My apology for not posting since last week. There were a few reasons:
- I had to attend a hearing for the Civil Case (against Austin Vantrease and Jonathan May) last Thursday. It was late in the day so it forced me to spend the night away from home.
- Sue surprised Kari (my daughter) and I with an evening “Ghost Hunt” in Gettysburg on Saturday.
- The website was acting up.
Civil Case
First, the civil case hearing on last Thursday. For whatever reason, the media began reporting that I had agreed to a structured settlement. Wrong! I made no such thing. I agreed to nothing. The truth is, the Court is attempting to settle this case absent my consent. I flatly rejected a settlement offer for roughly $1.1 million dollars many times because this money is what the defendant’s INSURANCE was offering. The criminals would get off scot-free. Basically, if I accept that amount the case would be resolved and Vantrease and May would not have a cent come out of their pockets and they would have no judgement against them. That $1.1 million would be paid entirely by their parent’s homeowners policy.
Ryan would never be okay with this. It’s blood money. There’s just no way that I would ever forego my son’s principles, values, morals, and beliefs for any amount of cash. I never thought his (and my) principles would ever be tested, but now I’m can say — and prove — that we wouldn’t sell out for even a million dollars!
Our principles are not for sale.
It’s not about the money. Never was…
Ghost Hunt
When I returned home from the hearing the following day (Friday), Sue told me she had set up a day of scary-fun in Gettysburg for me and Kari. We left the next morning (Saturday) and stayed in a Bed & Breakfast (Farnsworth House) that is supposedly haunted. Our room, in fact, is reported to be highly active on any given night by a little boy. We didn’t experience anything specific in the B&B (other than finding toy soldiers lined up on our door frame), but the same can not be said for that night’s Ghost Hunt.
We went out on a Ghost Hunt that night, until 2:30 am — to two locations. I’m telling you, some really creepy things happened on that hunt that I am having some real trouble explaining. Let’s just say an attic window slamming shut on its own — while Kari was looking right at it — freaked us out a bit. Oh, and this happened shortly after asking if there is anyone with us and do they know where they are. A woman’s voice, clear as crystal, comes over the frequency scanner that says just one word… “attic”. Weird!
Then there was the attic in another home that was unexplainably too cool for a hot summer night. Much cooler than the rest of the house. Turns out, a woman took her own life up there. We didn’t know this until afterwards. And then there’s that picture we took up there…
Let’s just say I’m not quite as skeptical of the existence of ghosts as I was.
Kari had trouble getting to sleep when we returned to our room, which means she made sure to keep me awake… until the sun came up that morning. When we returned home early in the afternoon and I laid day for a “nap”.
I awoke at six this morning.
I’m with Rhonda Morin Ken…what can we do?
Is this a “done deal” Ken?
Technically, no. Likely, yes.
“Technically, no. Likely, yes.”
THAT is a bunch of bullshit! How can they honestly do that? What can we do? Who do we write? Who can we call? Do you want a VA Senator behind you? WV Senator? What can we do???????
This is unacceptable.
They can’t force me, but they can accomplish a settlement in a round-about way by assigning a court-appointed representative (in my place) to do so. All they need to do is satisfy themselves that the best outcome for Ryan is to take what he can get financially (even if it’s only, say, 4 cents on the dollar), without regard to his personal values, morals, beliefs, and wishes. Unlike me, they are placing money above his principles.
The court is interfering with your rights as Ryan’s guardian. This is a misuse of power, and prejudicial to Ryan’s personal rights as a citizen.
I think it’s pretty brazen of the court to treat Ryan this way. In its presumed attempt to fairly settle the civil suit, the court is marginalizing Ryan as a human being, as well as minimizing the pain and suffering he has endured.
For shame.
I don’t understand why any insurance company is making a settlement on an intentional act. I probably spelled that wrong, but if you run into someone in your car on purpose, they don’t pay. How the hell can they pay out for something as horrible as this.
Sara, therein lies one of the major problems. They are trying to be excused from the case (DEC Action) and, hence, the money goes away.The Court is trying like hell to get the case settled before it rules on the DEC action. Funny, if they weren’t insured through their parents then Ryan would get what he deserves… defendant accountability.
Can the courts actually force you to accept a settlement. The two criminals should also have a judgment placed on them.
No, I can not be forced, but… they can do it absent my consent.
