Murder in the Desert – More revelations about the murder of Brisenia Flores

Posted by on 2010/01/15

Jan 152010

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Home of murder victims Raul and Brisenia Flores in Arivaca Az [Photo - Arizona Daily Star

Suddenly, there are interesting revelations coming out concerning Minuteman child killer Shawna Forde. Nothing we haven’t heard before or reported on here, but more like clarifications.

Everyone’s aware now that Forde has been hospitalized in the jails infirmary for several days now. What we didn’t know was why, although all had their own ideas or suspicions. Laine Lawless, the committee of one behind the silly website defending Forde, brieflysaid Forde was on a “hunger strike” to protest her imagined status as a “RACIALLY PROFILED,
POLITICAL AGENDA PRISONER”. before she quickly took the comments down.

A friend of this site and frequent commenter Laura Ollis, who’s been a victim of Shawna Forde in the past, probably came closer to nailing it with this comment on the blog SENOR REPORTER:

If Shawna has gone on a hunger strike, it’s only because she IS the short, FAT, white woman who Brisenia’s mom Gina described to the police, and she wants to look different for her court appearance. Shawna just wants attention, ANY way she can get it.

The way Fordes mind work, this could well be the case. A spokesman for the Pima County Sheriff would only confirm Forde was being medically treated.

The town of Arivaca attempts to recover after a double-murder that has the anti-immigrant movement reeling

Tim Vanderpool, writing in the TUCSON WEEKLY, about his recent sojourn to Arivaca looking for answers to the questions we all have, wrote an interesting article about his journey and his thoughts. It reveals little we didn’t already know, but confirms much of what we have suggested.

The Murders

We reported last month how the father was shot at point blank range 6 times, and how afterwards, 9 year old Brisenia Flores was interrogated by the killers on the whereabouts of her older sister and where her father hid his drugs and money. She knew nothing and was shot at point blank range in the side of the check. “Stipling” around the entry wound confirms this.

Sometime in the early morning hours of May 30, 2009, uniformed strangers appeared at the modular house she shared with her husband, Raul “Junior” Flores, and two daughters. Those at the door claimed to be officers looking for fugitives. They demanded to come inside.

The door was opened. One stranger toted a gun with a taped grip. Another, a woman, was talking on a handset. Without warning, the gunman opened fire. Junior Flores was first hit. The man interrogated 9-year-old Brisenia before shooting her as well. Gina herself was shot three times.

The intruders then went looking for the second daughter. There were to be no witnesses. When the gunman returned, Gina had a pistol. A gunfight exploded, and she shot him in the leg.

Deputies found two bodies. Junior Flores had been shot several times. Brisenia was dead, with a gunshot through the cheek. Deputies also searched the property for the other Flores daughter before learning she was staying with grandparents.

Gina Flores had told an emergency operator that she heard her daughter crying and asking about her before a bullet was pumped into the little girl’s head. Brisenia Flores had just finished third-grade at the Sopori Elementary School in Amado.

On the life of victim Raul “Junior” Flores

Immediately after the murders, the border vigilantes and other zeroed in, without proof, the Flores was some type of big time drug smuggler. No proof of this other than cop talk and the need to justify Forde’s actions on that night.

According to Vandertool:

Immediately after the killings, the police were free with their opinions of Junior Flores. Anthony Coulson heads the Tucson office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. “Raul Flores was a drug-trafficker,” he told the Arizona Daily Star in June.

Today, the DEA declines to comment on Mr. Flores.

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik explained to the Star that these invaders were after drugs and money. “There was an anticipation that there would be a considerable amount of cash at this location,” he said, adding that Flores had previously been involved in narcotics trafficking.

Seven months later, however, the sheriff’s department is also without comment. “I’ve been told by the homicide unit that no one is to talk about that case,” says Deputy Dawn Barkman. This embargo includes the beefy crime report, a copy of which was given to the Green Valley News and Sun in June. “We released it at a certain point,” spokeswoman Barkman says. “And (homicide) told me they’re not releasing it anymore.”

According to authorities, no drugs were found in the Flores home. This detail adds to the feeling among locals that the cops got a bit too mouthy a bit too soon. “They kept saying Junior was a well-known drug dealer,” one Arivaca resident tells me. “Well, if he was so big-time, why didn’t they ever arrest him?”

