It was like she was telling me that shed made a sandwich. That Marie wasnt hysterical, or even upset, made Shannon wonder if Marie was telling the truth. She told police her attacker had broken into her apartment, which had been subsidized. He looked confused and shocked as he stepped out into the bright winter sun. The first person she called after the attack was her former foster mom Shannon McQuery, who immediately didnt believe her. To Marie, he seemed sincere. It was a small, single-story home with gray siding half a block from a gas station, an auto body shop and a carniceria in a beat-down neighborhood. After hours of further questioning, Marie wrote that she had been lying. .css-gk9meg{display:block;font-family:Lausanne,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;padding-top:0.25rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-gk9meg:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.15;margin-bottom:0.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 73.75rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}Celebrities Who Voice Cartoon Characters, 'The Mandalorian' Season 3 is About to Commence, The Underworld Crossover of the Century Is Coming. Her lawyer was surprised she had been charged. also reached a settlement with Cocoon House, a private, nonprofit at-risk-youth program where she was living when the assault occurred. Jeffrey Mason and Jerry Rittgarn, found the victim, Marie, on a couch, in a blanket, crying off and on. I mean, I get shiver bumps thinking about it, just even now, Hendershot said. He told his wife to call his department first thing in the morning. The statement was only one page. Based on her answers and body language it was apparent that [Marie] was lying about the rape, Rittgarn later wrote. She had spoken to a friend on the phone for several hours early Aug. 11, 2008, finally going to bed around 5:30 a.m. She said she left the sliding-glass patio door ajar. The article was written by Ken Armstrong and T. Christian Miller. The analysis of the touch DNA produced mixed results. Wanting independence,she moved into a program in Lynnwood, Washington entitled Project Ladder designed to help young people transition from foster care to living by themselves. But most recent research suggests that false reporting is relatively rare. Receiving it crushed Marie. [22], "An Anatomy of Doubt" is the 581st episode of the American radio program and podcast This American Life. It was dark outside when she finished. Design and production by Rob Weychert and David Sleight for ProPublica, Andy Rossback and Lisa Iaboni for The Marshall Project. According to the ProPublica story, on Aug. 11, 2008, an 18-year-old woman who was identified in court documents as D.M. As the meeting drew to a close, a young crime analyst from the Lakewood police department stood up. Confused, the agent fell back on a practiced ruse. She was always nice to talk to.. I n the summer of 2008, a teenager woke up to find a man in her Lynnwood, Washington, apartment, standing over her with a . [25][26] The book expands upon details of the case like O'Leary's perspective and subjects such as victim blaming and social media harassment. Peggy, searching online, discovered a pilot program called Project Ladder. She wanted to take a lie detector test. Two heads, three heads, four heads, sometimes are better than one, right? she said. In 2011, Marc O'Leary was arrested in Colorado for rape and As she headed home that night, Galbraiths mind raced. She began crying and said she kept seeing visions of him on top of her, the lawsuit says. For me it seems like people read me differently than I see myself, Marie said in the written piece about her struggle. But it was so strange because I sat down next to her, and she was telling me what happened, and I got this Im a big Law & Order fan, and I just got this really weird feeling, Peggy says. They were knocking on neighbors doors, snapping photographs in the apartment, digging through garbage bins, swabbing the walls, the windows, everywhere for DNA. [27][28] Mason was interviewed for the book, but Rittgarn refused to speak to the authors without being paid. We went to the ocean, it was like 7 oclock at night, I dont know what we were thinking, I got in there and I jumped out and swung my hair back.. She was just moved. No, she said. She remembers being hungry and eating dog food. The three then went to the police station so Marie could recant her recantation that is, tell detectives that she had been telling the truth the first time. It was like Id just eaten Thanksgiving dinner, he said. The true-crime drama tells the real story of Marie Adler, an 18-year-old girl from Lynnwood, Washington, who was wrongfully charged with a gross misdemeanour in 2008 after police believed that she lied to them about being raped. Among the items Colorado detectives found in OLearys possession were photographs of D.M. "These days she's a long haul truck driver. And it was fine. By the time she exited the bathroom, he had gone. The attack was so heinous; the attacker so practiced. Later that day Aug. 14, three days after Marie reported being raped Mason called Marie, to ask if they could meet. Looking for a condom or its wrapper, Rittgarn checked the bathroom, trash cans and a nearby hillside, but came up empty. A couple of times he left his position, for just a while, for fear of being spotted lingering. It premiered on September 13, 2019. 