Fuhrman: Schiavo's Collapse Still a Mystery

NewsMax.com ^ | June 16, 2005 | NewsMax.com Staff

[cyncooper]

Mark Fuhrman is the biggest attention whore I've seen since Morton Downey Jr.

I was told (yes, this is seconhand, as I don't listen to Hannity) that Fuhrman praised the autopsy report as quite extensive and thorough.

He is saying nothing that the ME didn't also say.

[OldFriend]

I have lost all respect for Sean.

He's obnoxious and turning into a hideous bully.

He was so rude to the official in Aruba who came on his show the other night. I was cringing.

I have no intention of reading Fuhrman's book on this Schaivo case.

[drpix]

"This is flat out false and NewsMax is a disgrace. The ME did not suggest the question of her collapse had been cleared up."

What are you talking about?

newsmax.com said: "Thogmartin suggested yesterday that his autopsy of Terri Schiavo had cleared up most of the questions raised by critics of the court-ordered decision..."

Newsmax didn't say "question of her collapse". You did! You're boxing with your own strawman!

[monday]

"Without Fuhrman the Martha Moxley case would never have been solved."

I know. So? Perhaps you meant to post to someone else?

[pickemuphere]

Fuhrman is a cretin, convicted of perjury a while back if my memory serves me right. His off-the-cuff racist remarks cost the OJ prosectution the case.

He has ZERO credibility.

[cyncooper]

I can comprehend in context and the entire first two paragraphs state:

While Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin suggested yesterday that his autopsy of Terri Schiavo had cleared up most of the questions raised by critics of the court-ordered decision to starve her to death, renowned homicide detective Mark Fuhrman insists that key aspects of the case remain in doubt.

Fuhrman, whose book on the Schiavo case, "Silent Witness," is due out on June 28, told ABC Radio host Sean Hannity yesterday that the most glaring mystery about the case remains unsolved: What was the cause of Schiavo's initial collapse on the night of Feb. 25, 1990? .....

Now, you may adopt a wide-eyed attitude about not getting it, but NewsMax most certainly set up a ME vs. Fuhrman premise before launching into their mischaracterization of what Fuhrman said on Hannity.

Mischaracterized because they are presenting out of context in addition to their deceitful presentation at the beginning about what the ME said yesterday.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

And here come the Fuhrman attacks. They're even bringing the old "racist" rap out of mothballs for one last go 'round.

As predictable as a Terri thread turning into a harpie echo-chamber.

[cyncooper]

Demonstrating your lack of respect for truth and facts again.

There is no "they". If you have an issue with the one poster who made a post, address it, instead of these generalizations.

I, for one, am a fan of Mark Fuhrman.

[cinives]

When he started spending the settlement money on himself and not on Terri, they realized he was not being the caring husband trying to help Terri.

That's when they stopped trusting him.

[the Deejay]

"Isn't it funny how none of those "why" questions mattered until the Schindler family had a falling out with Michael Schiavo?

Exactly right. For years, this was never a question in the schindler's minds.

Until, like you say, they couldn't have any of the malpractice $.

Then, all kinds of questions were created.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

I, for one, am a fan of Mark Fuhrman.

Well, since how you feel is the only thing that matters, I suppose I stand corrected.

Pay no mind to the posts attacking Fuhrman, everyone. They don't really exist.

[silverleaf]

Do your own research. There are plenty of transcripts out there and I read everything I could get my hands on during her final struggle for life, and listened to every interview I could. Do a search on Terri Schiavo and trust fund.

Frankly, what possible logic and proof over these many years suggests that Bob Schindler and his wife were greedy grifters who wanted to loot Terri's trust fund for their own benefit and battled with Michael because he stopped them in Terri's best interests? Ha ha ha. The only source of THAT tidbit is...Michael Schiavo.

This I saved about the trial and trust fund: Note that all of this is derived from court transcripts and news investigation, and also could be backed up by pulling the GAL (Guardian ad Litem) report that criticized the court's sealing and subsequent lack of audit and oversight of Terri's trust fund.

Greer, of course, dismissed that GAL AND his recommendations

"....in Nov. 1992... Schiavo sued Terri's doctors for not having diagnosed her physical condition. He claimed it was the likelihood that she was bulimic that led to her collapse, a condition her doctors should have caught.

