I Read The News Today, Oh Boy…

Well, yesterday would be more specific. But whatever. Anyways, I did read the LA news, of which I made one of the pages. I recently went to LA to speak to a man named Gregory Miner, one of the however many involved men, who murdered brutally and then robbed my grandparents, stole their car, brought it back, and set their house on fire.

I met a man named Dana Bartholomew. He approached me after the sentancing while I was the last one coming out of the courtroom, with a pad of paper and a pen, he asked me a few simple questions, such as “Last name? Father’s name?” Stuff like that, then he jotted down notes.

He approached my family later to do the same thing.

Then he wrote an article.

Read the first lines and be amazed:

FAMILY DELIVERS MESSAGES OF PAIN AND LOSS TO KILLER: BY DANA BARTHOLOMEW
At first, Mark Wiland felt he had nothing to say to the man sentenced Tuesday to life behind bars for murdering his grandparents.
Then he addressed Gregory Douglas Miner with one pain-filled message.
“I missed out on a beautiful thing – a relationship between a grandson and his grandparents,” said Wiland, 18, of San Jose. “It was a tragedy.”
Miner expressed no emotion as Superior Court Judge Barry A. Taylor sentenced him to two terms of life in prison without parole for the murders of 76-year-old William Lasky and his 73-year-old wife, Bertha.
The 32-year-old man was convicted last month of first-degree murder, robbery and burglary with special circumstances for the West Hills slayings.
The Laskys were killed inside their home during a home-invasion robbery in 2001. The killers, after stealing their car, returned later to set them and the house on fire.
Prosecutors and police said it was one of the most brutal murders they’d ever seen. Two more men allegedly linked with the deaths have not been charged.
During the trial, jurors had watched a 6 1/2-hour video of Miner confessing to more than a dozen versions of the crime.
But prior to his sentence, the once-convicted burglar declared he had nothing to do with the killings.
“I can only imagine the pain and suffering in the last few years,” he said to the victims’ family. “You may see justice served, but I beg to differ: You are looking
at a truly innocent man.
“True closure is catching those in the streets who truly committed this crime. May God bless you all.”
Miner’s parents described their son as a troubled man and compulsive liar who was coming off drugs during his taped police confession.
They said there was nothing during the monthlong trial – not blood, not DNA evidence – that ever connected him to the Lasky murders.
“I feel so sorry for them. My condolences go out to their family. It was the most horrific crime,” said his stepfather, Fred Ward, 52, of Lancaster, following the sentence at Van Nuys Courthouse.
“But my stepson didn’t do this. He didn’t have the hate in him to commit a crime of this nature.”
For the Laskys, nothing can ever replace the nurturing parents who had been wed for 53 years.
Nothing could replace Bill Lasky, a World War II veteran who loved nothing more than to cuddle his grandkids.
Nothing can ever replace Bertha, a Getty Center docent and dear friend of her family and to everyone else who knew her.
And nothing would ever again be normal for their three beloved children and numerous grandchildren.
“Your actions changed the lives (of our family),” said daughter Beth Lasky of West Hills to the impassive convicted killer. “I lost my best friend; my mother was my best friend.
“I’m not able to talk to my father. My children lost their grandparents in an awful and violent way. That is not normal.”
Son Scott said his parents were real, not some headline or story on TV. They were more than victims of some horrible crime. They had taught responsibility, they taught respect, and they taught love.
“Maybe when they nail your cohorts, we shall finally be able to put this to rest,” said Scott Lasky of San Jose during a lengthy address to Miner. “In my mind, you are the lowest of the low. You are going to where you belong.
“My only consolation is that my parents knew terror for only a few hours. May you know terror until the end of your days.”

I was touched by Dana’s article. And more touched by the fact that it opened with ME.

Now, I have to get back to crying.

MW