My Story
My sister and I arrived as scheduled. The lieutenant greeted us and said he needed to speak with me first. He took me in a small room, sat in front of me at a desk, and hit record on a tape recorder. He unfolded a small piece of white paper and read me my Miranda rights. During a lengthy interrogation, he accused me of lying. He told me he had countless interviews and photographs to prove it, and that I had everything to lose including my husband, my children, my career and my reputation. The lieutenant even blamed me for calling 911 that night. He said he had 27 cases on his desk and that one way or another he was going to close this one. He continued, insisting that his peers listened to my tape and agreed that I was purposefully lying. He said my children would be dragged through the courts and only a judge who was not in his right mind would throw this out of court. He warned that I would do jail time. Caught completely off-guard, all I could do was tell him that I was willing to take a lie detector test.
A month before, I was attacked in my own home. Now, I was attacked at the police station. Both were places I had believed to be safe harbors. All of the emotional wounds that had begun to heal over the past month were quickly reopened. I became paralyzed for days, unable to sit, eat, sleep or focus. The following Monday morning, my husband and I were back at the station. We were met by the captain - the head of Vice and Intelligence - who just happened to be the lieutenant's brother. He had another lieutenant with him. We thanked them for their time and asked them to play the previously taped interview. They refused. I relayed all of the facts again, but they were indifferent. We stressed the immediacy of investigating the case, which they ignored. We would find out later that the police secretly taped this meeting too, in hopes of hearing me change my story.
After hearing nothing from the police for days, we called again, pleading for any progress. What we got back in response was that they had not listened to the tape at all - that it would have been a "moot point" - and that the only thing to do now was interview my children. We refused. Angry, distraught and not knowing where to turn, we sought legal counsel. John and I, accompanied by an attorney friend of ours, met with the state's attorney. It was during that meeting that we learned the lieutenants had been given information on my case from an ill-informed citizen who had somehow "heard" I was having an affair, that one of my children woke up and saw the affair, and to cover it up I concocted a false rape complaint. I was sickened. This gossip and innuendo is what had stopped the investigation and caused the police to attack me? After the meeting, the state's attorney asked the officers for the tape of the original police interview. Amazingly, he was told that the tape had faltered and the recording had not been made.
Pursuing new options
It was time to take further action. Our attorney filed a complaint against the police department, requesting an internal affairs investigation. The case was transferred out of Vice and Intelligence and into the Criminal Investigation division. New officers were assigned to the case, including Sergeant Neil O'Leary, one of the force's best detectives. With precious time already lost, interviews were diligently conducted and voluntary DNA samples were taken from many men. One of the investigators knew Dr. Henry Lee, whom I reached out to in a letter asking for help. He agreed and we met. Dr. Lee ordered the DNA evidence in my case be re-sampled, and I consulted with him on a list of policy and procedure recommendations I wanted implemented in the Waterbury Police Department. Unfortunately, the DNA samples did not turn up a match. I tried to stay focused on my family and my business, but life had changed forever.
We waited 13 more months for the Internal Affairs report to be released by the police department. We were hopeful of finally seeing some justice served. Instead, the simplistic report stated that the physical evidence gathered at the scene had contradicted my statements and gave the lieutenant sufficient reason to suspect I was lying. Further, it said that the lieutenant would have been derelict in his duties had he not confronted me the way he did. Supporting documents from interviewed officers included statements that on the night of the crime I continued to wear the pantyhose wrapped around my wrists for half an hour after the police arrived, as if it was a stage prop. In a letter to my attorney, the Chief of Police stated that he was so satisfied with the thoroughness and professionalism of the Internal Affairs report that he personally complimented the two Internal Affairs officers and concluded that no Waterbury police officer had acted improperly during the investigation.
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Caught completely off-guard, all I could do was tell him that I was willing to take a lie detector test.
