The Dreams of Ada

by Robert Mayer

  Q. And was Fontenot raping her, did she have those cuts on her at that time when he was having sexual intercourse with her?

  A. Yes, sir. And then he took the knife, after he got through raping her and everything, after Karl did, and then took and stabbed her again.

  Q. Where did he stab her at?

  A. He stabbed her in—just right up above the deep cut, and made another deep cut, and that’s when I could see her ribs. And he goes, “I’ll make sure the bitch is dead.”

  QUESTIONS BY AGENT FEATHERSTONE:

  Q. Tommy, were there any other knives out there, other than the one that Titsworth had?

  A. No.

  Q. Were there any other weapons that you know of of any type, like guns or clubs?

  A. No, just the knife.

  Q. Do you believe that she died due to any other reason other than the stab wounds?

  A. No, that’s what she died of, the stab wounds.

  Q. Can you tell me what her blouse looked like that she was wearing?

  A. It was—it was white with little blue roses on it, I think, blue roses.

  QUESTIONS BY AGENT ROGERS:

  Q. It had roses on it?

  A. Uh-huh.

  Q. You’ll have to speak up just a little bit—

  A. I believe that’s what it was, little roses.

  Q. So it was a white blouse. Button-up or slip-on?

  A. It’s button-up.

  Q. Did it have buttons on the collar?

  A. Uh-huh.

  Q. Or would it be just a regular collar?

  A. It had buttons on the collars and then it had little fringe deals around her collar and around the end of her arm, end of the sleeves.

  Q. By little fringe, do you mean a lace kind of deal?

  A. Yeah, uh-huh.

  Q. So it had lace on the sleeves, and lace on the collar?

  A. Collar.

  Q. And it was a floral-type pattern, flowers on her shirt.

  A. Yeah.

  Q. And what kind of britches did she have on?

  A. She had blue jeans.

  Q. How about the type of shoes she had on?

  A. I don’t know. I didn’t recognize the shoes—

  Q. Do you know if they took anything off the body?

  A. No, I don’t, not besides her clothes.

  Q. Did you—

  A. And I don’t remember seeing her with a ring or watch or anything, any kind of jewelry or anything on.

  QUESTIONS BY AGENT FEATHERSTONE:

  Q. Tommy, I think you said earlier you know her personally, is that correct?

  A. Yes, sir.

  Q. There’s no doubt in your mind who that girl was that night, is that correct?

  A. Yes, sir, uh-huh.

  Q. Okay. Did she recognize you at any time during the night?

  A. Yes, she recognized me when I had her down on the ground and everything.

  Q. What did she say? How do you know she knew who you were?

  A. She told me to leave her alone, that—and she called me by my name. She goes, “Tommy, I didn’t think you’d ever do anything like this.” And that’s when it stunned me, and I went home.

  QUESTIONS BY DENNIS SMITH:

  Q. How many times did you cut her with the knife, Tommy?

  A. Twice, once on her side and once on her arm. They was just little scratches. I wasn’t meaning, you know, to do any harm to her.

  Q. Was the knife sharp?

  A. No, it was a pretty dull knife.

  Q. (GR) How long did you try to have sexual intercourse with her?

  A. About five minutes, and then I couldn’t. And so she started struggling around and she got away from me. And when she got away from me, I dropped the knife and ran after her because I wasn’t wanting to hurt her.

  Q. Was anyone holding her while you were trying to have sex with her?

  A. No, because I was—I had her down by myself—

  Q. Where did you have her at?

  A. Titsworth, he had her—his hand on her shoulder, but, you know, she wasn’t struggling all that much because she knew that I wasn’t wanting to.