THE ARRESTS

Vandertool recounts the arrests of the three murderers:

Jason Eugene Bush, “Gunny” to his friends, was apprehended on June 11 at a Kingman hospital, where he was being treated for a gunshot wound. He lived not far away, in Meadview. Police now believe him to be a serial killer.

On June 12, police arrested Arivaca native Albert Gaxiola on Tucson’s southside. In the 1990s, Gaxiola pulled an eight-year prison stretch for conspiring to sell marijuana. Armed with a search warrant, detectives seized a homemade grenade from his home, and a shotgun hidden in his truck.

On June 12, authorities also arrested Shawna Forde, executive director of a border-vigilante outfit called Minuteman American Defense. Prosecutors say Forde was carrying jewelry belonging to Gina Flores at the time of her arrest.

Leonard Zeskind, author of Blood and Politics: The History of the White Nationalist Movement From the Margins to the Mainstream sums the situation up nicely.

According to Zeskind:

“The Arivaca murders only highlight what many have always feared: The anti-immigrant movement, with its seething rhetoric and paramilitary posturing, would eventually attract people on the violent fringe. As a result, guilt is collectively shared by leaders ranging from Jim Gilchrist of the California-based Minuteman Project, and Arizona’s Glenn Spencer, to Chris Simcox.” (who founded the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps in Tombstone in 2002 and is now running a long-shot campaign to unseat Sen. John McCain)

“They’re all up to their alligator ears with Forde. And they can’t disown what they created. It’s everything that everybody thought sending people to the border with guns would wind up doing, which is promoting solutions to social problems through violence. That’s really what you see in this Minutemen attack.”

Vandertool even mentions ALIPAC’s Willy Gheen who always enjoys seeing his name in the news, most times.

Vandertool on ALIPAC:

nter William Gheen, of ALIPAC.

“(Shortly thereafter), along comes Mr. Gheen, with his outrageous report on his Web site that he had warned me about (Shawna) and that I was some sort of accomplice,” Spencer says. “It’s so outrageous.”

Gheen wrote on his Web site a few weeks later: “We regret to inform everyone that the home offices of Glenn Spencer of American Patrol have been raided by a swat (sic) team with a search warrant due to his involvement with Shawna Forde. ALIPAC issued several national advisories about Shawna Forde earlier this year, when it became clear she was a risk to our movement, dishonest and potentially violent.”

Yeah, we all know Gheen did that, after determining which direction would benefit him personally. He doesn’t mention though about the falling out he had with Jim Gilchrist and associates over Gilchrist’s refusal to turn over his email and donor lists to Gheen. That war continues to this day.

It’s a well written article that you’ll enjoy reading, if for no other reason than the writers style.

Tim Stellar of the Aristarnet teases us that there may be more to come. We’ll see.