7. It adapts "An Unbelievable Story of Rape". We strongly believe that Cocoon House and its employees acted appropriately on behalf of the client., Bob Christie, the attorney who represented Lynnwood police, said the settlement resolves an unfortunate situation for everyone involved.. Despite that, she tried to enjoy life and liked school, hiking, photography, and going to the beach with friends. In Golden, Colorado, during January 2011, Detective Stacy Galbraith interviewed a woman who was raped at gunpoint for four hours. He told them the evidence didnt support Maries story, and that she had taken her story back. By 2011, Colorado Detectives Stacy Galbraith and Edna Hendershot, officers from separate departments in different towns, were working together to catch a serial rapist terrorizing women, completely unaware that Marie even existed. In that way, rape cases were unlike most other crimes. Masons judgment was unduly swayed by Peggys phone call. But investigators could not yet rule out Michael as a suspect. Numerous other editors contributed to the article, including managing editor Kirsten Danis of The Marshall Project. 1. Her department was small a little more than 40 officers serving a town of about 20,000. returned to the police station with Cocoon House representatives and asked to withdraw the denial and insisted that she had been attacked. In the kitchen, when Shannon walked in, Marie didnt meet her gaze. You can also read more about how ProPublica and The Marshall Project reported this story. She cited Marie's lack of tears, claiming shedidnt think that Marie was emotional enough and she found it suspicious that Marie told several people about what had happened. Her case was one of 4,859 filed in 2008 in Lynnwood Municipal. Recently, Marie was asked if she had considered not reporting the rape. They also discovered a burglary where a masked man had attempted to tie up a 46-year-old woman, who jumped out of her window and was badly injured. Hendershot met her at a Dennys restaurant. And one came from the teddy bear in Aurora. Whats more, he would recommend that Project Ladder pull her housing assistance. There was something about how she said it just made me question whether or not shed actually been raped, Shannon said on Anatomy of Doubt.. Open the door, she shouted repeatedly. On August 11, 2008, Marc Patrick O'Leary raped an eighteen year old at knife point in Lynnwood, Washington. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. But years later, she was vindicated. Three weeks before the attempted rape in Lakewood, a woman had called police late in the evening to report a suspicious pickup truck parked on the street with a man inside. But then Galbraith stumbled across an image of a woman she didnt recognize. After Marie left, accompanied by her foster mom and case manager, the detectives helped process the scene. [6] The teams decided to collaborate. Masons report didnt identify the caller but the caller was Peggy. He held a knife. Now he was 30, an Army veteran infantry, two tours in South Korea who had enlisted in the Reserves, only he hadnt appeared for duty in months. They also appeared similar to prints from a pair of Under Armour gloves that a Lakewood investigator, on a hunch, had discovered at a Dicks Sporting Goods. She pounded the table and said she was pretty positive.. Hendershot asked for a comparison. Then she admitted making the story up. It won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting and the 2015 George Polk Award for Justice Reporting. [9] As the two reporters and two primary editors were all male, the team ensured that they consulted various women, some with knowledge of the case and some without, particularly in regards to how graphic or detailed to make the description of Marie's rape. The article also provided the basis of Miller and Armstrong's full-length book A False Report: A True Story of Rape in America (2018). Marie agreed to speak to Armstrong after six months of communication. She even called the lead detective on the case the day after and questioned Maries validity. Alerted to the site, Marie went into a frenzy, trashing her apartment. From there, her record was expunged and police returned her $500. As for what her attacker looked like, Marie could offer few details. ", "I dont want to cower in the corner," Marie herself told ProPublica in early September. Most had been assaulted by a boyfriend, an old flame, or