. Then there was an investigation. Between one-fourth to two-thirds of rapists are serial attackers, studies show. From JAMA Pediatrics, December 2015 and Violence and Victims, Vol 17, 2002 by David Lisak and Paul M. Miller. Unbelievable is based, almost word for words at times, off of The Marshall Projects An Unbelievable Story of Rape, published in 2015. In real life, Jerry had already left the Lynnwood Police Department before Marie's attacker was convicted, and as far as we can tell, he has declined requests to be interviewed in the time. VIDEO: Rape victim was called a liar by police. After the Lynnwood, Washington, police coerced her recantation and charged her with a gross misdemeanor, Adler took a plea deal and paid a $500 fine. In a Netflix comedy by Katharine McPhees stepdaughter. After OLearys arrest in Colorado in February 2011, Lynnwood police Cmdr. The woman, identified only as D.M. Virtually every real-life detail of the rape and the Lynnwood police investigation plays out onscreen in Unbelievable. Anyone with information is asked to call Lynnwood detective Jerry Rittgarn at 425-744-6924 or 425-744-6900. Jayne Tainis Doris Laird is based on the 65-year-old fraternity housemother whose teddy bear, like her fictional counterparts, yielded some DNA. All Rights Reserved. And what might be the most unbelievable part of unbelievable is that the detectives who believed Marie was lying weren't reprimanded whatsoever, even though they deeply damaged this young woman emotionally. Pretty positive or actually positive? In August 2008, the victim, identified only as D.M., was in transitional housing after being in foster homes. Rasmussen and Duvall catch the serial rapist, and Marie's original report is proved to have been true. Netflix The detectives who disbelieved Marie and coerced her into recanting her story also faced fairly minimal repercussions in real life. It wasnt her job to try to convince me, he said in 2015. Thank you for your interest in republishing this story. Galbraith connected with Hendershot, who had worked on a rape case of a 59-year-old widow months before in Westminster. According to ProPublica's article, an internal review found that from 2008 to 2012, "10 of 47 rapes reported to Lynnwood police were unfounded21.3 percent. D.M. Jeffrey Mason, Sgt. The reporting by ProPublica and The Marshall Project spanned several months and involved numerous interviews, a review of previously undisclosed law enforcement records and exchanges with experts on investigating rape. After the Lynnwood, Washington, police coerced her recantation and charged her with a "gross misdemeanor," Adler took a plea deal and paid a $500 fine. Jerry Rittgarn declined to be interviewed. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. The Lynnwood police told her the news, giving her an envelope on counseling for rape victims. View Jerry Rittgarn's profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. She recently watched the series, according to ProPublica reporter Ken Armstrong; with Adlers permission, he tweeted some of her thoughts about the show. Social scientists examining police records in detail and using methodologically rigorous standards cite similar, single-digit rates. From research and studies summarized in a Department of Justice-funded study, Policing and Prosecuting Sexual Assault in Los Angeles City and County, 2012 by Cassia Spohn and Katharine Tellis and from an analysis by ProPublica and The Marshall Project of FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program data, 2008-2012. Rodney Cohnheim and Commander Steve Rider; and Marc OLeary, who was interviewed at the Sterling Correctional Facility in Colorado. She has a fianc and she's looking forward to a fabulous life. The police on her case, Sgt. Samantha Vincenty is the former senior staff writer at Oprah Daily. Yet, after conversations with the victims stepmother, her friend, and anonymous caller, police began to have doubts. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. For more stories like this, sign up for our newsletter. With mounting pressure from the police, she recanted her statement and said she made it all up. The Lynnwood detectives, Pruitt and Parker, are Jerry Rittgarn and Sgt. Even with the strong language used in the Lynnwood Police Department investigation cited in the ProPublica article, no one at the department lost their job. Some of the way that she was acting was part of the reason why it had the outcome that it did, she said. Jeffrey Mason and Jerry Rittgarn, pressed on the inconsistencies in her story. Along with a formidable cast that includes Hereditary's Toni Colette and Booksmart's Kaitlyn Dever, the project has many big names attached to it, with Katie Couric as an executive producer and novelist power couple Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon as contributing writers. Los Angeles County said all litigation over the crash has now been resolved. When Marie's rapist was caught, Detective Rittgarn had already left the Lynnwood police department. The character of Detective Pruitt (played by Bill Fagerbakke) is loosely based on Jerry Rittgarn, who was the one who first blatantly told Marie he didn't believe her story. Jeffrey Mason and Jerry Rittgarn, pressed on the inconsistencies in her story. FBI figures show that police annually declare around 5 percent of rape cases unfounded, or baseless. He then raped her. called a neighbor, who called police. The people interviewed for this story include Marie (in our story, we agreed to use only her middle name); Maries foster mothers Peggy Cunningham and Shannon McQuery; Maries friend Jordan Schweitzer; James Feldman, Maries public defender when she was charged with filing a false police report; H. Richmond Fisher, Maries attorney in her civil suit against Lynnwood, Washington; Golden, Colorado, police Det. Evidence proved her right. Please contact. Unbelievable will, suffice to say, shock you. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. 