Posted on 09/05/2006 7:36:47 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
THE footage of Steve Irwin's death should be destroyed, his manager and friend John Stainton said today.
"I would never want that tape shown," Stainton told CNN talk show host Larry King.
"It should be destroyed.
"At the moment it is in police custody for evidence. There's a coroner's inquest taking place at the moment.
"When that is finally released it will never see the light of day.
"Never. Ever.
"I actually saw it and I don't want to see it again."
Irwin, 44, died on Monday when stabbed in the chest by a stingray barb while snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef and Stainton has said footage of the incident is "terrible".
The footage shows Irwin pulling the barb out of his chest before dying.
While Stainton wants the footage kept under wraps, media experts say it may soon be circulating on the internet.
"The key point is once there's something on film, it's impossible to keep it contained," Paul Levinson, chairman of Fordham University's Department of Communication and Media Studies, said.
Mr Stainton, who broke down several times during the CNN interview, said Irwin's wife, Terri, was struggling with her husband's death.
When King asked a teary Stainton how Terri was doing, Mr Stainton replied: "A lot worse than me".
Mr Stainton told how he travelled with Irwin's body in a caske
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
I hope he's right.
For the life of me, I just can't get this off my mind.
So sad.
I've got no interest in it. I prefer to remember him the way he did all of his shows. The clip of him on Fox and friends was great.
I agree the tape should be destroyed.
It should not be shown at all. No way.
It won't be destroyed. Just a guess.
"It should be destroyed."
Amen.
I agree, no good could come from its being broadcast.
It is indeed a sad day for those of us who loved the show.
I sure don't want to see it. I would however pay to see Bin laden beheaded.
Destroy it and hang the first person that airs it in the "public interest".
There are so few good people it seems these days and he was one of the good ones that made you feel a zeal for life when you didnt have it in you that day.
Will show up on You Tube and the p2p file sharing sites within months.
Good taste and common decency dictate here. Destroy the tape so his family won't be further traumatized.
The websites - and one in particular - that regularly show Islamic decapitations will have it within 48 hours. ....if they don't already.
Seeing Steve Irwin alive as he was in his shows and in life should be how we remember him. Australia and nature lovers all over the globe are sad to learn of his death.
No good hearted person wants to see that last tape of his final moments. No Way. Any media outlet that airs it should be shunned and sued.
When King asked a teary Stainton how Terri was doing, Mr Stainton replied: "A lot worse than me".
Mr Stainton told how he travelled with Irwin's body in a casket on a seaplane from Cairns to Irwin's family on Queensland's Sunshine Coast yesterday.
"We brought him home last night because he has been in Cairns," Mr Stainton said.
"I travelled on the plane with him for six hours, just him and I. For five hours I couldn't stop crying. It was devastating."
When Irwin's family saw the casket, it brought a sense of reality that the larger than life Irwin had died, he said.
"The fact that we finally got him home and the family saw the casket last night, it was like a full stop," Mr Stainton said.
"Until you actually see that you can't imagine it.
"You think it's a dream and it's not happening. But it is and it has and it's done."
No comment necessary. I've been through it. It's just like he says.
Prayers for those that truly love him and miss him.
There's no point in showing it publicly. Anyone who might insist that the public has a right to see it is ghoulish.
I live in Mpls and the morning show on KTLK, the new FM talk radio station asked this question this morning...I was stunned at how many people said Yes, it should be...most said for "educational" purposes...I was revolted at that thought...
If one wants to learn why a stingray might attack, study the stingray...don't watch a man get killed to learn...
No disrespect for Steve Irwin, family or friends however I would like to see the video footage if it come available.
I have a feeling he would want you to see it too.
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