someone they had met at a club. Hold it in. They compared investigations. It's that article, "An Unbelievable Story of Rape," that serves as the source material for Netflix's drama co-created by Oscar-nominated Eric Brockovich screenwriter Susannah Grant, executive produced by Katie Couric, and featuring Emmy award-winning actors Toni Collette and Merritt Wever. Our personalities didnt match at first either, Marie says. Snow covered the ground in patches. It freaked me out. The city of Lynnwood will pay a woman $150,000 to settle a lawsuit she filed after police charged her with filing a false report because they didnt believe she had been raped. In 2008, an 18-year-old woman was brutally raped at her apartment in Lynnwood, Washington, gagged and bound by an intruder in the middle of the night. One detective later wrote in a report, The shoes were lying next to each other near the end of the couch and the bedroom door, on the soles as if placed there (not disturbed).. In the snow, they found a trail of footprints leading to and from the back of the apartment through an empty field. [28], The book received mostly positive critical reviews, with Hamilton Cain of Star Tribune calling it an "instant true-crime classic". awoke in her Lynnwood apartment to find a man holding a kitchen knife. And for him to know that we figured you out.. The subject line was pleading: Sex Aslt Similars?. A couple of other officers were already there, protecting the crime scene. The Marshall Project specializes in criminal justice. Not long before, Marie had accompanied Peggy and the sisters and Peggys boyfriend on a picnic. The report detailed how a 46-year-old artist had been accosted in her home by a man with a knife. Lynnwood, Washington 98037. There was one possible lead. He suggested she put a dowel into the bottom track to keep out future intruders. "An Unbelievable Story of Rape" was written by Ken Armstrong and T. Christian Miller. A month after that the 59-year-old widow was raped in Westminster, some 10 miles to the north. At home, her husband David had done the dishes and put the kids to bed. There was just no emotion. The real Marie, now roughly 29, is a. Mason returned to the evidence. I would venture to say we investigate our cases a lot more vigorously than many departments do, he said. Marie wrote that the attacker said she could untie herself once he was gone: After he left I grabbed my phone (which was right next to my head) with my mouth and I tried to call Jordan back. Unbelievable | Official Trailer | Netflix, Netflix's 'Unbelievable' is Based on a True Story, The Best Movies Based on True Stories in 2019, Toni Collettes 'Unbelievable' Role, Explained, charge her with with making a false report to police, Pulitzer Prize-winning 2015 joint investigation, trauma can sometimes cause victims to give differing accounts of their attacks, Armstrong told National Public Radio last year, reported the story in part by interviewing. When she got to his legs, she raised his pant leg to look. She was eighteen years old, charged with a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year. He ordered the women to shower. There was something else she had to do. He liked trees, for the cover they provided, and the Alderbrooke Apartments had plenty of them. She is subsequently charged with a gross misdemeanor for false reporting. He had served in the Army. After leaving the police station, Marie learned that she still wasnt through. He said he believed she had made the story up a spur-of-the-moment thing, not something planned out. Had the woman said yes? By August 2008, when Marie reported her rape, she was living on her own in Lynnwood, a Seattle suburb. Hendershot turned to the database meant to capture serial rapists by linking cases in different jurisdictions. He said nothing about doubting Maries story, according to Masons written summary. Marie had been sexually and physically abused in early life and was in foster care for most of her childhood. An external report by Sergeant Gregg Rinta, who worked for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office as a sex crimes supervisor, condemned the handling of Marie's case. They received thousands of pages of documents, including investigative reports, case reviews, crime scene photographs and footage of surveillance and O'Leary after his arrest. She married, and in October she and her husband had their second child. Cities: Lynnwood WA, Livingston MT Possible Relatives: Kirsten Marie Gilliam, Jo Darlene Hagen. Act like nothing bad had happened, like nothing ever affected her. A second came from the victim in Golden. Or even that Michael and Marc had worked together. Galbraith and her husband David once again faced each other on the couches in their living room. By late January, the detectives decided they needed to broaden their scope. Shed gone through so much already. I cant imagine ANY justification for making these statements., Jensen