Arial view of the Garrido compound
Jaycee Dugard, age 11
No doubt the parents of Jaycee Dugard had resigned themselves to the fact that they’d never know what happened to the 11-year old girl. Her stepfather Carl Probyn had witnessed the abduction of his stepdaughter, pulled into a stranger’s vehicle while she was waiting for her school bus in South Lake Tahoe. For all those years, the number one suspect in Jaycee’s disappearance was her stepfather, the last person to have seen her.
On August 26, Phillip Garrido reported to his parole officer at the request of UC Berkeley campus police. Garrido’s mistake: going onto UC Berkeley’s campus and passing our religious materials without receiving clearance. Garrido had two young girls with him, aged 11 and 15, and it was the behavior of the girls that alerted campus police that something was just not right. The girls were unable or unwilling to make eye contact with the officer who questioned Garrido. Campus police contacted Garrido’s parole agent, who summoned Garrido to his office. Accompanying Garrido to the parole agent was his wife Nancy, the two young girls and a young adult female that police had never seen on Garrido’s property. The young woman said her name was Allissa. The parole agent contacted Concord police in an effort to identify the young woman and the two girls.
Eventually the young woman was identified as Jaycee, the two girls as Garrido’s daughters. Some time after that, now 29-year old Jaycee was identified as being the mother of the two girls, and Garrido was indeed their father.
Do the math.
Phillip Craig Garrido was a registered sex offender who managed to just keep below the authorities’ radar. As recently as last July the two-acre Garrido property was searched his home as a condition of his parole. There was no sign that children lived on the property nor was there any sign of Jaycee and the two younger girls. The authorities had no idea there was a secret compound at the back of the property, where the three females were imprisoned apart from the world.
Two years ago a neighbor reported the “living compound” behind the Garrido residence, but because the police did not have a search warrant, they were not allowed to search the property. There was no follow-up to the complaint.
Last year Garrido was accused of stealing the life savings of Dilbert "Jack" Medieros of nearly $18,000—so Garrido could start a church. The complaint was investigated but due to insufficient evidence, charges were dropped.
Garrido is certainly a bit of a nutcase. He maintained his own blog of religious ramblings and was the inventor of a “divine machine” that was able to transmit “unearthly voices.”
This case is one of those that might have been avoided had Garrido actually served all of the time he was given as part of pervious convictions. He served time in federal and Nevada state prisons from 1977 to 1988 for a kidnapping and sexual assault committed in 1976. He was sentenced to 50 years, initially entering the federal prison system in 1977, transferred to Nevada state custody in January of 1988 and ultimately paroled to California in August 1988.
Do some more math. That 50 year sentence must have been the victim of new math. In corrections jargon, 11 years equals 50 years.
Earlier today (August 28), a search warrant was obtained by Pittsburgh, California police, who will search the Garrido property for evidence in the unsolved slayings of prostitutes in the 1990s.
Garrido’s own brother Ron doesn’t put this crime past his brother at all. Although he’s shocked to know that his brother kidnapped Jaycee all those years ago, his brother’s history of LSD use, sexual compulsions, kidnapping and past prison time lead him to believe the accusations against his younger brother are utterly true.
Jaycee and her daughters are now getting re-acquainted (or acquainted) with her mother Terry and her now 19-year old stepsister Shayna.
Garrido has already been blabbing his defense. Obviously he feels he did nothing wrong in stealing an 11-year old child, keeping her from her family, locking her up in his backyard. Oh well, I guess he was a decent God-fearing man and all, waiting until Jaycee was 13 or 14 to impregnate her.
Garrido’s statement: “Wait until you hear the story of what took place at this house. You are going to be completely impressed. It’s a disgusting thing that took place with me at the beginning. But I turned my life completely around and to be able to understand that, you have to start there.
“You’re going to find the most powerful story coming from the witness, the victim—you wait. If you take this a step at a time, you're going to fall over backwards and in the end, you're going to find the most powerful heart-warming story.”
I for one can’t wait until Jaycee and her two daughters are ready to share this “powerful heart-warming story.” Please read the “transcript” link below—this guy is positively Manson-esque. Forty years later, they are still out there!
