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Lost Compassion

Please help us complete this fascinating important documentary about Mitrice Richardson, released late at night from the Malibu Sheriff's jail and vanished.

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Lost Compassion

Lost Compassion

Lost Compassion

Lost Compassion

Lost Compassion

Please help us complete this fascinating important documentary about Mitrice Richardson, released late at night from the Malibu Sheriff's jail and vanished.

Please help us complete this fascinating important documentary about Mitrice Richardson, released late at night from the Malibu Sheriff's jail and vanished.

Please help us complete this fascinating important documentary about Mitrice Richardson, released late at night from the Malibu Sheriff's jail and vanished.

Please help us complete this fascinating important documentary about Mitrice Richardson, released late at night from the Malibu Sheriff's jail and vanished.

Chip Croft
Chip Croft
Chip Croft
Chip Croft
1 Campaign |
Los Angeles, United States
$2,825 USD 31 backers
9% of $30,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

Summary                                                                                                 

On September 16, 2009 at 10:00 PM, Mitrice Richardson, a lovely 24 year old, African-American, 4.0 college graduate, was arrested at Geoffrey’s restaurant in Malibu by Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, technically for not paying her bill. According to restaurant staff she was “acting crazy.” According to deputies she was sane and sober; yet they had her car towed and took her to jail for ticketable offenses. The arresting officers had her leave her purse, money, and cell phone in her car. She was taken to the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s station fourteen miles away.

Her mother called the station before Mitrice got there. Despite assurances that they would keep Mitrice overnight, she was released at 12:30 AM in a very remote location with no car, no purse, no cell phone, no way home. She just walked off into the night. She was seen briefly seven miles down the mountain at about 6:30 AM but then she vanished never to be seen again. Her remains were found eleven months later in a remote canyon about two miles from where she was last seen.

Immediately Mitrice’s family asked for video footage of her in jail. The captain of the station lied, saying there was no video whatsoever. Four months later it was learned there was footage from four cameras on a tape in the captain’s desk. This highlights the lies, deception and convoluted investigation by the authorities, whom to this day have no clue as to how Mitrice was murdered.


A Word From The Producer

      

Hi, I’m Chip Croft, producer of Lost Compassion. I began shooting this documentary ten days after Mitrice Richardson went missing in 2009 after she was released late at night from the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff station and vanished. I have been working on it continuously ever since. I was deeply involved in the search for Mitrice, following leads, challenging the authorities and helping to keep her story alive in the media. I have been producing documentaries since 1983, taught production and computer graphics for twenty years, and have received ten film festival awards.

You too have the chance to be an important part of the Mitrice story. Your funds may be key to solving this case by helping us get her story to those who can expand and accelerate the investigation. Possibly we may reach someone with direct knowledge of the perpetrators who will come forward with information leading to the apprehension of those who are guilty of her disappearance and ultimately her death.

It is difficult to summarize Mitrice’s story, as it is complex and sprawling. The producers of Discovery Channel’s Disappeared featuring Mitrice said they were glad we were producing this documentary because there was so much more than they could fit into a one–hour TV show.

Our Lost Compassion trailer introduces the basic story but you will learn so much more from the complete documentary. Please keep in touch with this site. We will be posting additional items and updates here frequently to tell you more and keep you up to date on new developments in the story. You will also find updates, photos and links on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LostCompassion.

What We Need & What You Get

We urgently need funds to complete Lost Compassion and to make it a high quality production that will receive maximum exposure and distribution. We have been shooting and editing the production on a shoestring for four years and we are stretched to the limit for funding. Lost Compassion is a big, complicated story much of which has never been told by the mainstream media. Now is the opportune time to complete and release the documentary, as described in the Impact section below. To do this we urgently need funds for final shooting, post production tools, high quality graphics, legal fees, music rights, and to pay professional production and postproduction personnel to help us create an award winning documentary and reach the large national audience that Mitrice’s story deserves.

We are offering great perks that will recognize your contributions in many ways, on screen and off. On some levels, you can even get involved in helping the production. You can see the “Perks” on the right side of this page.

The Impact

The purpose of Lost Compassion is to initiate a truly proactive investigation into Mitrice Richardson’s death and reach those who may have knowledge that will solve this case. While her case is still technically open, the Sheriffs and LAPD have never conducted anything resembling a thorough investigation. We believe the main reason is that one or more Sheriffs deputies and people connected to them may have been involved in Mitrice’s disappearance and death.

Typically the authorities never conduct a rigorous investigation when the culprits may be one of their own. As far as we know, none of the deputies who arrested Mitrice nor any deputies at the station have ever been truly investigated by the Sheriffs or LAPD. Also, we believe that many important leads that we supplied to the authorities on suspects have never been investigated.