also ordered an internal review, which was similarly damning. Later, she was charged with making a false police reporta crime punishable by up to a year in jail. Despite the fact that trauma can sometimes cause victims to give differing accounts of their attacks, police honed in on inconsistencies in Maries story. Two and a half years after Maries attack, Lynnwood police contacted her to refund her the $500 and other court costs and informed her thather record would be expunged. Her birthplace is Lynnwood, Washington, USA, and she is 32 years old. According to a later report, the bullying and . Marie had a horrific childhood, bouncing around various foster and group homes from around age 6, and was sexually and physically abused throughout. They said her record would be expunged. [12] Journalist Pamela Colloff referenced the article as an example of good reporting on criminal justice, as it is told from the perspective of a survivor. And much like the detectives, who hunted the rapist separately before joining forces, Miller and Armstrong initially reported the story on their own before collaborating. No one really explained why she was being moved, or what was going on. It was a collaboration between two American, non-profit news organizations, The Marshall Project and ProPublica.The article was written by Ken Armstrong and T. Christian Miller. How can I obtain the complete court record? They began to collaborate, with Armstrong writing about Marie's story in Washington and Miller writing about the police investigation in Colorado. He wore a black. They didnt need to worry, she told the group. 4231 196th St SW. Lynnwood, WA 98036. As well as watching Netflix's new drama, premiering globally Friday, the original article, "An Unbelievable Story of Rape," is a must-read. The officer filed a brief report on the vehicle. She called police to share her concerns. She explained: "She's incredibly strong and she's been through so much, so everyone on the team wanted to respect her privacy.". Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. In the spring of 2008, Marie turned 18. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! But she didnt know if it was important. Hes going to be hard to find, she thought. She is strong. An investigating officer had to figure out if the victim was telling the truth. She went to a conference room and waited. I basically had 20 minutes to pack my stuff and go.. She joined Project Ladder at age 18, a program designed for people transitioning from foster care to living alone. He tied her hands loosely behind her. Police should not interrogate victims or threaten to use a polygraph device. Both laces had come from Maries black tennis shoes, in the living room. She asked to take a polygraph testthough such tests do not provide reliable evidencebut declined when Rittgarn threatened jail and loss of housing if she failed it. But there was still the issue of the womans story. Those investigations often boiled down to an issue of consent. Both had smudges on the back in the same place perhaps a bumper sticker that had been torn off. A friend from 10th grade called to ask: How could you lie about something like that? She called the judge who was on duty for the weekend. Later that day a meeting was called at the housing complex, with all of Maries peers gathered in a circle. Marie left the state, got a commercial drivers license and took a job as a long-haul trucker. Project Ladder staff made Marie return to police when she said she made the report under duress. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! And instead of interviewing Marie as a victim, they began interrogating her as a suspect.". He didnt answer so I called my foster mom. But not enough.. By the end of January 2011, the detectives had connected four rapes over a 15-month period across Denvers suburbs. commented on the changing definition of rape used by the FBI. Lakewood patrol cars had cameras that automatically took pictures of every license plate they passed. Marie Adler was born in 1990. Am I in trouble? Marie asked the detective. He described the feeling after raping one elderly victim. She moved around a lot as a kid, and had to switch foster homes about 11 times,not including the group homes she bounced around in. On her way, she crossed a bridge. Detectives receive additional training about rape victims. She emailed a crime analyst at another police department, I so want to see this guys leg! Review, which had been lying the agent fell back on a couch, in the same place a! Officer filed a brief report on the couches in their living room, Andy Rossback and Lisa Iaboni the... Touch DNA produced mixed results also read more about how ProPublica and the Marshall.! Two heads, four heads, four heads, four heads, are... Lisa Iaboni for the weekend ProPublica, Andy Rossback and Lisa Iaboni for the weekend detailed! 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