Battle4aCure, an organization that raises funds for childhood cancer research, clarified its contact with Emily Dirr.
“I am actually crazy busy right now, I am headed to Africa on June 4th to work with children there. As far as the Eli hoax goes, it was quite the opposite; someone from the hoax actually sent items to us. They sent support bracelets to our organization and donated items for my Africa trip. They did not sign up for any of our programs or ask for any type of financial assistance, they only asked for us to post on our page to support their ‘son’s fight’. We were absolutely sickened and shocked to learn that it was a hoax. We are working on forms to be put in place that individuals seeking support will have to take and have signed by their clinic, so we can verify the validity of their illness. It’s sad that we have to do that, but we want to make sure that our efforts are directed to families who actually need our help.
Please let me know if you have any questions at all! Please feel free to share any of our information on your blog; we do want to clear the air that we had absolutely no idea that it was a hoax and we are better preparing our organization so incidents like this do not happen in the future. “
Coming from a psychological background, what was the initial motivating factor for all this?
Do we have a timeline, of what particular lies were told and when? For instance, the story about the twin brother who was stabbed predates the childhood cancer of Eli, do we have everything in order?
My main question is, if her supposed motivation was to raise awareness for childhood cancer, then why all the other crappy life stories? Why the dead twin, why the 14 year old knocked up girlfriend who ran off? Another major point that’s questionable is that JS seems to have custody of all the kids, and as we all know, even when it’s completely unfair, the mothers usually are awarded that privilege. Particularly where he adopted a baby at the age of like 19 or something (still trying to find where that originated in the xanga). No baby would just be given to some single teenage guy who already had one kid.
So was Emily or someone in her family somehow dicked over by a man, and by family court, and this is her twisted outlet?
Christ, I want to sit down with her and bust through an entire evaluation. Seriously, the transgression from JS’s earlier drama to having a child born with cancer is just… unnecessary if you’re trying to raise cancer awareness.
I wish I could just walk away from this and be content with being shocked, but now I feel like that tech nerd that takes apart a machine to see how it works. Seriously, I’m still amazed by this.
I agree, it is fascinating stuff, and usually there is a motive. We cannot uncover one here. No financial gain, and the motive of wanting people around, it just doesn’t add up to me.
There is a long history of people doing things for the motive of nothing more than gaining attention, sympathy, leniency, etc. Factitious disorders (acting or causing themselves to be sick) are for that very motive. It’s a mental health problem.
I don’t think it was to raise cancer awareness at all. I think that she just thought people would be more “forgiving” if that was her excuse.
I think it was started as a teenager who had problems at home and low self-esteem. I think she was not happy with her REAL life and created this rich fantasy life to “escape” and be someone else for awhile…and I think she spent a lot of time preoccupied with it.
If you look up Munchausen by Internet, I think that’s a fairly good idea of what this person has done. I think it was all for attention. She wasn’t getting the love and support in real life that she wanted (likely from her parents but maybe from a boyfriend)…it was easier for her to manipulate people on the internet to get it. I think it escalated to the cancer (and death) story because she likely saw all the “attention” and support those types of stories get.
Kind of like an addict who needs more to satisfy their craving. I think it’s possible she could escalate to hurting herself and/or Munchausen (making herself appear ill in order to get attention).
I’m really pleased by this email. I’m glad they were contacted and I’m glad they are taking precautions against people like this. REAL people deserve help but I think there should be ways to make it harder for these hoaxes to survive and for fakes to get what they definitely don’t deserve.
Yeah, Taryn discussed Munchausen by internet earlier. I feel there’s even more to it.
supposivley the knocked up 14 year old (mandi..?) died two weeks after running off from a heroin overdose. so so tragic!
i can’t believe i ever fell for this bs.
-Reader 1
Unfortunately, since we are decent human beings, we automatically give people the benefit of the doubt.
Emily didn’t deserve a friend like you.
I almost wonder if the initial stuff, JS and the murdered twin, etc, were simply escapes from reality, and then at some point, someone in her life was affected by cancer, and she couldn’t escape from reality anymore, to the point that they blended together.
