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Newscaster: THE BODY OF THE BLONDE WOMAN WAS CLOTHED
IN BROWN SLACKS, A PINK BLOUSE AND SHOES. THE 44-YEAR-OLD...
Robert Stack: JUNE 8, 1989.
RICHMOND--A SUBURB OF VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA.
THE EVENING NEWS CARRIES A REPORT
THAT HAS BECOME ALL TOO COMMON--
THE DISCOVERY OF A DEAD BODY,
IN THIS CASE, LYING IN THE YARD OF AN ABANDONED HOUSE.
THE HANDS WERE BEHIND HER BACK.
TO HER FEET,
TIED TO HER FEET, WITH A ROPE OR A CORD.
THE DEAD WOMAN WAS 44-YEAR-OLD PEDIATRIC NURSE CINDY JAMES.
SHE HAD BEEN DRUGGED, STRANGLED, AND LITERALLY HOGTIED,
YET THE ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE
BELIEVED CINDY'S DEATH WAS AN EITHER AN ACCIDENT OR SUICIDE.
FOR SEVEN YEARS,
CINDY HAD BEEN REPORTING SHE WAS THE VICTIM
OF MORE THAN 100 SEPARATE INCIDENTS OF HARASSMENT,
.
THE POLICE FIRST BELIEVED--
THEN DISBELIEVED-- CINDY'S STORIES.
HOWEVER, CINDY'S PARENTS ARE CONVINCED
THAT THEIR DAUGHTER WAS MURDERED.
CINDY JAMES GRADUATED FROM NURSING SCHOOL IN 1966.
WITHIN A FEW YEARS,
SHE WAS NAMED ADMINISTRATOR OF A PRESCHOOL
BEHAVIORAL
CINDY WAS MARRIED, BUT NEVER HAD CHILDREN OF HER OWN.
D.
[RING]
HELLO?
WHO IS THIS?
SHE SAID IT WAS JUST A VOICE.
SOMETIMES IT WOULD CHANGE THE SOUND,
AND SOMETIMES IT WAS JUST WHISPERING,
SOMETIMES IT WAS JUST NOTHING--JUST SILENCE.
AS FAR AS WE KNOW, SHE DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THE VOICE.
OF COURSE, WE SHOULD ADD A QUALIFIER THERE
THAT SHE WAS VERY, VERY RELUCTANT
TO TALK ABOUT THIS RIGHT TO THE END.
OUR FEELING WAS,
SHE WAS WITHHOLDING SOMETHING EXTREMELY VITAL.
Stack: CINDY REPORTED THE THREATENING CALLS
ATION.
OVER THE NEXT THREE MONTHS,
SHE SAID THE HARASSMENT ESCALATED.
AT NIGHT SHE HEARD PROWLERS,
HER PORCH LIGHTS WERE SMASHED,
HER PHONE LINES SEVERED.
BIZARRE CUT-AND-PASTE NOTES BEGAN TO APPEAR ON HER DOORSTEP.
WELL, SHE TOLD ME MANY TIMES
THAT HE WANTED TO SCARE HER TO DEATH.
SHE SAID HE DOESN'T WANT TO KILL ME,
HE WANTS TO SCARE ME TO DEATH.
ON JANUARY 27, 1983,
AGNES WOODCOCK DROPPED BY CINDY'S HOUSE
FOR A VISIT.
[KNOCKING]
CINDY?
I KNOCKED ON THE DOOR. THERE WAS NO ANSWER.
I ASSUMED SHE WAS HAVING HER BATH--
SHE DID EVERY NIGHT--
AND I THOUGHT I HEARD SOMETHING.
I WASN'T SURE WHAT IT WAS.
OH!
CINDY! WHAT HAPPENED?
I FOUND HER CRUNCHED DOWN,
WITH A NYLON TIED TIGHTLY AROUND HER NECK.
ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?
CINDY SAID SHE'D GONE OUT TO THE GARAGE TO GET A BOX,
SHE TURNED AND SOMEONE GRABBED HER FROM BEHIND.
SAW
Stack: CINDY WAS THOROUGHLY FRIGHTENED.
SHE MOVED TO A NEW HOUSE.
LATER, SHE PAINTED HER CAR
AND EVENTUALLY CHANGED HER LAST NAME.