Rena Caudle

Hi, I am back again. I have just a little more to say about my daughter. I want people to know just how complex she was. I mentioned some of the bad things she did but she also had a side to her that was delightful. One time she and her sister tackled their dad and ratted his hair, spray colored it different colors and styled it. Then she took a photo of their work.It was funny and one thing a mother enjoys and that is watching her girls interact with their dad. We had many times like that, Everytime she came down we had family gatherings. Shawna gave us all the best haircuts we ever had and we would all line up for them. Shawna would take me over to the elks and we would have lunch outside. Sometimes she would stay at the Red Lyon Inn and we would all gather by the pool and spend the day. she brought some of her friends with her to the house when she stayed as they were welcomed too. We would shop or go see sites or just sit and yak. Jaszmin would be with us and we had such fun. Shawna can be very generous when she wanted to be. She felt that we all should have free skin products that are very good ones. One time she asked my challenged grandson what kind of marker pens he would like and what a surprise when she brought one of everything for him. He loved it. when my husband and I would make the trip up to Wa she gave a party and invited a cousin of mine that I am close to. Shwana was generous to a fault, very funny when she wanted to be and if she believed in you she would defend you. But on the other hand she got mad at me because I wouldn't get rid of my grandson and let her run our lives. She would be here and as soon as she left she would go to her brothers house and talk me down. I had no idea until the kids told me that she hated me still for giving her up. We had talked a lot about why I did it and I told her if I could go back and do it over I would have made better nchoices and would not have done that but at the time I thought I was doing the thing. She told me many times she no longer held it against me. Shawna is like the term, oxymoron, in the sense she would say and do one thing and say another. Like saying it is an awfully nice day. Do you get what I mean? She would leave Merrill's house and come here and talk bad about him and acuse him of all kinds of things that he never did. She was careful what she said in front of her kids because she would want to dump them off and she didn't want them saying something that would make is not want to have them here.All I can legally say about the murders is she called me up after they had done it and she ended her conversation with me by saying she needed to talk to some one sane and now she is putting it out on the internet that I am a physco and that she supported us financially and when she lost her job and had to stop giving us money we turned on her. Yes, she co-signed for Ken to get our new car. We have been married forty years and most of the time paid cash for things. He didn't have a lot of credit built up. But the payments are made by us and on time. When I went into making victorian greeting cards to sell she brought me a huge bag of everything you could use. It was a wonderful gift.She gave me a necklace, bracelet, earrings and a ring that matched with rubys in it. I had it appraised and it was not that cheap. The ring has 3 ruby hearts in it and she told me one represented me, her and my granddaughter. That was so beautiful and I cherish that still. And I so agreed with Merrill when he says WHY SHAWNA? Why did you throw everything away? You could have had a wonderful life with John if you would have treated him nice. At one time he loved you and now he lives in total fear of you. He knows who shot him and it is going to lead to her. It is so sad. And to kill a child? How can anyone do that? Our children are our most precious gift. This whole thing is a nightmare. I just hope that some of you out there who read this can have a better picture of who Shawna is. That is why I say I love the girl who represented the good side of her. That is the side I think of most and I so miss our eleven o clock phone conversations or the nine thirty ones when she would be out walking Charlie, her dog. But it will be no longer as she threw it all away and for what? A little bit of jewlry? And the twelve thousand she stole from my friends? That family has been through HELL because of what she did and I can go into that any time anyone wants to know.

mmetzger

You know mom we done what any sane person would do. We told the truth and we get burned for it by some who have proven themselves to be real prudes. But as a Christian I did what was right , God knows it and he knows the real truth about all things. He even knows about Robeta Dills lesbian affairs, and what does the bible say about Laying with the same sex ? He says those who do will not be allowed in. So that comforts me when I come up against people like Dill because they aint got nothing on me and cannot prove any of those nasty things they have accused me of.

Rena Caudle

Let me tell you a little about Shawna that many don't know about.

After she came home to me and we became reaquainted as mother and daughter she started pulling strange garbage on her brothers and sisters. My son, Jeremy, who passed away in 1994 from childhood cancer, used to complain to me all the time about how she would wear no panties under her skirts and would sit on his bed and expose herself to him. I would talk about it with Jeremy and tell him to be patient with her and to just not look.

I had been told by Shawna by that time that her adoptive father had molested her. ( and now we find that to be a lie)

She went to her sister in Texas and Shawna was so racist against her husband because he was Mexican that she had to throw her out. She was never allowed back to her house even though the two girls would go out with their two other sisters together.

She accused her brother Merrill of sleeping with his brothers wife, ( which was not true) and then turned around and dropped her towel she had around her and tried to seduce her other brother Michael!

She tried to get me into serious trouble and the one thing that saved me was my being one of Jehovah's Witnesses. We abhor dishonesty as it can cause us serious trouble with our creator. We take our beliefs very serious. Anyone who knows a witness will have to agree that we are honest people, even if you don't share our beliefs.

She and her sister D. became so very close for a long time for Shawna to turn on her and did all kinds of nasty things to her sister D. Shawna has done rotten things to them and I have heard through the grape vine that she pulled a lot of similar things with her brother and sisters on her dad's side and that she was not welcomed by them.

These things have gone on for the twenty so years that Shawna has been back.

I had her first husband tell me how she killed her first baby but there is no way to prove it now. He came to me about that during their divorce and I thought it was said to me out of anger at her until one of her sisters told me that Shawna herself told her she killed it. There have been many times that I would pull back from Shawna because I thought she was sociopathic. No, I am not a doctor but I know how to read and study.