Philip and Nancy Garrido each face 27 felony counts including kidnapping a person younger than age 14, kidnapping for sexual purposes, forcible rape, and forcible lewd acts on a child. If convicted, each faces life in prison.
Phillip Garrido will be a very popular guy in prison … crimes against children don’t exactly move an inmate to the head of the line as far as the prison hierarchy is concerned. Child molesters aren’t exactly admired by other inmates. I don't expect Nancy to fare much better unless she and her attorneys manage to convince a jury she was a victim as well.
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17 comments:
Hi Caligirl,
Thanks for the post. I live in Antioch and I am so shocked! The address of this house is only about 4 miles from mine. To think that this happened in my community is horrific. I keep wondering if I have ever run into them in the grocery store or gas station. I keep searching for any new information on this case. yesterday, I even drove down to look at the house. Its funny I always wondered as I watched the meadia frenzy surrounding houses such as the Anthonys house in Florida, what it would be like to see all of the media and satellite trucks in my neighborhood. Now I know. This is truly unbelievable. I pray for the all of the victums in this case; and there are so many. Thanks again. I would love it if T&T would follow this case.
Nancyanne
It just makes you wonder how many other "missing" children have ended up in a situation of slavery or locked away like this. The Fritzl case was horrendous enough, the main difference between that nightmare and this is that the children were able to breathe fresh air and perhaps after thorough indoctrination taken out in public.
Makes you wonder about how such things can go undetected for so long.
Nancyanne, if there is a change of venue closer to my neck of the woods (Santa Clara County) I'd make plenty of effort to attend that trial (even San Mateo County would work for me!).
Antioch is so quiet ... who'd have thought you all were living with this monster living in plain sight, doing what he was doing!
Thanks for stopping by, and feel free to add to the information as it surfaces.
I feel for poor Jaycee and the other children.
This case is worse than when Patty Hearst or Elizabeth Smart were kidnapped.
It's easy to say why didn't she leave?
But she was 11 years old and what happened to her amounts to years of mind and body torture.
I hope that she gets all the help and support she will need to untangle and deal with the harm that has been dealt to her at the hands of a serial rapist.
They say she never even saw a doctor, that would then be saying at age 14 she gave birth in a tent?
Mind boggling that she could go through that.
Horrific story. Although I am glad she is alive I think she has a tough road ahead.
Hey Sprocket - WOW! Can you believe this??!! 18 years... that poor girl and her kids... I have been following this case since it broke! Thanks for posting something on this. This should be a very interesting trial... IF there is one!! You think he'll just plead guilty and not put everyone thru a trial??
Niner
I think the informal Jail Justice System may just come into play here.
Hopefully the "real" family will file a lawsuit---there is a house and therefore a homeowner's insurance policy to go after, if nothing else.
Wes J.
Thanks Caligirl,
It seems that the trial will be in El Dorado county. I wish it would be in Contra Costa county. You know I have lived in Antioch for 10 years. I have seen many changes in Antioch. It is no longer the quiet bedroom community it once was. But never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined anything like this could have happened in my "so called" backyard. I know that there is evil in this world but it really hits home now (literally). This really haunts me. I still wonder if I have ever crossed paths with them. I still ask how could this have happened for so long. I will follow every bit of this story. Sorry for taking up so much space and thanks for listening.
Nancyanne
If ever there were a reason to rethink our penal system, this would be the one. We, the law abiding tax payers, are supporting the wholesale incarceration of property thieves and drug abusers, with no real chance of rehabilitation, and that short changes the resources that would other wise be used to keep the known psychopaths locked up, forever.
Who knows if this person has an insurance policy? And, what can money restore? Jaycee's life, 18 years? The years of her children, who seems to have been to great mind control? Not enough money on the planet!
Will Jaycee ever have a 'norma' life? Will she spend decades trying not to figure out her 'guilt'? Will she spend her lifetime not trying to wonder how she could not protect her children?
This is sicko to the MAX.
I don't fault law enforcement for their failures, we all fail in some regards. This man/wife lived under the radar, and ok, I will fault, check a house, never go into the backyard?
Amazing that people at Berkeley picked up on this, amazing, and beyond words......congratuations seems slim, but amazing perception, well trained and heros, really.
This is the second time I have tried to post this as when I try to use my google name, it fails, so will post anonymous, but could be my own computer glitch.
