Ind. Woman Accused of Stealing Soldier Son’s Insurance Charged Again

A Portage, Ind., woman who had pleaded guilty to stealing $250,000 in life insurance money after her son died in Iraq was scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 17.

Janie Lee Espinoza’s son, Army Spc. Roy Buckley, died April 22, 2003, after falling from a transport truck.

Most of what remains of the money was brought to Porter Superior Court on July 27.

Defense attorney Garry Weiss handed prosecutors a deed to a Florida time share, as well as a worn brown envelope containing an estimated $10,000 in jewelry.

Espinoza, 58, asked the court for mercy, saying she regrets her actions and wishes she could turn back the clock. Judge Bill Alexa moved the sentencing date back.

Maria Schavey, whose 10-year-old daughter was to have received the insurance money, was unhappy with the delay. She told the court that Espinoza ignored her son’s final wishes by spending the insurance money rather than saving it for his daughter.

“She has absolutely no shame,” Schavey said following the hearing. “She’s trying to use the death of her son as an excuse for the crime she committed.”

Information from: The Times, http://nwitimes.com.