by John Glatt
She also accused her ex-husband of stabbing her in the face with a safety pin after another man flirted with her. And she showed the still visible scar to the cameras.
Chris said she had had no idea her ex-husband had been released from prison until hearing he’d been arrested for kidnapping and raping Jaycee Lee Dugard.
“It made me sick to my stomach,” she said.
Garrido’s first wife also blamed Nancy for allowing it to happen under her roof.
“She knew what she was doing,” said Murphy, “and she knew what was going on. She must have been really in love with him or so infatuated with him that she was willing to do anything.”
A week later, Jaycee’s biological father, Ken Slayton, now sixty-four, was interviewed on Inside Edition with his daughters—and Jaycee’s half-sisters—Sarah, twenty-four, and Brittany, twenty-one.
“I’d skin them,” said Slayton, when asked what he would do to the Garridos. “I think they should live as long as they possibly can, and someone should torment them as much as they did Jaycee and those little girls.”
Slayton said he had “mixed emotions,” but would like to be a part of his daughter’s life.
“My girls are asking if [Jaycee] is their sister,” he said. “If Jaycee wants to meet us, we’re here.”
But the biggest interview of all would be the first one with Jaycee Lee Dugard. And Oprah Winfrey had reportedly sent a personal letter to Jaycee, inviting her on her show to tell her story for the first time. Also said to be in heated competition for the coveted first interview were Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer.
On Thursday, September 3, Tina Dugard called a press conference at the FBI’s Los Angeles office, reading a prepared statement. She was introduced by the Dugard family’s newly appointed spokeswoman, Erika Price Schulte.
“The smile on my sister’s face is as wide as the sea,” declared Tina joyously. “Her oldest daughter is home.”
Tina refused to discuss how Jaycee and her daughters were treated by the Garridos, or what their life was like in captivity. But she did say that Angel and Starlit knew exactly what was going on, although they had not read any newspaper coverage of the story or watched television.
“Right now it’s about reconnecting,” she explained. “Not only have we laughed and cried together, but we’ve spent time sitting quietly, taking pleasure in each other’s company.”
Dugard said that while in captivity, Jaycee had taught her daughters how to read and write, doing a great job with what little she had available.
“[They] are educated and bright,” she said. “It’s clear they’ve been on the Internet and know a lot of things. Jaycee did a great job with the limited resources she had and her limited education, and we are so proud of her.”
After reading her statement, Dugard refused to take any questions from the media. Then Schulte handed out three new preabduction pictures of Jaycee, saying there would be no further comment from the family for now.
That afternoon, Lieutenant Leonard Orman of the Antioch Police Department also called a press conference, revealing that when Phillip Garrido was twenty-one, he had been arrested for raping an underage girl. He explained that the victim, who wished to remain anonymous, had contacted investigators after recognizing Garrido’s photograph on television. She wanted to be certain that law enforcement knew of Garrido’s April 1972 arrest, but was not interested in pressing the case now.
Lieutenant Orman said that the police did not intend to charge Garrido after all that time, as it was past the statute of limitations. And although the 1972 case file no longer existed, police had records confirming Garrido’s arrest.
“After numerous inquiries from the press,” said Lieutenant Orman, “regarding the 1972 incident, it became apparent to us the press were pursuing these details and also the identity of this victim. We are now speaking about this case in hopes that it will satisfy the press’s curiosity.”
Lieutenant Orman said the girl and a friend had gotten into a car with Garrido and another man outside Antioch Library. After driving around Antioch, Garrido had taken her to a seedy motel on East 18th Street and given her barbiturates. Her worried parents had later tracked her down at the motel, finding her in bed with Garrido.
The parents then summoned the police and Garrido was charged with rape, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and providing drugs to a minor. Later at the preliminary hearing the girl refused to testify, after threats that the defense attorney would paint her as a “whore” and a “slut,” if she took the stand against Garrido. This left the Antioch Police Department no alternative but to dismiss the case and let him go free.
Lieutenant Orman was then asked if he thought there were other young victims of Phillip Garrido out there, still too scared to go to the police.
“Other victims,” said Lieutenant Orman. “I think there’s a good chance of that. Yes.”
A few miles away, Marc Lister was playing a selection of Phillip Garrido’s music for reporters from the San Francisco Chronicle, the Contra Costa Times and KTVU-TV. He had invited them to his attorney’s Walnut Creek office to listen to samples from the three CDs Phillip Garrido had once given him.
After the listening session, Lister announced he planned to turn the CDs over to investigators, and then use the music to raise money for abused women and children. But he first wanted to sit down with Jaycee to discuss it, ensuring that it would not “impair or slow down” her recovery.
“I think there’s some sort of message here,” Lister told the Times. “I think it’s disturbing. It’s a bit twisted. It’s not right.”
Lister said that when Garrido had given him the disks in 2006, he told him that some day his songs would “be heard around the world.”
Lister and his attorney gave reporters transcribed song lyrics and played them short extracts. They also showed one of Garrido’s Printing For Less business cards, claiming the beautiful blonde girl on it was Jaycee. They refused to allow it to be photographed.