I am sorry for the rant, but while this is getting amazing coverage, it is because it is sensational.
So many other abductions/disappearances are not.
But this was a cold case forever, and I am sure both parents, biological and step thought they would never see or hear from her again.
I have a conflict, this brings to many who have missing children a
chance, slim, that their children will be found. Alive. May it be so.
Again, I’m letting my ignorance of the law show here. There are so many different crimes in this case, crossing jurisdictions. All of the felony charges were brought in El Dorado County, as I understand (Nancyanne, correct me if I’m wrong). Yet Jaycee was imprisoned in Contra Costa County, was no doubt raped in Contra Costa County (the two girls were born in the home).
If Garrido is linked to and charged with the Pittsburgh prostitute murders, those are no doubt Contra Costa County criminal court cases.
Is it possible that there isn’t a large enough jury pool in El Dorado County? Even if people were ignorant of the original crime, it’s got to be all over the place in that neck of the woods.
Another icky thought: Did Garrido “do” anything to those two little girls that were the result of raping Jaycee?
Anon @ 1:37: I can’t help but wonder that this crime went unnoticed because law enforcement is well aware of the flakiness of the Bay Area (I live here too so no hate mail!) and its liberal, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals leanings? It certainly would seem the authorities had the right to search Garrido’s person and property pretty much whenever they wanted to. Why did Garrido get away with those conversations on his front porch? Why weren’t the cops (and his parole agent) more suspicious? Was it a fear of the courts not backing up what the law says the police were entitled to do as a condition of Garrido’s parole?
I bet none of us will ever think that university police are wanna-be cops. They are police, just like the people on the street, with the same training. Kudos to the UC Berkeley campus police for being suspicious in the first place.
Thank you everyone for adding to the dialogue.
ASSUME he is foung fit to stand trial....you can bet there is a psychiatric defense to be played here....and maybe rightfully so.
Right or no, this Sheriff is a disgrace, with his weak explanations! If you agree, let him know: Warren Rupf, 651 Pine St, Martinez, CA. 94553. According to the website, he has served over 40 years, which is about 40 too long!
FWIW, even if there IS a homeowner's insurance policy, there's no money in it for Jaycee or her children. The first thing you have to have is a covered cause of loss - and with the commission of a crime, there IS no covered cause of loss. Your insurance won't cover you for your criminal acts.
Well, it will depend on what the homeowner "claims."
Phil Spector's homeowner's policy is currently defending him in the civil suit brought by the Clarkson family for the death of Lana Clarkson.
Spector is maintaining that Lana killed herself (even though he's been convicted in criminal court).
So, I'm wondering if Jaycee could sue in civil court. Although the homeowner's policy might not cover the defendant, she could get a judgement where his assets would be either seized or liquidated to pay the judgement.
I am now watching this story on Geraldo At Large. The stepfather is on. Hopefully over time, Jaycee will be all right.
David From TN
This case gets more bizarre every single day.
The initial crime (kidnap) occured in El Dorado County but all of the other crimes occured in Conta Costa county. I don't understand why all charges were filed in El Dorado County. I'm thinking there will be more charges to come.
Now, there may be a link from Garrido to several murdered prostitutes! I read today that the police are now searching the house next door for evidence. Apparently Garrido took care of the house next door for some time.
I think the thing that disturbs me the most is what is up with the wife? How could she have helped this monster do all of this? I can just see her defense now. She was afraid of him and that he controlled her mind.
I also want to know the whole timeline. Did Garrido build his "compound" before or after he kidnapped Jaycee? How much planning went into this? And again how come nobody was able to discover this for 18 years??
So many questions.....
Nancyanne
Sprocket - Spector's policy may defend him, but the chances it will indemnify him are somewhere between slim & none (the requirement of a policy to defend is much, much broader than the requirement to indemnify).
She can certainly sue in civil court, and I hope she gets every penny he currently has, plus child support & costs for those 2 girls until they're as deprogrammed as possible.
Ok, this is where I lost it. This man was sentenced to 50 years for rape & kidnap in 1970. He was let out 10 years later only to rape another woman, get out of jaul again, and do this?
If he had served his full sentence in 1970 he would still be in jail
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