Schiavo told the six-member jury that he needed money for his wife's future care. He said he was studying to be a nurse "because I enjoy it and I want to learn more about how to take care of Terri."

When asked by his lawyer how he felt about being married to Terri at that point in time, he answered: "I feel wonderful. She's my life and I wouldn't trade her for the world. I believe in my wedding vows."

Asked to explain further, he said, "I believe in the vows I took with my wife, through sickness, in health, for richer or poor. I married my wife because I love her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I'm going to do that."

He did not testify that Terri had, years before, told him she wouldn't want to be fed or kept alive "by artificial means." That claim came later.

Following the money

The jury responded to his protestations of love and awarded $1.2 million to Terri for her medical and nursing expenses and $630,000 to Schiavo for loss of spouse. She also received a further $250,000 settlement in a case filed on her behalf against another doctor. After the attorneys received their cut, Terri was left with $700,000 and Schiavo with $300,000. Her share of the settlement was placed in a trust fund and invested in blue chip stocks, U.S. Treasury bonds and a money market account. It was to be managed by a bank and guarded by the court. In April 1993 her assets were valued at $776,254.

Her trust fund remained relatively intact until 1997, when Schiavo hired Felos and others began – with court approval – to dip into Terri's trust fund. Most of it went for legal costs.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, which investigated the matter in June 2001, by April 1998, her money was down to $713,825.

At Schiavo's request, Greer ordered all financial billings sealed, but payments are public record. The SP Times estimated that almost half the trust fund was gone, with only $350,000 remaining.

Greer later approved a payment of $45,007 to Felos, covering a five-month period ending February 2002. Including that payment, Felos had by February 2002, billed for $352,211 from Terri's fund. Other lawyers, too, helped drain the account – in particular, Deborah Bushnell, who received just under $50,000 between September 1993 and September 2001.

It's not certain how much of the money intended for Terri's rehabilitation remains. Felos told the Philadelphia Intelligencer that a few months ago only $50,000 was left. He said the money ran out last July and he hasn't been paid since. Terri's medical care at the Woodside Facility is now paid for with federal tax dollars through Medicaid, he said.

Court records show Felos' fees came to about $400,000, according to the Philadelphia Intelligencer...."
Sources- multiple.

PS: No word yet on how many billable hours George Felos billed from Terris final funds after spending two weeks hovering over her death bed, probably whispering in her ear about how he was setting her free...

[steve-b]

Your fifteen minutes are up. Go away (and take Bill Clinton with you).

[the Deejay]

When he started spending the settlement money on himself and not on Terri,

Where did you get this tripe?

You'd have well to have read the court transcripts.

[Dante3]

You really are obsessed with Fuhrman. A fan of Judge Ito?

[lugsoul]

The "internet lore" that was validated by Terri's GAL appointed by Jeb Bush.

[drpix]

Newmax "Mischaracterized because they are presenting out of context..."

Out of context? Both your quotes are from the same Newsmax story!

Newsmax:
      THOGMARTIN - "questions raised by critics of the court-ordered decision"
      FUHRMAN - "mystery...of...initial collapse"

The entire story with both quotes are the context. The story clearly labels both the questions addressed by the ME and the mystery address by Fuhrman. You're mischaracterizing the quotes and ignoring the context.

But if you have out for Newsmax or Fuhrman, that your business....don't tell me.

[cyncooper]

I saw some criticizing him, not "attacking" him. Your cavalier use of plurals when you really have a gripe with one ("they" bringing in racist crap, remember?) is disconcerting.

And my own notation of my opinion was for clarity in order to ward off yet another unwarranted assumption of where I stood.

[drpix]

"And here come the Fuhrman attacks. They're even bringing the old "racist" rap out of mothballs for one last go 'round."

I even have them attacking Newsmax! I have nothing against a disagreement...but come on! Conservatives? Scientologists? Clients of the late Johny Cochran? Who are they?

[Howlin]

what possible logic and proof over these many years suggests that Bob Schindler and his wife were greedy grifters who wanted to loot Terri's trust fund for their own benefit and battled with Michael because he stopped them in Terri's best interests? The only source of THAT tidbit is...Michael Schiavo.

And the only "source" who say they didn't are the Schindlers.

And you can't avoid the fact that if the Schindlers hadn't brought all these lawsuits, the money would never have had to been paid to the attorneys.