Children of Murder Victim

[OwnedJointly]

What is the name of your state? Florida
Hello all...thanks for reading this.

I'll try to explain as quickly and as best as I can. My bio-parents were divorced when I was a child in New Jersey. My father remarried, had no bio-children with his 2nd wife, were married for approx. 40 years and remained in New Jersey. Unfortanatly, my father was very recently murdered in his home by an acquaintance. My father was a very kind, soft spoken and generous man. According to the police in New Jersey the man killed my dad for some money that my dad refused to give him. My dad always kept in touch with us, his children, throughtout his life, visited us on occasion and helped us out financially whenever we needed some help. Although his wife was for some unknown reason very hostile towards us and very controlling and jealous with my dad. Three days before my dad was killed he phone called me and told me he had just sold a property in Florida and he was sending me the money from the sale that same week. The day of the funeral my dad's wife told my sister that my dad had asked her to send me that money in case something happened to him. Well, to make a long story short. She, (my dad's wife), left to Guatemala a week after my dad's death, told my sister that she never ever wanted any more contact with my dad's family, sent all of his kids some sort of a release of lien to settle for $5,000.00 (supposedly out of the goodness of her heart), and we would receive it when the police returned the money they confiscated from the house the day of the murder. BTW...my dad's house value in NJ was worth a million dollars

Please help us with any advice/suggestions we are (his children), all still in shock over our terrible loss...we loved our father very much and miss him a great deal. Thank you in advance.

PS I mailed/payed a lawyer in NJ $300.00 upfront just for a consultation and it's already been 3 weeks and he hasn't really done anything yet.What is the name of your state?

 

[BelizeBreeze]

What is the name of your state? Florida
Hello all...thanks for reading this.

I'll try to explain as quickly and as best as I can. My bio-parents were divorced when I was a child in New Jersey. My father remarried, had no bio-children with his 2nd wife, were married for approx. 40 years and remained in New Jersey. Unfortanatly, my father was very recently murdered in his home by an acquaintance. My father was a very kind, soft spoken and generous man. According to the police in New Jersey the man killed my dad for some money that my dad refused to give him. My dad always kept in touch with us, his children, throughtout his life, visited us on occasion and helped us out financially whenever we needed some help. Although his wife was for some unknown reason very hostile towards us and very controlling and jealous with my dad. Three days before my dad was killed he phone called me and told me he had just sold a property in Florida and he was sending me the money from the sale that same week. The day of the funeral my dad's wife told my sister that my dad had asked her to send me that money in case something happened to him. Well, to make a long story short. She, (my dad's wife), left to Guatemala a week after my dad's death, told my sister that she never ever wanted any more contact with my dad's family, sent all of his kids some sort of a release of lien to settle for $5,000.00 (supposedly out of the goodness of her heart), and we would receive it when the police returned the money they confiscated from the house the day of the murder. BTW...my dad's house value in NJ was worth a million dollars

Please help us with any advice/suggestions we are (his children), all still in shock over our terrible loss...we loved our father very much and miss him a great deal. Thank you in advance.

PS I mailed/payed a lawyer in NJ $300.00 upfront just for a consultation and it's already been 3 weeks and he hasn't really done anything yet.What is the name of your state?

a probate attorney can't do much in a week. You or someone from the family needs to either have a sitdown in NJ with this probate attorney or go to New Jersey to make sure Probate is handled correctly.

Did any of you sign the document sent by his wife?

 

[Betty]

I agree. You need someone to look after/protect any interest you & your siblings might have in the estate. Don't sign any release forms at this time.

 

[OwnedJointly]

Where is the justice?

Hi...thanks for your advice...I really do appreciate it.

Latest News:​

My siblings and I have not signed the $5,000.00 bogus release form.

My probate lawyer told me that probably the best thing to do is for him (my laywer), is to try to negotiate a little bit more money for us kids from the executor of my fathers will being my fathers wife.

My fathers wife left a week after my fathers death and now resides outside of the USA and is not taking any phone calls.

I just learned today, much to my surprise, from the Victims of the Familiy Advocate that the defendent, was released on a $250,000.00 bail, a month ago, basically only 2 weeks after killing my father. I had provided my contact info to the prosecuters office immediately after my fathers death, and was assured that I would be contacted with every new development. For some reason(s) I was not contacted but found this all out today because I called them with some questions one of them being if the defendent was still incarcerated. I was advised to not even send a "Victims Impact Statement" yet because it would probably get lost in the shuffle.

So, basically my elderly father was killed in cold blood by a lunatic, (whose is now freely living his life), my fathers wife refuses to have any contact with us and we are at her mercy. And I will probably never see the money that my father intended on giving me right before he was killed.

Words can not describe the pain, confusion and disbelief I am feeling.

Can anyone please try to shed any light on all of this madness? ​

The defendent is a young, married father of 2 children and got to spend the holidays with his family. My birthday was last week, my father had made plans with me to be with me for the holidays and my birthday.

The prosecuters assistance refered to the defendent as ; and I quote 'He is a nice guy...a family man...never been in trouble before...never met a defendent more remorsefull in my long career, it was just an arguement that went bad'. Is he kidding or what? My father was also a very nice family man that led a law abiding life. He was so trusting that he actually invited this guy into his home during his supper time to advise him on trying to straighten out his life. So, because my father would not lend him any money 'and he did not want to hear his surmon' he killed him by beating him to death. According to the defendent it was in self defense. He had no idea he had killed him when he left him laying in a puddle of blood on the living room floor and tried to clean the blood off with a towel from my fathers bathroom. Please keep in my mind that my father was in his late 70's, measured 5'2" and weighed 130lbs. The defendent is 25 years old, measures 6'3" and weighs over 250 lbs. My fathers face was totally unrecognizeable in his casket at his funeral, he didn't even have a nose!

I feel that my fathers only mistake(s) was to a) trust his wife in beleiving in her that if anything happened to him she would carry out his last and final wishes and provide us with what is legally and morally ours, (BTW the day after my father was killed, my fathers wife confided to my oldest sister and sister-in-law that she was aware of the money that my father wanted me to have and that he had entrusted her with it for me in case anything happened to him), and b) that he was just too trusting even with low-live thugs that did not deserve my fathers trust.

Special Note: My father was my hero...he was know in our small town as "The Saint for the Poor". A homeless man came up to my brother at my fathers funeral and told him that there would be many families that were not going to have a Christmas this year because my father always made sure that their kids had toys for Christmas by buying and or giving their parents money for Christmas gifts for them. My fathers death was a very big loss not only to me but to people I never even knew that my father helped. That's who my father was!

Sorry for such a long post, (I hope you understand), thanks again.