Remembering a Murdered boy: Westley Thorin Keaton Roberts. Happy would-be 13th birthday 7:47pm (birth minute)


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This is the pamphlet from his funeral.

This is the pamphlet from his funeral.

Westley Was premature. this was his first day home from the hospital. — in Fairfax, Virginia. October 30, 1998

Westley Was premature. this was his first day home from the hospital. — in Fairfax, Virginia. October 30, 1998

Westley and I moved to Hillsdale, Michigan where I had attended & graduated from Hillsdale High School in 1997 — in Homer, Michigan.

Westley and I moved to Hillsdale, Michigan where I had attended & graduated from Hillsdale High School in 1997 — in Homer, Michigan.

Here he is with his favorite rattle in the shape of a guitar.

Here he is with his favorite rattle in the shape of a guitar.

I'm gonna stand up and start walkin soon ma... just you wait... just gotta do a few more strenght building exercises to get in shape... come on E'ore lets do it!

I’m gonna stand up and start walkin soon ma… just you wait… just gotta do a few more strenght building exercises to get in shape… come on E’ore lets do it!

Westley's 1st birthday party. he loved this toy. its a rocker with a plastic book on top. each page has different sounds on the buttons & that red paddle goes "broinggggggggg"& stays in motion for a bit every time you "broinggggggg" it... it was so cool to watch him giggle with this.

Westley’s 1st birthday party. he loved this toy. its a rocker with a plastic book on top. each page has different sounds on the buttons & that red paddle goes “broinggggggggg”& stays in motion for a bit every time you “broinggggggg” it… it was so cool to watch him giggle with this.

We lived between Hillsdale, Michigan and and Homer, Michigan in Southern Michigan

We lived between Hillsdale, Michigan and and Homer, Michigan in Southern Michigan

On May 6, 2000 Westley Thorin Keaton Roberts sustained injuries in this bathtub. He suffered a blow to the abdomen so severe it ruptured his intestines. It took him 12 hours to die. He died while I gave him CPR just after getting home from work. He was Dead on arrival. they never got a pulse.

On May 6, 2000 Westley Thorin Keaton Roberts sustained injuries in this bathtub. He suffered a blow to the abdomen so severe it ruptured his intestines. It took him 12 hours to die. He died while I gave him CPR just after getting home from work. He was Dead on arrival. they never got a pulse.

If all works out according to plan, this will be posted on my only child’s birth minute on what would have been his 13th birthday.

I have often said that we have a word for people who loose all family members but children (widow/widower, orphan, ect) partially because of historical mortality rates of children and partially because it is a loss so horrible there just isn’t a word to describe the feeling. I will never forget you Westley. You changed me as a person for the better & for this, I am forever grateful to you.

I named my only child Westley Thorin Keaton Roberts. I agonized in research for months looking for the right name. Westley and Keaton together means ~”loosely” man from the field where the Hawks go in Gaelic. Westley was also in deference to of my I don’t know how many great(s)-uncle named Westley O’Connor who family legend says worked with the first pine-bark beetle infestations in Colorado. Thorin was for the character Thorin Oakenshield in J. R. R. Tolkien‘s book “The Hobbit” and also because his biological father had requested that “Thor” be in the name some where. The other hidden joke in Westleys’ Name will already be seen by fans of the movie “The Princess Bride” whose main character Wesley becomes “the dread pirate roberts” later on.

Westley Thorin Keaton Roberts
born 10/24/1998 7:47pm Fairfax, Virginia in Fair Oaks Hospital

murdered 05/06/2000 (finally passed late around 11:59pm) Homer, Mi

On May 6, 2000 Westley Thorin Keaton Roberts sustained injuries in a bathtub. He suffered a blow to the abdomen so severe it ruptured his intestines. It took him 12 hours to die. He died while I gave him CPR just after getting home from work. He was Dead on arrival. they never got a pulse. His death was ruled a homicide. The only person with Westley that day was my fiance. I will not say his name.

