Buford mother's death 'suspicious,' police say

Thank you for your kind words. We will try to contact you via myspace shortly. We appreciate you kindess and support.

No, as a matter of fact, I don't have the corner on loss. As I said many times, we all lost someone special when Muriel died. What irritates me is that Florida cousin posted her letter thanking people and you felt the need to post 37 times after her! "A Friend" has it right that that should have been the last post on here. I'm not trying to take away from your loss but tell me that for her cousin (Florida cousin), it wasn't that much worse because not only did she grow up with her but she had to pack up her cousins things and deal with the fact that we KNEW and spent time with the girls and never imagined this could happen.

A lot of people found out about Muriel's death through stories. We were there cleaning out her house, meeting with her attorneys, arranging her funeral service and meeting with her mother, so I'm sorry if you didn't get a personal phone call. Many of her friends weren't called because we just didn't have the time AND the friends that were called were the one's Muriel talked to often that we knew about.

So, I'm now going to post Florida Cousin's victim impact letter and hopefully that will be the last post on this topic.

jerseyshore2 wrote:

How dare you state "WERE her family" (Your words.) How nice WE had left voicemails for Muriel and NO ONE contacted us. I found FLORIDA COUSIN through research. How do you know what we went through, do you think you had the corner on loss ? My wife had to find out this way. Thanksgiving weekend 2006 when none of her voicemails were responded to, and phones were disconnected, I found out via articles on the internet. I had to tell her her life long "big sister was murdered. Muriel often was busy for weeks and when calls were not returned we don't assume a crime has taken place.
To suggest that we were any less family to Muriel as in laws is shameful and insulting.
Take your own advice, let it go.

I would like to take this opportunity to put a "face" on this for folks who have been following the case. Being 57 and the only child of a mom who is 90, one may not consider her passing to be of much conseqence to many people.
Nothing could be further from the truth in this case. My vivacious, friendly, generous cousin is missed and mourned by so many of us.
From the bank employee who broke down in tears when I went in to discuss her account with him, to the little girl in South America whom Muriel supported through the United Children’s fund, she touch so many lives and that will never be again,
Her mother, my aunt who is also my godmother, lives in an assisted living home. She found out about her daughter’s death when she heard the address on the nightly news and saw her granddaughters being escorted to police vehicles, It was pretty hard for her to grasp the idea that the same girls who had come to her in April with Muriel and a cake to celebrate her 90th birthday were now in custody and she would never see her daughter again. Speaking of birthdays, Muriel had just had her 57th. Based on the fact that her mom is now 92, her mom’s sister is 87, and my dad, who was her uncle died last year,just short of his 90th birthday, and the fact that the doctor stated she had no signs of disease, she was robbed of a possible 30 or more years of life.
My life was changed forever when her friend, Barbara Major called me to offer her condolences, only to realize I had no idea what had happened, I was horrified to learn that her fear of the girls we had spoken about only a few weeks before, had been realized. In that instant, I lost the woman who had been my best friend when we were growing up, living only one block away from each other..I became responsible for the welfare of my aunt, her house which was in litigation due to building contractor issues and was charged with the trustee responsibility of Muriel’s estate. When I came to Buford to take care of funeral arrangements, my son Keith and his fiancée Eileen, accompanied me not only to help with gathering and sorting papers I would need at the house, but also so there would be a showing of family at her service. I need not have worried. We needed two rooms at the funeral home to accommodate all the friends she had made in the relatively short time she had lived in Georgia. Some of these friends had to be pressed into service to read all the letters that had been sent and faxed to me by her other friends in California, who could not make the service, but wanted to be a part of it.
Her love of animals was well-known…just ask the assistants from her vets office who took the time to come to her funeral, or the folks at the Gwinnett Humane Society where her friend Pat took the six cats and Pat’s husband Oliver, who used his own frequent flier miles to fly her dog to a home out of state.
The little girl I already spoke about who sent Muriel letters of thanks for the extra money she would send on Christmas and Birthdays. I have the letter of thanks that were translated and sent thru the Childrens Fund that the little girl wrote, telling what she had bought for herself and her family.
One of my sons got married last May…cousin Muriel was not there to help us celebrate..Another son had a baby girl, my first grand child….Muriel would have been so happy for me, but she’s not here to share in that happiness.
Muriel's family is so grateful for everyone's support, the expertise shown by the prosecuting attorneys, and especially the jury, who were so courageous to take on such a tough job.
Florida Cousin

