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xinyang (xinyang)
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Who Killed Darren Russell?

http://www.nbc4.tv/investigations/6843991/detail.html

LOS ANGELES -- A Sherman Oaks man was killed in China last April after going there to work as an English teacher. His mother suspects his death was not an accident, and fears more Americans could be in danger there as the demand for American tutors increases. NBC4's Ana Garcia investigates into this cold case.

Darren Russell made a last cry for help from China to his family in Calabasas.

"I'm scared. I want to get out of here...I've never been this scared in my life," Russell said on the message.

It's a voicemail that he left for his parents, three days before he was found dead.

Darren Russell, 35, went to China to teach English. His mother, Maxine, says his contract promised a lot of things that didn't materialize, including a work visa.

She says when Darren threatened to blow the whistle on the poor working conditions there, he felt that his life was placed in danger.

Maxine says Darren called to tell her he was removed from the school and dropped off in a seedy section of Guangzhou.

"They took his passport away and they said it had to be held by the police," said Maxine.

Sensing danger, Maxine said she asked the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou to intervene.

"I sent 30 emails, I tried calling and left five phone messages, and I said, 'Please this urgent. I am extremely worried about my son,'" said Maxine.

Maxine tells NBC4 that when the State Department finally called her back it was to tell her Darren was dead. She blames the U.S. Consulate for not doing enough.

"It would have taken two hours of their time and Darren would be alive today," said Maxine.

The State Department told NBC4 in email that they did help Darren.

They claim he was provided "appropriate information and assistance regarding his need for funds to return to the U.S."

But how did Darren die? The Chinese government says he was hit by a truck.

"There was a complete absence of abrasions, lacerations, fractures. There was no evidence of an auto accident of any kind," said mortician Jerry Marek.

Jerry Marek is the mortician who prepared Darren's body. Marek, a former coroner, who's examined hundreds of bodies says that Darren's case looked like something else.

"He was hit in the head with something," said Marek.

His opinion only fueled Maxine's suspicions. Maxine says she had to sign a statement agreeing with the accident story in order to get her son's body back.

"If he was murdered we need to know that because there are others teaching in China," said Maxine.

"They would prefer this to be listed officially as an accident," said USC Professor Stanley Rosen.

Rosen says because that way it would be less politically charged.

"But if it's a murder the Chinese government is under pressure to solve the case," said Rosen.

NBC4 went to the Chinese Consulate near downtown Los Angeles and asked to talk to someone about Darren Russell.

"We have not been informed of this specific case," said Xiaomeh Zhou, Press Counsel, Chinese Consulate, L.A.

Maxine has a copy of a certified letter she says was sent to the Chinese consulate. So who's telling the truth?

Congressman Henry Waxman wants to know who is telling the truth. He sent NBC4 this statement:

"I am continuing to press the State Department and the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou for a full investigation. Mrs. Russell and her family deserve to know the facts."

"If only I knew how bad it was," said Maxine.

The truth may not be enough to release Maxine Russell from the guilt she says she feels.

"I'll live with that for the rest of my life. I mean I couldn't help him," said Maxine.

The school Darren worked for in China did not respond to NBC4's emails.

The Chinese Consulate still maintains no formal complaint by the mother or the U.S. government has been filed.

2006-3-2 06:02 AM

xinyang (xinyang)
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Darren

http://www.whiterabbitsmom.org/

Darren Russell was murdered in Guangzhou, China on April 14th, 2005. He would be alive today if it were not for the apparent negligence of our U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou.

Darren entered into a contract to teach English at a school in China. Unfortunately the school he was teaching at failed to honor the terms of his contract. His class sizes were substantially increased, as well as his teaching and preparation time. After working approximately 70-80 hours per week, seven days per week, teaching and preparing written lesson plans daily for grades 1-12, he became ill, running a high fever and required painful intravenous injections for bronchitis.

He asked his director to let him work only six days a week. She refused and ordered him out of his apartment within an hour (five suitcases, 17 resource books, clothes, etc.). Then three staff members from the school drove Darren clear across town and checked him into a hotel at his expense. The hotel was located in a high crime area where violent crimes including murders and robberies are reported on a daily basis by the media. Darren was robbed his first night at the hotel.

