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Listen to the message he left on our voice mail just hours
before his murder. He knew he was going to die ... His last words home: "I'm scared. I want to get out of here. I've never been this scared in my life."
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This is him a few hours after his last call to us.
What's wrong with this picture? Click it and decide for yourself.
This is the story of the killing of an American teacher in a foreign land, the facts of which our government has spent a lot of time and money to conceal. His death was no accident and top U.S. officials know this better than anyone.
Twelve years later, we're still fighting our own government to get answers
My son, a degreed and credentialed English teacher, was murdered in Guangzhou, China, on April 14, 2005. He had been teaching in an illegal English-language school there and had left his job just days before his death over an ongoing work
permit-visa dispute with his employer.
He was immediately forced out of the school-owned apartment and placed in a hotel, where he was robbed and his passport taken. After he had been robbed, he contacted the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou. I contacted the consulate as well as the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
We feel that they could have done a better job of providing assistance in an emergency situation that would have a fatal end. We also feel information is being withheld from us, which is why we've sued in federal court under the Freedom of Information Act to have records released.
His death, which occurred within days of contacting the consulate, was officially reported as a pedestrian-truck accident. Because of his rocky relationship with the owner of the illegal school, I did not believe the official version of events then and I do not believe it now.
In May of 2005, an official in the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou told me, "Be glad you got your son's body back and move on."
Twelve years later, I am still unable to "move on" in any way because I don't have all of the facts.
Until I get them, I will continue to press for answers. And regardless of the outcome of our pending Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, I will continue to work to effect positive changes so nothing like this ever happens to anyone else or their family.
Maxine B. Russell
July 11, 2017
Russell v. United States Department of State et. al.
(Case No. CV09-06050 PSG)
Twelve years later, we're still fighting our own government to get answers
My son, a degreed and credentialed English teacher, was murdered in Guangzhou, China, on April 14, 2005. He had been teaching in an illegal English-language school there and had left his job just days before his death over an ongoing work
permit-visa dispute with his employer.
He was immediately forced out of the school-owned apartment and placed in a hotel, where he was robbed and his passport taken. After he had been robbed, he contacted the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou. I contacted the consulate as well as the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
We feel that they could have done a better job of providing assistance in an emergency situation that would have a fatal end. We also feel information is being withheld from us, which is why we've sued in federal court under the Freedom of Information Act to have records released.
His death, which occurred within days of contacting the consulate, was officially reported as a pedestrian-truck accident. Because of his rocky relationship with the owner of the illegal school, I did not believe the official version of events then and I do not believe it now.
In May of 2005, an official in the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou told me, "Be glad you got your son's body back and move on."
Twelve years later, I am still unable to "move on" in any way because I don't have all of the facts.
Until I get them, I will continue to press for answers. And regardless of the outcome of our pending Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, I will continue to work to effect positive changes so nothing like this ever happens to anyone else or their family.
Maxine B. Russell
July 11, 2017
Russell v. United States Department of State et. al.
(Case No. CV09-06050 PSG)
To read the dozens of filings in this case, click here to go to the government's online case record service.
If it really was a truck-pedestrian accident, then why won't our own government release its records?
If it really was a truck-pedestrian accident, then why won't our own government release its records?
NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW
AND
NO LIE CHANGES THE TRUTH
AND
NO LIE CHANGES THE TRUTH
