Friday, December 15, 2017

Beth Bentley Probate filed in August

When I posted yesterday about the news release pertaining to suspected human remains in Jefferson County, Illinois, which includes the Mount Vernon area, I made an assumption that the Illinois State Police had made the news release. I first found it on the Facebook page for Illinois State Police District 13 (DuQuoin), after a southern Illinois follower of this blog emailed me.

Upon reflection I paid closer attention to the Woodstock, Ill. source line, and then the Northwest Herald published the release at 4:37PM yesterday.

The remains were found, according to the article, on December 4 at an as-yet undisclosed rural location in Jefferson County. At this time it is unknown to me whether the remains were found on the property visited by Beth and Jenn Wyatt during their get-away week-end in May 2010.

In the past, when remains have been found in southern Illinois, law enforcement officials were careful not to associate them with a name of a missing person until a positive identification could be made.

The news release repeats the "Amtrak story" that many quickly felt was "fake news". I think there is only one person on the planet who thinks that Beth went to Centralia to take a train to Chicago, and I wonder whether she really believes it. That story would be a good subject for a polygraph.

Several years ago pieces of a burned brassiere were found in a burn pit by a downstate woman who was searching for Beth. I never learned at the time if the pieces were turned over to law enforcement authorities.

On August 22 I wrote a long article on this blog about Beth and mentioned the seven-year statute for filing a Presumption of Death Petition. At that time there was no record in the McHenry County Circuit Court online records of any legal activity beyond attempts in 2012 and 2014 by two apparent creditors to collect monies owed by Beth.

On August 28 a court filing (17PR000295) was made to open Beth's Probate Estate. Reading of this filing yesterday caused me to wonder when, or if, a Petition for a Presumption of Death Determination had been filed, heard or granted. You can follow this case on www.mchenrycircuitclerk.org

On October 24 a Motion of some type was filed in this case.

On December 1 a Motion was filed and granted for a Protective Order. I've been watching court cases for years and this is the first time I've seen a Protective Order in an estate matter.

On December 5 a Hearing was conducted by Judge Chmiel on a Petition pertaining to Administration of the Estate. Could this be the Presumption of Death Petition?

On December 21 at 9:30AM Judge Chmiel will hear more on a/the Petition pertaining to Administration.

On October 16, 2018 Judge Chmiel will conduct a conference in the Estate matter. This is probably scheduled as a routine court date six weeks before a normal Estate closing hearing.

If there is a local reader who would like to go to the courthouse and read the October 24, December 1 and December 5 Motions, I would appreciate your assistance. If I were in McHenry County, I would go. I don't need copies of the Motions, unless they warrant close inspection. They are available online through a paid-for subscription that attorneys maintain.

Please contact me for authorization regarding a purchase of any court documents. Confidentiality assured. Email gus@woodstockadvocate.com or call 847/971-7083.

1 comment:

Gia said...

I did see an article in the newspaper the week before it went public that remains were found that stated "Beth's family" was seeking to declare her deceased and control the estate. I'm sure curious about the timing, and if the family consists of the husband.

I'm also surprised they mentioned Beth's name in suspicion of the remains being hers. Badly burned is a horrible thought. There are not one but two fire pits in the backyard of the property in MV. I'm assuming either the location or some of the items that were reported to be Beth's were also found.

It is known that Beth had several procedures that should better identify her in the process if it is her.

My heart breaks for her children thru this time.

I must also say I'm truly shocked at the silence from those who "love Beth" during this time.