Darren called (his parents) and informed us he just wanted to return home. (His parents) immediately wired $500.00 via Western Union and $1500.00 to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Both Western Union and ICBC refused to release the money to Darren due to their bureaucratic policies in Guangzhou. We still cannot get the money released to us, even with tremendous documentation.

(His parents) e-mailed Keith Schneller 30 times at our U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou as well as leaving five telephone messages. (His parents) also spoke telephonically with Kirn Braich, Vice Counsel at the United States Consulate in Guangzhou (after Darren's murder). He informed me that the consulate gets hundreds of e-mails a day and they do not have time to read them.

Further, Darren spoke to the U.S. Consulate directly and the only action they took was to call the hotel to say, "Comfort him". Hours before his murder, Darren left a message on his father's cell phone saying....

"Please, please help me. I am so scared, I have never been this scared in my entire life."

It is apparent that the U.S. Consulate and Chinese Police have covered-up the facts. They claim Darren was hit by a commercial truck. (His parents) have been given 21 different versions of what happened to Darren. But the facts are that his body had no lacerations, cuts, bruises, racoon eyes or broken bones. (His parents) have obtained documentation from experts that Darren's death was not caused by any type of accident with any vehicle.

Darren was hit over the head and his skull was split nearly in half. Initial photographs showed Darren's facial cheeks to look normal. However, upon the return of his body to the United States it was evident that he was also struck in the face. There were fist marks on one cheek which had been covered up.

In order to have their son's body returned to the United States, they had to pay nearly $10,000 to transport him home plus another $1,000 to the hospital. The U.S Vice-Counsel, Kirn Braich, promised his parents the records would be translated into English. However when they received the records they were in Chinese, from another hospital and of a different patient (a female suffering from depression.)

After sending the money, to obtain their son's body, the U.S. Consulate informed us "The Chinese Police will hold Darren's body for five to eight months and quarantine him for an infectious disease unless you sign a letter stating his death was an accident and you will not prosecute or investigate".

One of Darren's parents travelled to China after the burial and went to the U.S. Consulate and asked why they did not help Darren. They informed her, "I was not a party to what happened, but everything was handled according to United States law in an appropriate manner. We don't help Americans in distress. There are too many of them." She was also informed they were understaffed, yet they had 7,000 adoptions in 2004 by U.S. citizens of Chinese babies and children.

Their own job description states, U.S. Consular officers are available to advise and help you, especially if you are in any kind of serious trouble. Consular officers are responsive to the needs of Americans travelling and residing abroad. However, the majority of their time is devoted to assisting Americans who are in serious legal, medical or financial difficulties. Darren had all three difficulties. He was robbed and penniless. He was ill with a high fever and suffered from serious bronchitis. His visa was returned to him with only one day remaining before it expired.

Our U.S. Consulate is not there only to meet with wealthy businesspersons and politicians. They are there to help us. Please make them accountable for their promises and duties as described in their own job description, to prevent any more senseless murders to occur.

2006-3-2 06:03 AM

iluv2fish (iluv2fish)
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Who would do this?

Who was Darren afriad of?

2006-3-2 06:15 AM

xinyang (xinyang)
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Who?

Decai English Training School

the employer

2006-3-2 07:03 AM

xinyang (xinyang)
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Medical evidence

The medical evidence proves there was no accidental impact with any type of vehicle.

This man was bludgeoned to death after being turtured.

2006-3-2 11:29 AM

iluv2fish (iluv2fish)
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Tortured?

I did not read an evidence of this. While it should be investigated I would not jump to
conclusions.

I think perhaps it could be someone from this forum as there seems to be many Chinese
here that do not like English teachers to much.

2006-3-2 11:39 AM

xinyang (xinyang)
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US Medical Report

I have confirmation that a US medical Examiner found evidence of torture, ie intentional burns.

2006-3-2 12:01 PM

xinyang (xinyang)
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Another cover up

Both the US and Chinese governments are engaged in a cover up.

