But Hendershot right away recognized the potential in collaborating and in using every tool possible. OBITUARY Marie Theresa Arzer October 2, 1945 - February 11, 2023. We could laugh at each other and make fun. Golden and Westminster were middle class bedroom towns wedged between Denvers downtown skyscrapers and the looming Rockies. ", The reporters adapted the story for audio for an episode of This American Life and wrote a book about the case called, A False Report: A True Story of Rape in America. After leaving the police station, Marie learned that she still wasnt through. He ordered the women to shower. ", Discussing whether Marie was involved in making the series, Kaitlyn Dever, who plays Marie, told Good Housekeeping that she wasn't. In 2011, her rapistMarc OLeary pleaded guilty to raping three women, including Marie, and trying to rape a fourth in Colorado. Warning: This material may be disturbing to some listeners. 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. Without reading the Miranda warning, they asked her to write that she had made a false report. The report on Maries life written by a mental health expert who interviewed her for five hours is written with clinical detachment, describing her life before she entered foster care She reports not knowing much about her biological mother, who she said would often leave her in the care of boyfriends. Hassell typed in the license plate number from the Lakewood report: 935VHX. Though the degraded DNA lifted from the crime scenes could not definitively match OLearys DNA, it could show that a male from his family line had most likely committed the crime. Peggy told Shannon she had doubts. Honeycomb marks. D.M. The detectives, Sgt. He wore a black mask. had been arguing, and the other a friend who had spoken to D.M. Over the next four hours, he raped her repeatedly. In the kitchen, when Shannon walked in, Marie didnt meet her gaze. He gripped a silver and black gun. The piece states: "[Marie] does not know if she attended kindergarten. Lynnwood, Washington 98037. Because she craved normalcy, she would bury the hurt. And to top it all off, police refuse to believe her when she comes forward. It only made sense to join forces. Probably the only time I just wanted to die in my life, she says. T. Christian Miller of ProPublica had been reporting on law enforcement failures in identifying rapists throughout 2015. They cracked fast jokes and smiled fast smiles. The entire series is harrowingly candid portrayal of Marie's story and the horrific injustice she experienced. He tied her hands. He would rifle a targets personal documents. It adapts "An Unbelievable Story of Rape". Careful, diligent, exacting she complemented Galbraith. Hendershot asked for a comparison. From a religious point of view, she follows Christianity. One TV newscast announced, A Western Washington woman has confessed that she cried wolf when it came to her rape she reported earlier this week. She had been charged with filing a false report, which is why she was here today, to accept or turn down a plea deal. In an interview with police after his conviction, OLeary recounted his attacks in detail. I really loved the family and I made a lot of friends, Marie says. OLeary had no criminal record. She joined Project Ladder at age 18, a program designed for people transitioning from foster care to living alone. I would spend hours at the beach watching the sunset go down and that was one of my favorite things. If detectives could eliminate OLearys male relatives, they could place OLeary at the scene of the crimes with a high degree of certainty. In 2008, 18-year-old Lynnwood, Washington woman Marie is attacked in her apartment by a man who ties her up and rapes her, taking photographs all the while. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! After cooking green mung beans for dinner, she curled up in bed for a marathon of Desperate Housewives and The Big Bang Theory until drifting off. Recently, Marie was asked if she had considered not reporting the rape. There was no one out there who had hurt her and no one who might hurt them next. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. [6] The teams decided to collaborate. Mason told Marie she needed to go to the hospital for a sexual assault examination. Marie also confronted the police who handled her original case and they apologised to her just like in the series. He used wet wipes to clean up his ejaculate. "This is not the kind of story where you anticipate competition," Armstrong told Longform in 2016. The subject line was pleading: Sex Aslt Similars?. How can I obtain the complete court record? After repeated interrogation by the police, who do not believe her, she says that her report was false. But to Mason, there was one critical passage. The lawsuit alleges that the woman was required to stand up in front of other program participants and say that she had lied about being raped or risk being evicted, according to the lawsuit. They mentioned that he had stolen their underwear. On Aug. 13, Marie met with Mason at the Lynnwood police station and turned in a written statement, describing what happened. One of the last things he said was that he was sorry. After the meeting, Marie started walking to a friends place. The main characters are based on Marie (Kaitlyn Dever), known in the series as Marie Adler, and Detectives Edna Hendershot and Stacy Galbraith, who were renamed as Grace Rasmussen (Toni Collette) and Karen Duvall (Merritt Wever). "When the police began doubting Marie, they turned on her, Armstrong told National Public Radio last year. We have no doubt that Marie's story will inspire many viewers and hopefully encourage police departments to have more rigorous training when it comes to dealing with rape victims. And then, finally, in January 2011 came the attack on the 26-year-old in Golden, about 15 miles southwest of Westminster. OLeary had purchased a pornography website in September 2008. This didnt square with what