Balloon Boy Mom Admits Hoax Was Planned For Two Weeks

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Posted on Oct 24, 2009 @ 03:42PM  
DNP Random Things

Mayumi Heene admitted to sheriff's deputies that she and her husband Richard planned the now-infamous Balloon Boy hoax for two weeks.

Balloon Boy’s Mother Mayumi Heene Finally Admits Stunt Was A Hoax

That admission is contained in an affidavit sworn by sheriff's investigator Robert Heffernan, a document used to get a search warrant for the family's home.

The couple called 911 on October 15 and claimed their  six-year-old son Falcon was inside a UFO-shaped helium balloon that floated away and eventually drifted 50 miles, leading to national TV coverage. When the balloon finally landed and its compartment was empty, most people assumed the child was dead.

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And now Mayumi has confessed it was all a stunt to make the family more marketable for the media.

But instead of appearing on TV, Mayumi and Richard may be watching one from behind bars, as they are under investigation for both felonies and misdemeanors stemming from the incident.

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The couple claimed Falcon had been hiding in the house during the balloon flight and they were unaware of that fact.

But the sherrif's affidavit states that Mayumi admitted to cops on October 17 that she and her husband lied two days earlier. Mayumi admitted, "...that the release of the flying saucer was intentional as a hoax, that she and RICHARD HEENE knew all along that FALCON was hiding in the residence. The motive for the fabricated story was to make the HEENE family more marketable for future media interest.  MAYUMI described that she and RICHARD HEENE devised this hoax approximately two weeks earlier. The experimental flying saucer was specifically made to carry out this hoax. That she and RICHARD had instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax."

The family previously appeared on the reality show Wife Swap, and as RadarOnline.com has reported, has tried out for numerous reality shows for years.

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Despite the document containing Mayumi's confession, Richard Heene is not ready to give in. His lawyer, David Lane, told the Denver Post that Mayumi's confession is meaningless. "[Mayumi's] English is not that great, first of all," Lane said.

Cops obtained Mayumi's statement after questioning her separately from her husband.

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AP Photo


Comments

well it was kinda funny

by stonedbuzz
Posted Sat, 10/24/2009 - 5:03pm

ANYONE who uses their children for fame and possible fortune is SCUM!

by Canadian Lucy
Posted Sat, 10/24/2009 - 2:59pm

since she fessed up I think she got a plea bargain. I think she sold her husband out and she will not be going to jail. Maybe she'll even get to keep her kids.

by azkat
Posted Sat, 10/24/2009 - 2:52pm

This woman is as much a victim of her own stupidity as she is her husband. She has had many opportunities to leave him...but has never taken them. She is equally strange when you view them on wife swap...and equally attention seeking.

by minkhamouse
Posted Sat, 10/24/2009 - 2:51pm

This couple are pretty pathetic people....to do something like this just to ferret out a bit of fame and fortune. Encourage their children to lie....putting them at risk physically and morally with the garbage they do to get attention.

by minkhamouse
Posted Sat, 10/24/2009 - 2:50pm

I HAVE NO IDEA WHY YOUR FEELING SOORY FOR HER- DIDNT YOU WATCH WIFE SWAP? SHE IS AS LOONY AS HIM. SHE ALSO PLANED AND CARRIED THIS PLAN OUT WITH HIM SO IT MAKES THEM EQUALY GUILTY. THEY BOTH NEED TO PAY

by kansas kay
Posted Sat, 10/24/2009 - 2:33pm

you are right...this was both of them.

by minkhamouse
Posted Sat, 10/24/2009 - 2:52pm

WHY DID THE SHERRIF KEEP SAYING HE BELEIVED THEM IF HE ALREADY HAD A STATEMENT FROM THEM IT WAS NOT?"HUH" SEEMS TO ME THEY WERE LIKEING THE ATTENTION THEY WERE GETTING ALSO.

by kansas kay
Posted Sat, 10/24/2009 - 2:30pm

I hope she has a lawyer for herself and then one for the kids. They all look terrified of Richard...mom needs a break and dad needs a whippin" and a long time out as a guest of the county.

by Baileygirl
Posted Sat, 10/24/2009 - 2:20pm

"If Mayumi's confession was lawfully obtained, it is conclusive evidence against her, but it cannot be used against him, nor can she testify against him without his consent," Robinson (a Denver defense attorney) told PEOPLE.

by ms.anonymous
Posted Sat, 10/24/2009 - 12:45pm

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