Illustrations by Wesley Allsbrook. She was good at empathizing with the victims, who were overwhelmingly women. Both vehicles had ball hitches on the back. I didnt want to give him the satisfaction. I cant imagine ANY justification for making these statements., Jensen also ordered an internal review, which was similarly damning. OLeary pleaded guilty in both of the Washington cases. Hendershot turned to the database meant to capture serial rapists by linking cases in different jurisdictions. "This is not the kind of story where you anticipate competition," Armstrong told Longform in 2016. Galbraith and her husband David once again faced each other on the couches in their living room. She asked that her current location not be disclosed. Marie became the subject of media reports and an attack website. She wasnt his type, not really. Denver-area publicationWestword reported. A second came from the victim in Golden. And at the hunts end, before he committed, he would take a final pass through the home, or what he called precombat inspection, to make sure there werent any weapons within the targets reach. But then her life changed. Gabrielle Bruney is a writer and editor for Esquire, where she focuses on politics and culture. She remembers being hungry and eating dog food. How am I going to find him? Galbraith often volunteered to take rape cases. In 2008, an 18-year-old Marie, fresh out of foster care, reported that she'd been raped by a man who entered her apartment in Lynnwood, Washington while she was sleeping. Launched the year before, the program was designed to help young adults who had grown up in foster care transition to living on their own. The Marshall Project article reports that "Marie left the state, got a commercial drivers license and took a job as a long-haul trucker. The interviews were made late in the process, the department having refused earlier requests for comment. She began crying and said she kept seeing visions of him on top of her, the lawsuit says. Beth Dubber / Netflix / Klara Auerbach / The Atlantic. But in fresh light, it appeared very much like a failed rape attempt, committed by an attacker who closely resembled the description of the rapist. She does not know if she attended kindergarten. Flipping the switch was a relief and it would let her leave. I would spend hours at the beach watching the sunset go down and that was one of my favorite things. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! She had responded to a report of a rape at a blue-collar apartment complex in the northwest corner of her city. The two bonded naturally. Its huge, she said. She had no family nearby. The real-life Marie also opened up about her traumatic experiences on a 2016 episode of This American Life, entitled "Anatomy of Doubt. Nobody collects such data. Looking for a condom or its wrapper, Rittgarn checked the bathroom, trash cans and a nearby hillside, but came up empty. He moved deliberately. There was just no emotion. O'Leary had watched women for hundreds of hours, breaking into their houses multiple times before each rape. [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. In 2008, Marie, from Lynnwood, Washington, reported to police an intruder had broken into her home, bound and gagged her, and raped her at knifepoint. She saidshe found it strange that Marie wanted the same bedspread set that she had before the rape. She also landed her first job, offering food samples to customers at Costco. There were few slots, but Marie secured one. Shannon saw an account of the attack on the television news and was taken aback. Just weeks after she was charged, another Seattle woman reported being raped in her home by an assailant who tied her up and photographed her. Shannon called Marie and suggested she also contact the Kirkland police. Analysts at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation got the samples. Kirkland police abandoned this lead after Lynnwood police told them at least twice that Marie's account was a lie. Trophies. In the kitchen, when Shannon walked in, Marie didnt meet her gaze. Nor should police get lost in stereotypes believing, for example, that an adult victim will be more believable than an adolescent. 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. Im encouraged, Im excited, she said. D.M. But now, Marie wouldnt give. Maybe she was making up the rape to get moved to a new one. Snow covered the ground in patches. It was a pink Sony digital camera a description that fit the model stolen from the apartment of the Westminster victim. He told his wife to call his department first thing in the morning. There it was, on OLearys left calf: a dark birthmark the size of a large chicken egg. The dark mark on his leg. The victim had described him as a gentleman, Galbraith said. But years later, she was vindicated. "[38] On Metacritic, the program has a rating of 83 out of 100 based on 25 reviews, indicating universal acclaim. Her department was small a little more than 40 officers serving a town of about 20,000. When they finished, the agents raced in. "When the police began doubting Marie, they turned on her, Armstrong told National Public Radio last year. At 8:35 a.m., she handcuffed him. Hendershot asked one of her departments crime analysts to scour nearby agencies for similar crimes. [6] His article "The FBI Built a Database That Can Catch Rapists Almost Nobody Uses It" was published in July 2015. In March 2009, she was charged with a gross misdemeanor, fined $500 and put on probation. She was detached, emotionally detached from what she was saying, Cunningham said on the show, adding she thought she was simply seeking attention. He gripped a silver and black gun. Masons report didnt identify the caller but the caller was Peggy. Police checked it out, but the man was gone. The investigators confronted her, and under their pressure, Marie said that she made up her initial claim. She drives an 18-wheeler across the country. Marie was heavily medicated, although its not clear why. I didnt want this time to be like that, Marie said of her attack on This American Life, comparing it to her first rape. We all got into this job to help people, not to hurt them. Lynnwood Sgt. Her lawyer was surprised she had been charged. I didn't even get a half mile from my house. Peggy, who had received a file