THE POLICE CONTINUED THEIR INVESTIGATION
AND QUESTIONED CINDY SEVERAL TIMES.
SHE WOULDN'T TELL THEM THE ENTIRE STORY.
SHE WOULD BE EVASIVE.
SHE WOULD WITHHOLD INFORMATION.
AND SHE SIMPLY WOULD NOT ACT
AS A NORMAL VICTIM WOULD ACT.
I CAN SEE WHERE A POLICE OFFICER
WOULD HAVE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF PROBLEM
STORY.
CINDY TOLD ME THAT AFTER SHE WAS ATTACKED,
THE KNIFE WAS HELD AT HER THROAT,
AND SHE WAS TOLD THAT IF YOU TALK,
YOUR SISTER WILL BE NEXT, AND THEN YOUR MOTHER,
SO JUST KEEP QUIET. DON'T TELL ANYTHING.
ON JANUARY 30, 1984, OZZIE KABAN,
THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR HIRED BY CINDY,
HEARD STRANGE SOUNDS COMING OVER
A TWO-WAY RADIO HE HAD GIVEN HER.
HE WENT STRAIGHT TO CINDY'S HOUSE.
I WENT AROUND THE HOUSE,
AND THE HOUSE WAS LOCKED.
I WAS ABLE TO LOOK INTO THE HOUSE
THROUGH A WINDOW,
AND I FOUND CINDY LYING THERE.
101 TO BASE. GET ME THE POLICE.
CINDY! CINDY, CAN YOU HEAR ME?
I TOOK A LOOK AT HER AND I THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD.
WITH A PARING KNIFE THROUGH HER HAND.
I WENT TO THE TELEPHONE,
CALLED 911.
WITHIN ABOUT TWO MINUTES,
THE MEDICAL PEOPLE ARRIVED,
AND, UH...
SHE REVIVED BRIEFLY,
AND THEN THEY TOOK HER TO THE HOSPITAL.
WHEN I INTERVIEWED CINDY,
SHE TOLD ME THAT SHE NOTICED A MAN COMING THROUGH THE GATE.
THE NEXT THING SHE REMEMBERS
IS BEING HIT ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD
WITH A PIECE OF WOOD
OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE.
SHE THEN REMEMBERED BEING HELD DOWN
ON THE FLOOR
AND A NEEDLE GOING INTO HER ARM.
Stack: NEAL HALL OF THE VANCOUVER SUN
HAS COVERED CINDY'S CASE FOR TWO YEARS.
$1.5 MILLION, IT'S BEEN ESTIMATED,
INVESTIGATING NTS,
MORE THAN 100 INCIDENTS.
AND THEY COULD NEVER FIND A SUSPECT.
THEY COULD NEVER FIND...
THERE WAS NO SIGHTING OF A SUSPECT,
THERE WAS NEVER A FINGERPRINT FROM A SUSPECT,
THERE WAS NO INDEPENDENT CORROBORATION.
CINDY SAW THIS PERSON.
SOMETIMES SHE SAID THERE WAS TWO, SOMETIMES THREE PEOPLE,
GOING ON YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR.
[RING]
HELLO.
THE THREATENING PHONE CALLS CONTINUED,
BUT WERE TOO SHORT TO TRACE.
WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?
POLICE FORMULATED A DISTURBING THEORY.
INCREDIBLY, THEY BELIEVED CINDY MIGHT HAVE BEEN STAGING
THE ENTIRE HARASSMENT CAMPAIGN AGAINST HERSELF.
THEY SURV
FOR DAYS ON END
WITH UP TO 14 OFFICERS.
BUT NEVER, WHEN SURVEILLANCE
NEVER ANY EVENT WOULD HAPPEN.
AS SOON AS SURVEILLANCE WAS REMOVED,
ANOTHER INCIDENT WOULD HAPPEN.
WHEN THE POLICE WERE WATCHING THE HOUSE,
WE WOULD SAY,
ANYONE WOULD SURE KNOW THAT YOU'RE THERE.
OF COURSE, NOBODY WILL DO ANYTHING
WHILE YOU'RE SITTING THERE AND WATCHING.
ON DECEMBER 11, 1985,
CINDY WAS FOUND DAZED AND SEMICONSCIOUS,
LYING IN THIS DITCH, 6 MILES FROM HER HOME.
