Even with all of that in hand, the Todds could not - in the first few months after Shanes death - find anyone in power willing to help them make their case. Not a word of Shanes death appeared in the Singapore press and American and international reporters did not seem interested. Enter Ray Bonner, a former Pulitzer-prize winning reporter for The New York Times. The Todds contacted him through a friend: The Todds felt that nobody was listening to them, and nobody was, Bonner said. They said to me at one point, We dont want our son to just be forgotten. You know, hes disappeared. Of course, Bonner did not take the Todds at their word that Shane was murdered - he launched his own investigation, talking to experts in the type of technology Shane was working on and traveling to Singapore to speak to friends of Shane. After that research, Bonner, these days a freelance reporter, was intrigued and was able to sell his story to Londons Financial Times newspaper. Look, he says. An American has died in Singapore under suspicious circumstances while working on high technology. That is a story. Bonner, now a 48 Hours consultant, says he always told the Todds that he had an open mind about whether or not Shane was murdered or committed suicide and even after his story ran in February of this year, he remained 50-50. But Bonners magazine cover story in February 2013 had its desired effect. Overnight, Mary said, our story went viral. Suddenly, the name Shane Todd was on the lips of anchors on virtually every television program, stories ran in newspapers stateside and abroad, and the Todds scored meetings with U.S. senators and congressman. Secretary of State John Kerry met in Washington, D.C. with top Singapore government officials. Singapore officials reacted and agreed to hold an expanded inquest to determine whether or not Shane was murdered or had committed suicide. It was held last May in Singapore and that is the subject of our 48 Hours report on the case.
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 14:22:00 +0000
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