The idea, he says, is to put people at ease so theyre as comfortable as you can get them to discuss their previous crime. And he adds that flashing money around is a crucial part of the game. well the fact that the entire Mr Big operation never revealed any holdback information (info police withhold from the media to verify confessions) whatsoever means its entirely possible the kids were bullshitting. Ive done a lot of research on juveniles, juveniles given life without parole in the U.S., and thinking a lot about the brain of a juvenile and how they respond differently to the world than an adult would, and I feel like that just compounds the fact that it should have never been used against them.. King County Superior Court Judge Charles Mertel noted that the confession was not made while Burns and Rafay were in custody. A consultant for the defense in the Rafay case at the time of trial, Leo says Mr. Big tactics are likely to produce false confessions because its psychologically coercive. While he doesnt remember all the details of the sting operation, he says he believes threats or implied threats were involved. Burns has 11 goals and 32 assists, with two conversions on the powerplay. Loudenberg said she has the entire interrogation of Miyoshi and said what was left out of the prosecutors offices statement was the RCMPs threat against Myoshi with 99 years in prison and even a suggestion of the death penalty if he didnt give evidence against his friends. Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafay | screenshot from YouTube. While the role of the 36th (Ulster) Division in the Battle of the Somme has become a part of unionist iconography in what is now Northern Ireland, the experience of southern or nationalist Irish soldiers in the war remains underrepresented. As the barn burns, Sebastian manages to escape but gets pushed back by the creature. It'ss impossible to affirm someone is innocent or guilty solely based on how their personality shows in the media. Sebastian seems unimpressed by him . Also, why was the informant's testimony dismissed (the extremist group assassination)? On the night of the murders, the two young men claim they ate dinner at The Keg before watching the Lion King at the old Factoria Cinemas. So you might want to play ball. Big technique used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Canadian-equivalent to the FBI and brings in a Mr. Big expert to analyze what led to the incarceration of Atif Rafay and Sebastian Burns, who were teenagers at the time of the murders. Nineteen-year-old Sebastian Burns was leaving a haircut appointment in Vancouver, B.C., when a man sporting a long ponytail and cowboy boots asked for help. He thinks, as they smiled and laughed in the hotel room, they were doing something elsebragging and lying as they tried to appear tough. The prosecutors office said The Confession Tapes left some out. The salacious detail only added to a press frenzy that made the Rafay murder case perhaps second only to the Green River Killer in amount of local ink spilled and footage shot. Found guilty of bludgeoning Rafay's mother, father and autistic sister to death, Guilty of three counts of aggravated first degree murder, each received three life sentences without parole in a US prison. Another defense consultant barred from testifying at the trial was a former Drug Enforcement Administration undercover cop named Michael Levine. Its because theyre told, You know who youre sitting with? It wasn't until well after midnight that Atif Rafay and his best friend, Sebastian Burns, entered the Rafay house to find Atif's parents fatally bludgeoned, and his sister clinging to life. Is there an element of the case we aren't privy to? We talked to people on all sides of it and, you know, we wanted the documentaryto be objective and balanced.. He described it, they found his hair and the dads blood in the shower and he said it was because he did it naked. Burns, presupposed to be the one who actually bludgeoned the Rafay family, has suffered a far worse fate. If I were to sum up in one reason why I think theyre guilty, its that Sebastian doesnt look or sound the least bit scared in the confession video. The first two episodes of the seven-part Netflix series focus on the convictions of two friends, Sebastian Burns and Atif. Rafay and Burns also loved Nietzsche. Sure, the tapes appear to show Sebastian and Atif sitting there, coolly discussing the murders, Ken Klonsky, media relations director for Innocence International, concedes. The defendants, he said, were free to leave or not leave and speak or not speak. But defense lawyers contend the two were coerced, and its one of the key points in their appeal. The two men gave Burns bundles of cash and asked him to deposit it in various banks, a task for which they paid him thousands of dollars. Search for jobs related to Sebastian burns wife or hire on the world's largest freelancing marketplace with 20m+ jobs. He says he sustained a facial fracture in an assault, was held afterwards in segregation for months, and lost so much weight that prison authorities judged him to have an eating disorder and forced him to take anti-depressants and anti-psychotics. Al Haslett was one of the originators of the technique in the early 1990s. I mean wtf! This was 97-98, North Van had a gang problem. This is where it gets interesting.. We dont answer questions directly, she says. But I am not a lawyer. Marsh says he doesnt think so, since most members of the public wouldnt get involved with a Mr. Big in the first place. In this weeksfifth estateepisode, Cops, Criminals and Confessions, Rafay says he was angry when he learned Burns had got him involved with the supposed crime gang that was to somehow influence their case. " All-mother, " he whispers. The crime went unsolved for a good amount of time until DNA tied the two teen killers to the triple murder. The episodes introduce viewers to the Mr. I believe theyre innocent because this was a false confession and theres no forensic evidence pointing to the fact that they did it, not to mention they had an alibi and there were so many reasons