Sixgun Symphony
02-21-2004, 06:17 AM
Man to be arraigned today on charges he falsely reported death of his wife
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
By Tracie Mauriello and Amy Montemerlo
© 2004 Republican-American
WATERBURY — Edward Valentin told police he wanted his wife home from Iraq, so he tried to garner public sympathy by claiming she had been killed in an explosion.
Now it looks like Valentin, who remained in the city's police lockup Monday on a $5,000 bond, might get his wish.
U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Betsy Valentin, who had been safe all the while, told police Monday she expects to be home by the end of the week.
Betsy Valentin, who is stationed in Baghdad, called the detective bureau about 4:15 p.m.
"She had many questions, which I attempted to answer," said Detective Sgt. Scott Stevenson, the lead investigator on the case. "She is just as incredulous as we were."
Instead of a soldier's welcome, she will come home to a husband behind bars and rumors about why her husband allegedly lied.
Police believe Edward Valentin lied about receiving a phone call Wednesday. He said a Department of Defense colonel told him his wife had been killed in an explosion in Iraq.
After paging through phone records, detectives discovered Valentin never got that call.
Police believe Valentin lied to elicit sympathy from another woman he was wooing. He was arrested at the other woman's home early Sunday.
In a confession, Valentin said he lied because he missed his wife and needed help raising their three children. He told police he thought a story of a prank call would get so much media attention, the U.S. Army would send his wife home.
The purported hoax drew national media attention, appearing in newspapers and on newscasts from New York to Los Angeles.
Valentin, 43, is scheduled to be arraigned in Waterbury Superior Court this morning. He is charged with falsely reporting an incident concerning death or injury, a felony that could send him to prison for five years.
Valentin was also charged with two counts of second-degree harassment and one count of giving a false statement, both misdemeanors. The harassment charges stem from calls Valentin made to relatives and friends about his wife's alleged death.
Bastard! :bash:
No balls, certainly not a man. Why was he the military dependant? There is something really, really wrong when it is the male that is staying home and the wife is going to war.
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
By Tracie Mauriello and Amy Montemerlo
© 2004 Republican-American
WATERBURY — Edward Valentin told police he wanted his wife home from Iraq, so he tried to garner public sympathy by claiming she had been killed in an explosion.
Now it looks like Valentin, who remained in the city's police lockup Monday on a $5,000 bond, might get his wish.
U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Betsy Valentin, who had been safe all the while, told police Monday she expects to be home by the end of the week.
Betsy Valentin, who is stationed in Baghdad, called the detective bureau about 4:15 p.m.
"She had many questions, which I attempted to answer," said Detective Sgt. Scott Stevenson, the lead investigator on the case. "She is just as incredulous as we were."
Instead of a soldier's welcome, she will come home to a husband behind bars and rumors about why her husband allegedly lied.
Police believe Edward Valentin lied about receiving a phone call Wednesday. He said a Department of Defense colonel told him his wife had been killed in an explosion in Iraq.
After paging through phone records, detectives discovered Valentin never got that call.
Police believe Valentin lied to elicit sympathy from another woman he was wooing. He was arrested at the other woman's home early Sunday.
In a confession, Valentin said he lied because he missed his wife and needed help raising their three children. He told police he thought a story of a prank call would get so much media attention, the U.S. Army would send his wife home.
The purported hoax drew national media attention, appearing in newspapers and on newscasts from New York to Los Angeles.
Valentin, 43, is scheduled to be arraigned in Waterbury Superior Court this morning. He is charged with falsely reporting an incident concerning death or injury, a felony that could send him to prison for five years.
Valentin was also charged with two counts of second-degree harassment and one count of giving a false statement, both misdemeanors. The harassment charges stem from calls Valentin made to relatives and friends about his wife's alleged death.
Bastard! :bash:
No balls, certainly not a man. Why was he the military dependant? There is something really, really wrong when it is the male that is staying home and the wife is going to war.