Monday, December 01, 2008

By JEFF JARDINE
www.modbee.com

last updated: August 12, 2008 08:24:10 AM

From the e-mails and voice mails:

A GENERATIONAL THING -- Last week, I wrote about the Lindskoog family. Father Jon, son Peter and grandson Rhett all were born June 19 -- Jon in 1953, Peter in 1984 and Rhett in 2008.

Jon Lindskoog had an engineer friend calculate the odds of that happening. Each person had a 1-in-365 chance of being born that day (June 19). So he multiplied 1/365 x 1/365 x 1/365 to reach a 1 in 48,627,127 chance of that occurring.

Wrong methodology, said math types, including instructors at a couple of local colleges. They calculated it differently, in essence determining that the odds involve only the chances of the son's and grandson's birthdays to fall on that day. Jon Lindskoog didn't figure into the equation, which then became 1/365 x 1/365. That creates much lower odds, 1 in 133,325, of both being born on Jon's birthday -- except 2008 was a leap year. That would mean the baby's odds of being born on a particular day would be 1 in 366, which makes the odds of the three sharing a birthday 133,590. If this is wrong, this is why I am not your accountant.

Either way, they're not 1 in nearly 49 million. But I'd still take a chance on a 1 in 133,590 long shot in the Kentucky Derby. I'd even bet $5 instead of the usual tightwad $2.

And I received calls from other people whose families include birthday sharers.

Paulette Seago of Turlock is one of them, though not so conventionally. She was born Oct. 12, 1942. Her brother, Russell Simpson, was born Sept. 26, 1947. Paulette then had two daughters, one of whom shares her birthday and the other shares Simpson's.

Bill Shatswell of Modesto called to say he was one of eight boys in his family, three of whom share July 8 as their birthdays. The eldest, Claude Reamis Shatswell, was born July 8, 1928, in Oklahoma. No. 7 son Kenneth Eugene Shatswell, was born July 8, 1947, in Oakdale and No. 8, Danny Michael Shatswell, came along July 8, 1951, also in Oakdale.

And finally, Sara Townsend of Turlock was born on her uncle's birthday, albeit 21 years later. Then, when she turned 21, Townsend celebrated by giving birth to daughter Audrey.

"Three generations 21 years apart with the same birthday in a five-generation family," Townsend said.

What are the odds of that? Go figure.

BUYING TIME -- Monday, two Tuolumne County men were expected to be sentenced to as long as 11 years in prison each in the death of Carl Knight, 23, after a fight in a rough Jamestown neighborhood in April.

The brothers reportedly told authorities they threw Knight's body off the Jacksonville Bridge into Don Pedro Reservoir. But Knight's body hasn't surfaced, and a crack body recovery crew from Idaho had no luck using sonar detection equipment.

Without a body, prosecutor John Hansen was about to agree to a manslaughter plea instead of pursuing murder charges against defendants Robert Earl Slawinsky, 28, and his brother, Paul Curtis Slawinsky, 26. The difference? As much as 11 years in prison for manslaughter compared with life (and, eventually, death) in prison.

But Friday, a body was discovered in the School House Cove area of the lake. That's near Fleming Meadows, south of the dam and closer to where Edgar Delacruz of Modesto disappeared May 25.

Because the body hasn't been identified, however, Superior Court Judge Eric DuTemple delayed the sentencing in the event that it turns out to be Knight instead. It's a long shot, but should that happen, the manslaughter plea is off the table and the murder charges are back.

DuTemple reset the sentencing for 3:30 p.m. Thursday. That gives Knight's family members three more days to find him.

If not, the sentencing goes on and, Knight's family claims, the defendants will have created a blueprint for homicide in Tuolumne County. Just beat someone to death, make sure nobody finds the body, refuse to waive your right to a speedy trial, and you can bargain for a relatively short prison term.

Jeff Jardine's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in Local News. He can be reached at jjardine@modbee.com or 578-2383.

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