  Q. Were you on the ground, or were you in the back of the pickup?

  A. We was in the back of the pickup, on the tailgate.

  QUESTIONS BY AGENT ROGERS:

  Q. You said earlier that you noticed when you came back up a large amount of blood. Where all was she bleeding from?

  A. Mostly in her side from where the deep cut was.

  Q. And where else?

  A. On the side of her neck, right here (indicating).

  Q. Any other areas?

  A. On her legs and between her legs.

  Q. So in her vaginal area, she was bleeding there, too?

  A. Uh-huh.

  Q. Was that from the cuts on her legs or—

  A. No, I thought it was from him raping her. I don’t know if he stabbed her or not there. I knew she was bleeding.

  Q. (DS) What county did that happen in, Tommy?

  A. Pontotoc.

  Q. Once again, Tommy, I want to reiterate. Have any of the people present here or anybody during the course of any part of your interview today, promised you anything?

  A. No.

  Q. Have we threatened you in any way?

  A. No.

  Q. Did we try to coerce you in any way?

  A. No.

  Q. You are giving this statement of your own free will?

  A. Yes, sir.

  Q. Is there anything else that you’d like to add to this tape recording, prior to us shutting it off?

  A. I knew I wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t drunk, because I thought it was just a dream. And I know me, and I know I wouldn’t do anything like that at all. It wasn’t me.

  Q. (DS) Tommy, how much education do you have?

  A. Up to eleventh grade.

  Q. (DS) Can you read and write?

  A. Some. I have problems with a lot of words. I can’t read or can’t write them.

  Q. Are you currently working now?

  A. Yes, sir, every day.

  Q. What are you doing?

  A. I work for All-Siding.

  Q. For All-Siding?

  A. Uh-huh, in Oklahoma City.

  Q. How long have you worked for them?

  A. I’ve worked there about two weeks now.

  Q. Steady?

  A. Uh-huh.

  Q. Have you had any problems on the job?

  A. No, sir.

  Q. What does your job require you to do?

  A. Put siding on the side of people’s houses.

  Q. All right. What does that entail, what do you have to do to do it?

  A. You’ve got to—well, like, you know, when we go pick up the materials and—

  Q. Yeah.

  A. —we go pick up materials at Forrest, and we take it out to people’s house. And then we have to cut patterns and everything for the sides of the house and we cover the gables. And some of the houses we cover the whole house.

  Q. Take measurements?

  A. Yeah.

  Q. All that?

  A. Uh-huh.

  Q. Are you a pretty good hand with them?

  A. Yes, sir.

  Q. Do you enjoy your job?

  A. Yes, sir, I do. Before that I was working for Winningham Siding. I worked for him for about six months.

  Q. And did you basically do the same job for Winningham Siding that you do for All-Siding?

  A. Yes, sir. Besides they got—they’re metal for the window frames and for the facer metal that goes around the facer. And they bend it theirselves at All-Siding, and they didn’t at Winningham.

  Q. So they’ve got equipment that—

  A. Uh-huh.

  Q. Can you operate this equipment?

  A. No, I don’t operate it or anything. The guys at the shop do. And when we was working for Winningham, when we had to bend it ourselves, Mike, the guy I was working for, he bent it.

  Q. So you know how to do that stuff?

  A. Yeah,
uh-huh.

  AGENT ROGERS: Can anybody think of anything else?

  QUESTIONS BY AGENT FEATHERSTONE:

  Q. Tommy, the only thing I want to make clear at this point, Agent Rogers mentioned that this was being taped. You are aware this is being videotaped, there’s a camera directly in front of you in plain sight, is that correct?

  A. Yes, sir.

  Q. Okay. And there’s also a tape recorder taking an audiotape of this same conversation, is that correct?

  A. Yes, sir.

  Q. Okay. Have you said anything here on this tape that was against your will?

  A. No.

  Q. Okay. Are you confused about any of this today, or do you understand what’s going on?

  A. Yes, I understand what’s going on.

  Q. Okay. You understand how serious this investigation is?

  A. Yes, I do.

  AGENT FEATHERSTONE: Okay. We’ll end the tape at this time. I’ve got 7:29 P.M., and we’ll conclude the tape now.

  Still present in the room: Deputy Inspector Rusty Featherstone, Special Agent Gary Rogers, Captain Dennis Smith, and Agent Dee Cordray, as well as Tommy Ward.

