Update on Dead Body in Park: Photos & Video

WARNING: Some of the photos may be unpleasant or offensive to some readers.


SO – DO NOT READ THIS
IF YOU ARE LIKELY TO BE OFFENDED OR DISTURBED.


Photo copyright Warren Redlich © 2016.
All photos copyright Warren Redlich © 2016 unless otherwise noted; other media may use free by crediting West Boca News or @WestBocaNews.

The Yamato Road entrance to South County Regional Park was effectively closed Wednesday around noon for over an hour after a dead body was found. Sheriff’s deputies and investigators surrounded the area with crime scene tape.

Many people are asking – We do not know the name of the victim and we do not expect PBSO to tell us.

The body was found on the east side of the road in front of a black car. You can see detectives near the body on the right side of the photo below.
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The next photo shows the scene before the minivan arrived. The body was in front of the black sedan which we believe was his car.
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At the time we were first notified about the incident, we did not know what the cause of death was. We arrived on the scene and notified the public of the situation by posting this video on our Facebook page:

Later we learned that the investigators determined it was a suicide. We do not normally report on suicides, but when it blocks a road or otherwise creates a scene and disturbance in the general public, we feel it is our duty to follow up and inform our readers as to what happened.

Body was found where the red pin is marked on the map, just north of the ball field, south of Yamato Road, and not far from Sunrise Park Elementary. Image and map data by Google.
Body was found where the red pin is marked on the map, just north of the ball field, south of Yamato Road, and not far from Sunrise Park Elementary. Image and map data by Google.

We also had an unpleasant encounter with Detective Amanda Pfeifle who did not like us taking pictures. She abused her power, expanding the crime scene tape to interfere with journalism. It didn’t work.

For the commenters who claim I was interfering with the investigation, that’s nonsense. I was far away, staying out of the way, taking pictures. They did absolutely ZERO investigation inside the area of the expanded crime scene after they moved me. I was on the scene until they starting taking the tape down. Detective Pfeifle did this only to interfere with a journalist. They had no reason to stop doing their jobs to bother me. Police abuse of journalists is a longstanding problem in the US, documented extensively by Photography is Not a Crime.

After a subsequent and somewhat more polite request from Detective Brian Allison, we held off on publishing this article for 24 hours to allow next of kin to be notified.
Now at this point, we must remind you again:


WARNING
The photos below may be particularly disturbing or offensive to some. If you think that might be you, stop now. Do not read any further.


PBSO investigators and other staff working on the scene, with the body on the ground beyond them.
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The body was removed by staff in the minivan mentioned earlier.
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It gets worse. Again, do not scroll down if these might bother or offend you. We have blurred certain features.


The body was in front of what appears to be a fairly new black sedan, possibly an Infiniti Q50. Update – A reader tells us it is a first generation Hyundai Genesis (years 2009-2014).
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And these are closer shots showing the body.
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And the following photos were sent to us by Juliette Falcone, who was on the scene before we were.

Photo by Juliette Falcone
Photo by Juliette Falcone

Photo by Juliette Falcone
Photo by Juliette Falcone

West Boca Trump Rally: Observations & Photos

This article was written by Michelle Cirino Yarris, a friend of West Boca News who volunteered to go the rally for us since we could not attend. This was at the Sunset Cove Amphitheater in South County Regional Park.
I went to a Donald Trump Rally. This shocked a lot of people. I have been pretty vocal about the fact I am not a Trump supporter. However, the event was a 15-minute bike ride from our house at the local county park. I probably would have gone to see most any candidate at that point.
The real reason I went is due to all comments I have seen on social media on the Trump supporters. The racist, hateful, uneducated Trump supporter. What I found was a very diverse crowd of people. First time 18-year-old voters to 80-year-old people with walkers and everything in between. I saw people I knew who were businessmen, a doctor, a teacher. Educated people. I saw people of every color. Not just a handful either. There were many legal immigrants. One young man had a sign that he made that said “Immigrants for Trump”, another had one that said “Hispanics love Trump.”
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Talking to a group of young men (barely at 18), I asked why they supported Trump. Their responses were two fold. First, one told me that they are tired of all the handouts to every group. Nothing is free. Someone has to pay for it. I kid you not – an 18-year-old boy said this to me. His friends all agreed. The second most concerning issue to this group was ISIS. They are concerned for the future of our country, our world. They don’t understand why we have such an open border policy in a time when we know people are streaming in with the intent to harm our country.
The conversation that shocked me and surprised me the most was from a young man from Virginia, who knew all about the voting patterns in his state. He was 18. I would guess most adults have no idea about voting patterns and counties.
All in all, I was very surprised at the crowd. Maybe it is Boca, or maybe we are only seeing a small piece of what really is going on.
This isn’t an endorsement of Trump in any way, but a closer look at his supporters. There is a very large silent group who is afraid to come out and vocally support their candidate for fear of repercussions. Which is not the American way. Those we do hear from, who are very loud, are not representative of what I saw at the Trump rally.
Whatever your view, whoever your candidate, let your voice be heard and vote!
Voting in Palm Beach County is on Tuesday March 15, 2016 in Florida from 7am to 7pm.
Local photographer Johnnie Butters also volunteered to take photos for us. He had a media pass which may have helped him get in early but severely constrained his movement and ability to get photos. Here are some of our favorite photos from his collection.