There have been times I felt I was in danger. Then she tells me she wants to bury the hatchet and have her kids have a grandmother. Ok, I am for that. I love my grandkids as well as my kids. I thought that over the last seven or eight years we seemed to have done very well in our relationship.

I never was involved with her Minutemen stuff but I was proud of her for the good changes I thought she was making for herself. She would show me some of her videos she made in the dessert. But a little before the shooting of her husband she changed drastically.

I can't talk about all that she said and did because I am a witness for the police in Everett, Redding and down in Arizona. But in spite of all the things she did to us we loved her, made her part of the family and accepted her as she was.

Her and Merrill were very close and many times when Shawna would become tired of being a parent he would take her kids in and keep them for very long periods of time. He did much for her. And what has she done? She has had Roberta Dill print all those lies about him. He is not a child molester and he is not a drug dealer.

He has spina-biffida and uses medical maryjane. So do millions of other people use it for pain but that does not make them drugdealers.

She robbed her brother and she robbed my best friends and it has been proven here and they are looking for the third person in that. Charges will be brought.

I love the daughter that would come down about every six weeks, stay for a few days, sometimes call me every day, have fun with and stuff. I miss that girl very much. And now I have to face loosing another child in death if she gets it at her trial. I wish that people would look at the whole picture and not be so judgemental towards us. We have been to heck and back over her. I just hope this gives some a little bigger picture of who and what Shawna is.

mmetzger

Wow ! I had forgotten so many things that you mentioned mom that it open a whole lot of memories of her and I. Yes I too am going to miss the sister that I loved but I got to hate murder more . I don't know what happened in my sister but something changed her and it came after getting involved in the minutemen. I think she thought she was invinceable. Damn it Shawna why ?

Rena Caudle

Howard,
You seem to think Merrill is a jackass but let me tell you, he dropped out of her minuteman group when he realized how predjuidiced she was and her group with her.

When some one sits on your sofa and tells you that they want to join the military so she can learn how to kill people because she wants to know what it is like to kill people, tells you how she is going to break into peoples homes and rob them of their drug money and drugs support her group ( which makes them as bad as the ones they were going to take from) and when you ask them if that is a wise thing to do because someone might get killed and they say SO? and when they tell you how easy it would be for them to kill you then what would you think about that person?

Then when the cops tell you to be very careful and keep your eyes open when she is in your house and refer to her being there like the cat sleeping next to the rocking chair. He sleeps with one eye open so he won't get his tail caught under the rocker, what would you think?

My friends that she robbed didn't have drugs in their house nor did they deal in drugs but they were tied up, had a mentally challenged son in their home , held guns on them, undid their phones and so forth, do you think that was fair? She taught her children to steal, she hired someone to shoot her husband who by the way is a very nice man and did not deserve what he got from her. She has done many terrible things to people who were suckered in by her and has turned their lives upside down.

But inspite of all the crap she pulled on her family we still loved her and had her as part of our lives.

What was Shawna doing with Ms. Flores jewelry when she was caught if she is so innocent?

I believe in the justice system and she needs to be judged by a jury of her peers. But we really know more about Shawna than most people out there realize. We have piles of proof at how many times she was here and stayed at our house but to hear her say it she only saw me twice a year, briefly. She did not support us financially. Roberta Dill is just having a fit because she has the hots for Shawna. There is some strong proof that she and Shawna were wondering how they could make money off the murders, I believe. Trust me on this,

if you are a strong supporter of Shawna then she must have something on you she is holding over your head because that is what she does to people. We, her family know more about this case than you do so you need to be quiet and rethink what you are going to say before you open your mouth.

I am tired of my son being badmouthed by people who don't know us. You scream for a fair trial for Shawna but are so quick to pass judgement on us whom you do not know.

We deserve a fair trial also.
Howard

I was responding primarily to MM's comments. There is a lot more information for anyone who wants to do some research. I have been checking in here to learn new information. Instead I keep finding MM gleefully jumping around on his sister's grave, so to speak, while proclaiming his undying love for her. PUKE!!! I won't be back…thanks anyhow.

mmetzger

Boy you really are a ass clown. I think you need some reading lessons. Yes I do Love my sister I don't love murder and especially murder of a child. You damn right this has caused anger from me about this whole thing. I am angry that a child lost their life because of greed. If you can't understand that then I pity you as you are a heartless and thoughtless person. Yes I have talked to the police, absolutely ! and I'll do it again if it arises.