  When the tape ended, the lights were turned back on. Cinda Haraway, in the second row, had tears in her eyes. So did several gray-haired women spectators. Most sat impassive; as did the jury. The silence of a cemetery filled the room.

  Judge Powers ordered a brief recess while the video equipment was taken down.

  At 3:10 P.M., Agent Rusty Featherstone resumed the witness chair, for cross-examination. Don Wyatt pointed out that Ward on the tape described three people at McAnally’s, whereas the eyewitnesses had seen only one, that Ward told of bags of chips being tossed around, whereas the eyewitnesses had seen no mess.

  Wyatt asked why no tape machine had been turned on from 2 P.M., when Ward supposedly first said he was involved, until 6:58 P.M., five hours later. Featherstone indicated the procedure was to wait till the suspect was prepared to make a full statement.

  He said Ward told of his dream between 1:30 and 2, and that Featherstone then told Gary Rogers the details of Tommy’s “dream.” He said he did not recall if he had discussed the details of the dream with Dennis Smith. He conceded that from 10:30 to 1:30 Ward had been questioned without a break, and had denied any involvement, until the agent told Tommy he needed to unburden himself, and Tommy told of his dream. At that time, he said, the questioning by himself and Gary Rogers had changed from “inquisitory” to “accusatory.”

  “You never accused him of lying?” George Butner asked.

  “No,” the agent said.

  15

  THE TAPES—KARL

  Gary Rogers took the stand, an OSBI agent for nine years, the official formally in charge of the investigation, slim, dapper, as always. He told how, during the questioning of Ward, he made three phone calls to Ada, giving Mike Baskin three different areas to search for the body: the power plant region, the burned-out house, the concrete bunker. He said that after the tape was made, Ward was placed under arrest and returned to Ada. Rogers went to the burned-out house; Ada police, working with floodlights in the night, were digging through the rubble, sifting the dirt with screens.

  He was asked about some of the names the defense had mentioned during various cross-examinations. He said the name Randy Rogers had come up in early May; that not a great deal was known about Bob Sparcino. He was asked why he thought Jason Lurch might have attended all of the preliminary hearing. He said Lurch’s father-in-law was raised near where the Wards lived; he assumed they were friends.

  The questioning turned to Fontenot. Rogers told how Karl was arrested in Hominy on October 19, and taken to the Ada police station. He was brought to Rogers’s office about 1:30 P.M. The agent said he advised Fontenot of his rights, and then questioned him, in the presence of Detective Captain Smith.

  George Butner approached the bench. He spoke to the judge. The jury was sent from the court. Butner argued against the introduction of Fontenot’s taped statement.

  “Overruled,” Judge Powers said.

  The jury returned. Rogers said he and Smith had questioned Fontenot from 1:30 to 3:15 before the video machine was turned on. He said that for the first fifteen minutes Karl denied any involvement in the disappearance of Denice Haraway; then he began to confess.

  It was 4:55 P.M. Once more the lights in the courtroom went dark. Once more an image came on the two screens, this time of Karl Fontenot. Again there was absolute silence in the courtroom as the voices spoke from the tape.

  What follows is the complete transcript of the Fontenot tape, as it was seen and heard by the jury:

  (Q indicates questions by Gary Rogers; Q* indicates questions by Dennis Smith.)

  Q. This tape is being made on October the 19th, 1984. The tape is starting at 3:15 P.M. The tape is being made at the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation office in Ada, Oklahoma. The people present, Special Agent Gary Rogers of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, Ada Police Department Detective Captain Dennis Smith, and Karl Fontenot.

  The purpose of this tape is a statement being given by Karl Fontenot regarding the Donna Denice Haraway case.

  All right, Karl, to start out with, I want to advise you of your Miranda warning. You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law; you have the right to talk to a lawyer and have him present while you are being questioned; if you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you before any questioning if you wish one; if you do decide to make a statement, you may stop at any time. Do you understand each of these rights I’ve explained to you?