That night, the London Sun newspaper posted a story on its website quoting a senior investigator on the case speculating that Jaycee may have had more children, whom Phillip Garrido then killed because they were male.
“She was raped continually,” said the detective, “and you would think there would be more babies. Garrido is a self-confessed pedophile and experts have told us he would only want daughters with her, and he would see any sons as a potential threat.”
The detective said this was one of several lines of inquiry, and Jaycee would be asked whether she had given birth to any more babies.
“Is he that much of a sicko that he could dispose of any male babies?” asked the detective, adding that investigators were also talking to Angel and Starlit about whether their father had sexually molested them. But to date no evidence to support these speculations has ever been produced.
On Labor Day, there was a Pink Ribbon Parade through South Lake Tahoe, to celebrate the discovery of Jaycee Lee Dugard. And Jaycee’s stepfather Carl Probyn returned to the town for an interview with the Australian version of 60 Minutes. Later he joined two thousand people in the grand parade, holding a thousand pink balloons and chanting Jaycee’s name.
“I wanted to come back to support these people,” Probyn told a reporter, adding that he hoped to be reunited with Jaycee within the next several weeks. “They supported us.”
The joyful parade, organized by Soroptimist International, reversed the route of the previous one in 2001, on the tenth anniversary of the abduction, to symbolize Jaycee’s return. The marchers, many of whom openly wept, included Jaycee’s classmates, friends and teachers. And it brought the town to a halt, stopping traffic as motorists spontaneously got out of the cars to applaud Jaycee.
And all over the town were hundreds of Jaycee’s “missing” posters, with a line drawn through the word “missing.”
Two days later, the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department announced that the bone fragment found in the backyard next door to
the Garrido house was “probably human.” Spokesman Jimmy Lee said it would now be analyzed by the state laboratory to see if a DNA profile could be developed.
“It should be noted,” he said, “that it is not uncommon to find Native American remains in Contra Costa County.”
With the Jaycee Dugard story still making front-page headlines two weeks after it broke, Oprah Winfrey now publicly requested an interview with her.
“This is the one I want,” the talk show queen emphatically told The Insider, a gossip TV show. “I want that interview.”
And she revealed that for the first time ever she had called one of her producers, making sure they were working on a story.
Later there would be reports that Oprah had offered to pay $1 million for the exclusive sit-down interview.
Nancy Garrido was having a tough time inside the Pacerville Jail, where she was being kept in isolation for her own protection. Her attorney Gilbert Maines described her as “very lonely,” and there were rumors that other inmates had threatened to rape and kill her.
There were also reports that the Garridos, who were being housed in the same jail, were both under suicide watch.
El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department lieutenant Pam Lane said the high-profile prisoners received three meals a day and were able to shower every other day. They were allowed outside their cell one hour a day for exercise.
Both had access to television and newspapers, and were reported to be following coverage of their case. And Phillip Garrido had undergone surgery to remove three suspected cancerous growths at the bridge of his nose.
At 8:00 A.M., Monday, September 14, Phillip and Nancy Garrido were back inside El Dorado Superior Court for a brief ten-minute bail hearing. That morning, London’s Daily Mirror reported that Jaycee Dugard had agreed to appear on Oprah for $1 million.
Scores of journalists jostled for position inside the courtroom, as photographers stood to the side photographing the Garridos.
As before, Nancy used her long hair to shield her face from photographers’ lenses, while Phillip, wearing a bandage over his nose and a gray beard, sat expressionless throughout the proceedings.
Judge Douglas Phimister, now assigned to the Garrido case, fixed Phillip’s bail at $30 million and granted a request from Gilbert Maines that his client Nancy, who was being held without bail, undergo psychological evaluation.
Susan Gellman then told the judge her client had been pressured by several police departments that want to interview him about other cases.
“He does not consent to be questioned for any purpose,” she said.
The only time the Garridos spoke was when the judge asked if they waived their right for a preliminary hearing within sixty days, answering “Yes, sir.”
Later, outside the court building, El Dorado district attorney Vern Pierson pleaded with reporters to respect Jaycee and her family’s privacy.
“I’ve heard comments referring to this family as a piece of property to be had,” he declared. “I think they needed to be left alone. As Abraham Lincoln said, let us all rise to the better angels of our nature and leave this family alone during this time of reunification.”
He also said that investigators were continuing to pursue other leads in the case.
“As of today,” he said, “there are no additional charges. That’s not to say there won’t be.”
The district attorney also applauded the actions of Phillip Garrido’s parole agent Eddie Santos, describing them as “within the finest standards of law enforcement and public service.
“This parole agent successfully broke through the elaborate, well-planned cover story that was nineteen years in the making. We all owe him a debt of gratitude.”
One reporter then asked if Jaycee Dugard had been approached about testifying against the Garridos.
“Let me just generally say,” he replied. “Typically, in every criminal case because of the United States Constitution and the confrontation clause—ultimately a witness would have to come into court and testify when a case goes to trial. So beyond that I don’t think I can comment.”
A few hours after the hearing, the Dugard family spokeswoman Erika Price Schulte labeled the reports that Jaycee would appear on Oprah as “completely false.”
