Off Topic - Request for a Favor
Hope you guys don't mind my posting this and asking for your help. Thank you for your indulgence. Pam C.
The email pasted below is about a tragedy in July in Kirkland, Washington, where my daughter lives. This guy murdered a mother, her two children, and her sister and then set the house on fire to try to cover it up. Andrew Milkin was in my twin grandsons' preschool class, and I actually saw this child at the school when I was there in December and May. Olga's husband was serving in Iraq at the time of the murders. Now he is hoping to rebuild the house. Cindi Wood, a neighbor, is trying to garner enough support to get Seargent Milkin on ABC's "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" and is asking folks to send her an email with your name and city/state to support this effort. If you would like to help, email Cindi at [email protected].
I guess one of the reasons this story has touched me so much is that my daughter and her children had gone walking in the Milkin's neighborhood that morning. She almost walked down their street about the same time the murderer was setting the house on fire. But she decided to start for home because the baby was getting heavy in the backpack. Before she knew that the family had actually been murdered and did not die from the fire, she was berating herself that she didn't walk down there and possibly spot the smoke in time to save them. Then it came out the next day that they were dead long before the fire. I told her that was the hand of God turning her around so she wouldn't possibly encounter that awful killer.
Friends and Family,
As some of you are aware, on July 17th, 2006 a family in our area were brutally murdered and their home purposely set on fire. The family was Olga Milkin (28), Justin Milkin (5), Andrew Milkin (3) and, Olga's sister, Lyubov Botvina (24). The father, Sergeant Leonid Milkin was on active duty with the Army National Guard on tour in Baghdad, Iraq. Sergeant Milkin was flown back home to Washington to bury his wife, sister in law and two young children. (The suspect is in jail awaiting trial.)
As one of the people to arrive first on the scene, and attempted to get into the home before the Fire Department arrived, this has become very personal for me!
Sergeant Milkin has stated that he would like to rebuild his home so I am trying to get Sergeant Milkin nominated for ABC's "Extreme Make Over, Home Edition." I (along with other parents from our school) have already sent in applications and I have started a petition drive in hopes of helping Sergeant Milkin be chosen.
I just learned (yesterday) that Sergeant Milkin has applied for permits for demolition of his home so time is of the essence. I have started an online (email) petition in hopes of collecting as many signatures (names) as possible within the next two weeks to be printed and sent in along with the paper petitions we've collected.
If you could, please send/forward this email to as many people as you can and have them sent directly back to me at [email protected].
If you would like to see any of the articles, see pictures of the
family, the fire, the suspect, etc. all can be viewed on line at
www.seattlepi.com ,
www.seattletimes.com ,
www.kingcountyjournal.com ,
www.komotv.com ,
www.kingtv.com . Search for "Conner Schierman" (the suspect) and it will pull up any and all articles regarding this tragedy.
Please help me in getting the online petition out so we can blast ABC with thousands of names so they will consider Sergeant Milkin.
All we need are names and location. (example: Cindi Wood, Kirkland, Washington.)
Thanks for your support!
Love,
CW