Two Alternate Viewpoints
In the coming week I and my fellow authors hope to expand the number of our posts, as well as their content. Discussing the case this weekend over dinner, we three were again confronted with the number of questions and puzzles this case presents, its inherent slippery nature, and our growing frustration presented by the far more numerous unknowns than knowns. Key in my mind:
- The timeline as presented in the affidavit and subsequent reporting just does not work – for the “intruder” theory, the “accidental death” theory, the “sex party gone wrong” theory or even, and the grimmest edge, the “thrill kill” theory. Working with the very few time posts – arrival, scream, 911 call, forensics analysis of death – none of the theories seems to work. Something is seriously amiss here.
- The relative silence this case is generating in the gay community. Had Mr. Wone been an out gay man, there’s no question in my mind the gay blogosphere and even some mainstream organizations – like the HRC – would have been raising the roof to move this case to discovery and closure. Why the relative silence?
- We know who is providing support (emotional and otherwise) for Mr. Wone’s widow, Kathy Wone. Why are we not hearing anyone come to the public defense of the three defendents – at least several of whom were prominent members of the gay community? Further, it’s been suggested that supporters of Price, Zaborsky and Ward are now coming out in greater numbers for their court appearances: who are these people, and why are they keeping hidden?
- Piecing together the accumulating evidence of Mr. Price’s personal intimate conduct – and bringing absolutely no judgement to his activities whatsoever – why has no-one come forward to discuss their prior sexual contacts with him, or his two partners? Something just does not make sense here.
- The immediate investigation. There was evidence of sexual assault, but no search was conducted in the house for possible sex toys that were used? There was confusing evidence of possible paralytic agents, but no serious toxicology was run beyond the standard meth-coke-party drug tests? The entire scene showed signs of a scrubbing, so no broader search beyond the house and backyard? Was even the entire house searched thoroughly? It sounds not.
Again, questions on my mind I hope we are able to answer in the coming months.
However, I do want to quickly post two responses to two previous posts.
To David’s post on whether Mr. Wone was secretly gay, or perhaps just curious: he suggests that anyone closeted would choose anonymous sexual contacts to pusue “…his desires in more clandestine settings, such as an out of town trip where he would not have been noticed.” I thoroughly disagree. I’m gay, and while relatively untroubled most of my adult life by my sexuality, I like everyone went through a coming-out process. For my part, the very person I would have sought out to explore with would be someone I know well: someone close, trustworthy, caring…someone who will help me and look out for me. Oh, and someone who would keep his mouth shut. I’m not suggesting Mr. Wone was closeted, or even curious. But if he were, it’s entirely sensible to this author that he would seek out a trusted friend to explore with.
And to Alex Constantine’s post in which he links to a conspiracy theory linking Radio Free Asia (RFA) to the CIA. The connection is correct – only if you stop time at 1971. In brief the organization Radio Free Asia was founded in the mid-50’s and funded largely, but not exclusively by the CIA. In this time RFA was a propaganda organ, beaming anti-communist broadcasts largely at China, Korea, and Vietnam (although there were other target regions in other languages.) All true enough. However, and this is the key, in 1971, after these connections were exposed, the CIA severed all connection with RFA. 25 years later, a new “RFA” or Radio Free Asia was incorporated as a U.S.-funded private organization with the aim of “surrogate broadcasting” – namely, broadcasting accurate and objective news programming to countries that are under-served, or mal-served, by their own government’s censorship of information. Overseen now by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, RFA is a journalist operation, not a propaganda or intelligence operation, with fairly transparent oversight. Don’t believe me: check out their website to read and listen to their coverage, and make your own call.
– Posted by Doug
Not to sound snarky, but maybe you should read the warrants that have been made public more carefully.
1. Timeline- we do not know the exact timeline b/c all we can go by is the three accused men’s statements of when Wone arrived, when they supposedly found him, etc. It was odd that Price and Zaborksy were fixated on what time it was when Z. talked to the 911 operator. Also, the neighbor who heard the scream didn’t know the exact time of that either.
– what kind of uproar are you expecting from the ‘gay community’? A flood of editorials in the paper?
– We can’t be sure that the accuseds’ friends, former sex partners, or would-be thrill-kill victims have all been silent. Again, what are they supposed to do, hold a press conference? Maybe they have been in touch with the police/prosecutors. We (the public) don’t know.
– your comment about the sex toys is wrong. if you read the warrants, you will see that the investigators seized a lot of sexual items from 1509 Swann St., including a shock device that may have been used on Wone.
– your comment about a closeted man wanting to turn to someone he could trust is pretty wack, seeing that Joe Price sure as heck turned out to NOT be a trustworthy friend. I’m trying to keep an open mind, since none of us know what really happened, but note that the arrest warrant for Ward stated that all 3 told investigators that Wone was straight and that was the 1st time he stayed at their home. It wasn’t only his wife who said they were happily married. The warrant stated something like, the investigation revealed that Wone was happily married and had never been sexually involved with any of the three men. One would assume that the police relied on other evidence (like reading through Wone’s and Price’s emails stored on the computers they searched, talking to other people) to come to this conclusion. The drug use can explain a lot about how these so-called normal people turned into rapists, obstructionists, and murderers. Price definitely was no poster boy for the gay community, though he pretended to be one.
Anonymous, you don’t sound snarky at all. Well, mostly. I welcome critique.
Point by point:
1: Actually, we do have certain set timeposts. Witnesses have testified to last see Mr. Wone around 9:30, following an ABA meeting. Defendents say he arrived around 10:30, which is questionable. Next door neighbors report the scream either at the top or bottom of the 11 o’clock hour. And we have the 911 call. Within this matrix, we must place the events of Mr. Wone’s death. And as I will post soon, the timeline I believe will favor the prosecution.
2: Yes, actually, I am expecting a flood of editorials. Again, had Mr. Wone been a public out gay man, you can bet there would be a loud outcry – and justifiable – from the ‘established’ gay community to solve his slaying. So far, however, their silence is troubling.
3: Arguable. Perhaps you’re correct that former sex partners have been in contact with police. But my hunch, and my radar, suggests a cone of silence has descended. I could be wrong. Heck, if someone can come forward to help solve this case I’ll be the first to throw his arms up and say “I Was Wrong!”
4: You’re correct here, although I’ll argue with the use of “large number.” Granting the seizure of electro-shock devices and other toys (the “Joyrider”, etc.,) I’m still troubled that apparently a more thorough search of the premises wasn’t conducted.
5: My comment is only “wack” in light of what happened. You’re working backward from the murder; work forward before it. Again I’ll stand by my theory that a closeted or curious man would choose a long-know, trusted and close friend to explore his sexuality with rather than an anonymous contact. Hindsight is clearest, but Mr. Wone didn’t have that luxury.
At the risk of observing the obvious, I wouldn’t discount the Radio Free Asia angle merely because the CIA wasn’t associated with it. In the eyes of dictators, journalists merely wanting to tell the truth are also considered a problem.