Sometime in September, Jaycee and her family moved into a horse ranch, donated by a millionaire to help speed their recovery. Now that the police interviews were over, the family was receiving continuing private and group therapy sessions.
A key part of the treatment for Jaycee and her daughters had been horse therapy, especially designed to help them establish familiarity and trust with Terry and Shayna. Everyday the whole family rode together through the large ranch, together experiencing the freedom of fresh air and nature, in stark contrast from their imprisonment with the Garridos.
“Jaycee has a horse, Oreo, that she has bonded with,” a friend, who had visited them on the ranch told Hello! magazine. “[It’s] something important to her recovery.”
The Dugard family spokeswoman Erika Price Shulte said that as there was no precedent for what Jaycee and her family had gone through, they were taking an “individualized approach” to treatment.
“Horse therapy is part of the reunification therapy they’re going through,” she said. “Jaycee and the girls really love riding horses.”
Angel and Starlit were now being home-schooled in math and English. Tests recently carried out had shown both girls to be highly intelligent and academically equal to school-educated children of the same age.
During their free time, Jaycee and her daughters loved reading and watching DVD movies. Jaycee was also a talented cook, preparing family Mexican meals of rice, beans and salsa.
They had also been reunited with their five cats, although the pigeon, pet mouse and three cockatiels had been adopted by other members of the family. The Contra Costa Animal Shelter was still trying to find a home for the two dogs.
“They are adjusting amazingly well,” a source close to the family told Hello! “They are smart, playful, funny girls. But they are also very caring and protective of each other—maybe a reflection of how it was for them in captivity.”
Jaycee’s stepgrandmother Joan Curry told People magazine that no one was underestimating the difficulties lying ahead. And that Jaycee would have to come to terms with being repeatedly raped by Phillip Garrido, and her daughters would have to deal with him being their father.
“Jaycee’s realistic,” said Curry. “She knows this is not going to be the easiest road that she’s ever traveled, but she is just very upbeat.”
45
NO STONE UNTURNED
On Tuesday, September 15, officers from the Hayward and Dublin police departments descended on 1554 Walnut Avenue, Antioch, and the house next door. They were searching for any evidence tying the Garridos to the disappearances of nine-year-old Michaela Garecht and thirteen-year-old Ilene Micheloff in the late 1980s. Prior to their arrival, both police departments had obtained search warrants on the grounds that the two young girls’ kidnappings were so similar to Jaycee Dugard’s several years later. Michaela also bore a striking resemblance to Jaycee, with her blonde hair and blue eyes.
The search was expected to take several days and would also involve the FBI and the Alameda and Contra Costa County sheriff’s departments.
Police and sheriff’s deputies arrived early in the morning, closing off Walnut Avenue to traffic. Then sixty officers entered, wearing face masks, latex gloves and kneepads. Half a dozen large, specially adapted camper-style vehicles also parked in front of the Garrido house to headquarter the operation.
As the morning progressed, TV news crews and reporters returned to Walnut Avenue with a growing anticipation of what might be buried in the backyard. An investigator said that the idea of razing the Garrido house to see if any human remains were buried underneath was now under active consideration.
Dublin police lieutenant Kurt Von Savoye likened the search to “looking for evidence
in a landfill.”
The searchers spent the day combing the two properties, stacking piles of debris up in the Garrido backyard. Later an ancient green van was towed out of the backyard.
At one point Phillip and Nancy Garrido’s two defense attorneys arrived at the house, to carry out their own site inspection, and were turned away.
“[We] were surprised to find police and media at the residence of Phillip and Nancy Garrido,” said Gilbert Maines. “[We] had no prior knowledge of the serving of any other warrants by any other agencies.”
That afternoon, Michaela Garecht’s mother, Sharon Murch, arrived to see firsthand how the search was going. And on her way out she spoke to reporters about the emotional roller-coaster ride she had been on since Jaycee’s reappearance.
“I hope this will lead to a resolution,” said the mother of four. “If Jaycee can be found alive and come home after eighteen years, then my daughter can be found alive and come home after eighteen years.”
She then sent an emotional message to Michaela, just as Terry Dugard had once done to Jaycee.
“Michaela,” she said, welling up with emotion, “if you’re out there somewhere within the sound of my voice, I just want you to know that we love you, we miss you . . . and we want you to come home.”
At 4:30 P.M. the search finished for the day, with nothing significant discovered.
“This is one of the strongest leads [for Michaela] we have pursued thus far,” Hayward police lieutenant Christine Orrey told reporters. “We don’t walk away from here, thinking we left anything undone that would help us solve these cases. We just want to bring closure for these families, as to what happened to these missing children.”
Lieutenant Orrey said neither police department had yet questioned the Garridos. Jaycee had been interviewed by the FBI, but had not mentioned anything about Michaela or Ilene.
On Wednesday morning the search resumed, with forensic investigators bringing in ground-penetrating radar equipment, able to detect human remains up to twenty-five feet beneath the surface. An aerial photo expert was also recruited to analyze a series of aerial images of the Garrido backyard dating back to the 1980s and see what changes had been made.