Five years ago, on September 29, 1994, Kenneth Westmark took his 4 year old son, Ryan. and his 2 year old son, Brandon, out to the family's Chevy Blazer, which was in their attached and very much closed garage, strapped them in their car seats, and started the engine.

The mother came home from work and found them. The boys were pronounced dead at the scene. The father was unconscious. Although he survived, he apparently suffered a stroke and some brain damage. He was convicted of the murder of his sons and sentenced to 53 years in prison.

The issue for me is not whether Westmark was guilty or not, but something else. Like Waco, this case is begging to be re-opened - - - because of the actions of our so-called "law-enforcement," a sub-set of our "criminal, criminal-injustice" system, a system run amok, but I'll let you be the judge . . . and the detective.

In my opinion, this plays out like a cheap-detective novel. But that's ok, I don't charge much.

Let's just lay out some of the "print media" coverage for you. Anyway, that's all I have for the first stage. There is one thing in the newspaper accounts that should really jump out at you. Let's see if you can spot it. And, there is something missing - - - perhaps more than one thing. Can you tell me what it/they might be?

Let's turn first to the Bellevue, Washington paper, The Journal American, the day after, September 30, 1994, page A1, " . . . car's engine was not running although the ignition was on . . . "

". . . carbon monoxide . . . accident or a suicide/homicide."

" . . . no evidence of trauma or anyone else being involved . . . no record of domestic violence."

And, on page A9, we learn that the the police had found "no note or other clues as to what might have happened . . . " The vehicle was a "gray Chevy Blazer."

And across Lake Washington, in Seattle, The Seattle P.I. (The owners claim P.I. stands for "Post Intelligencer." Now that's a stupid name and hard to believe anyone could dream up something so inane. This lends credence to the claim that P.I. really stands for Public Insult, Pretty Insipid, Putrid Information, Patently Inept, Prejudiced Idiocy, Pre-eminently (check spelling!) Incompetent, or Pissant Intellectuals Passing as Intelligent - - - Ah, . . . that's right, . . . english, . . . what a language!), on October 1, 1994 was reporting on page B1, "Police are investigating the carbon monoxide poisoning of two boys . . . , but they have not ruled out an accident or sudden illness."

". . . found dead of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning . . . "

"Westmark may have been despondent over problems in his marriage . . . The mother Leanne Westmark, 33, filed for divorce in April after 12 years of marriage, but in August, she moved for dismissal of the suit.

" . . . seeing a marriage counsellor regularly with a noted improvement in their relationship."

"Police investigators keep coming back to the murder/suicide theory but need to finish the investigation first before reaching that conclusion . . . "

"When police arrived at the home they found the Blazer's ignition key on, indicating the engine had been running. The vehicle windows were rolled down and the garage doors were closed."

". . . the garage door opener was found to be working, but the garage smelled strongly of exhaust fumes . . . "

"No suicide note was found . . . and the incident may have resulted from an exhaust malfunction."

". . . medical history being checked to determine whether he might have been paralyzed by a sudden illness."

"This could be a tragic accident too . . . "

"There is no evidence of anyone else besides Kenneth Westmark and his sons being involved. There were no signs of forced entry to the home and no visible injuries."

And, on page B2, we learn, "Leanne Westmark is a bookkeeper for a Bellevue publication firm . . . " and the father "worked long hours."

Roughly, a year passes. On September 27, 1999, Bellevue Journal American renews the topic, On page A1, we learn that the judge ". . . must rule whether Westmark, 42, is mentally competent to stand trial in the carbon monoxide poisonings . . ."

And, on page A4, ". . . deaths came at the end of a troubled summer in which Leanne and Westmark, known to other family members as a perfectionist but loving father, tried to rebuild a troubled marriage."

"Both went to counselling."

Another nine months later, June 25, 1996, the Journal American reported on the verdict in Westmark's trial. On page A1, ". . . found guilty yesterday of the first-degree murder in the carbon monoxide poisoning deaths of his two sons . . . "

". . . found the boys dead, strapped in their car seats, . . . the windows of the family's Chevy Blazer rolled down and the key in the ignition."

On page A4, "Jurors heard from doctors who confirmed Westmark suffered from depression . . . "

• "Westmark disabled the garage door so that it would not open."
• "He fastened the boys in their car seats, rolled down all the windows in the family's Blazer and let the motor run in the sealed garage."
• "He attempted suicide when his prior marriage was failing."
• "For 10 minutes, the defendant sat listening to the boys dying."

And we are informed that at least one juror "was swayed by a doctor's testimony that the Westmark boys' coughing and crying should have brought him around."

We can turn to the August 10, 1999 copy of the Seattle P.I. for the details on the sentencing the day before. On page B1, we are also told, that the prosecutor asked for an exceptional sentence because Westmark "had the trust and confidence of the boys."

"They were vulnerable," the prosecutor said. "He was deliberately cruel."

". . . Westmark had been treated for severe depression for years before the deaths . . ."

53 years. Ursino (that's Leanne Westmark, the mother, who now goes by her maiden name) said, "the long sentence brings closure for her and her family."

She asked the judge to sentence Westmark so that he will, never, "have a life outside prison walls."

Ok, Ok. Enough. Anything scream out at you? Why am I upset at law enforcement? Didn't they seem fair, wanting to rule out things like sudden illness and exhaust malfunction? Yes, they did. Well, why then don't I trust them? (Let me be very specific here. I do not trust police as a group. I respect many individual officers. I have had officers come up to me on the street corner where I was protesting with my signs and shirts and tell me about the calls that the police department was getting from parents who were complaining about how the air in their childrens' day-care was making their kids sick. I have had officers refuse to hastle me when the school authorities called the police department trying to get me in trouble and lying about my activities when I stood outside their schools with my protest signs and shirts. Those are the real men. They deserve our respect. It is very hard to speak against their group without demeaning them, but that is what I intend to do - - - speak out and still honor the good ones).

Why am I upset at law enforcement? Well, I know some things that you don't. Somethings that are not mentioned here; things that may not be deduced from what is here. And, I'm going to be mean and make you wait until next time before I reveal them.

Groan? (I hope so)!