Law Lib., Washington, DC, Award-winning investigative reporter Leveritts debut is a wrecking-ball tale of tragedy, malfeasance, and machine politics that resembles an all-true Arkansas Confidential. It was featured in a two-part episode of "The Trail Went Cold" podcast. Teenagers Don Henry, 16, and Kevin Ives, 17, popular students who were gearing up for their senior year at Bryant High School, had decided to hang out with a group of friends at a local commuter parking lot, a popular gathering place for teens. "Vigils held at Capitol, courthouse 25 years after Ives, Henry deaths - The Saline Courier", "Arkansas mom's motion in bid to unseal files says DEA hiding crimes", "Judge orders agencies to review more information in 'Boys on the Tracks' FOIA lawsuit", "The Mysterious Deaths of Don Henry & Kevin Ives", "New Witness? Shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. True story of a parents passion to find justice for their sons killed on the rail tracks going by a typical small town, near the Metroplex of Little Rock. The cartel gave a cut of their drug profits to the Sandinistas, members of the socialist Nicaraguan political organization and militarily opposed by the US, so they could access a Managuan airstrip to run drugs. The boys' bodies were terribly mangled. [2] Members of the locomotive crew also stated that the bodies were partly covered by a green tarpaulin,[3] though police disputed the existence of any such tarp and none was ever recovered from the scene. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. After telling his family goodbye, he was stabbed 113 times only days later. In April, 1989 his body was found in the Little Rock city dump after he had been shot in the head twice and set on fire. Details: In the pre-dawn hours of August 23, 1987, a seventy-five car, 6,000 ton Union Pacific cargo train made its regular night run to the UP freight yard in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Hollenbeck and Thompson were willing participants in Harmons smear campaign against me and my task force, and neither reporter bothered to verify anything Harmon said; they just printed it lie after lie, article after article even when they knew Harmon was lying.. The state medical examiner, Dr. Fahmy Malak, ruled the deaths an accident as a result of marijuana intoxication, saying the boys had smoked the equivalent of 20 marijuana cigarettes and fell asleep on the tracks. So when I saw that there was a movie filming called Mena, starring Tom Cruise, I was shocked. is the story of a parent's worst nightmare, a quiet woman's confrontation with a world of murder, drugs, and corruption, where legitimate authority is mocked and the public trust is trampled. Teenagers Don Henry, 16, and Kevin Ives, 17, popular students who were gearing up for their senior year at Bryant High School, had decided to hang out with a group of friends at a local commuter parking lot, a popular gathering place for teens. I believe he was at the wrong place at the wrong time just like these boys. "[7] Don Henry's father also noted that he did not believe his son would have risked his gun getting scratched by laying it on gravel. Item may contain remainder marks on outside edges. All evidence gathered from The Obstruction of Justice video documentary. The Clinton Chronicles: An Investigation into the Alleged Criminal Activities of Bill Clinton is a 1994 documentary that accused Bill Clinton of a range of crimes. Later, another pathologist ruled that Don Henry's shirt showed evidence of a stab wound. The man is a sleazy pol and perv but I'd want to see solid evidence of his being brought into the fold of something like Black Eagle or related CIA Reagan-era malevolence. Their parents would not accept Dr. Malaks conclusion. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2015. The Mena Connection. Ill bet anything that there will be way more actual truth OMMITTED then they will actually allow into the movie It will likely be a propaganda piece much like Zero Dark Thirty was. These Central American drug war/Cold War ops were run by Langley frat . The driver of a 6000-ton cargo train noticed two bodies lying side by side, in straight lines, on the tracks. The others I believe were there are Keith Mckaskle, Larry Roushall, Sharline Wilson, narcotics detective kirk Lane, narcotics detective Jay Campbell, and deputy Danny Allen. In 1994 the University of Arkansas named her Arkansas Journalist of the Year. Nicknames: Kevin (Larry); Don (Donald) He ruled their deaths an accident. The two left around midnight to go back to Dons house. If so, who and for what reasons?\"Linda - \"Both Republicans and Democrats have exposure in the Mena /Iran /contra operation which is why they have been highly successful in the coverup. All rights reserved. Police speculated that Kevin and Don's murder may have been related to drug trafficking. [8] The theory is that the boys came upon a drug drop from an airplane similar to Barry Seal's operations near Mena and were murdered. But few tragedies compare with the story of Linda Ives, whose teenage son and his friend were found mysteriously run over by a train. They have spent many hours at the spot where they were killed, wondering how it could have happened. A grand jury ruled the deaths a "probable homicide. Years after the film was released, Clinton paid an out-of-court settlement to resolve the accusations made by Paula Jones in the movie. By then, it was almost 1AM. But their bodies were suspiciously neatly arranged on the train tracks. The boys had reportedly left home about midnight to go hunting. At first, police believed that the boys had died after smoking . There are many conspiracy theories about this case that say many