No, I don't have the corner on loss. As I've said many times before, we all lost someone special when we lost Muriel. What I find irritating is that Florida cousin posted her thanks to everyone and the victim impact letter she wrote and you felt the need to post 37 times after her. Don't you think it was just a little worse for the woman that grew up with and knew Muriel her entire life? That she had to pack up her clothes? That WE spent time with both girls and Muriel? Don't you think it might have been a little tougher for her? I don't really think you do.

Regarding a personal phone call? A lot of Muriel's friends didn't get personal phone calls and found out through the internet. When we were there we were cleaning up and out the house, meeting with her estate attorney, arranging her funeral service and spending time with her mother. The friends we did call were the one's Muriel spoke of and to often. You call me shameful but you weren't there at the house, you weren't there at the funeral service and you weren't there at the trial so please don't call me shameful for calling out the fact that YOU don't have the corner on her loss.

Muriel is dead. Her daughters are convicted murderers. We will all always miss her.

Now, I'm going to re-post Florida Cousins letter again and hopefully that will be the last post on this forum.

RIP Muriel.

jerseyshore2 wrote:

How dare you state "WERE her family" (Your words.) How nice WE had left voicemails for Muriel and NO ONE contacted us. I found FLORIDA COUSIN through research. How do you know what we went through, do you think you had the corner on loss ? My wife had to find out this way. Thanksgiving weekend 2006 when none of her voicemails were responded to, and phones were disconnected, I found out via articles on the internet. I had to tell her her life long "big sister was murdered. Muriel often was busy for weeks and when calls were not returned we don't assume a crime has taken place.
To suggest that we were any less family to Muriel as in laws is shameful and insulting.
Take your own advice, let it go.

For someone who gives advice to let it go, you don't seem to want to, except to continue to belittle us.

No we were not at the services or anything else. If some one had taken a few moments to make the effort we would have been there. If we found out in November, how would we be there. We did not attend the trial Your outbursts here, show what we have felt. You did not want in laws there. We respected that, for Muriels sake.

You do not consider us family, fine. Muriel was our family and always will be.

We are done with your insults. Goodbye.

Ah the melodrama. It wasn't that we didn't want in-laws there, we didn't know that she talked to you and didn't make a lot of phone calls because we were inundated with other things.

The funny thing is, we got the result we BOTH wanted. The girls were convicted. Now we can all begin the closure.

jerseyshore2 wrote:

For someone who gives advice to let it go, you don't seem to want to, except to continue to belittle us.
No we were not at the services or anything else. If some one had taken a few moments to make the effort we would have been there. If we found out in November, how would we be there. We did not attend the trial Your outbursts here, show what we have felt. You did not want in laws there. We respected that, for Muriels sake.
You do not consider us family, fine. Muriel was our family and always will be.
We are done with your insults. Goodbye.

I AM SURE WE ALL THINK THE LAST THING THAT SHOULD BE POSTED ON THIS SITE IS.......

