Richard Heene news stories on Newser

ABC Nearly Paid Balloon Boy $10K

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 03:00:00 CST

ABC News was just about to pay the family of "balloon boy" Jason Heene $10,000 for a video of their stunt and an interview before a judge ruled last month that the family couldn't profit from their hoax. "ABC pulled the story because it didn't want the scrutiny," a...

Balloon Boy Dad: It Wasn't a Hoax

John Johnson — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:01:28 CST

There's no easy way to break this: The balloon boy dad is back in the news, and he insists the hoax he admitted to perpetrating wasn't, in fact, a hoax. Richard Heene tells Larry King in an interview airing Friday that he genuinely thought his son Falcon was aboard the...

Balloon Dad Heene Gets 90 Days

Harry Kimball — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:49:11 CST

Richard Heene, the mastermind behind the Balloon Boy stunt, will be cooking up his schemes behind bars for 90 days after being sentenced today. After his sentence—a mixture of hard time and work release—is complete, he’ll serve four years of probation, ABC News reports. The lowest blow? During...

Worst Parents of 2009

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:11:17 CST

2009 will always be the year we first met Octomom, Jon and Kate’s divorce played out in the tabloids, and David Hasselhoff ruined Thanksgiving. And those aren’t the only bad parents of the year—the New York Daily News remembers the worst: Richard and Mayumi Heene: Convinced the world son...

Balloon Boy Parents Acted Alone

Sarah Quinn — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:50:00 CST

Despite rumors that balloon boy parents Richard and Mayumi Heene may have worked with others, possibly media outlets, to stage their runaway balloon stunt, they pulled it off on their own, say authorities. Police examined computers, video cameras, and tapes taken from the couple's Colorado home and found no evidence...

Balloon Parents Plead Guilty

Harry Kimball — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:40:37 CST

The parents of “balloon boy” Falcon Heene pleaded guilty today to charges related to the hoax that sent police and rescue personnel on a wild-goose chase. Richard Heene pleaded to a felony, Mayumi Heene—a Japanese citizen who risked deportation if she had a felony on her record—to a...

Balloon Parents Will Plead Guilty

Harry Kimball — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:21:59 CST

Richard and Mayumi Heene will plead guilty tomorrow for lying to police and rescuers and sending them on a wild balloon chase for their “missing” son Falcon, who they knew was safe at home. Mayumi will cop to false reporting, a misdemeanor, while Richard will plead guilty to attempting to...

Cut Balloon Boy Dad Some Slack

John Johnson — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 11:00:27 CDT

A little sympathy for the Balloon Boy dad, please. Yes, he "grotesquely" put his kids through hell, but he’s also a fitting emblem—and the “inevitable product”—of our time, writes Frank Rich. Richard Heene gave us a fake spectacle that reflects our era much as “War of the Worlds”...

Balloon Mom Told Cops It Was All a Hoax

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:22:48 CDT

The mother of the 6-year-old boy once feared missing inside a runaway helium balloon admitted the whole saga was a hoax, according to court documents released today. Mayumi Heene told sheriff's deputies that she and husband Richard "knew all along that Falcon was hiding in the residence" in Fort Collins,...