originally posted 18 december 2007. post date change to move it to the top of the december 2007 archive page -- due to a glitch in google search which is sending googlers to the entire monthly archive instead of to this one post page.
----ORIGINAL POST----
"heather-renee"
what began as a day of joy and hope in the wee hours that summery friday in the columbine state, would come to a tragic and as her mother and family insist, suspicious, end one fall sunday morning 8,108 days later in rapides parish, louisiana at 306 powell drive in timber view apartments #36.
heather-renee as she preferred to be called, life wasnt so very different from many of her contemporaries - as an infant her parents divorced. "the divorce was not amicable and had in fact been very tumultuous," wrote rapides parish sheriff detective mike stephan in his 19 march 2006 report.
according to heather-renee's mother "heather-renee started modeling when she was three, when she and her step-sister did several commercials for a local children's clothing store called kids dress for less. then she started pageants. she competed in them well into her teens. then started modeling as much as she could going to shoots all across the u.s."
indeed, heather-renee's profile at "one model place" she describes herself as an "experienced, semi-professional" available for a variety of modeling assignments including: fashion, runway, sport/fitness and glamour.
when heather-renee was 18 or 19 years old her mother began a mobile nursing job. they moved from jackson, mississippi to salisbury maryland and then to milwaukee, wisconsin. in milwaukee, heather-renee met a boy "a.j." whom she thought she was going to marry. her mother took a job in hawaii and heather-renee stayed behind in milwaukee.
but marriage wasnt meant to be and heather-renee and a.j. broke up. heather missing her friends and maternal family in mississipi moved back to jackson where she got a job as a data entry clerk at river region health system.
although as the sheriff department notes, heather-renee and her father, michael skarina, had mostly been estranged since her parents divorce they did occasionally talk on the telephone and in one such conversation she requested her father come and "bring her from her residence in vicksburgh, ms. to his apartment in ball for an extended visit due to her being upset over her recently having had a miscarriage as well as having had her boyfriend break up with her." which he did.
on friday 16 september 2005, for some unknown reason and probably not exercising the best in parental judgment, heather-renee's father, who's according to the police report "full-time employment is with the state of louisiana working with at-risk juveniles in the youth challenge program at camp beauregard," arraigned a night out at baily's night club located in marksville, avoyelles parish, louisiana.
its unclear who's idea it was to invite along mr. skarina's "co-worker" leslie clark, a man only a few years older than heather-renee and who happened to be married at the time, although, reportedly estranged from his wife misty.
the party arrived back at mr. clark's apartment and somehow unbeknownest to mr. skarina, heather-renee and leslie clark slipped off and went to mr. clark's mother lorraine gallien's mobile home located at hwy 1204 ball, louisiana.
when mr. skarina realized that heather-renee and leslie clark were gone, he suddenly didnt approve of mr. clark. this is according to ball policeman wayne clark's incident report. so he went to mr. clark's estranged wife misty's house who then drove him in her vehicle to mr. clarks's mothers mobile home. a fight ensued.
the incident at lorraine gallien's mobile home resulted in heather-renee and her father leaving with misty clark. ms. clark then drove the father and daughter back to his car which he had left at her home on camp beauregard.
on the way back to michael skarina's apartment heather-renee and her father had an argument, she told ball policeman wayne clark, who happened by after noticing "a white female standing in the median crossing...trying to flag down cars." that she had "grabbed the steering wheel of the car and ran it off into the ditch." this resulted in mr. skarina's car having a flat tire. while they waited for mr. skarina to change his tire, heather-renee decided that she would go home with her father but that "she just didnt want to ride in the same car with him." policeman clark then drove heather-renee to her father's apartment.
according to the police report what transpired next after mr. skarina and heather-renee arrived home around 5:30 a.m. that saturday morning: "michael and heather spent some time discussing the previous incidents and making plans for the future. they intended to return to vicksburgh the following monday or tuesday to pick up heather's belongings. heather was either going to move in with michael and his son christopher, or obtain her own lodgings in the ball, la. area."
heather-renee then went to bed and slept for the remainder of the day. around 10:00 p.m. that night, she got up to let her dog raven out, went to the bathroom and the kitchen and returned to her bedroom.
crime scene photo
the ball, la. police responded and then the rapides parish sheriff's department. but heather-renee was dead. she was 22 years 2 months and 10 days old.
that afternoon, at the same time the coroner was removing heather-renee's lifeless body from apartment #36, the national weather service was busy too. meteorologists there were upgrading tropical depression eighteen giving it a name that wont soon be forgotten either...rita.
EXTERNAL LINK
"heather-renee"
heather-renee as she preferred to be called, life wasnt so very different from many of her contemporaries - as an infant her parents divorced. "the divorce was not amicable and had in fact been very tumultuous," wrote rapides parish sheriff detective mike stephan in his 19 march 2006 report.
crime scene photo