Justice miscarried (murderer acquitted on a technicality Jan/Feb 2001) Battle Creek, MI

This is a video of art I have created between March of 2009 and September 2010. It is set to a song written by a friend of mine in real life from High School after the murder of my only child, Westley Thorin Keaton Roberts.

the below link will take you to where this video was first posted on facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/v/150854724934545

On October 23, 2011, I went looking for the online link for my son’s obituary. I have seen it online in the past. It should be on this page:

If you think I am being paranoid about my kid’s obituary being erased, please view the link. Yet the little girl who was raped & murdered & her body burned a few weeks after Westley is still there….. relevant excerpt below:

April 26, 2000

Robert Keith Rice, Sr.
Robert Keith Rice, Sr., 72, of Litchfield, died Thursday, April 20, 2000, at home.
Mr. Rice was born November 21, 1927, in Northwest Township, Ohio, to Ross O. and Belva (Seely) Rice. He married Hazel I. (Coats) Dickinson January 14, 1989. She survives.
Mr. Rice had been a machinist at Adwest in Hillsdale, as well as several other area shops. He was a WWII Army veteran and enjoyed membership in a motorcycle club. Mr. Rice was an avid hunter, fisherman and woodworker.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Rice is survived by two daughters, Tresia Moon of San Bernardino, California, and Laura Ann Johnson of Litchfield; a son, Robert K. Rice, Jr. of Bronson; five stepchildren, Diane Ely of Jacksonville, Florida, Doris Isaac of Westland, Esther McPherson of Marshall, Mary Dickinson of Hillsdale and Mickey Dickinson of Homer; a sister, Mildred Crawford of Camden; 16 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a sister.
Funeral services were held Monday, April 24, at the Camden Missionary Church, with Pastor Jeff Truex officiating. Interment followed at the Camden Cemetery.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the family.
Arrangements were handled by the St. John-White Funeral Home in Reading.

Frederick “Fritz” Lincoln
Frederick “Fritz” Lincoln, 76, of Litchfield, died Saturday, April 22, 2000, at his home.
Mr. Lincoln was born September 1, 1923, in Wayne County, to Zara Byron and Ada (Gladding) Lincoln. He owned and operated a service station in Litchfield for 17 years and was a foundry superintendent at Gale Manufacturing for more than 20 years. He was also a farmer.
Mr. Lincoln was a World War II army veteran, serving in the European Theatre, where he participated in the Normandy invasion. He received four Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart. He was a former member of the Homer American Legion, and enjoyed deer hunting, gardening and harness racing.
Survivors include a daughter, Bonnie Ament of Big Sandy, Tennessee; a son, Fred Lincoln of Reading; a companion, Betty Tervol of Litchfield; two sisters, Laura Doman of Horton and Zarena Coates of Warren; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, two sisters and a grandson.
Funeral services were held Tuesday, April 25, at the George White Funeral Home in Litchfield, with the Rev. Clyde Wonders officiating. Interment followed in Burlington Cemetery in Calhoun County.
Memorials are suggested to the Hospice of Hillsdale County.

May 3, 2000 – No obits

May 10, 2000

Charlotte May Merica
Charlotte May Merica, 83, of Homer, died Saturday, May 6, 2000, at Branch County Health Center in Coldwater.
Mrs. Merica was born August 18, 1916, in Walcottville, Indiana, to Franklin and Wilma (Keck) Slagle. She married Marion McVee Merica July 11, 1932. He preceded her in death in 1973.
Mrs. Merica came to the Homer area in 1936. She was a homemaker, who loved to cook and sew.
Survivors include two sons, William F. Merica of Montpelier, Ohio, and Walter L. (Annabelle) Merica of Homer; three daughters, Marjorie Robinson of Homer, Mrs. George (Joyce) Stanley of Quincy, and Mrs. Eugene (Mary) Ballinger of Homer; 17 grandchildren; 33 great-grandchildren; two great-great grandchildren; and a sister, Gladys Pauline Tech of Litchfield.
In addition to her husband, Mrs. Merica was preceded in death by a brother, Leroy Eugene Slagle, and two sisters, Winona Stull and Dolly Slagle.
Funeral services were Tuesday, May 9, at the Homer Chapel of Tidd-Williams Funeral Chapels, Inc., with Mrs. Teresa Bonifield leading the service. Burial was in Westside Cemetery in Colon.