Marie had previously told Mason. He boasted of the countermeasures hed taken to avoid getting caught. We may earn a commission from these links. Celebrate the life of Marie Arzer, leave a kind word or memory and get funeral service information. discuss pitfalls and best practices of sex crimes investigations. Lets do what we can do to catch him.. In the living room, he removed the laces from her black tennis shoes and put the shoes back. For me it seems like people read me differently than I see myself.. I was in group homes, too. She had been alone in her apartment the previous evening. As she headed home that night, Galbraiths mind raced. In the bathroom was a black headwrap, tied to serve as a mask. He found a folder called girls and pictures that OLeary had taken of his victims in Golden and Westminster. "An Unbelievable Story of Rape" is a 2015 article about a series of rapes in the American states of Washington and Colorado that occurred between 2008 and 2011, and the subsequent police investigations. Really, it was as simple as that. But the hunt for the rapist united them. This was never meant to happen. On her way, she crossed a bridge. Unbelievable, which debuted on Netflix on Friday (Sep 13) to critical acclaim, is based on a heartbreaking true story. Marie said she didnt know of any discrepancies. Thats awful. Police found shoe prints in the soft, damp soil outside the womans bedroom. Denver-area publicationWestword reported. [6] His article "The FBI Built a Database That Can Catch Rapists Almost Nobody Uses It" was published in July 2015. Marie got a letter, notifying her that she was wanted in court. One freeze frame showed that her white Mazda had a broken passenger side mirror. I cant imagine ANY justification for making these statements., Jensen also ordered an internal review, which was similarly damning. Marie said the knife was hers that it had come from the kitchen, and was what the rapist had used to threaten her. 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. Without reading Marie her rights you have the right to an attorney, you have the right to remain silent the detectives asked Marie to write out the true story, admitting she had lied, admitting, in effect, that she had committed a crime. Tearfully, she described her past all the foster parents, being raped when she was 7, getting her own place and feeling alone. 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. She pounded the table and said she was pretty positive.. On August 11, 2008, Marc Patrick O'Leary raped an eighteen year old at knife point in Lynnwood, Washington. D.M.s lawsuit also named as defendants the agency that runs the program, Cocoon House, and two of its employees, Jana Hamilton and Wayne Nash. She even called the lead detective on the case the day after and questioned Maries validity. Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Marie had made her report in August 2008 to Sergeant Jeffrey Mason and Jerry Rittgarn. After Marie approached Mason, he offered an apology. That seemed very strange, Shannon says. The woman underwent a special forensic examination to collect more DNA evidence. [31][32][33], Netflix reported that "Unbelievable" had garnered 32 million views by the end of September, where a "view" entailed watching at least 70% of an episode. Netflixs Unbelievable tells the story of a horrifying crime and stunning miscarriage of justice. Peggy had two cats. She considered jumping. She is now a truck driver,married, and as of 2015 has two children. About Search Results. I wanted to see the look on his face, I guess, she said. Mason then came to her home and interviewed her in person. In Lynnwood, Washington, an 18-year-old woman, referred to as "Marie," reported being bound, gagged and raped at knifepoint to police. So who was the real-life Marie? Rittgarn told Marie that her story and the evidence didnt match. She was just a nice person to have around. There it was, on OLearys left calf: a dark birthmark the size of a large chicken egg. And she would have to pay $500 to cover the courts costs. and her ID card. claims she was forced into counseling when Lynnwood police told managers of Cocoon House they didnt believe shed been raped, according to court documents. A second came from the victim in Golden. It was a young woman far younger than the Colorado victims, perhaps a teenager. She would need to keep straight, breaking no more laws. 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. She reports entering foster care at age 6 or 7. He stuffed cloth into her mouth to muffle any sound. 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. If you drew a map, it was almost like the rapist was circling the compass points of Denvers suburbs. D.M. She would move a hundred miles an hour in one direction, a colleague said. In the kitchen, he went to the knife block and removed a black-handled blade from the top row, far left. She picked out a feminine white coat with a fur collar because she thought thats what girls were supposed to wear, but then kept the coat in the closet when she realized it wasnt. We achieve this through high quality hair care, customized treatments & regimens and authentic connection for the ultimate salon experience. She also held it againstMarie that apparently she wasn'tmaking eye contact, was giggling, and was being flirty in the aftermath. 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. Investigators found a pair of Adidas ZX 700 shoes in OLearys closet. The Army veteran was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, near Tacoma, Washington, between November 2006 and September 2009, when he targeted Marie in Lynnwood, Washington, in August. But no matter her affection for Marie, Shannon knew they couldnt keep her, because the foster child already in their home required so much care. Even her foster parents now doubted her. Her department was small a little more than 40 officers serving a town of about 20,000. 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