I would like to take this opportunity to put a "face" on this for folks who have been following the case. Being 57 and the only child of a mom who is 90, one may not consider her passing to be of much conseqence to many people.
Nothing could be further from the truth in this case. My vivacious, friendly, generous cousin is missed and mourned by so many of us.
From the bank employee who broke down in tears when I went in to discuss her account with him, to the little girl in South America whom Muriel supported through the United Children’s fund, she touch so many lives and that will never be again,
Her mother, my aunt who is also my godmother, lives in an assisted living home. She found out about her daughter’s death when she heard the address on the nightly news and saw her granddaughters being escorted to police vehicles, It was pretty hard for her to grasp the idea that the same girls who had come to her in April with Muriel and a cake to celebrate her 90th birthday were now in custody and she would never see her daughter again. Speaking of birthdays, Muriel had just had her 57th. Based on the fact that her mom is now 92, her mom’s sister is 87, and my dad, who was her uncle died last year,just short of his 90th birthday, and the fact that the doctor stated she had no signs of disease, she was robbed of a possible 30 or more years of life.
My life was changed forever when her friend, Barbara Major called me to offer her condolences, only to realize I had no idea what had happened, I was horrified to learn that her fear of the girls we had spoken about only a few weeks before, had been realized. In that instant, I lost the woman who had been my best friend when we were growing up, living only one block away from each other..I became responsible for the welfare of my aunt, her house which was in litigation due to building contractor issues and was charged with the trustee responsibility of Muriel’s estate. When I came to Buford to take care of funeral arrangements, my son Keith and his fiancée Eileen, accompanied me not only to help with gathering and sorting papers I would need at the house, but also so there would be a showing of family at her service. I need not have worried. We needed two rooms at the funeral home to accommodate all the friends she had made in the relatively short time she had lived in Georgia. Some of these friends had to be pressed into service to read all the letters that had been sent and faxed to me by her other friends in California, who could not make the service, but wanted to be a part of it.
Her love of animals was well-known…just ask the assistants from her vets office who took the time to come to her funeral, or the folks at the Gwinnett Humane Society where her friend Pat took the six cats and Pat’s husband Oliver, who used his own frequent flier miles to fly her dog to a home out of state.
The little girl I already spoke about who sent Muriel letters of thanks for the extra money she would send on Christmas and Birthdays. I have the letter of thanks that were translated and sent thru the Childrens Fund that the little girl wrote, telling what she had bought for herself and her family.
One of my sons got married last May…cousin Muriel was not there to help us celebrate..Another son had a baby girl, my first grand child….Muriel would have been so happy for me, but she’s not here to share in that happiness.
Muriel's family is so grateful for everyone's support, the expertise shown by the prosecuting attorneys, and especially the jury, who were so courageous to take on such a touch job.
FLORIDA COUSIN

I saw a mention about something regarding neighbors knowing what's going on. I know my neighbors weren't here when my father launched a barrage of frozen meat at me, then kicked me in the back when I tried to get away. None of them ever knew that it happened.

Hell, when I was assaulted in the street by a neighbor, in front of my house... None of the neighbors knew anything about that, either. One of them saw it from his front yard, and denied knowing it later.

Nobody knew that the gang graffiti in our subdivision came from the gang that spent almost every afternoon next-door, even though the tags were painted on the sidewalk surrounding the house they'd hang around. They certainly wouldn't listen to me when I tried to explain to them that these people were a gang, that they wore their gang's colors, and that the tags matched the gang's colors.

Neighbors rarely know the truth- they just lie to themselves in order to be comfortable with the people who live near them. I don't blame the girls, and I don't blame the mother. But, with as awful as some of my friends' parents were to them, and as chemically imbalanced as my friends were, none of them ever murdered their parents. So, you have to wonder... If it's really murder/manslaughter, what would it take to motivate a couple of kids to do something like that?

In any case... I find it disturbing that so many of you think you know what goes on in your neighbor's homes. If you did, you'd obviously know who committed the murder.

Learn2Research: Kitty Genovese Edition

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To just state a fact these gurls are my best friends and the best people that I have ever met. Being a victum of abuse does crazy things to you, i believe that they had to defend themselves, what of someone came at you with a knife, and you defended yourself? Would that put you in the wrong? See, the thing people hear these days is what they read on black and white, and what they see on the outside, but what about everthing esle? the inside, the colors, the true facts that happens behind closed doors? What then. I will stick by this girls until the end. That is what true friend do, even if something like this happened. What would you do?