scroll down and you will see
Ashlee Linnabary
Ashlee Linnabary, 4, of Homer, died Monday, May 22, 2000, at home.
Survivors include her mother, Jessica Moyer; her father, William Linnabary; a sister, Abagail; a brother, William; grandparents, Dale and Becky Andrews, Doug Moyer and Vernon and Carol Linnabary; and great-grandparents, James and Edith Dun, Andy Andrews and Margaret Linnabary.
Funeral services were held Friday, May 26, at the Charles J. Burden & Sons Funeral Home in Jackson. Burial was in Hillcrest Memorial Park in Jackson.
Memorials are suggested to the Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.
http://www.homerindex.com/obituary_archives.sml?send_year=2000

You can read more about her and her tragic story as well as many other stories of lost angels by clicking this sentence.

so, if to want to erase a baby’s name from history you probably have a good reason…. right? well it just so happens I know who has both motive & power to make such a thing happen… why? The sister of my fiance at the time was then/is now the head of the chamber of commerce a town or two over. I rented the trailer where he was murdered from her. She wanted this little “fiasco” with her brother to disappear…. and I guess she thought it did.

my son’s obituary has been erased from history apparently…. in a town as small as Homer, Michigan… i find it highly suspect. especially when the guy who was acquitted on a technicality in my son’s death has a sister in a nearby town who is the head of a chamber of commerce…. really respectful of them to erase his name from history…

more pics of westley

View all

When he went on trial, they spun it like I was a horrible mom who didnt care about my child and faked being sick (two years after wes died, I was placed on SSD/SSI because of my chronic pain, five more years later I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia) ….. they did a good job of smearing me then & i nearly killed myself over the way they blithely lied repeatedly in court and got others to do the same……. in the end, there is nothing I can do…. he cannot be tried twice for the same crime & he was acquitted because the DA made an error.

The near suicide attempts were 10 years ago during the trial. I haven’t been at that point in a long time. Keep in mind my heart/mind were utterly destroyed by that point. I’d been in the mental hospital for 1/2 a year trying to cope with losing my only kid… in court they were attacking vehemently, even using my own writings about my abuse committed on me to make it seem that I was having FANTASIES OF HURTING MY CHILD……. there really isn’t anything to be done but talk about it, get it out of my system, then let it be…. statuate of limitations for a civil suit expired long ago. I didn’t have the bank or a lawyer willing to take the case at the time.

who really cares that wes is gone? you who made sure his name disappeared? or me who went looking for it 11 years later to be sure it was still there…. all the news reports of the trial seem to have been “sanitized” as well. I dug a bit further and found out that he is working for his sister at the chamber of commerce.

How the does a child murderer guilty as sin but acquitted on a technicality get to work for a city chamber of commerce? 2 words Corruption & NEPOTISM. I have further proof of this, but do not want to set into action anything that could get someone physically hurt, so I have left their names off this page. email btokeefer@gmail.com if you would like further information.

I remember you WESTLEY. I wont forget you.

UPDATE, May 11, 2012 a Remembrance by Westley’s pa.

Westley’s father, Jason William Roberts, was kind enough to provide me with these two images. THANK YOU! many of the youngest images of westley have been stolen by my family and are likely in a safe deposit box. I really do appreciate seeing this. I really am not angry at Jason in the least. Things were what they were, and neither of us can change the past… It was a long time ago. We have both paid dearly for whatever we did in the past. I understand that these two images are all that Jason has to view. Therefore, I will do my best to provide him with each and every image of Westley I have that still exists. It’s only right. If i have more than Jason does, and he will share with me, I can share back