Duh! In the dark here :/. This means thaf if you don’t consent, the court can force this settlement? Just sign me, Dumb.
I agree, don’t settle. My mother in law settled my father in law’s case without his permission and got a fraction of what he should have but because of his age it was probably a fair settlement. For Ryan, his sister will have to care of him for years after you and Sue are gone and this is for his full life time. I can’t imagine $1million would even cover a few years of care.
Ghost Hunt: Did you go with Spooky and her team? Gettysburg Paranormal I think it’s called? We have done some great ghost hunts with her and I think her team is the only one that actively hunts, the others are only walks with stories. Hope you had fun. It’s nice to hear that you got a night away from your daily activities and perhaps spent some good dad/daughter time. Big smiles for that!!!!!
Yes, that is the outfit (Spooky’s) that Sue set us up with.
I assume you have a good/savy attorney!
Add up what it has cost for Ryan’s care thus far and add up what it will cost every year for the rest of his life. Add the wages lost every time you or your family have to take off of work to go to a hearing or tend to Ryan. Now multiply that by Ryan’s lucky number and don’t accept a penny less. God bless The Diviney’s <3
Ken, for you it’s not about the money, but for me it IS about the money! Much more than what they are offering up has been spent already for Ryan’s care, and that isn’t even considering the man/woman hours! IT IS ABOUT THE MONEY! Pay up, scoundrels!
Don’t blame you one single bit, Ken…And how does a court speak for Ryan ,they don’t know him
Agree with Paula ,how court is handling this. Awful!
Glad you got some sleep and praying for an end to all the legal problems ..You all have enough on your minds and plates ,don’t need these hassles.
You sure needed that time with Kari and how very thoughtful of Sue. She’s a gem:)
Praying for all
Love Gail
What ever happened to Jon May? Is he still in the area? I hope the families of the criminals Jon May and Austin Vantrease have to travel for these civil case heatings.
What a fun idea Sue, I love Gettysburg.
Haven’t seen hide nor hair of the criminals at any civil case matter.
Ken, I know that you will do what is best for the Civil Case. I will leave that I trust your opinion and judgment with all that goes with that. The thought of Sue setting up a Ghost Night for you sounds like so much fun. A very clever girl we have in her. I am glad you both had a great time! I shared Kari’s last post as my status and got some very sympathetic responses. Many people remembered the attack. Please know that I will continue to keep Ryan very relevant. I love all of you dearly~
I’m with Gloria – it sounds like the court might be either misusing or abusing its power, not to mention infringing upon yours and Ryan’s rights.
A million dollars as settlement for lifelong catastrophic damages?! How can this possibly be viewed as a fair settlement? From all appearances, it seems this court has very little regard for victims’s rights. The court seems to claim it is doing what it believes is in Ryan’s best interest, but its actions do not square up at all with its purported intent.
I’m also questioning why this court apparently thinks that it knows what Ryan would want.
Would Ryan want to settle for a million dollars as restitution for the massive, lifelong emotional, physical and financial devastation inflicted upon him and your family by Austin VanTrease?
Would Ryan consider that to be a fair settlement?
Only you, as his Father, and Sue, as his Mother, could possibly know something so personal about Ryan. How could any court possibly state it knows better than you what your own son would want?
Please help me out here, Ken, because I don’t understand the attitude and behavior of this court. The court appears to be re-victimizing the victims – namely Ryan, Kari, you and Sue – by making decisions without regard to your rights as Ryan’s parents and without regard to what Ryan would want.
Forgive me, but it seems something about how the court is handling Ryan’s case stinks.
It looks like an abuse of power at Ryan’s expense.
Feel free to correct me if I am wrong about this.
No, no, no!! Don’t settle for such a paltry amount! Put their lazy asses to work and take responsibility for their dastardly deeds! The noive!! So, now what! Where do we go from here? You are sooo in charge, Kenneth, and we are so proud of you! Rock ’em, sock ’em, Ken! You’re fired up and now we are, too! If you can think of some way we can help, just let us know.
More later about ghost stories. Just sign me, I Believe SHSP, NGA <3
Good to hear from you. I can’t imagine that the COURTS would FORCE you to accept a settlement. How can they do that????
Ahhhh, there’s a difference here… it’s not that they are forcing me to accept a settlement… it’s that they would do this absent my consent. Essentially, they would kick me off as a party to the case and be replaced by a court-appointed representative for my son.