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wschaffer-36817 — 10 years ago(March 31, 2016 09:45 PM)
yes I am the real Walter Carl Schaffer the one who lived at 7302 nw 61st st, Tamarac,Fl,33325. I would like to thank you all for leaving positive comments and not bashing my step father Richard Charles Day I am not saying what happened was right. however since then I have lost my mother and father, I was not happy to see that they did not add all the details, it sounds like one of you may have either read the police report or have some inside knowledge of the events that took place on 31-oct-2001. being it is that yes we did go to another house and egg it and a physical altercation happened between a friend of the Rosser family and my father, also he did not take his insulin that night and lost his eye glasses in the altercation I will not defend him I still to this day believe it was a terrible accident. I also would like to add I am not slow at all I do not know what he meant by that being it is that I went on and joined the united states army as some of you know the armed service battery aptitude test is not the easiest to pass. I too still have terrible dreams I cant drive a car to this day because of the events that took place that night. thank you all for the positive comment.
Walter Schaffer. -
mmortiz-98777 — 10 years ago(April 01, 2016 11:28 AM)
I'm glad you can go to sleep at night knowing that there are people in this world that do, in fact, look at the "whole picture" and don't simply judge a situation for what shows on the surface.
It angered me that while your family was apologetic and trying to be understanding of the other family's feelings, they could not sympathize or take any responsibility for "their" actions.
After having things stolen (multiple times), having your home broken into and being "purposely" taunted and seemed out, I just couldn't understand why people were so quick to call what "they" did "childish pranks," yet the egg throwing was then considered so sinister and violent!
Yes, it is true that the night ended up taking a terrible and ugly turn; however, I still don't understand how it wasn't considers a case of manslaughter? I believe that your dad didn't go there with the intention of physically hurting someone. I believe, in his mind (whether people find it to be justified or not), your dad was trying to also make "you" not feel like a victim to that family's "bullying" tactics.
Let's call it what it is! They were bullying you "and" your family while "nobody" cared or stepped in to stop it! To later try to place "all" the blame on your family was completely wrong! After the show aired, my spouse and I started reading the various articles that were available online because we were curious what people were saying about this case but this was the only message board we could find.
It really bothered me that a 12 year old was taken into custody as one report read as I seen no crime whatsoever on your part other than "the childish prank" of egging houses! The three brothers were never reprimanded for anything they did and the law enforcement officer they kept showing in the episode shown "also" had a hand in this mess (again, in my opinion) because he kept referring to everything those kids did as "pranks" and/or said there wasn't enough evidence!
When the house was broken into, were any fingerprints taken? Not to my knowledge; therefore, maybe they "would have been" some evidence if law enforcement would have done "their jobs" and protected the citizens that had their house broken into and trashed! There was certainly enough blame to go around when this terrible incident occurred and it wasn't something that "just happened" out of nowhere without provocation!
As our family watched, we also found Florida's judicial system to be such a joke considering it is the "stand your ground" state that allowed George Zimmerman to kill "a minor" without the kid having done "anything" to him yet they charge your father so harshly and send him to prison for life! It just seems as if evidence was twisted and they took your family's sympathy and empathy for the situation as a sign of complete guiltwhich is completely absurd!
The judge should have been the one to sort through all the mess and come up with a reasonable sentence, but instead, it was as if he was trying to make an example of your dadand I can't really understand why? In "the least," your dad should have been able to serve his sentence in a mental facility! Unfortunately, this just seems like another case (interesting how many of them just so happen to occur in Florida) where our justice system failed us.
I know the other family experienced a tremendous loss. I don't think there is "anyone" that disputes that fact. What IS disputed, however, is the fact that they were NOT innocent victims! Even if the uncle ended up being the closest to being an innocent victim, the family is just as much at fault for not controlling those kids and allowing them to run wild in the streets!
I have actually never commented online before (I don't even do social media) but for some reason, this case really brought about strong opinions on my part and I couldn't help but to respond. If my responses have helped you (even in the least bit) to not feel alone in your feelings, then I'm glad I took the one to post. I wish for you to find healing and to be able to be happy in your life because "I am for certain" that your dad would want nothing less for you! As a parent, I know this for a fact!
