When News Gets Stale

 Dear Neighbors:

Today, I saw an article musing on Caylee Anthony's possible biological father. I kept thinking, "When will this horror end? I don't want to hear about this anymore!" You, too, might be thinking the same thing, that we'll never be rid of Casey Anthony coverage. I'm here to assure you that an end is in sight. Unfortunately, it will only happen when a bigger, better, and more notorious person finds his or her way into the media -- either by accident or design. If you don't believe me, please feel free to peruse the following list of infamous individuals who once dominated news reports and magazine covers:

People We Don't Hear About Anymore (thankfully):

1. Diane Downs

Downs became infamous when, in 1983, she shot her three children, killing one and wounding the other two. She claimed that they were the victim of a carjacker and had a wound in her own arm to "prove" it. It wasn't long before police detectives determined that Downs herself was guilty, having shot her children in order to hang on to a boyfriend who wasn't the least bit interested in being a stepfather.  She was tried, convicted, and gave birth to yet another daughter. She escaped in 1987, only to be caught and returned to prison to serve a life sentence...plus another 50 years. 

Downs, then and now.

Downs still maintains her innocence and was denied parole last December.  Due to strict laws in Oregon, she won't be eligible again for another 10 years.  If you'd like to know more about her case, you can read Ann Rule's book, Small Sacrifices. It was made into a tv movie starring the late Farrah Fawcett.

Downs being led from court while pregnant with her fourth child, a girl named Rebecca Babcock who was subsequently adopted and later discussed her biological heritage in a television interview.

2. Pamela Smart

 Married people have different interpretations of their marriage vows. The "till death do us part" phrase sometimes mean "until I get sick of you and have you killed". At least, that's how Pamela Wojas Smart saw it. A media coordinator at a high school, she was popular with students due to her ability to relate to them and her fondness for heavy metal music. She married Gregory Smart in 1989.

Pamela and Greg Smart on their wedding day in 1989.

After a year of marriage, she returned home to find her husband shot to death. The ensuing investigation soon revealed that Smart wasn't quite so smart, having had an affair with a 15 year-old student named Billy Flynn. He admitted that in addition to the affair, she had convinced him, with the help of his friends, to murder her husband and make it look like a burglary. 

During the trial, the prosecution contended that their marriage had become unhappy and Smart avoided losing everything in a divorce (and thus gaining $140,000 in a life insurance policy) by having her husband murdered. She was portrayed as a slick Svengali, seducing the young student so that he would do whatever she asked. She was convicted of a number of charges, including being an accomplice to murder and witness tampering and is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in New Hampshire. Twenty years later, she still denies any involvement in the murder of her husband and blames her convicted on the media attention surrounding the case. 

Smart, 20 years later on "Oprah".

Billy Flynn has been denied parole and will be eligible again in 2018. The Smart family, who testified at his parole hearing in 2008 to keep him locked up, have stated that they will not protest his release in 2018. 

3. Rodney King

 In 1991, a shocking video surfaced, one of a man being viciously beaten by the police. George Holliday had no idea that the video he recorded would shed light on police corruption in Los Angeles and would eventually result in the L.A. Riots.

The beating occurred after a high speed chase in which King fled the police while intoxicated, having already had one DUI conviction. King was beaten by the first officers on the scene. The news of this beating led to the arrest of four police officers as well as a serious breakdown in race relations, particularly in Los Angeles. When the trial resulted in the acquittal of three officers and a hung jury of the fourth, thousands of people, angry at the obvious miscarriage of justice, rioted;  thousands more became victims. Some were beaten, others lost their homes and property, and a man named Reginald Denny, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, was pulled from his truck and attacked, suffering permanent injuries.

Reginald Denny after his vicious beating; he was left in the street to die. While bystanders and LAPD did nothing to help, he was rescued by people who had seen the beating on television.

Denny filed an unsuccessful civil suit against the city of Los Angeles and eventually moved out of the media spotlight.  The riot lasted six days and dominated the news. I remember seeing the beginning of the riot on television and thinking that surely, it would be contained soon. The infamous phrase, "Can't we all just get along?" was uttered by King on the third day of the riots. In 1993, two of the four officers were convicted on federal civil rights charges. This time, the public was protected by police officers, barricades, and a strong military presence. 

Rodney King

Subsequent reports about Rodney King have been disappointing, to say the least. In spite of his $3.8M compensatory award, he has been arrested multiple times since then -- most recently in March of this year. These days, news about Rodney King is relegated to the "...and in other news..." portion of the broadcast. 