I have had threats to my life, I have been accused of being a predator and I only got one thing to say to people like you, if you or anyone wants a piece of me I suggest that you better bring a bigger one than I !

Howard

I've never alluded to having information that would exonerate Forde. I am interested in seeing justice done. I read the evidence and what is posted with an open mind. I feel the need to speak up when I see facts ignored or misinformation spewed for the obvious purpose of furthering vindictive agendas.

Advocate

I was referring to this comment

I guess you all have probably heard by now that the results of forensics paint quite a different picture of what really came down at Arivaca

It would seem you have some inside information the rest of us are not privy to.

We're all interested in seeing justice done, just as surely as Laine Lawless and company are trying to subvert that justice happening. It seems she's taking a page out of Joe Loya's playbook where he successfully tried to get his son in law Ignacio Ramos acquitted in the court of public opinion, successfully I might add, although a jury of 12 upheld their oath as citizens and rendered a righteous guilty verdict.

No one here has any vindictive agenda as you put it, but we are committed to keep the memory of this murdered child alive before the public and follow this case to it's logical conclusion.

Based on the evidence available to the general public, her own words and actions since her fake rape claim last January and events since then, the logical conclusion will be "Guilty As Charged".

And despite Arizona juries having a history of ignoring the evidence and their sworn duty in order to acquit those guilty of crimes against Hispanics (ie: BP Agent Nicholas Corbett) The sad truth of the matter is that Shawna Forde would probably be walking around free on bail at the moment, and possibly facing acquittal on all charges had not the death of the child occurred.

I see no facts being ignored, as the lunacy about government conspiracies and such are not facts, rather the rantings of the lunatic fringe of our society

Howard

MM, you appear to be a liar because in one post you state you haven't had anything to do with your sister for a couple of years, while in another you state that you were tight with her up until the Arivaca murders. You appear to be a mushroom because you continue to spew erroneous information…so either you are lying about that as well, or else you are a mushroom…you know, kept in the dark and fed a lot of s….t. That's what people do with blabber-mouths…feed them misinformation because they cannot be trusted with anything critical. As for being a punk, I passed that era several decades ago, but you obviously have not.

Advocate

My question for you Howard is what makes you such an expert on the subject, especially since you are over 200 miles north of Tucson and the area where the crimes occurred.

Could it be that you were involved with Jason Bush before his arrest in your area?

How about sharing with us this information you allude to having that will exonerate Forde.

Based on the evidence against her, much of it from her own mouth, she is where she needs to be. People have gone to death row on much less evidence.
mmetzger

Why don't you back up your post ? I never said I did not have anything to do with Shawna for a couple of years except for when I first met her. I did not always know Shawna, she was introduced to the family in1988. When I first met her she was terror and after her pulling what she did yes it was then I did not have anything to do with her, so you either need to learn to read or you need to pull your head out of your ass !
mmetzger

Howard,

What a turd you are. You are one of those who would keep the knowledge of a child murdered from the law ! You should be ashamed of yourself. Ashamed before God and before your fellow man. So it is ok for someone to cold blooded murder people and little innocent children ! You make me sick ! I just want to puke in your face. That's all you are is vomit you sick sorry son of a bitch !

It's people like you who make America a bad place and it's people like you who say all the things they can think of about people you never met. I'm so glad that you have become God now. I'm very glad that my God is way different than yours !

Signed Lovingly, MM

Howard

MM, you are either a liar or a mushroom..if you get the drift.

mmetzger

Howard, you don't even know me so how the hell do you think you have the right to judge me ? You must be a real asshole. Uh I don't lie and maybe you should just tell us all about how you know that I am a liar ! I'm calling you out punk ! A mushroom ? whatever the hell that means, hmmm maybe your jealous I don't know the reasons for your comment so why don't you enlighten us !

mmetzger

Well I know what I have heard and that is that there is enough to hang them high.
James

I think that your agenda is quite clear when this first bold quotes on this post are "Short, fat and white".