two to three inches thick documenting Maries history, was surprised at how well she was coping. How would she identify her? In practice, many police departments will pursue charges against women only in extreme circumstances say, in a highly public case where a suspects reputation has suffered, or where the police have expended considerable investigative resources. While looking through evidence found in O'Leary's home, the detectives found evidence of other assaults out of state, including one in Lynnwood, WashingtonMarie's. Kaitlyn Dever stars as the victim of a serial rapist in Netflix's new series "Unbelievable.". There was one possible lead. Following this, and Marie's conflicting account of when she phoned a friend, Mason and Rittgarn made Marie repeat her story, Rittgarn saying that he disbelieved her. HOURS. But Hendershot right away recognized the potential in collaborating and in using every tool possible. [1][2] Colorado publication Westword reprinted the article as their cover story on May 19, 2016. An investigating officer had to figure out if the victim was telling the truth. The dog, outside, had tracked to the south, toward an office building, but was unable to lead officers to anything that might identify the rapist. They treated Marie like a suspect instead of a victim and, in doing so, they unwittingly coerced her into saying she lied. Galbraith felt sick. He was Marc OLeary. Both were outgoing. I was just too scared, Marie says. The attacker had left behind the tiniest traces of himself. She was still emerging from the mental and physical suffering she endured during the attack. Netflixs Unbelievable tells the story of a horrifying crime and stunning miscarriage of justice. So, too, his methods. Marie got her GED at age 17 in 2008. American Restaurants Seafood Restaurants Restaurants (7) Website View Menu. The police officers walked her downstairs, where the Project Ladder representatives asked if she had been raped. From a religious point of view, she follows Christianity. 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. ", "I dont want to cower in the corner," Marie herself told ProPublica in early September. She was always nice to talk to, Jordan says. In a report not previously made public, Sgt. No one deserves to be treated like Marie was. We were a lot alike. Despite all Marie had been through, she wasnt bitter, Shannon says. She is strong. Sign up for ProPublicas Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published. It had cost her the newfound independence she was savoring after a life in foster homes. For Marie, this was a familiar drill, one she could trace to her years of being abused as a kid, and to her years in foster care, bouncing from home to home and school to school. He documented the assault with a digital camera and threatened to post the pictures online if she contacted the police. FBI figures show that police annually declare around 5 percent of rape cases unfounded, or baseless. Pretty positive or actually positive? Two heads, three heads, four heads, sometimes are better than one, right? she said. Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com. She had been charged with false reporting, punishable by up to a year in jail. Carefully, she compared OLearys white Mazda to the surveillance tape. In early October, less than two months after Marie was charged with false reporting, a 63-year-old woman reported being raped inside her condominium in Kirkland, east of Seattle. It was dark outside when she finished. [8] Three officers in the Lynnwood Police Department were interviewed, including Mason, one of the officers who handled Marie's request. He was promoted to sergeant and transferred to the Criminal Investigations Division six weeks before the report of Marie's assault. In the days following, Miller and Armstrong published two subsequent articles: "A Brutal Crime, Often Terribly Investigated" enumerated five recommendations for police institutions to improve their handling of rape cases, while "Rape is Rape, Isn't It?" The sections are ordered alternately, with an opening paragraph about the woman in Washington being charged with false reporting. She is subsequently charged with a gross misdemeanor for false reporting. Now, fearful he could become the target of a wrongful accusation, Shannons husband decided it would be best if Marie no longer spent the night. She had conducted a search for any reports of suspicious vehicles or prowlers within a quarter mile of the Lakewood victims home for the previous six months. In time, they became boyfriend and girlfriend. She clutched a bag of her belongings in one hand. At a little before sunrise, he heard the phone conversation end. [9], Armstrong's editor Joe Sexton and Miller's editor Bill Keller had worked together at The New York Times. And she would have to pay $500 to cover the courts costs. Hendershot did not want to be too hasty. OLeary pleaded guilty to 28 counts of rape and associated felonies in Colorado. However, at the age of 18, Marie's foster mum, Peggy Cunningham, enlisted her in a program called Project Ladder, which allowed Marie to move into her own one bed flat, help her get a job and become self-sufficient. (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer headline read, Police: Lynnwood rape report was a hoax.) Maries best friend from high school the one who had taught her photography and had taken that picture of her emerging from the surf created a webpage that called Marie a liar, with a photo from Maries Myspace page, with police reports, with Maries full name. The article was further informed by other interviews and thousands of pages of public records material. While the agents were following the man believed to be Marc OLeary, another FBI agent knocked on the door of the home. . It was such a rush. He had since broken into her place twice, both times through that same glass door. While the program managers waited outside, Marie met with Rittgarn and another officer. And we dont want to see this happen to anybody ever again, Rider said. It was blustery, and biting cold. The Lynnwood Police Department and Cocoon House agreed to the settlement last month. Marie agreed to those conditions. On the bed officers found a shoestring used, apparently, to bind Marie. 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