4. Amy Fisher/Joey and Mary Jo Buttafuoco

What can you do when you're 17 and your 36 year-old boyfriend's wife is standing in the way of your happiness? If your name is Amy Fisher, you would drive to their home and shoot that woman in the head.

Amy Fisher, the "Long Island Lolita" in 1992.

Joey Buttafuoco was convicted of statutory rape since Fisher was 16 when they first began their affair. He has since been arrested three more times, but has been out of prison for an entire four years now. Mary Jo Buttafuoco suffered injuries to her skull and face that required years of corrective surgeries. It took her another 11 years to divorce the cheating bastard. Today, she is available for speaking engagements.

Mary Jo Buttafuoco, months after the shooting.

Amy Fisher accepted a plea deal for assault in the first degree and spent seven years in prison. She has since turned her life around, becoming a journalist, writing a book about her experiences, and then marrying a man who sold a sex tape of the two. She topped off her accomplishments by becoming a stripper, a porn "actress" and this year, a stint on "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew". She successfully replaced her former title of "Long Island Lolita" with whore and drug addict. 

Joey Buttafuoco

The media had a great time with this case, which resulted in three television movies. Alyssa Milano and Drew Barrymore both portrayed Fisher.

5. Michael Fay

Prior to 1994, most Americans had no idea that caning is an acceptable sentence for crimes committed in Singapore. Thanks to the vandalistic (yes, I made up this word) efforts of Michael Fay, we all know that if we ever travel to that particular country, we cannot so much as fart in public without looking around fearfully. Living in Singapore with his mother and stepfather, Fay was arrested for a long string of vandalism and stealing road signs.  In addition to jail time and a fine, he was also sentenced to six strokes of the cane. His accomplice received twelve. The U.S. government became involved; while agreeing that Fay deserved to be punished, the caning of a teenager seemed excessive.

Michael Fay in 1994

This story was covered by every news outlet and the embassy in Singapore received thousands of letters protesting the caning. The sentence was eventually reduced to four strokes of the cane and Fay returned to the United States later that year. But the fun doesn't end... Michael Fay developed an addiction to sniffing butane and ended up in rehab. He now has the distinction of having a criminal record in two countries, having multiple arrests for drugs and driving while intoxicated since then. He blames his addiction(s) on his experience in Singapore. I blame it on his being a dumbass. To his credit, he vowed never to sell his story to the media and has never defaulted on that promise.

6. Tanya Harding

1994 was a great year for the media. While preparing for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships (which would determine the skaters to compete in the Olympics in Norway), a promising young skater named Nancy Kerrigan was hit on the leg with a baton in Detroit.

It wasn't long before the attack was connected, through the most stupid criminals ever, to another skater, Tonya Harding. Harding was soon portrayed in the media as trash, while Kerrigan won the title of Princess Victim. Harding's ex-husband and his merry band of bumbling idiots were soon arrested and later convicted of the attack. 

Tonya Harding

Tonya Harding was only convicted of hindering prosecution and was put on probation. She finished eighth in the Olympics, her performance in the long program an embarrassment which wiped out any memory of her previous accomplishments (such as being the first female skater to successfully land a triple axel).

The real punishment came from the U.S. Figure Skating Association, which banned Harding from competing for the rest of her life. She was the only skater who did not profit from the ensuing media frenzy. While other skaters, including Kerrigan, went on to pro fame and fortune, Harding was relegated to a sex tape, pro wrestling, multiple arrests, and celebrity boxing. Her legacy will always be remembered as people often refer to attacking an opponent as "pulling a Tonya Harding".

7. Kato Kaelin 

Brian "Kato" Kaelin is known as the World's Most Famous Houseguest. While sponging off of O.J. Simpson in 1994, he witnessed Simpson's activities on the night he "allegedly" committed a double homicide. It wasn't long before the wannabe actor became a media sensation. 

Kaelin testifying at O.J. Simpson's trial

Kaelin used every second of his fifteen minutes to whore himself out to every interested media outlet, newspaper and magazine. Having failed to turn his temporary fame into a permanent career, he can now be found on any television show that features has-beens, such as "Celebrity Boot Camp". He tried to develop his own reality show in which he would knock on the doors of other wannabe celebrities and try to get them to allow him to stay as a guest. The show never aired. Kaelin would like to remind everyone that he's more than a houseguest. In his own words, "People should realize that I shot a Coke commercial back in 1986. So, you know, I've been around a long time." 