2006-3-2 05:42 PM

xinyang (xinyang)
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more

English-language School Boom Proves a Bust for Naive Foreigners

2005-6-3 20:04:07 South China Morning Post

The workload is far greater. While teachers complain of exploitation, students are also short-changed because most teachers have no experience.
Like many young foreigners in China, 28-year-old Briton Gareth Thomas decided teaching English was an easy way to see the world and get paid for it. When he arrived on the mainland about two months ago, he used a Shanghai-based recruiting agency, Two-West Culture, to secure a job and help him settle in. He signed a contract for 15 teaching hours a week, 8,000 yuan a month, insurance cover and passage home. But when he arrived in Guangzhou seven weeks ago, he found that his workload was far greater. Now he's quitting. "They brought me from Shanghai and promised to pay for the ticket [to Guangzhou] after one month. But they won't, and they changed my contract without my permission to make me work 20 to 25 hours a week," he said. The agency put pressure on teachers to work extra hours, and called him every other day to get him to teach more classes, said Mr Thomas, who holds a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). "If I was five minutes late, they fined me two days of pay. I feel cheated. They exploited me." Mr Thomas's take-home pay at the end of the month was 3,500 yuan and the balance went to the agency. Demand for English is so great that there are 200 to 300 registered centres in Guangzhou. One market leader, Guangzhou New Oriental School, has 70,000 students. The Decai English Training School, which employed Mr Thomas and Darren Russell, does not have its own classrooms but operates by sending its teachers to government schools. It says it has several thousand students and receives 100 yuan a term per student for one 40-minute lesson a week. A class typically has 36 students. A Hong Kong-based teacher who teaches English part-time in Guangzhou said teachers working at less reputable schools were often unwilling to speak about their experiences because they were worried that it might attract a police crackdown that would affect them. "You know that China is very aware of these schools, as are the police, and you know why they are still operating," he said. "They are needed, and until the government changes its school licensing rules to cope with demand, they will continue to operate." Mr Thomas, who has signed up with a more reputable international agency, warns those thinking of teaching on the mainland not to deal with Chinese recruiters. A notice on the US embassy website on January 15 advised prospective teachers to get their work visas before arriving in China, even though in practice, work visas are only issued after arrival. But while teachers complain of exploitation, students are also short-changed because most teachers have no experience. Some are not even native speakers but are hired for their Caucasian looks.

2006-3-2 07:37 PM

xinyang (xinyang)
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No outcry

The lack of any outcry from forumites here for justice clearly shows that the posters here are not really interested in China.

2006-3-2 09:03 PM

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xinyang (xinyang)
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more

http://www.whiterabbitsmom.org/

2006-3-2 09:05 PM

#11

xinyang (xinyang)
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you could help

http://www.whiterabbitsmom.org/pages/petition.htm

2006-3-2 09:06 PM

#12

asmanthink
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uncanny death

First of all, he should not have worked with a boss who later would order him to move out of his apartment in one hour. This kind of humanity and sense is something I believe in some Chinese but I don't think an American could be so desperate that he had to work with them.

The second thing is that when he had worked in china for sometime he should have some friends, he was not the only American teacher working here if he didn't have any Chinese friends who would be willing to help in need. And if he had no friends he could have walked directly to American consulate in Guangzhou for help.

If his death was not an accident, there must be something uncanny to it.

2006-3-3 10:02 AM

#13

xinyang (xinyang)
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ABOUT DARREN

[ Last edited by xinyang at 2006-3-4 09:27 AM ]

2006-3-3 11:02 AM

#14

xinyang (xinyang)
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Questions?

Questions that need answers:

Who ownes Dacai English Training Center?

What is Jane Lo's real Chinese name?

Where is Jane Lo?

Who ownes Two-West Culture in Shanghai?

How can someone contact Gareth Thomas from Britain?

2006-3-3 11:34 AM

#15

xinyang (xinyang)
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Partial answers from PM

We need more specifics -

Jane Lo owns Decai English Training School. You can find it on the internet. I don't know her Chinese name. She never signs anything herself.
   Jane Lo lives in Guangzhou, but I have no idea where.  I just know she is married, very wealthy, and owns property somewhere.
   I never heard of Two-West Culture in Shanghai. I wouldn't have any information.
   I do not know how anyone can contact Gareth Thomas. I am sure that anyone that worked at that schools fears for their safety now. I would never want to get him involved. It is enough that Darren was murdered.
   I hope I have been helpful.

[ Last edited by xinyang at 2006-3-3 11:42 AM ]

2006-3-3 11:39 AM

#16

xinyang (xinyang)
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Who will help?

Will anyone come forward and assist?