With the recent resignation of Sheriff Baca and the pending election of a new Sheriff, we feel Lost Compassion will stimulate the new Sheriff to revisit Mitrice’s case and even set up a task force to thoroughly review the investigation as if it were a cold case, and perhaps finally bring the FBI into the case. It may also help to get those guilty of, or with key knowledge of, Mitrice’s disappearance and death to come forward with key information leading to solving the case.

On a grand scale, Lost Compassion will show those who have relatives or friends who go missing how to deal with the authorities, searches and to keep their story alive. Additionally how, when the missing person is a person of color, extra effort is required to gain the respect of the authorities and the media.
 
When someone goes missing, the lives of those close to that person are thrown into a shocking, tumultuous, unfamiliar world. Lost Compassion takes the audience inside this world where they can experience the stress and craziness yet learn to cope with it and take necessary actions to find missing persons.


Other Ways You Can Help

Please help us reach or exceed our funding goal by broadcasting this Indiegogo link to all of your friends, relatives and anyone else that you know who may be able to help us. Use social media, email or simply word of mouth to alert the world to this important opportunity to tell Mitrice's story and bring her justice. The larger the audience we reach, the greater our chances for success.

• New update! 3/18/14 -  We were just picked as the best crowd funding film this week on the UK web show, The Naked Filmmakers. They choose the best film each week to fund. Here's what they said about "Lost Compassion."


"This is the most important film we've featured thus far." "If you're gonna put your money into something, put it into "Lost Compassion." "A film that really needs to be made."     See the video in our gallery section!

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Choose your Perk

Facebook thanks

$10 USD
Digital copy of Lost Compassion movie postcard. Thanks on Facebook site to this and all levels above.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
1 claimed

Special Thanks

$25 USD
Lost Compassion printed postcard. Your name under “Special Thanks” in film credits.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
5 claimed

Special Thanks

$25 USD
Lost Compassion printed postcard. Your name under “Special Thanks” in film credits.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
1 claimed

Copy of "People" with Mitrice

$25 USD
Mitrice was featured with five other missing youth on the cover of People magazine on November 23rd 2009. From March 22nd until April 12th we will be offering thirty copies of the People magazines for contributions $25.00 and over.
Estimated Shipping
April 2014
0 out of 30 of claimed

Poster Special Thanks

$50 USD
Digital copy of Lost Compassion poster. Your name under “Special Thanks” in film credits.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
4 claimed

DVD Special Thanks.

$100 USD
Lost Compassion DVD. Your name under “Special Thanks” in film credits.
5 claimed

DVD T-shirt Special Thanks

$150 USD
Lost Compassion T-shirt, Lost Compassion DVD, Your name under “Special Thanks” in film credits.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
0 out of 200 of claimed

Tote bag DVD Special Thanks

$200 USD
$200 - Lost Compassion Tote bag, producer signed Lost Compassion DVD. Your name under “Special Thanks” in film credits.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
0 out of 200 of claimed

Associate Producer

$500 USD
"Associate Producer" credit on screen, printed poster + T-shirt or tote bag and producer-signed DVD.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
1 out of 50 of claimed

Pre-rel. DVD, Assoc. Producer

$1,000 USD
Pre-release DVD - be one of first to see finished movie, plus Associate Producer credit on screen, poster, T shirt, tote bag and producer signed DVD
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
0 out of 50 of claimed

Critical Review

$2,000 USD
Rough cut DVD with Critical Edit Review - opportunity for you to input critique and suggestions for final cut, plus Associate Producer credit on screen, poster, T-shirt, tote bag and producer signed DVD.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
0 out of 20 of claimed

Malibu Tour

$2,500 USD
Tour Malibu with producer where the actual events occurred. (travel not included. If you're not in LA, exclusive video tour of Malibu). Associate Producer credit, poster, T-shirt, tote bag, signed DVD, rough cut DVD with Critical Edit Review.
Estimated Shipping
August 2014
0 out of 15 of claimed

Heartfelt thanks

$3,500 USD
Our heartfelt thanks, production updates emailed to this and all levels
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
0 claimed

Producer

$5,000 USD
Producer credit on screen, lunch with producer in LA, Malibu tour, poster, T shirt, tote bag, producer signed DVD, rough cut DVD with Critical Edit Review - your opportunity to input suggestions.
Estimated Shipping
August 2014
0 out of 10 of claimed

Executive Producer

$10,000 USD
Executive Producer credit, dinner with producer in LA, Malibu tour, poster, T shirt, tote bag, producer signed DVD and rough cut DVD with Critical Edit Review - your opportunity to input suggestions.
Estimated Shipping
August 2014
0 out of 5 of claimed

Corporate Package

$30,000 USD
Your company logo prominently featured in opening credits with “Produced in cooperation with... “ credit. All Executive Producer perks for two.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
0 out of 2 of claimed

Private/Sponsor Package

$30,000 USD
Your name prominently featured in opening credits with “Produced in cooperation with... “ credit. All Executive Producer perks for two.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
0 out of 2 of claimed
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