On the evening of august 16, 25-year-old alicia Ross disappeared from her family’s home north of Toronto. The last person to see her that evening was her boyfriend of seven weeks, 29-year-old Sean Hine. Hine had spent part of the evening with her in her home and when he couldn’t reach her at home or at work the next morning, he called the police.
From the outset, the police suspected foul play and a massive search was undertaken to try and find the young woman. York Regional Police consistently said that Hine was not a “suspect” but was rather “a person of interest”.
The conventional wisdom during the time that Ross was unaccounted for was that she was murdered and that Hine did it. This would be in keeping with the high profile case of Scott Peterson who, following tearful pleas for the return of his wife Laci, was charged and convicted of her murder. Peterson is currently on death row in California. Scott Peterson was on the mind of Canadians this summer when a distraught Michael White of Edmonton faced the media and pleaded for the safe return of his wife Liana. White participated in a search and his group found his wife’s remains. Michael White was charged with murder and is currently awaiting trial. It seems much like the proverbial butler, the husband always did it whenever a woman mysteriously disappears.
So it seemed like it would only be a matter of time before Sean Hine would be arrested. a month after alicia Ross disappeared however, her next door neighbour, Daniel Sylvester, 31, went to the police accompanied by his lawyer. He told police where alicia’s remains could be found and was charged with murdering the young woman. Sean Hine obviously had nothing to do with her disappearance and tragic death.
Sharon Fortis, Ross’ mother, later told the media that Sean Hine would not be welcome either in the family’s home or at alicia’s funeral. Fortis was extremely critical of the way Hine had acted since her daughter first went missing. according to Fortis, Hine was not very cooperative with the police and didn’t do enough to help the family and others look for her missing daughter.
Fortis’ anger at Hine, to the point of refusing to allow him to attend her daughter’s funeral seems to be irrational. Sean Hine was not only forced to deal with the grief that resulted when his girlfriend disappeared without a trace but also had to face the reality that, whether the police used the word or not, he was the prime suspect in a criminal act. Hine told the media that he feared not just being arrested but being wrongly convicted of a crime that he did not commit, a feeling that could hardly be described as exaggerated. Who knows what would have happened had the neighbour not confessed and the police were pressured to solve alicia’s disappearance. Hine can be excused for not acting in a way that Sharon Fortis and her family thought to be appropriate.
But irrational or not, Sharon Fortis’ anger at Hine and her refusal to allow him to attend her daughter’s funeral is understandable. She is grieving. It is easy to understand why she is taking her anger out on the boyfriend that she never met prior to her daughter’s disappearance and she deserves to be shown compassion as a grieving mother.
Now, contrast Sharon Fortis with the world’s most famous grieving mother, Cindy Sheehan. There’s no comparison. Yet those on the left keep on making excuses for Sheehan as if she is simply a mother who has lost a child. Whereas Sharon Fortis is motivated by grief and love for her daughter, Sheehan is motivated by pure hate. Had Sheehan limited her criticisms to George Bush and the war, it would be understandable. But she went way beyond that. She blamed the Jews. and, when her starring role at the anti-war demonstration in Washington failed to get media attention because of Hurricane Rita, Sheehan referred to the hurricanes as simply a little rain and wind. She showed absolutely no compassion for the thousands of her fellow countrymen who lost everything as a result of the devastation. Cindy Sheehan is nothing more than a self absorbed piece of scum.