Sunday, June 26, 2005
The Halifax Herald Limited
File
A member of the Halifax Regional Police emergency response team carries away a baby after the Shirley Street standoff ends. The baby was just days away from turning five months old.
Merkley told Children's Aid VandenElsen had new baby
Agency issued national alert
By PATRICIA BROOKS ARENBURG / Staff Reporter
Just what triggered the chain of events leading to a 67-hour armed standoff in Halifax?
It may have been a conversation Carline VandenElsen's ex-husband, Craig Merkley, had with Children's Aid officials in Stratford, Ont., in December 2003.
According to a report by the Huron-Perth Children's Aid Society dated Dec. 18, 2003, Mr. Merkley's family told him that his ex-wife had given birth. And he told Children's Aid.
Mr. Merkley and Ms. VandenElsen had been embroiled in a nasty custody battle that began in 1995. But in November 2003, she lost all rights of access to the children and was facing a retrial for allegedly abducting them in October 2000.
The report states that in December 2003, a person identified as Loran Green, an associate of Ms. VandenElsen's, said she had given birth to a baby girl, the letter states.
Mr. Merkley "further stated . . . that he believes (she) is in Halifax, Nova Scotia."
The child actually wasn't born until Dec. 23.
A Canada-wide child protection alert had been issued calling for a warrant to apprehend "expectant mother" Carline Antonia VandenElsen, also known by the last names Finck and Merkley.
"Baby - birth expected December 2003 or January 2004."
The exact date the alert was issued is unclear, as a court stamp covers that part of the page.
The alert said Ms. VandenElsen's access to her triplets had recently been terminated and "concern existed for their emotional safety due to her attempts to have the children align with her throughout a lengthy custody and access dispute."
It also said the mother was being tried on abduction charges and her husband, Larry Finck, was on probation for abducting his daughter.
The pair are "confrontational and verbally aggressive," the alert states.
"Mental health requires assessment."
Mr. Merkley declined to be interviewed, but his lawyer, Alfred Mamo, said Children's Aid workers "kept in touch with Mr. Merkley in terms of their monitoring how the children are doing."
His client spoke to Children's Aid but "it wasn't intended to provide information to say: 'You better do something about it.'"
Merkley told Children's Aid VandenElsen had new baby
Agency issued national alert
By PATRICIA BROOKS ARENBURG / Staff Reporter
Just what triggered the chain of events leading to a 67-hour armed standoff in Halifax?
It may have been a conversation Carline VandenElsen's ex-husband, Craig Merkley, had with Children's Aid officials in Stratford, Ont., in December 2003.
According to a report by the Huron-Perth Children's Aid Society dated Dec. 18, 2003, Mr. Merkley's family told him that his ex-wife had given birth. And he told Children's Aid.
Mr. Merkley and Ms. VandenElsen had been embroiled in a nasty custody battle that began in 1995. But in November 2003, she lost all rights of access to the children and was facing a retrial for allegedly abducting them in October 2000.
The report states that in December 2003, a person identified as Loran Green, an associate of Ms. VandenElsen's, said she had given birth to a baby girl, the letter states.
Mr. Merkley "further stated . . . that he believes (she) is in Halifax, Nova Scotia."
The child actually wasn't born until Dec. 23.
A Canada-wide child protection alert had been issued calling for a warrant to apprehend "expectant mother" Carline Antonia VandenElsen, also known by the last names Finck and Merkley.
"Baby - birth expected December 2003 or January 2004."
The exact date the alert was issued is unclear, as a court stamp covers that part of the page.
The alert said Ms. VandenElsen's access to her triplets had recently been terminated and "concern existed for their emotional safety due to her attempts to have the children align with her throughout a lengthy custody and access dispute."
It also said the mother was being tried on abduction charges and her husband, Larry Finck, was on probation for abducting his daughter.
The pair are "confrontational and verbally aggressive," the alert states.
"Mental health requires assessment."
Mr. Merkley declined to be interviewed, but his lawyer, Alfred Mamo, said Children's Aid workers "kept in touch with Mr. Merkley in terms of their monitoring how the children are doing."
His client spoke to Children's Aid but "it wasn't intended to provide information to say: 'You better do something about it.'"
WTF?
Isn't this beginning to look and sound like Orwell's "1984"?
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