Fort Collins, Colorado resident Richard Heene, the father of famed "balloon boy" Falcon Heene, pleaded guilty to staging the incident as a hoax, and will begin his 90-day jail sentence today.
To refresh the memories of those who had put this story out of their minds, back in October the world watched as a giant man-made balloon floated through Fort Collins, Colorado and beyond. We all thought Richard and Mayumi Heene's six-year-old boy Falcon was inside. We thought that because that's what the Heene's told us.
When the balloon was recovered, there was no boy inside. The world assumed the worst--that he had fallen out mid-flight and perished. However, we then learned he was never in the balloon, he was hiding in the family attic the whole time. The story got more interesting when little Falcon Heene told reporters he was told to hide in the attic "for a show". Richard and Mayumi Heene were known to crave publicity and fame, and this seemed like a crafty plot to garner heavy media attention and perhaps form a reality TV show.
Richard Heene pleaded guilty to staging the event. Although he pleaded guilty, he still claims he truly believed his son was in the balloon, as he told Larry King. He pleaded guilty to assure his Japanese wife would not be deported. |