About Breezy Kiefair

links about breezy blog http://breedheenorilleykeefer.com/ on youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/Mr8MrsKiefAir?feature=mhsn ~ Do all that you can to cultivate peace within yourself, that it might shine out from you, and plant the seed of peace in other spirits, for them to cultivate.~ {Remember... it is when we choose act on the issues that are in front of our faces, when we choose to get involved instead of looking the other way as our fellow man struggles, when we choose to take those small simple little actions, working on righting little wrongs in our everyday lives that really make change happen, those seemingly small actions are what really make the world a better place and are a catalyst for greater social change.} ~Both quotes by Breedheen "Bree" O'Rilley Keefer~ an interview in the 420 times http://the420times.com/2010/06/the-faces-of-medical-marijuana-an-interview-with-breez/ Cannabis Health News Magazine... see pages 37-39 http://cannabishealthnewsmagazine.com/PDF/CHNM_Feb2010_small.pdf

Posted on 2011/10/24, in acquitted on technicality, American Dream, Battle Creek, Breezy, Breezy Kiefair, censorship, child murder, Child Murder, Chronic pain, Crime, Crime and Justice, Death, Deepdale, Dread Pirate Roberts, Funeral, Graham Westley, Hillsdale, Hillsdale High School, hillsdale michigan, Hobbit, Homer, Illegal, infanticide, Injustice, J. R. R. Tolkien, May 6 2000, May 7 2000, Michigan, Murder, October 24 1998, Poetry, Police Brutality, politics, Preston North End F.C., Princess Bride, Thorin Oakenshield, United States, Westley, Westley Thorin Keaton Roberts and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink. 25 Comments.

  1. Your story brought tears to my eyes. I wish that I could give you a big hug.

    At this point, all I can do is simply pray that your life can be filled with grace and peace and thanks for the short time that you were blessed to have your son here on earth with you.

    With hugs, Sondra

    Like

    • Breezy Kiefair

      thank you Sondra. for me it is enough to have given him his name and story back. As a mom, I know he is with me always & is my guardian and guide. All lives have purpose, even those that end horribly. Bless you!

      Like

  2. Pat Goertzen

    Beautiful Breezy!

    Like

  3. Simply a smiling visitant here to share the love (:, btw great style and design .

    Like

  4. It would be nice if even ONCE you mentioned the child’s also grieving Father, Jason. I know that you feel you wronged him, I read the letter you sent him. Westley was not yours alone, and you have no right to pretend that Jason’s grief is not still with him to this day.

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    • Breezy Kiefair

      I do not mention his father out of respect and nothing more. I know that Jason and his family hate the very core of my being… Sure he is still grieving. I would be surprised if he was not… That being said, he encouraged me to have an abortion at the insistence of his mother. I left him because he was abusive to try and protect the baby. Jason has a rape conviction he lied to me about before we were married. His family, particularly his sister were cruel at graveside and only really showed up to prove how much better than me they were…. Can you point out anywhere that Jason is fighting for Westley’s memory? Does he care that justice was miscarried for his son? Did he attend the murder trial? Did he send child support? the answer to all of this is No.

      Like

  5. Breezy Kiefair

    Reblogged this on Breezy Kiefair and commented:

    an update from Westley’s father at the bottom of the post. I am so very grateful.

    Like

  6. Keep this going please, great job!

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  7. A very well written and informative post, thanks very much

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  8. Fantastic blog post

    Like

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    Like

  10. I love reading your website. With thanks!

    Like

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  12. Breezy, I read it all! Terrible what happened to your only son. Terrible about a technicality to get him off!! Must have been a shock to your entire family. I am sure your family removed pics as you had to be insane at the terrible situation with your precious son. I understand more the depth of more clearly. My mom lost a daughter. I remember her shaking her head and saying it is out of God’s order to bury a child. My sister died from ovarian cancer. I have her grandson who came to me thru CPS. I will pray for you Artist Breezy

    Like

  13. This text is worth everyone’s attention. When can I find out more?

    Like

  14. Breezy Kiefair

    His birthday is coming up. He’d be 17 this year. I get questions about his death frequently. This should answer much about the murder now 15 years ago. No, time does not heal all wounds as the therapists promised me. No, it doesn’t get easier with time. Yes, I still wake in the night and think I need to bring him a bottle or change a diaper or rock him back to sleep… Instead he’s in a hole in the ground thousands of miles away on the murderer’s turf. I don’t even dare go pay my respects to him.