differnet people are involved or responsible for their deaths. The claims in the video are controversial; some have been discredited, while others continue to be debated. [7], Linda Ives continued to search for justice for her son's death. The state medical examiner, Dr. Fahmy Malak, said they had been under the influence of marijuana and ruled the deaths accidental. Ives said that there was a possibility that Harmon was dealing drugs, but she was sure he had intentions of helping her find out what happened to her son. He believes that Kevin and Don stumbled on either drug traffickers or a drug lab that manufactured methamphetamine and that they were killed as a result. Filmography. Baz | May 1, 2017 at 5:54 pm. Links: Unsolved Mysteries Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. More than 1,000 feet of the decelerating train crossed the point where the bodies lay before it came to a stop. Maybe one of those with first hand knowledge will come forward to do the right thing and reveal who did what to whom in this whole ugly mess which was played out in Alexander but went from Mena to Little Rock, maybe even to Washington. I lived in Little Rock when the events described in Mara Leveritt's "The Boys on the Track" were unfolding. She merely fleshes out the context and explores all the leads in all their various directions. According to ID files, the day Duffey was hired, her boss, Gary Arnold, instructed her not to investigate any public officials. [3] Linda Ives, the mother of Kevin Ives, stated that her interest for participating was solving the mystery of her son's death, and was concerned her comments were used for political purposes. Update: August 23, 2019. These witnesses testimonies could have solved the murders of Kevin and Don, however they were all killed before they had the chance. Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2021. Ive been to Mena one time to go hiking with my dad. The deaths were initially ruled an accident, the result of the boys in a deep sleep on the tracks while incapacitated due to high amounts of THC allegedly present in their blood. A federal judge later dismissed many of the agencies listed, but ordered three of them to turn over the pertinent documents to him. Five months after the deaths, Kevin and Dons parents held a press conference. They believe that Kevin and Don walked up on something that they were not supposed to see; they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. One week before the boys died, a man wearing military fatigues was spotted not far from the train tracks. I lived in Arkansas from 1988 to 2005 and I remember this being local news during those early years. Asa Hutchinson. Neither of them was moving. Excerpt. Furthermore, he found evidence that Dr. Malak did not follow proper procedures when conducting the autopsies. Mara Leveritt has covered this story since it first broke back in 1987. Linda wondered, if they were that stoned, how were they able to lie down in identical positions? Who had covered them with it and why? Almost immediately, however, Duffeys undercover officers discovered that there were a number of public officials involved in drug trafficking. Congestion was also found in their lungs which indicated that they had been hurt before being hit by the train. Man Claims to Have Seen "Boys on the Tracks" Murders", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Clinton_Chronicles&oldid=1140842400, Having affairs with or harassing numerous women, Murdering witnesses to the Mena drug smuggling operation. Dan Harmon, a prosecutor of the case, who was later arrested for dealing drugs,[9] is one person implicated in the murder. By 1982, Seal was making regular runs on behalf of the Medellin Cartel from Columbia, bringing tons of cocaine into the U.S. before moving his operations from Baton Rouge, La. , of being corrupt and involved in drugs. "[2] The New York Times reported that it was a poorly documented "hodgepodge of sometimes-crazed charges. The action grips readers from the beginning, with the death of two teenagers, Don Henry and Kevin Ives, told from the perspective of the train engineers who accidentally ran over the boys' bodies. According to the L.A. Times, almost a year after Seals death, Sandinista patrol shot down a cargo plane that was supplying weapons to the Contras, right-wing rebels in Nicaragua supported militarily by the U.S. Seniors at Bryant High School, Kevin Ives and Don Henry allegedly witnessed a drug drop from Mena before they were murdered. Malak, in fact, had direct ties to Jocelyn Elders, who was the head of the state health department, and Bill Clinton, who was governor at the time. He was released in 2006 after helping prosecutors in a murder conspiracy case. At the time, President Ronald Reagan was paranoid about another communist government rising in the western hemisphere, so Seals information was music to Reagans ears. . The Fat Man was arrested in Florida in 1984 for money laundering and smuggling quaaludes. Wilson was known as the Lady with the Snow in Little Rock. Day, Chris. https://www.hellofresh.com/pages/podcast?c=killer80&utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=cpm&utm_campaign=3020101010&utm_term=killer80Ano. Arkansas parents dispute ruling on sons' deaths, Parents Doubt Report Blaming Marijuana: Youths' Deaths on Train Tracks Probed, Forensic photos indicate teens were injured prior to being struck by train, Garrett says, Second Autopsy Report Concludes Teens Murdered, Saline County Sheriff criticizes Malak for his handling of deaths, Prosecutor says teens hit by train may have seen drug dealers before death, Prosecutor: Teens killer will be brought to justice, Teens deaths ruled homicides after parents