4.24.2009

Mark Klaas disassociates himself from Websleuths

Recently Mark Klaas had become a friend to the website Websleuths, but he's disassociated himself from them with this letter.

The Anthonys were set to attend a homicide victims conference in Connecticut. Websleuths heard about this, and they made all kinds of irrational speculations about the conference's integrity. This pissed off Klaas enough to write an open letter to Websleuths.

Mark, we commend you. Websleuths at one point in time was a good site. Since Tricia Griffith became the owner, the place has declined terribly. The recent revelation that Tricia's chief moderator/co-admin Wind Chime has a criminal record for improper sexual behavior with children (she laid on a table, spread her cooch for children to see, and then had sex in front of those children according to the case records) was for many the death knell of the website. We are glad to see reputable people like Mark Klaas break his association with the site.

http://www.melanieriegerconference.com/pressrelease.php

Here is Mark's letter to Tricia and Websleuths:

Marc Klaas' Letter Sent to Websleuths

The other night you apparently heard, or somebody told you about, comments that I made on the Nancy Grace Show about George and Cindy Anthony’s scheduled appearance at the upcoming Melanie Ilene Rieger Memorial Conference. From those comments much has been imagined, speculated upon, and regurgitated in unfortunate ways. I would like to provide some context in hopes that you will modify your opinion and re-direct your anger.

Melanie Ilene Rieger, a college student, was murdered by her boyfriend on May 24, 1994. The conference was established by her parents Sam and Wanda, in her memory with the hope that others would avoid such tragedy. This year will mark my eleventh appearance at the conference. Not only am I honored and humbled by each and every invitation, but I consider my attendance as one of the high points of my year.

You see, the Melanie Rieger Conference is a serious forum that gathers amazing people with diverse perspectives about violent crime. Victims, service providers, law enforcement representatives, politicians and other advocates gather to find commonality, to discuss issues and to provide solutions to the myriad problems faced by crime victims. Over the course of my attendance I have met a diverse population of individuals who have educated and enlightened me, who have contributed to the body of literature and understanding, and have eased the burden of victimization. To malign these people and this conference based upon a few words or a single reference is unfair.

Anyone who has ever attended the Melanie Rieger Conference understands that it is a respectful forum that refuses to promote itself in an undignified way. The first mention that George and Cindy Anthony had been invited to attend was when I mentioned that fact on the Nancy Grace Show on April 20. Therefore, it is disingenuous to suggest that they are appearing as a way to drum up publicity for the conference. Anyone who would do so speaks from a lack of knowledge.

No single individual establishes the agenda or the guest list for the Melanie Rieger Conference, nor are these considerations made in a vacuum. The Conference Committee invites individual presenters months in advance, without foreknowledge of how events will affect those choices. Everyone invited to present at the Melanie Rieger Conference is considered carefully and chosen because they are either a member of the victim’s community or they are in a position to impact the community of victims. They are not chosen based on popularity or their contribution to pop culture.

I have known Sam and Wanda Rieger for more than a decade. They founded the Melanie Ilene Rieger Memorial Conference as a way to give meaning to their daughter’s murder. They are two of the finest people that I have ever met and two of the most steadfast and dedicated victim’s advocates in the United States.

Sincerely,


Marc Klaas
KlaasKids Foundation
P.O. Box 925
Sausalito, CA 94966
www.klaaskids.org

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Never could quite understand Marc affiliation with Triconosis. I was suprised he stayed around after the Wind Chime incident.

Honey said...

Good for him. Trasha is not worthy of having Mark around that place, and his daughter deserves a better outlet for keeping her memory alive.

Anonymous said...

I agree. I don't like the A's, but Tricia needs to butt out. Let the man do his job. He actually helps people.

Anonymous said...

What wasn't mentioned was that the Anthony's will not be attending because of death threats and threats of violence against them.
It seems a likely assumption that those threats came from Webscum's members.
The FBI doesn't take these threats lightly.

Holly the magic IP