  A. Yes, I do.

  Q. All right. Having these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to us now?

  A. Yes.

  Q. Okay. To start out with, Karl, are you giving this statement of your own accord, freely and voluntarily?

  A. Yes.

  Q. Okay. Let’s start from the beginning, and just go back to the date of April the 28th, 1984, in the late afternoon or early evening hours when you and Tommy Ward and Odell Titsworth were at a party. And just start from the beginning and tell me in your own words what happened.

  A. Okay. After the party, got in Odell’s truck. Went out from north of town. As we was going to McAnally’s, we stopped there at the apartments and decided to smoke some pot and get high and everything, and we drank some. Then when we got—we planned it out before we got there. And then, when we got there, Odell set it up for us and everything. He took her out of the store, brought her to the truck.

  Q.* Where were you all at then, Karl?

  A. Right there by the gas pumps.

  Q.* Okay. You and—

  A. Me and Tommy was standing beside the gas—on the other side of the gas pumps by the passenger door.

  Q.* Okay. Were you between the pickup and the—

  A. And the gas pumps, right. And then after that, Odell forced her around to the other side—or Odell forced her into our side. She got in; then me and Tommy got in. And after that, we drove away from there. Drove down, went out behind the plant—

  Q.* Which plant are you talking about, now?

  A. The one out—right off the bypass.

  Q. The power plant?

  A. Yes.

  Q. Just off the bypass on Reeves Road?

  A. Off the bypass, yeah. We got there. We parked there. Odell ripped her clothes off of her, holding her down while I raped her.

  Q.* Who raped her first?

  A. Odell. Well, Odell raped her first.

  Q.* Okay. Whenever you got to the power plant, Karl, who got out of the pickup first?

  A. Odell.

  Q.* All right. And you and Tommy Ward—

  A. Me and Tommy got out after that.

  Q.* Where was Denice Haraway at that time?

  A. At the time that me and Tommy got out?

  Q.* Yes.

  A. She was with us.

  Q.* Okay. So you all got her out of the truck with yo
u?

  A. Yes. As we was getting out of the truck, she got out, too.

  Q.* Did she get out, too, or did you all—

  A. We forced her out.

  Q.* Forced her out of the pickup? Whose pickup were you in?

  A. Odell’s.

  Q.* Odell Titsworth’s?

  A. That I know of.

  Q.* Okay.

  A. It was his.

  Q.* What kind of pickup was that?

  A. It was a Chevrolet, standard.

  Q.* Was it a new pickup or a—

  A. It was old.

  Q.* Old pickup?

  A. It was used.

  Q.* All right. So all of you got out of the pickup.

  A. Yeah.

  Q.* You and Tommy had a hold of Donna Denice Haraway.

  A. While Odell—

  Q.* Okay. Did Odell come around and get her or—

  A. He come around to the other side.

  Q.* Of the pickup?

  A. Yes, and met me and Tommy right there with her. And then he put her in the back of the truck, slung her in the back of the truck.

  Q.* How did he—

  A. First I let the tailgate down.

  Q.* How did he get her or did he—

  A. Grabbed by around the arms.

  Q.* Okay. Did he pick her up or—

  A. He more or less made her—we forced her around the truck. I let the tailgate down on the truck, on Odell’s truck. He put her in the back of the truck.

  Q.* What was she saying all this time?

  A. She was screaming, you know, trying to get away from us.

  Q.* Was she scared?

  A. She was scared.

  Q.* What was she saying?

  A. She was hollering for help. And then there wasn’t nobody around for her to help.

  Q.* Okay. Was she begging you all not to hurt her?

  A. Yes, she was more or less begging us. And then we wasn’t going for what she was saying.

  Q.* What was she saying?

  A. She was telling us not to rape her, not to do anything to hurt her.

  Q.* Or what?

  A. Or we would regret it.

  Q.* Okay. What did you all say to her?

  A. We told her just to be calm with us and we’d be calm with her.

  Q.* Did anyone have a weapon on them?

  A. Odell.

  Q.* What kind of weapon did he have?

  A. He had a pocket knife.