Take care and God bless. -
thesnowleopard — 10 years ago(April 02, 2016 05:49 PM)
Michael Spinella, the scumbag who appeared grown up in the show, is in jail for grand theft auto and possession of heroin. A winner indeed.
Did you notice how he never actually denied engaging in any of the attacks on the other familyincluding the thefts, the break-in and the final attack? I found that telling. In the midst of all of his Victim Olympics, he basically admitted he and his brothers really were that bad. So, I'm not shocked at all that he ended up in prison doing hard time and I'll bet that's where his no-good brothers are, too.
I looked up this case and didn't find a whole lot. But there was one article about their idiot mom "thanking" the jury for the verdict and eulogizing her brother being not as bad a guy as you might think (which made me wonder if this episode white-washed the victim just a tad). She also dropped the interesting info that the sperm donor she'd married decided it was all too much for him and took off, afterward. Wow.
That cop was useless. Completely useless. I sure hope he's no longer on the force. Saying it's just a house? Seriously? Both times, that was thousands of dollars of property damage! Was he going to pony up to repair it? Yeah, didn't think so. All of this wouldn't have happened in the first place if local law enforcement had done their jobs, but I guess it's hard to sue them when you've been convicted of murder. Convenient.
Walter, if that's really you, I'm sorry this happened to you. It sounds as though your dad had grounds for manslaughter, what with his diabetic condition and it apparently being a mob scene that he was trying to drive away from. In fact, I'm not quite sure how the victim happened to get caught under the car and dragged if he was just banging on the window trying to get you guys to come out (which I sure would not have done under those circumstances).
Innsmouth Free Press
http://www.innsmouthfreepress.com -
carrowsboy — 10 years ago(April 03, 2016 08:05 PM)
He was the one with the awful tattoo on his face, right?
I had assumed he got that done in prison.
Poor Walter. I totally see why he wanted to go and egg their house in retaliation. One can only take so much. -
aac7294 — 9 years ago(April 06, 2016 09:35 AM)
You know honestly I really have to feel sympathy for Richard as well as the unfortunate victim. The trio of teen bullies kept pushing and pushing and must bear some responsibility. When I was in 7th and 8th grade I had a "friend" just like the bullies who kept antagonizing me. One day I snapped and grabbed him and we foughtI still remember the principal coming out to break up the fight. We both got in school suspension and strangely we seemed to get along somewhat better afterward. No positive outcome here I am afraid. The adult bullyjust looking at him makes me think he came right out of central casting for the part of a thug. Also it really annoyed me about the way the cop with very unflattering mustache spoke about Richard. The cop didn't list Richard as among the vitemsand I truly think he should bethose creeps drove him to the snapping point. Anywayglad the show is back. This is one of the best ID series and I am very excited about the return of DISAPPEARED.
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sigarmsmm — 9 years ago(April 09, 2016 03:07 PM)
Yes, I have sympathy for Richard too. I had to come on here after I saw the episode to see if anyone else did too or if they fell for the "it was just teenage stuff" or "boys will be boys" referring to the bullying of this poor family. Life is hard enough without being harassed by teen bullies. And for them to say that Walter was slow was ridiculous, you could clearly see he was not. Its too bad that the bully that they interviewed just could not conjure up any fake tears for his uncle with all that fake crying he was doing.
We had a family in my neighborhood growing up that was very similar to this one. The father was a policeman. They mostly tortured the older couple next door to us, but we all got a taste of it. There were three boys and we just tried our best to ignore them because we knew nothing would be done. My poor next door neighbors thoughwe just helped them out as best as we could.
Edited to say to Walter, I am sorry you had to go through this horrible situation. I am also sorry you lost both your parents, I hope you have other family and/or good friends to share your life with. I wish you the very best in life. This story broke my heart, I know what it feels like to be so young and to feel so helpless and scared.