    Like

  15. Breezy Kiefair

    #woundsDont heal #infanticideISWrong 17 years ago today I heard the most beautiful noise my ears are ever going to hear… The sputtering cry in a dead silent room of my only live born infant. I would only have this joy in my life for a few weeks short of 19 months. My near 19 months as a mother were both the most difficult and most amazing months of my life. Wherever the spirit of my beloved Westley is, I hope you are at peace. I hope someone takes time to tend your grave today knowing mummy is too far away, too ill, and Hillsdale, Michigan is too deep into the PTSD must avoid zone due to the events of 05/06/2000

    Circumstances of murder of this beautiful boy.

    Grave location: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=1579

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  16. Cecily Flyte

    Some believe that each soul makes a choice of where it wants to incarnate,even after seeing what the life is going to be. If this is true, it would mean that your son had his reasons for choosing to share his life with you. He wanted to be a part of and be near you, even if for a short while. I know he gave, and is, still giving you so much. Quite possibly, there was something that he really wanted from you….which I like to believe he got. Look at all that he has given . Not only to you, but to all of us who now feel him in our lives. In his brief little time,he has managed to reach into countless souls and cause them to stop and feel. Just looking at his photos……they are just …..HOLY! FOR lack of a better word.
    There is a reason you gave him so many beautiful names and He knewwww you would.
    Anyway , this is just what my heart has told me. Truly Cecilyflyte29@gmail.com ccc

    Liked by 1 person

    • Breezy Kiefair

      I am a pagan incorporating Buddhist and Native American beliefs into my religious practices. My husband shares my beliefs and in trying to comfort me suggested that Westley was actually a piece of my soul that manifested to fulfil my need to have a child in order to move on from my childhood and to help me change into who I am now. I’m not sure if you listened to the song my friend from high school wrote about Westley and I. The song talks about the flowers Wes leaves behind. That song was written long before I became a cannabis activist. My friend made a bit of prophecy without realising it. Much of the reason I’m a cannabis activist stems from a desire to make my son proud of me from wherever he is now. I am not ashamed to say I was an ugly person before what happened with Westley. I was petty, manipulative and cruel to people other than my son. My son was my #1 priority and was just brutal to anyone who got in my way of taking care of him. I would lie, cheat and steal to keep him. When I lost him I was devastated but I also had to change if I ever wanted to meet him in the after life. He is pure, I was not. I had a lot to make up for. I’ve spent the past 17 years trying to make amends. 4 more years of service and I will have worked to redeem myself longer than I acted a fool all the way back to childhood sins. I don’t plan to stop there. I will serve until I die in hopes of making him proud of me and so we can meet again, this time with me worthy of his love.

      Like

  17. Breezy Kiefair

    I miss my son so very much. I still harbor a lot of anger towards the man who snuffed out his life and used connections to not only get away with it but to also erase the online obituary with the newspaper. There’s nothing I can do about any of these things so I’m left depressed and angry at least during the anniversary and birthday periods but many other times of the year as well if I’m honest about it. Many over the years have offered to seek revenge on him on my behalf and I always turn them down. Why you might ask? Because I refuse to sink to his level and I don’t want my karma or anyone else’s karma to be damaged in the act of revenge. I cannot forgive him in spite of nearly 19 years of trying. I will never forget either. My son meant too much to me to just forget. I intended to end the cycle of abuse by raising my son without abuse and to make a functional family with my boy as the foundation stone to a better way to live. I’ve realized that dream with my current husband but I’ll never be able to have more children. Cancer surgery took that away. If only I knew then what I know now about cannabis, then I might have been able to have more kids. It’s probably for the best however, my grief over my son would have made me exceedingly overprotective of any other child. I’m overprotective of even my friends children and my great nieces and nephews in law. I miss him so much and I will for all my days.

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  1. Pingback: A mother’s grief 12 years later: Westley Thorin Keaton Roberts « Breezy Kiefair

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  3. Pingback: Remembering a Murdered boy: Westley Thorin Keaton Roberts. Happy would-be 13th birthday 7:47pm (birth minute) | Welcome To Kiefair.com

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