why theyre innocent.. Riley Keough said she told a lie that she could sing when she was being cast in her new series Daisy Jones and the Six at the Four Seasons on Monday. Often it is a relief from ones own degradation.. Burns calls the police to tell them of a break-in and the deaths of his friend's father, mother, and sister. Nov. 29, 2019 (Original publication on Oct. 20, 2017). (The Canadian Press) comments Three innocence projects have now taken up the case of West Vancouver men Atif Rafay and Sebastian Burns, who in 2004 were convicted of the 1994 slayings of. They capped their night with a meal at a diner in Seattle after going out to a Seattle club, they said. HBO's Casey Bloys Says No 'Mare Of Easttown' S2 & Don't Expect More 'Watchmen' Without Damon Lindelof. They were highly coercive and I dont think it should be have been allowed in a U.S. court, and I think it should also be taken into account their age, Loudenberg said of the then-19 year olds. As for forensic evidence? Videos Contribute to this page (The account above is based on the videotape and also on legal documents.) Youre sitting with somebody that kills people. These criminals then befriended the suspects, claimed they knew their secret and developed a fabricated scenario in order to get the suspects to confess. So, I googled their names with "reddit" at the end, because topic discussions on reddit are always great reads. Atif also suffered from a little bit of hubris. Their behavior after the murdersfor instance playing music so loud at a Vancouver house they shared that neighbors complaineddidnt help their profile, he says. Peter Marsh, director of special operations for the RCMP in British Columbia, says he is reluctant to discuss Mr. Big techniques for fear of giving away too much to potential targets. Burns said the idea that the phone was tapped came from his father, who told him to make all of his calls from a pay phone. At first he said he did it naked and then later on they described how they got rid of their clothes after the murder, so which is it? We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Moreover, the show does not even mention that Burns testified at trial, and the jury was able to directly evaluate his claim that he did not commit the murders. Rafay, also 32, retains some of his former traits too. Loudenberg said she didnt know True East would go on to lead her series, but she ended up spending so much time researching, traveling and submitting Freedom of Information Act requests, that it ended up being one of her biggest cases. And how can you describe them as incredibly obviously innocent? Burns did, though he complained the $200 they paid him wasnt enough. He looks incredibly relaxed the whole time he talks to them. TV By Callum Hoare 09:00, 25 JAN 2018 0 seconds of 1 minute, 33 secondsVolume 90% 00:00 01:33 Coerces confession doesn't mean necessarily the person has a frightened look and is stumbling on words. Now law isn't my area, but why wasn't that a focal point of the defense? 3 At about 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 13, 1994, Sebastian Burns called 911 to report "some sort of break-in" at the Bellevue home of Atif Rafay's parents. And a comprehensive remaking of states approach to drug possession advances toward action in the Senate. I can almost guarentee you that. After spending years in solitary confinement Sebastian Burns has suffered from severe mental health problems. Should have been a cut a dry, done and dusted case. It is my opinion that there [were] two people in this room during the attack, state forensic expert Ross Gardner testified, referring to the murder of Rafays father. Two men that were known associates to her at the time of her death were Dustin Moir and his father Jesse west. Some may remember the triple homicide that shook Bellevues Somerset Hill in 1994. On the night of the murders, the two young men claim they ate dinner at The Keg before watching the Lion King at the old Factoria Cinemas. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Theyre guilty. It seemed like nothing that I wanted to have much to do with.. But he doesnt think Burns and Rafay were frightened into confessing. Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafay Teen Killers. Absolutely no way could anyone not even consider that was in an 18 year old's mind in a completely alien situation to them. Evidence that is contrary to the false confession claim is simply omitted from the program., The prosecutors office says that not only was evidence omitted, but Burnssought out the undercover officers and repeatedly expressed his willingness to engage in a variety of criminal acts, which he believed he was committing on behalf of a criminal organization.. SEATTLE A King County Superior Court jury on Wednesday found Glen Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafay guilty of killing Rafay's parents and sister in suburban Bellevue in 1994. Gaslighting, and then lying about "evidence", "witnesses", and then offering the "I'm on your side-maybe it was an accident" narrative, is not uncovering the truth-it's conditioning the victim to confess to something they have been made to believe they are guilty of. when the brutal murders occurred. Burns indicated there was blood all over and that Rafay's parents appeared to be dead. But the King County Prosecutors Office feels otherwise. They capped their night with a meal at a diner in Seattle after going out to a Seattle club, they said. Atif Rafay, a target of the controversial Mr.Big technique and one of Canadas most famous convicted killers, has said that he felt extremely threatened during the undercover operation meant to extract a confession of murder. She argues the operation was only allowed into evidence in her brothers case because it occurred in Canada. That, or it was someone who was out to get Atif and Sebastian for whatever reason. "I just felt like what happened to them was so devastating - like their lives had been stolen," she says in the video above. Conversely, I wonder on what basis all the appeals have failed. Smiling and laughing in a hotel room one day with their criminal friends, Burns and Rafay owned up to the crime, with Burns described as the muscle for two of the three murders. Tiffany Burns SIFF-screened documentary aims to clear brother Sebastians name, and stick it to the cops in the process. Olson is accused of having sex with her client, Sebastian Burns, who was later found guilty with friend Atif Rafay of the 1994 slayings of Rafay's father, mother and sister in their Bellevue home. In a statement released Sept. 20, Daniel T. Satterbergs office said the two episodes totalling 90 minutes do not present a full or fair account of the crime, the defendants confessions, or the evidence presented at the six-month trial. What were they supposed to do, stare at the walls? asks Carole Burns, Sebastians mother. Yet, Burns and Atif Rafay have already served more than 20 years. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this, and the case in general. Two bright and promising kids who are incredibly obviously innocent loose their whole freedom basically (in my opinion) because of an incompetent, corrupt police department were so determined to pin it on two these kids. Fuzzy on the legal issues, she says she relied on Leo, who appears in the movie, for this judgment. Asked if he did, indeed, feel threatened, Rafay said, Yeah actually, extremely so. Sebastian Burns now has new lawyers, and the property seized from his cell after he and his previous attorney were allegedly caught having sex at the King County Jail will remain sealed. (The Seattle-based Innocence Project Northwest only takes cases once all appeals have been exhausted.). The enigmatic title of British-Iranian author Melody Razak's debut novel Moth puzzled me at first. Olson is accused of having sex with client Sebastian Burns, later found guilty with friend Atif Rafay of killing Rafay's father, mother and sister in their Bellevue home. Incarcerated at the age of 16, he spent the first part of a 15-year sentence sweeping floors and wishing he could go off to college like his friends on the outside. Link to discussed reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/netflix/comments/6zghqr/the_confession_tapes_atif_and_sebastian/, Link to Rafay and Burns trial: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v_Burns. Others may have just learned about the crime through the recently released Netflix docu-series, The Confession Tapes.. In May of 2004, Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafay were convicted of the July 1994 murder of Rafay's parents, Tariq and Sultana, and his sister, Basma. Prosecutors eventually concurred. The jury at the mens six-month trial was told Rafay was motivated by money and planned the killings while Burns carried them out. Those conclusions are heavily detailed in True East. In the episodes, viewers peak into interviews from Bob Thompson, a Bellevue detective; James Jude Konat, the senior prosecutor; Dave Burns, Sebastian Burns father; Ken Klonsky, a wrongful convictions scholar; Brian Hutchinson, a Canadian reporter; Loretta Fisher, Atif Rafays wife; Jason Saunders, an appellate attorney; John Everston, a juror who convicted them; and Michael Levine, a Mr. Big expert, among many others. Meanwhile, the two men broached the subject of a gruesome triple murder involving the family of Burns housemate Atif Rafay. In May of 2004, Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafay were convicted of the July 1994 murder of Rafay's parents, Tariq and Sultana, and his sister, Basma. He was very smart/clever with a fatal flaw: other people weren't quite as dumb as he assumed. Human psychology is a damn complex field. Was it barred from the court? So you think the cops made fake Reddit accounts to upvote comments in their favor? Sebastian Burns Murder Case 952 Words | 4 Pages. He calls himself Father Theodore. So we knew that the killer had showered. And they found hairs of Burns in the shower. Something, do something. His sister was still alive, moaning in another room, but he didnt check on her either. Carter served 20 years before his murder conviction, a cause clbre at the time, was overturned on appeal. If they did it the crime? 'About My Father' Trailer: Sebastian Maniscalco & Robert De Niro Star In Family Comedy On Memorial Day Weekend. From that same letter: I am generally accused of a certain cheerfulness, to which I think I am temperamentally inclined. Rafay stood to gain $500,000 in insurance money from his parents death. So I am not wholly unfamiliar with the subject of extraordinary suffering, Rafay writes. In the minds of most Seattleites, Rafay and Burns are as guilty as O.J. When Burns and Rafay started to say things that indicated they werent guilty, Levine says the agents led the conversation in another direction. Yet, Hampikian notes, Rafay had told Mr. Big that he wasnt present during the murder of his father, which would leave only Burns in the room. I'm always concerned when a police officer starts lying about evidence in investigations, and when they start dictating a narrative to a suspect. Thats why they take part.. King County prosecutor Dan Satterberg says the show is bunk. But, whether Bellevue residents believe in alternative theories or if Atif Rafay or Burns gave false confessions, Loudenberg thinks people should look into the case for themselves.Raechel Dawson, When I started looking into this I was like, Wow, truth is stranger than fiction. You know?, she said. Its hard to imagine they did such a crime and did not have any blood, Hampikian says. And although they would later volunteer a supposed confessionin a Canadian hotel, which led to their conviction and prison sentencing after a six-month trial in 2004, the makers of The Confession Tapes arent convinced. Olson traveled to Tokyo, Japan, to meet Jimmy Miyoshi and returned convinced that Miyoshi was going to step into the courtroom and withdraw his admission of any substantial knowledge of Sebastian's and Atif's guilt. Very specific things, the one that stood out to me was how Sebastian supposedly agreed to taking a hitman job for the Mr Big operation. 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