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Website turns groupies on to Rafay-Burns trial
by Stuart Hunter
The Province
Monday, January 26, 2004
When Seattle's infamous Green River killer Gary Ridgway pleaded
guilty last November to strangling 48 women, legal beagles Donna
Larsen and (Hilary) had to scramble to find another
big court case to feature in the launch of their fledgling website trialdiary.com.
They didn't have to look far.
Right in their own back yard another multiple-murder trial was
unfolding that Larsen says "had it all" -- the case of
West Vancouver secondary grads Atif Rafay and Sebastian Burns, who
allegedly bludgeoned to death Rafay's parents and autistic sister
in the family's Bellevue, Wash., home in July 1994 in order to
cash in on the insurance money.
"It seemed to have so many different aspects,"
college student Larsen said from her Bellevue home. "It's
bizarre -- very Leopold and Loeb, which is a case I'm really
interested in.
"It's going to be a pretty long trial. There are
extradition issues, sex issues, the Superman thing, the sort-of
homo-erotic relationship -- it was a never-ending well of
information."
While most journalists base their reports on the evidence
entered and testimony, the two admitted "law groupies"
focus on the more arcane facts of a trial, like which women in the
courtroom Burns may be flirting with.
"It's not a normal trial," said Larsen, 33, who has
been seated two rows behind Burns since November but has missed
the past two weeks due to recovery from cosmetic surgery.
"Atif seems more subdued and Sebastian seems really
extroverted, the alpha male -- looking around the courtroom and
waving to people. He loves the [TV] cameras and they love
him."
Larsen's and (Hilary's) website is impressive. Not only
does it list pertinent details about the trial, but it also offers
directions to the Seattle courthouse, tips on courtroom etiquette
and links to nearby restaurants.
"We're getting an amazing amount of hits -- about 200 a
day when [the trial started] but it has kind of tapered off to
around 90 a day," said Larsen, who along with 24-year-old
Hilary is an aspiring law student. "I can't wait to
get back into the courthouse."
Some believe the pair modeled themselves after Richard Loeb
and Nathan Leopold -- two college students who tried to commit the
perfect murder in Chicago in 1924 but were eventually found guilty
and sentenced to life in prison. Only a 12-hour plea from famed
defence lawyer Clarence Darrow saved them from execution.
The trial resumes this week.
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