Heene's Motivation: 2012 Apocalypse

More bizarre background on 'Balloon Boy' dad Richard Heene comes out
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 21, 2009 9:49 AM CDT
Heene's Motivation: 2012 Apocalypse
In this TV publicity image released by ABC, the Heene family, clockwise from back left, Richard, Mayumi, Ryan, Falcon and Bradford are shown at their home in Fort Collins, Colo. on Nov. 15, 2008.   (AP Photo/ABC)

Richard Heene’s totally sensible motivation for his balloon hoax: He “believes the world is going to end in 2012," explained a lawyer for one of Heene’s researchers, who police recently interviewed. "Because of that he wanted to make money quickly, become rich enough to build a bunker or something underground, where he can be safe from the sun exploding,” the Telegraph reports. More on Heene:

  • A former client of Mayumi Heene’s tells Radar that Richard is “on the edge” and “unbalanced,” adding that she fears he could take his family hostage in a Jonestown-like scenario.
  • Court records show that Heene has quite the temper: The New York Daily News has details of Heene’s 1997 trashing of a Volkswagen, and the Larimer County sheriff says police have been called to the Heene house at least twice in the past year.

(More Falcon Heene stories.)

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