If anybody objects to what I have posted please email me.
mypromise60@yahoo.com

Breanna, I wish that you had been at the trial to hear the testimony of the coroner who examined the girls and found no signs of abuse or any defensive knife wounds. It was concluded that the bite on Cathy's arm was most likely made by Brenda. That Cathy admitted to ransacking the house so it appeared there had been a struggle after they strangled Muriel.That evidence showed they most likely choked her until she passed out and instead of running out of the house to get help, when she began to "come to", choked her again until she was dead. That both girls had been given the opportunity to leave the home on more than one occasion, and never did. After three weeks of testimony, twelve people found those girls guilty of murder. If you are such a good friend, go visit them in jail and ask Brenda if she thought if they got rid of Muriel, did they think they would be able inherit the house and live there without having to follow any rules . You may be surprised at the answer you get.

FLORIDA COUSIN wrote:

Breanna, I wish that you had been at the trial to hear the testimony of the coroner who examined the girls and found no signs of abuse or any defensive knife wounds. It was concluded that the bite on Cathy's arm was most likely made by Brenda. That Cathy admitted to ransacking the house so it appeared there had been a struggle after they strangled Muriel.That evidence showed they most likely choked her until she passed out and instead of running out of the house to get help, when she began to "come to", choked her again until she was dead. That both girls had been given the opportunity to leave the home on more than one occasion, and never did. After three weeks of testimony, twelve people found those girls guilty of murder. If you are such a good friend, go visit them in jail and ask Brenda if she thought if they got rid of Muriel, did they think they would be able inherit the house and live there without having to follow any rules . You may be surprised at the answer you get.

I don't know if anyone keeps themselves updated on these posts, but i feel the need to write a little something for closure. I was Katy's best friend when she was first adopted and lived in california, and i was very close with Muriel as well. Both of our families were close... we were neighbors as well, so we practically lived at one anothers houses. Muriel was like a second mother to me. And Katy was one of my best friends. she confided in me and told me of all the horriffic events that had occured in her childhoold. she was a sweet girl, but i dont think that she was mentally there. when we would spend the night at each others houses, she would wake up with horrible nightmares of her past. When she move to georgia it was very hard to deal with. My family and Muriel + Katy kept in contact calling each other, but we soon lost contact after Muriel had adopted Brenda. Suddenly non of our phone calls were returned. We lost contact since then and it may come as a surprise to everyone, but just yesterday we found out about muriel's death. I feel horrible not knowing until three years later. no one bothered to contact our family and it just hurts to know that all of this was happening and we never even knew. Of course i have very mixed emotions, i'm angry at my old friend... i love and care for her very much but there is no excuse for killing your own mother. i almost want to blame the whole murder on Brenda just because i never met her and all the other articles i have read have said that everything had gone downhill after she was adopted. but i know blaming her for everything isnt right either. I give my condolences to Muriel's family and colse. I hope you are all well. I am truly sorry. I'd also like to know how Muriel's mother is doing... i hope shes well. getting into contact with any of muriel's family members would be nice... just to talk or something. from what i knew Muriel was a wonderful woman and mother and may she rest in peace.

me and katy (catherine) were best friends when she moved to california. she spoke little english and me and my friends had to teach her how. my friends and i just found out about this a week ago even though it happened in 2006 and i still cannot believe it. we were trying to get a hold of her for the last couple of years and could never seem too. now we know why. im still in shock and cannot believe it. her foster mother was so nice and i cant see her abusing them. but things obviously changed since i knew them

Does anyone have any further information on this story since the last posting? We just got word of this in California and one of the girls was one of ours (daughters friends) years ago and we are aching for her. This kind of tragedy doesn't happen without something lying beneath. Not to say that anyone deserves to be murdered, but what happened to these poor children in their life times? THEY didn't deserve whatever they were faced with to cause them such rage.....

To Muriel and Catherine's California friends: If you would care to post your email address, I would be happy to communicate with you. I'm sorry you had to learn of this horrific tragedy in an impersonal manner. I had all the mail forwarded to my address, and anyone who sent a Christmas card, etc with a return address was notified by me. Unfortunately, I could only communicate with those friends I knew about.

Thank you so much for responding it means a lot. I would love to get into contact. my e-mail is:

mexipak.y@gmail.com