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. Peggy's lack of faith in her former foster daughter's account moved her to tell Detective Mason that this was probably just one of Marie's gambits for attention. According to the ProPublica article, after Marie's rapist was apprehended, the Lynnwood Police Department opened up an outside review into the department. Maybe the rape happened and I blacked it out, Marie said. He asked if there was really a rapist running around the neighborhood that the police should be looking for. returned to the police station with Cocoon House representatives and asked to withdraw the denial and insisted that she had been attacked. And for him to know that we figured you out. Galbraith is now a Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent. But most recent research suggests that false reporting is relatively rare. Jeffrey Mason and Jerry Rittgarn, pressed on the inconsistencies in her story. The description of his background comes from his LinkedIn profile. We examined five years of the "Offenses Known and Cleared by Arrest" data to smooth yearly fluctuations common in crime reporting. Based on the story of a teenager whose rape was discounted by the male detectives investigating her case, the show also concentrates on the female detectives who, years later, connected her assault to a serial rapist they had caught. The lawsuit alleges that, as soon as the detective concluded she was lying, the investigation ceased. But nope. We consulted police training guidelines by various organizations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police and End Violence Against Women International. She walked away with $150,000, according to the Seattle Times. Privacy Policy and According to the suit, Rittgarn and Mason had D.M. It was one of many friendships she lost after the Lynnwood charged her as a false accuser. She got married and has two kids, and they live "somewhere in the middle of the country" as of 2018. Between one-fourth to two-thirds of rapists are serial attackers, studies show. From JAMA Pediatrics, December 2015 and Violence and Victims, Vol 17, 2002 by David Lisak and Paul M. Miller. She said it was about 7 a.m. when she woke to find a man standing over her bed with a butcher knife and wearing latex gloves. Years later, an external review characterized the police interrogations of her as bullying and coercive with minor inconsistencies in her statements misjudged and strong evidence ignored. Marie said she didnt know of any discrepancies. Though the series hews closely to a true story that may at times seem stranger than fiction, showrunner Susannah Grant decided early on to fictionalize the real-life sources because, she says, we didnt think there was any value in the actual names being broadcast as widely as Netflix has the capacity to do. Nevertheless, its natural to want to know more about the people on whom the characters are based. You don't just go with some family member who was not even a witness. We received thousands of pages of documents through public-records requests filed with the following agencies: the police departments in Lynnwood and Kirkland, Washington; the police departments in Golden, Westminster, Aurora and Lakewood, Colorado; and the prosecuting attorneys offices in Snohomish County, Washington, King County, Washington, and Jefferson County, Colorado. The facility and two of its employees are also named in the lawsuit. Here's a look at how Unbelievable is different from the cases that inspired it, and what stayed the same. Trevor Materasso; Lakewood, Colorado, police detective Aaron Hassell; Kirkland, Washington, police officer Audra Weber; Lynnwood police Sgt. The detectives saw the scene, said Yvonne Ward, one of the victims attorneys. I wrote about it last year here. He was strategically stalking and attacking women who lived alone. A police narrative from Detective Jerry Rittgarn states, "I talked with Sgt. You cant state or imply that donations to your organization support ProPublicas work. In hindsight, it was my job to get to the bottom of it and I didnt.. Words or thoughts attributed to anyone in this story are drawn from these interviews or documents. After I got off the phone with him, I started thinking about all things I was stressed out and I also was scared living on my own. There is no law against this particular miscarriage of justice. 2023 Cox Media Group. On a scale of laminated-eyebrow drama to Lemon Lady Secrets. A Full Recap of the Infuriating True Story Behind Netflix's New Miniseries, Unbelievable. This, undoubtedly, turns her life upside down. D.M.s lawsuit also names as defendants the agency that runs the program, Jun 1985 - Jun 19894 years 1 month. Wesshe Montegumry In 2008, an 18-year-old from Lynnwood, Washington claimed that she was raped by an intruder in the middle of the night. Detective Jerry Rittgarn, who declined to be interviewed for the original news story, said he'd talk for the book "only under monetary compensation contract" a quid pro quo the authors. We have official accounts for ProPublica on. After collecting sufficient evidence, detectives eventually arrested Marc O'Leary, a former Marine. After OLeary was caught, McQuery apologized to Adler and later told This American Life she was shocked that Adler was willing to forgive her for such a huge thing., Like Scott Lawrences effective Fed, FBI special agent Jonny Grusing was a crucial part of the task force that aided the detectives work. Rapes by strangers were uncommon maybe about 13 percent of cases. From the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2011, Only about one-fifth to one-third of rapes get reported to police, national surveys show. From National Crime and Victimization Survey, 2014 and National Violence Against Women Survey, 2006. As previously noted, Detective Rittgarn left the department prior to Marie's rapist being caught. Come for the Seinfeld references, stay for the Producers references. As Marie told Sergeant Jerry Mason and Detective Jerry Rittgarn, she'd fallen asleep after a late-night phone chat with her friend Jordan, an ex. Helmed by Erin Brokovich screenwriter Susannah Grant, the new miniseries follows the story of Marie, a young woman charged with lying about being raped, as well as that of two female detectives who, through a winding road of evidence, discover the truth. had been arguing, and the other a friend who had spoken to D.M. The article earned a 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting, and eventually became a book called A False Report: A True Story of Rape in America. Detective Rittgarn refused an interview with the publication. The three went to the Lynnwood police station, where the detectives escorted Marie to a conference room. "Based on her answers and body language it was apparent that [Marie] was lying about the rape," he wrote in a report. He Fought Back, Exposing the Insurers Inner Workings. Based on her answers and body language it was apparent that [Marie] was lying about the rape, Rittgarn later wrote. An 18 year old girl reported a brutal assault. USMC. D.M. Mason wasnt fired and now leads a narcotics task force. I think you pull it, Joshua Jackson says to Lizzy Caplan sensually. 's photograph and ID card in his wallet. . After claiming police coerced her into recanting her story,. To determine the rate of rape crimes declared unfounded, or groundless, by law enforcement agencies, we analyzed Uniform Crime Reporting data collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Maybe about 13 percent of rape cases unfounded, or baseless by police galbraith is a. Envelope on counseling for rape victims and asked to withdraw the denial and insisted that had. 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