soon. Just as she blazed proud all over town in her pregnant glory, she will probably parade that poor baby all over the area as well. She did nothing to shield her daughter's from the glare. And this child will be no different. This child is her badge of fame. After all, why don't we just understand?
Mike loves her, he wants to be with her and have a family with her! Just ask Angie, she'll tell you!
He loves her? He wants to be with her? So he said.... now we'll see what he has to say.....now that he's had a chance to see his life as it really is.
If acquitted in the courts, he will never recoup what he's lost as a man and a father. Let's see if Angie is worth all that come trial time.
My guess is that Mike is shoving her under the bus. After all, it was well known that he was seeing other women while he was sleeping with Angie.
There was a woman that he was known to meet right in Reinholds, near the railroad tracks. There was at least one other woman Mike was seeing so often that when the story broke, men and women who knew Mike had mistakenly guessed that it was one of those women that the authorities were referring to when the news broke.
Let's see if they show up at the trial to testify. I hope Angie gets to meet her sisters-in-love.
The other members of Mike's "stable". She just may learn that she wasn't that special after all.
Or was that why she orchestrated the pregnancy behind Mike's back? Did she know? And sealed her spot with an "oopsie"?
Stay tuned...