Does anyone even know if this Emily is real? People have thankfully, discovered who many of the photos belonged to but who is the photo of “JS” that’s splashed all over? Do we know? It sure seems that this was all pretty big and involved to have been done simply by one young girl, teenager or woman. In many of the photos of “JS” he’s wearing a necklace that I’ve seen being worn by other cancer groups or children even. So I wonder what that persons real connection is??
The last that I had heard by someone who had also been directly in contact with JS not sure if before but after the Mothers Day event, told me, after much investigating by their foundation, that this was done by a man who had also done this other times in the past..that he spends about a year researching a story & then starts something like the Warrior Eli page and takes it from there. So it was kind of surprising to see here that it was now this Emily?? It’s just confusing and disgusting all around!
The people that I spoke with were Mothers of children with Cancer! They were devastated to know that this was all a hoax. They were worried that this would effect their foundation that honestly helps families of children effected by Cancer. So for anyone who thinks that this person didn’t hurt or effect many lives in a real way or steal something, very real from these families.. You are completely wrong.
R, I agree with you comeletely. Every word.
This started on xanga at least 7 years ago, if not longer — like 8 or 9 years, possibly. That is where I got to know him. And yeah, the dead twin was when they were 17. He was supposedly awarded custody of a baby girl he was the god-father of, after the parents were arrested in a major bust, the child named Katy, who “is” about 6 or 7 right now, who had some issues from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
I, too, wonder who the photos are of that is supposed to be JS. And the other children. We only know who 3 of them are — “Eli” is in New Mexico, (completely conquered his cancer, by the way), and “Lily & Jude” the younger twins, live in South Africa.
This was a looooong, drawn out, web of lies upon lies upon lies. I don’t think that this Emily is going to just disappear and never pull something like this again — she sunk THOUSANDS of dollars into this deception on the bracelets and postage and pins & ribbons & mailing envelopes and hours upon hours upon hours … I just don’t get it, and I don’t think that she’s remorseful, she would not have done this if she was capable of remorse. She didn’t do it to raise awareness or funds — because she could have just given the money instead of spending it on bracelets & postage/etc.
Hi, could you email me? Warriorelihoax@gmail.com
There are things that can confirm Emily Dirr is a real person. I believe more information will be coming soon.
Exactly! There is NO way that this person is going to stop. With the amount of thought, time, money & deception that was involved here, who’s to say that they aren’t actively still involved in other scenarios with other fake families even as we speak. Not to mention the countless number of people who don’t even know that “Warrior Eli” was a hoax & are doing things, not online but in real life supporting this family, even now? I don’t understand why more of this isn’t showing up somewhere in the main stream media and splashing those photos of the adults who were used in this all over the tv to ask if people know them? Not as the ones who perpetrated the hoax but as victims of it as well. Possibly some of them even know the “real Emily” I would bet that if this came out in a real way the amount of people directly effected would be astonishing. So once again I say, it sure seems unlikely that this was the sole act of just 1 young person & no one noticed.
I also find it very hard to believe that they did not receive gifts privately, people send all kinds of things, even if they aren’t asked for or acknowledged publically. Money, gifts, gift cards you name it. That’s still a crime, isn’t it?
I tried to rationalize it at first by giving the benefit of the doubt that maybe, just maybe this person had been closely effected by childhood Cancer & in some warped way, they thought this would draw attention to the cause so to speak. That they could help raise money for a cure. But now I don’t believe that is why. Now I think it’s a game, for fun or for sport. Too much power was given away to the person who did this. They aren’t going to stop & I would stake a bet that they are still going strong.. Not laying low at all.
I came late to the party & was only effected in the early hours on Mother’s Day when a blog that I follow, posted what had happened to “Dana” even not knowing the back story I felt terrible for this family and spent time on that Sunday reading about them. I can only imagine how people felt who thought they knew them.
I think getting the mainstream media involved is a great idea– I’m trying to get as many people as we can to submit an investigation request here but i dont think anyone is doing it.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46194568/ns/today-today_rossen_reports/t/do-you-want-scam-rip-off-or-issue-investigated/
I emailed taryn the one running this blog asking if she’d post it as a blog entry so more people would see it rather than me just posting it in a comment but she hasnt replied.
What is the purpose of this blog? it seems to just be fueling the drama. This is true internet fraud and has been turned over to the FBI for investigation.
FBI bahahahahahaha!!!