An early shot showing off the Sunset Cove amphitheater with the crowd just starting to grow
An early shot showing off the Sunset Cove amphitheater with the crowd just starting to grow

Photo showing off a Trump supporter but mainly we like this one because of the "bokeh" (a photographer thing) and the background hinting at the gorgeous view westbound from Sunset Cove.
Photo showing off a Trump supporter but mainly we like this one because of the “bokeh” (a photographer thing) and the background hinting at the gorgeous view westbound from Sunset Cove.

We just like this one.
We just like this one.

You can see all of the photos he shared with us on his Facebook post to our page or on his website.
Also we saw this photo from a regular reader known as “Boca Rat” in our comments and he said we could use it in this article. We love both how it captures the size of the crowd and also that view to the west.
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Trump Ruins Black Man's Sunset in West Boca

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Michael Rance loves living in West Boca and is an avid reader of West Boca News – and commenter. We learned from Mr. Rance that the upcoming Donald Trump event in South County Regional Park has a darker side. It’s ruining the sunset.
Rance takes photographs of the gorgeous sunsets in the park as part of his regular routine.
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And now his daily sunset ritual is being disrupted by thousands of Trump supporters filling the park in and around Sunset Cove Amphitheater, obviously named for its great views. Rance is concerned not only with the supporters, but with Trump’s “hate and bigotry.”

I watch sunset at sunset cove almost every day now my Sunday is f##### up because of this piece of trash

Rance really does take a lot of photos and he shares them on his BlackXeres Instagram account. He has over 1000 followers and a typical sunset photo will get dozens of likes from them, often over 100. Here’s an example:
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And this is what Rance’s sunset will look like this evening:
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On the bright side, Mr. Rance’s routine should return to normal on Monday.
This message was not paid for by Marco Rubio nor any PACs affiliated with any candidates or party officials. If you’re angry at this article you are in serious need of a sense of humor. Thanks to Mr. Rance for playing along.

Ballers Actress in West Boca: Christine Allocca

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One of our regular readers connected us with a budding star who happens to live in West Boca. Christine Allocca appears in tonight’s episode of HBO’s Ballers (10:30 pm) and next week’s episode (10 pm) as well.
She moved here from Los Angeles two years ago to be closer to her family, including a sister who lives in West Boca and her mom in Coconut Creek. Allocca is happy to be living here. Life in LA was hectic and not family friendly for her 3-year-old twin girls.
In and near West Boca she enjoys a variety of things that are close and good for her kids. The first place she mentioned was the We Rock The Spectrum gym for kids. She loves the area parks including Daggerwing, the playgrounds in South County Regional Park and in Sandalfoot Park as well, and Sugar Sands Park on Military Trail.
We were surprised to hear her say she likes our beaches better. The water on our beaches is much warmer and more pleasant. We were in LA in June and it was in the 60s on the beach, so that makes sense. Allocca specifically mentioned Bathtub Reef Beach in Stuart.
That conversation triggered us to mention the dog beach in Juno Beach Jupiter. She hadn’t heard of it and thinks one of her three rescue dogs might enjoy it.
Alloccadogs
We asked her a bit about her career, which she knew was her goal at age 5: “Grandma I want to be an actress.” At age 21 she was in New York State, working at a bank while in college and she decided it was time to take her shot, so she moved to Los Angeles. Before Ballers one of her biggest career highlights was an appearance on the TV show Modern Family.
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She has found work here in South Florida, including television, commercial and print. Ballers shoots in Miami.
Cindy Schirmer of Stellar Talent in Miami is her agent and Lori Wyman Casting (also in Miami) helped her get on Ballers.
A few years ago she went a little outside her typical work as an actress and started making YouTube videos with a friend, Erika Schaefer. They’re pretty funny. The most popular one is below.

You can see all of those on the Christine Allocca Youtube channel.

Weekend Roundup: July 23-26

Weekend Roundup_3(1)Get an Introduction to Canoeing on July 23rd at Daggerwing Nature Center. For ages 8+, $10 per participant. An ACA certified instructor will teach the parts and terms associated with canoeing as well as the basic skills needed to successfully navigate a canoe. Call 561-629-8760 for reservations.
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Go hear the Turnstiles, a Billy Joel Tribute Band on July 24th at Mizner Park Amphitheater. The free concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Blankets are chairs are welcome but no pets, umbrellas, or outside food and beverages.

Build with Lots o’LEGO Bricks on July 24th at 3 p.m. at the Glades Road Library. Ages 5 and up. Call 561-482-4554 to preregister.
Try something different on July 24th at The Center Stage Performing Arts. The Sick Puppies Improv Show starts at 9:30 p.m. Center Stage is located at 7200 West Camino Real, Suite 330 in Boca Raton. Tickets are $15.
SlightlyStoopidSkull_TicketingGet tickets for Slightly Stoopid with the Dirty Heads and Stick Figure on July 25th at Sunset Cove Amphitheater. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. Show starts at 6:30 p.m. No chairs, strollers, cameras, pets or outside food or beverages. Advance tickets are $34.50. Call ticketmaster at 800-745-3000.
RoyalFamily-250Laugh out Loud at “The Royal Family” on July 25th at Studio One Theatre on the FAU Campus. This comedy was nominated for a TONY Award in 2010. Shows are 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Call 800-564-9539 for tickets. Tickets are $20
Enjoy a night of music with Idina Menzel on July 26th at Mizner Park Amphitheater. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., show starts at 8 p.m. Purchase tickets at Ticketmaster. Tickets start at $70 with fees.