push for facts, Patrick Matrisciana's US Court of Appeals. Known as the Fat Man, Seal was said to be smuggling about 1000 pounds of cocaine out of Mena at the height of his career, as reported by the Louisiana Voice. Boonie Bearden, who was friends with Collins and Coney, went missing in 1989. It looks like WhatsApp is not installed on your phone. Unfortunately no justice was done for the boys as there was corruption in high places. It is not known if the boys were Kevin and Don. The gun and flashlight near the bodies suggested they were using a hunting technique known as spotlighting, which involves using a bright light to scan for animals whose eyes brightly reflect the light after dark. When recalling the accident to local authorities, all the members of the train crew observed a tarp covering the bodies before they were run over. This page is not available in other languages. Everything that WAS brought out to the public centered on the West Coast aspect of the Cocaine-flow into the US Freeway Ricky Ross, Danilo Blandon, Norwin Meneses and so on What the CIA had set up in Mena Arkansas with Barry Seal etc, has never been officially explained not even as shoddily as the West Coast operation was explained away. "We've got death. Please try again. Eugene Hasenfus, who flew for the CIA, was the sole survivor of the crash, out of four men. I finally understood, Duffey wrote in a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal in 1997, To solve the train deaths case would be to expose the crimes of Mena, and no government agent who has come close to doing either has survived professionally., Prospective Online Copyright 2023 FLEX WordPress Theme by SNO Log in, Your email address will not be published. The authorities arrived soon after, and some claim this is when they began a massive cover-up. The case remains unsolved, and Leveritt draws no conclusions. Clinton Bush and CIA Conspiracies: From The Boys on the Tracks to Jeffrey Epstein (War on Drugs), Dark Alliance: Movie Tie-In Edition: The CIA, the Contras, and the Cocaine Explosion, If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood, The Boys on the Tracks: Death, Denial, and a Mother's Crusade to Bring Her Son's Killers to Justice, Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three, Dark Spell: Surviving the Sentence (Justice Knot Trilogy), The Vapors: A Southern Family, the New York Mob, and the Rise and Fall of Hot Springs, America's Forgotten Capital of Vice, Aberration in the Heartland of the Real: The Secret Lives of Timothy McVeigh, Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties, This book is serious and shocking. His murder remains unsolved. Covering up the circumstances surrounding the deaths of two boys found dead on railroad tracks near the airport, Protecting a state medical examiner who was repeatedly accused of misstating the cause of death in several, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 01:31. Suspects: The man wearing military fatigues witnessed by police and others remains a possible suspect, but police have never been able to locate or positively identify him. I grew up listening to the stories my mom told me of her two friends who were run over by a train 29 years ago. However, I came to find them helpful in feeling Linda's utter frustration with trying to crack the veneer of corruption of the good ol' boys network in Arkansas. Don and Kevin's parents, however, could . It also looked into an alleged drug ring in Saline County which ran out of Mena Airport and was covered up by police. Several of these theories date to Clinton's tenure as the governor of Arkansas. They began a crusade to find out what really happened and salvage the reputation of their sons. This is an important book, about and important cover-up. [1] It was partially funded by Larry Nichols, a long-time Clinton opponent, and distributed with help from the Rev. The Railroad Tracks (Documentary) m.youtube comment sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment Jeff Rhodes told his family that he feared for his life because he knew too much about Kevin, Don and McKaskles murders. Former Saline County prosecuting attorney Dan Harmon investigated the case and presented evidence to the grand jury. The two deaths have remained unsolved, but have sparked public interest in the morals and intentions of those we elect to represent and protect us. Fearing for his reputation, Harmon used the local newspapers to destroy Jean Duffeys character. By 4:40 a.m., police arrived on the scene. All rights reserved. This doctor concluded that together, they had smoked not twenty, but between one and three marijuana cigarettes. [1] Matrisciana later acknowledged that he was not in any danger, but that the interview was staged for dramatic effect at Falwell's suggestion. The Deaths . The apparent murder in Saline County in 1987 of seventeen-year-old Kevin Ives and sixteen-year-old Don Henry has spurred ongoing controversy, including conspiracy theories tying their deaths to a drug-smuggling scandal. Her approach is one of scrupulous reporting and lively narrative. In exchange for this information, Seals sentence was reduced to six of months probation, and he was enlisted as an undercover informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). As Dan Harmons investigation pushed forward, many potential witnesses started to turn up dead. "[3] The producers were criticized after it came to light that a number of the people in the documentary had been paid to appear. Curtis was not worried about them going into the woods because he did not think they would get in trouble. Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2018.
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