The only return to your site, by me, will be to share your posts with true Americans..

Wishing you nothing but the best;

Gum..

Advocate

No agenda here James other than to keep this from being buried and forgotten.

The "Short, Fat, White" quote was from a comment on a reporters website, describing the mother's description of one of the assailants.

Laine Lawless, on her Pro-Forde site, claims that Forde is "Sweet and Petite". Nothing more than that.

I hope you do share this with what you call "True Americans", as I imagine they will be as disgusted and repelled by the actions of this woman as we are.

Howard

I guess you all have probably heard by now that the results of forensics paint quite a different picture of what really came down at Arivaca. There's definitely a lot of b.s. flying around. The trial will be interesting.

Advocate

No, we haven't heard anything about any forensics results that would exonerate Forde. But we do agree that their is a ton of bullshit flying around, especially from the CJSF.

Care to share the forensic results and and validate them?

mmetzger

Advocate,

I think you are very right. I think Ol' Chucky baby knows more still than he is offering and I think that Laine Lawless knew that this crime was going to go down. There is some stories that say they (Shawna & laine) had made a deal to write a book out of this crime so Laine knew something more than she is also saying. It is illegal to withhold information about a crime so maybe soon we will see a few more behind bars for their part in this terrible terrible crime. My mother and I have been attacked by Laine and John Lyons who is nothing more than scum on this planet. They think they know all about us but in reality they know nothing as they only know what Shawna tells them and Shawna is a liar, a known liar as many people who knew her have said so on different blogs and not to mention Shawna is in Jail not us.

I guess that is how the game is played criminals support other criminals etc, etc.

Inmy next blog I am going to talk about how the Everett Wash. police had been doing what others were telling them the murders would of never had happened. Yes you read that right. If the Everett police had of listened to me from the beginning there would not of been any murders as Shawna would have been arrested for the attempted murder of her husband. I will talk more about that later it is going to be a long blog but one I think needs to be out there !
mmetzger

Advocate,

Boy I think you hit the nail on the head about Stonex and Laine Lawless except you know that's not her real name. I too think they should be charged for being an accessories.

Stonex is a lyin looser. He still continues to tell the police lies.

Although I have to say I cannot wait till this is all over but for my family I don't know if it will ever be over. My mother and I have been trashed by Shawna and Laine lawless who does not know me or my family at all only because we told what she told us and nothing more than that.

And then for my own sister to rob my home while I was on vacation was about the lowest a family member can do to another. Oh she didn't get away with much from me but the other people she robbed is loosing their home because he has lost hours from work and that money was to cover their mortgage while work was slow and now they are loosing it. Thanks so much for your concern Shawna and Bush and there was another we believe his name is Todd Hezlett if anyone knows his where abouts the police want to talk with him so call our police here in Redding or Tucson. I believe the Tucson police want to talk to him also.

Advocate

What are these letters being talked about on Tim Stellar's blog?

It's hilarious how bottom feeders like those commenting there make heroes of criminals like Forde, Ramos and Compean and others.

American society is going to hell and it has nothing to do with illegals or Mexico

mmetzger

All I got to say is if there is another person involved which I believe that they have all those involved already is that they may get away with their crimes here in this life but eventually we all die and we all face judgement before our creator and that I would fear more than anything a person could do. Hell is a very scary and very tormentous place, a place I know I will never see thank God !

Advocate

I've got to say Merrill. I think they have the major players in custody. Forde, Bush and Gaxiola.

By the same line of reasoning,Chuck Stonex and Laine Lawless should at least be charged as accessories.

Accessory after the fact for treating the gunshot wound and keeping their mouth's shut about it.

Really? How many border vigilantes have been jumped or shot while trolling around on the border? In reality, not in their vivid imaginations and phony videos they create.

And the manner in which your sister went around the country running her mouth about her plans for Arivaca, to you and your family, to the Colorado Vigilantes who called the FBI and to who know who else;

It stretches the limits of logic and credibility that she didn't mention her plans to Chuck Stonex whom she'd tagged to be her director of MAD in New Mexico.

I think the majority would agree with that assessment.

Immigration Clearinghouse

Murder in the Desert – More revelations about the murder of Brisenia Flores