In an entry titled “No Burial for the Dead Boy,” posted to prolific conspiracy theorist James Fetzer’s blog in December of 2019, a woman by the name of Alison Maynard attempts to cast doubt on the death of Sandy Hook shooting victim Noah Pozner by falsely claiming that there is no burial permit for the six-year-old, and as such, he could not have possibly been interred.
While it takes her some time to get there, Alison’s explanation for how she came to this conclusion is as follows (emphasis mine):
In a second FOIA I asked for the identity of the sexton for this cemetery in Dec. 2012 and Jan. 2013. The clerk acknowledged receipt of both requests but has not produced any records. Under Connecticut’s Freedom of Information law responsive documents are required to be provided within four days of the request; otherwise, the request is taken as denied. So both my requests have been denied, which can only mean one thing: the records do not exist. They were never created. Thus, there was no permit for the burial of Noah Pozner. That means there was no burial.
Not only is this an extreme leap in logic, but it also ignores the fact that photos of Noah’s tombstone as it exists at B’nai Israel Cemetery in Monroe, CT are publicly available via the “Find A Grave” website. And while it would be difficult, if not downright impossible, to confirm whether or not Maynard’s requests were ever actually made let alone denied (and to be clear, no such proof is ever offered), I decided to file my own request for Noah’s burial permit with the Monroe town clerk. A couple of weeks later, I received the following in the mail:
I’ve redacted the plot information for privacy reasons, but as you can see I was able to receive a copy of Noah Pozner’s burial permit without issue. This document confirms that Noah died on December 14th, 2012 in Sandy Hook and that the cause of death was “multiple gunshot wounds,” which is consistent with the official account of the shooting.
Considering the ease with which I was able to obtain this allegedly non-existent document, one must wonder whether Alison Maynard simply failed the straightforward task of mailing a letter or if she’s lying to her audience.
While the false claim regarding Noah Pozner’s burial permit is the crux of Maynard’s post, it is, unfortunately, not the only piece of misinformation contained therein. Citing the affidavit of funeral director Samuel Green, which was given as part of Pozner v. Fetzer, Maynard states:
In a nutshell, Green isn’t licensed as a funeral director, as he claims, although he is licensed as an embalmer. Different licensing examinations are given for these two occupations. Doesn’t he remember which one he took?
But if Maynard had bothered to read the Connecticut General Statutes for Embalmers and Funeral Directors, then she would know that embalmers may act as funeral directors (section 20-223, titled “Embalmers may act as funeral directors”) — no additional license required:
Sec. 20-223. Embalmers may act as funeral directors. Any embalmer’s license issued by the Department of Public Health shall entitle the holder thereof to act as a funeral director or embalmer, provided owners of establishments operating a funeral service business shall comply with the provisions of section 20-222.
This was later confirmed by Mr. Green himself, via e-mail.
Maynard continues:
Green also doesn’t know the name of his own business. He said it was “Abraham L. Green & Sons Funeral Home.” In fact, it is “A.L. Green & Son Funeral Home.” That’s why the name he gave in his affidavit comes up “not found” when you put it into the Connecticut license lookup.
This is demonstrably false. “Abraham L. Green & Son Funeral Home” is the actual, full name of Mr. Green’s business. That is how it appears on Noah Pozner’s burial permit; on the home’s website; on the actual, physical signage in front of the home; in the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association directory; on the list of Independent Jewish Funeral Chapels; and by the International Cemetery, Cremation & Funeral Association. It is clearly being abbreviated within Connecticut’s license lookup system, likely due to a hard character limit.