2006-3-3 12:58 PM

#17

xinyang (xinyang)
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Please

China Daily should take the lead and investigate this case and expose the corruption.

2006-3-3 12:59 PM

#18

xinyang (xinyang)
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More

MURDER IN CANTON
As reported by the South China Morning Post
(Hong Kong newspaper)

Outside a hotel in Huanshidonglu, Guangzhou, a blue truck was seen
speeding away. On the road could be seen the body of a white man.

The body was taken to the Guangdong No. 2 Traditional Chinese
Medicine Hospital. Routine procedure? One wonders: since when does a
TCM hospital perform autopsies for the police when foreign nationals
are involved? Just a question, though.

The PSB informed the American Consulate in Shamian Island about the
fatal incident, and thus the mother of the victim found out to her
horror that her son was not going to return home alive. Pictures of
the naked body were transmitted to her. She is a trained nurse and
immediately noticed discrepancies between what the photographs told
her and the police report she received.

The pictures showed a gaping wound from ear to ear. The skull of the
man was fractured. The rest of the body was virtually intact. This
didn't seem to be consistent with the claim by the Chinese police
that her son had been run over by a truck!

The girlfriend of the victim was located. She added new mysteries to
the story: a prostitute had been planted in the young man's room some
time ago (not clear whether on the day when the "accident" occurred),
and U.S.$ 800 plus RMB 5000 disappeared.

The father of the victim revealed that his son had on the day of his
death emailed him asking him to "help me get home. I am so scared. I
have never been this scared in my life."

The young man had come to China to teach English. In this capacity,
he was working for a private training centre that confiscated his
passport and never applied for a work visa.

He was housed in a hotel, his passport being kept by his employer. On
7 April he formally quit his job, yet he failed to get his passport
from his employer.

=============================================

FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED IN DEATH OF US TEACHER
Mother queries marks on body of son, who was in a dispute with
ex-employer
As reported by the South China Morning Post
LEU SIEW YING in Guangzhou

The mother of an American teacher who apparently died in a
hit-and-run accident in Guangzhou two weeks ago suspects foul play
led to her son's death.

But Maxine Russell said that despite her suspicions, all she wanted
was the prompt return of her son's body.

Speaking from Los Angeles, Ms Russell said a US consulate official
told her after a meeting with police on April 22 that her 35-year-old
son, Darren, was seen trying to cross the road outside his hotel when
he was hit by a light blue truck.

Ms Russell, a nurse, said photographs of her son's naked body showed
no broken bones and only one small bruise on his left shoulder,
although his skull was split from ear to ear.

"I kept asking, `What did he die of?' and the consulate kept saying,
'We don't know'," she said.

A doctor said it was rare that a traffic accident would leave no
bruises or broken bones.

Darren Russell was knocked down in front of his hotel in Huanshi East
Road at about 4.30am on April 14 and taken to the Guangdong No2
Traditional Medicine Hospital. Doctors said he died of respiratory
and circulatory failure and brain injuries at 12.55pm.

Russell arrived in Guangzhou in November to work at an
English-language school. He quit on April 7 after the principal of
the illegal school failed to get him a work permit, kept his
passport, made him work seven days a week and share his apartment.

Ms Russell says his employer could have had a hand in his death
because her son had threatened to report the school to the
authorities.

An hour before he was found in the street, Russell had called his
father and left a message saying, "Please help me get home. I am so
scared. I have never been this scared in my life", his mother said.

He had earlier told his father he had fallen and hit his head and he
and his mother had sought assistance from the consulate to get him
home.

Russell's mainland girlfriend said he had US$800 and 5,000 yuan in
his pocket when he checked into his hotel, but was robbed soon
afterwards by a prostitute sent to his room.

Both the Public Security Bureau and the US consulate-general declined
to comment on the case.

Despite her suspicions, Ms Russell now just wants to get her son's
body home quickly.

She was told an autopsy would take 20 days, but that she could write
to request the release of his body without an autopsy.

She has written to the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau offering to
give up her rights to take action against those responsible for her
son's death in an attempt to get the body back for burial on May 6.

"We are Jewish and our religion requires that we bury our dead within
48 hours and it is way, way past that," she said.

2006-3-3 03:38 PM

#19

christopher_104
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In a word

Shalom

2006-3-3 05:03 PM

#20

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