8. Patsy Ramsey

Patricia Ramsey, known as Patsy, began her life with such promise. After earning a journalism degree, she won the title of Miss West Virginia. She later married John Ramsey and had two children, Burke and JonBenet. John's eldest daughter from his first marriage was killed in a car accident in 1992.

The late Patsy Ramsey as Miss West Virginia.

Pageant life is often a tradition, and Patsy passed it on to her beautiful daughter, JonBenet. Having abandoned the spotlight, she inadvertently found herself the recipient of unwanted media attention when JonBenet was murdered on Christmas Day, 1996. Initially thought to be a kidnapping, her daughter's body was found in the basement of their family home. The police investigation focused on the Ramsey family and Patsy was skewered in the media -- both as a suspect and for allowing her daughter to participate in pageants and pose for pictures such as this:

Photos like this started a media frenzy about child pageants.

Even though the Ramseys were the main suspects, police failed to reveal for an entire year that the basement showed signs of forced entry, convincing the public that the Ramseys must have had something to do with it. Patsy died of ovarian cancer in 2006 without vindication for her daughter's murder. Two years later, DNA evidence cleared the entire Ramsey family.

9. Monica Lewinsky

Prior to 1998, the term "intern" meant someone who works for free in exchange for experience. Today, the term includes a few giggles and a mention of Monica Lewinsky, who changed the connotation of "intern" forever when it was revealed that she was sexually involved with President Bill Clinton during her White House internship.

Lewinsky in 1998

Apparently never having heard that it's not nice to kiss and tell, Lewinsky confided in the Worst Friend Ever, Linda Tripp. Tripp recorded their conversations and turned them over to Ken Starr, who had previously investigated the Whitewater scandal. Clinton re-defined what it means to have sex and fueled a public debate (mostly in jest) about whether or not oral sex counts as sex. 

Thanks to Tripp, we were subjected to a year of Lewinsky coverage; her image and her part in the scandal played out in minute detail. We weren't even spared the fact that the famous intern had kept a blue dress on which Clinton... finished one of their encounters, becoming crucial evidence against Clinton. 

The dress.

Since the scandal, Lewinsky has run the 15 Minute Gauntlet, publishing a book, manufacturing a line of handbags, representing weight loss brand Jenny Craig, and hosting every television show that would have her (pun intended). She has since moved to London, continued her education, and left the spotlight. There's nothing as sweet as hearing the clock run out, is there?

10. Gary Condit

Having learned nothing from the Clinton scandal, California Representative Gary Condit had an affair with Chandra Levy, an intern who was 30 years his junior.

Gary Condit

The affair came to light when Levy disappeared in 2001. During the search for suspects, Condit first denied his relationship with Levy and later admitted to it (note to cheaters: when your paramour turns up dead, just admit you were involved with him/her). Condit was less than forthcoming with the investigators, so the media jumped on the story and painted him both as a cheater and a murderer. Turns out he was just a cheater -- he also had a flight attendant on the side.

Levy's remains were found in 2002. Writer Dominick Dunne, famous for writing about sensational murder cases, publicly accused Condit of having ordered Levy's murder. Condit, whose reputation was previously unblemished, lost his place in the House of Representatives when he lost the 2002 election. Even though he was never charged with Levy's disappearance, Condit's political career was over. He filed lawsuits against Dunne and various news outlets for slander, defamation and libel. All the suits were dismissed because the statements were not considered to have been based in malice. 

Flier circulated after Levy went missing in 2001.

In 2009, illegal immigrant Ingmar Guandique was arrested for Levy's murder and convicted a year later. Condit, at last report, was writing a book about his experiences in politics and particularly about the mishandling of the Levy case.


Neighbors, when was the last time you thought about any of the above infamous people? That's what I'm saying...eventually, Casey Anthony will either end up in prison or be featured on a "where are they now?" show. 

Nothing Lasts Forever, 

D

Diane Downs Denied Parole
Pamela Smart -- Twenty Years Later
Billy Flynn Parole Hearing, 2008
Kato Kaelin -- More Than Just A Houseguest
Ex-Housekeeper Blames Patsy Ramsey for Her Daughter's Murder
DNA Clears Ramsey Family
Intern Scandal
Condit's Fall