| Guest | Re: Famous Mountain Biker Kills His Brother!
I very much hope that in reality you are somewhat joking in what you post,
because if not, then you are in need of some serious psychiatric care.
"Mike Vandeman" <mjvande@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:0vham299oe4uf0uhepg7mnfo1beetn0q0n@4ax.com...
> Cops: Sparta man killed brother
> Victim's young daughter saw shooting, police say
> BY ABBOTT KOLOFF
> AND MATT MANOCHIO
> DAILY RECORD
>
> Post Comment
>
> SPARTA -- A township man, considered a local biking and skiing legend,
> shot and killed his older brother in front of his kindergarten-age
> niece on Tuesday morning, authorities said.
> Daniel Thropp, 43, was in jail Tuesday evening, with police saying
> they planned to file gun and murder charges against him.
> Alan Thropp, 49, was shot multiple times at his East Shore Trail home,
> where police responded early Tuesday, authorities said. He made an
> emergency call to police at 6:41 a.m.
> Police said they recovered a hunting rifle outside the house but had
> not determined who owned it and had not determined whether it was used
> in the shooting. Alan Thropp was alive when police arrived, but it was
> not clear on Tuesday whether he said anything to authorities about the
> shooting.
> "I don't think there was any ongoing feud or anything like that that
> I've heard of," said Bill Fitzgibbons, first assistant prosecutor with
> the Sussex County Prosecutor's office.
> Daniel Thropp, who lives on Hunter's Lane and owned his own
> landscaping business, had recently visited a Daily Record office and
> presented papers claiming a developer was trying to poison him to get
> his house. He also indicated in those papers that he had tried to get
> Sparta Police Chief Ernest Reigstad to sign a paper acknowledging
> Thropp's claims of "criminal poisoning."
> Fitzgibbons said he couldn't say anything about Thropp's mental
> condition, adding that it's part of the investigation. He said he
> hadn't heard about Thropp's alleged dealings with the Sparta police.
> Reigstad was unavailable for comment and did not respond to an
> interview request.
> Authorities said first aid crews tried to revive Alan Thropp, but he
> died in the Newton Memorial Hospital emergency room at 7:47 a.m.,
> about one hour after police were called.
> At the scene
> Police also said Alan Thropp's daughter, who they said was either 5 or
> 6 years old, was the only witness to the shooting. They said Daniel
> Thropp was at his brother's house when police arrived but did not
> appear agitated. They said he didn't give a statement to authorities,
> and instead asked for an attorney.
> "It was very calm," Fitzgibbons said.
> Daniel Thropp was lodged in the Sussex County jail Tuesday night with
> a hearing set for today in Newton.
> Alan Thropp was divorced and had joint custody of a daughter,
> according to authorities. The little girl was staying with her mother
> in Hopatcong Tuesday night, they said.
> Lisa Champion, Alan Thropp's neighbor, described him as a hard worker
> who owned an excavating and septic business, and who would plow
> neighbors' driveways in winter. She also said he was a doting father.
> She said she saw police at the scene Tuesday morning.
> "I saw them performing CPR," she said. "I didn't know who it was until
> they confirmed (it was Alan). ... Alan was a workaholic. He was an
> awesome neighbor to have. He watched out for all of us. ... It's a
> tragedy, an absolute tragedy."
> She said that Thropp's young daughter was a bright spot in his life.
> "His life went around her,"she said. "He dropped everything. You knew
> a child was part of that house, with the toys and the swings, and the
> blow-up inflatables for the holiday. He lived for her. He was so proud
> to show her off. It just fills your heart with how much love he had
> for that little girl."
> A tri-athlete
> Daniel Thropp was described by friends as an athletic legend around
> Sussex County, with a quirky personality, who suddenly stopped
> communicating with many of his old friends a couple of years ago. They
> said they would see him around town, often at the library, but that he
> no longer participated in local athletic events.
> He had been known as a tri-athlete, who won a grueling three-sport
> race that involved mountain biking, skiing and running in Killington,
> Vt., several years running. They said he had been captain of ski teams
> at Sparta High School and Penn State University. He later went into
> finance, friends said -- but then dropped out of the business world to
> spend more time skiing, doing the things he loved.
> "I admired that he knew what he wanted to do, and did it," said Tracy
> Blake, 46, of Andover Township, who knew the Thropp family while
> growing up in Sparta.
> In papers he gave to the Daily Record, Daniel Thropp said that he
> owned Sparta Exterior Services and Sparta Lawn Care for many years. He
> also claimed in those papers that he was suffering from "acute
> exposure" to some sort of compound but indicated that no one took him
> seriously.
> "If you are a landscaper, sheep farmer or Gulf War veteran and claim
> damage you will be ignored," he wrote.
> Blake remained friendly with Daniel Thropp over the years because they
> were both members of a local bicycling club. She and other friends
> said he often showed up riding a clunker bike, sometimes his
> girlfriend's bike, without a water bottle, helmet, or proper cycling
> clothes. His friends said he easily won races competing against
> cyclists who rode much more expensive bicycles.
> "He was an extremely talented athlete, easy going, friendly, helpful,"
> Blake said.
> Blake said Daniel talked fondly about his brother, Alan. She also said
> Daniel Thropp stopped coming to bicycling events a couple of years ago
> and appeared to stop working as a landscaper. She said he seemed to
> lose contact with his old friends.
> "I don't know what's been in his mind lately," she said.
> ===
> I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
> humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
> years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)
>
> Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are
> fond of!
>
> http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande
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