SHE WAS WEARING A MAN'S WORK BOOT AND GLOVE
AND SUFFERING FROM HYPOTHERMIA.
CUTS AND ABRASIONS COVERED HER BODY.
ONCE AGAIN, A BLACK NYLON STOCKING
HAD BEEN TIED TIGHTLY AROUND HER NECK.
ONCE AGAIN, CINDY SAID SHE HAD NO MEMORY OF WHAT HAPPENED.
VINCED
THAT CINDY WAS SOMEHOW ATTACKING HERSELF.
THE POLICE DID NOT INVESTIGATE
THE POSSIBILITY OF HOMICIDE,
OF SOMEBODY MURDERING HER,
ROVE
THAT SHE COMMITTED SUICIDE.
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
AGNES.
WAKE UP.
CK
AND HER HUSBAND TOM TO SPEND THE NIGHT WITH HER.
ON ONE OCCASION, CINDY WOKE THEM WELL AFTER MIDNIGHT.
Agnes: CINDY CAME RUNNING TO THE DOOR AND SAID,
"TOM, I HEARD A NOISE DOWNSTAIRS."
AND TOM SAID, "I HEARD IT, TOO.
SOMETHING'S BURNING.
Stack: AGNES AND TOM WENT DOWNSTAIRS WITH CINDY.
THE BASEMENT WAS IN FLAMES.
Tom: OH, MY GOD!
Agnes: CINDY ASKED ME TO CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT
SO I RAN TO THE PHONE. THE PHONE WAS DEAD.
SO TOM WENT OUTSIDE AND ASKED THE NEIGHBOR
TO CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND WHEN HE WENT OUT, THERE WAS A MAN STANDING ON THE CURB.
AND TOM ASKED HIM, AND HE RAN AWAY DOWN THE STREET.
SUSPECTED IN
NT.
RBED
BUT SOMEBODY SET THE FIRES FROM INSIDE THE HOME
AND WOULD HAVE HAD TO CLIMB THROUGH THAT WINDOW.
NOW THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ONE SIGN
THAT PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE REALIZED.
ALSO, SHE SAID SHE WAS HER DOG LATE
NOW, IF SOMEBODY WAS ATTACKED,
WHY WOULD THEY GO OUT ALONE, WALKING THEIR DOG AT 3 A.M.?
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?
FINALLY, CINDY'S DOCTOR COMMITTED HER
TO A LOCAL PSYCHIATRIC WARD.
HE FULLY BELIEVED CINDY'S ACCOUNTS OF HARASSMENT,
BUT FEARED SHE WAS BECOMING SUICIDAL.
I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS SHE FOUND MOST DIFFICULT
WAS THAT PEOPLE DIDN'T BELIEVE HER.
SHE WAS ALWAYS DOUBTED.
SHE KNEW SHE WAS DOUBTED,
AND THAT WAS WHAT SLOWLY DROVE HER CRAZY--
THE FACT THAT SHE WASN'T BELIEVED.
Stack: 10 WEEKS LATER, CINDY LEFT THE HOSPITAL.
SHE FINALLY ADMITTED TO HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS
THAT SHE HAD BEEN WITHHOLDING INFORMATION.
SHE TOLD ME FOR THE FIRST TIME WHO THE PERPETRATOR WAS,
AND IN HER OWN WORDS, "IF THE POLICE CAN'T SOLVE THIS,
I'LL SOLVE IT FOR THEM."
SHE SAID, "WHEN IT'S ALL OVER,
I'LL EXPLAIN EVERYTHING TO YOU, BUT I CAN'T NOW."
Stack: ON MAY 25, 1989, SIX YEARS AND SEVEN MONTHS
AFTER THE FIRST THREATENING PHONE CALL,
CINDY JAMES DISAPPEARED.
THAT SAME DAY HER CAR WAS FOUND IN A NEIGHBORHOOD PARKING LOT.
INSIDE WERE GROCERIES AND A WRAPPED GIFT.
THERE WAS BLOOD ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR
AND ITEMS FROM CINDY'S WALLET WERE UNDER THE CAR.
TWO WEEKS LATER,
CINDY'S BODY WAS FOUND AT THE ABANDONED HOUSE.
CINDY JAMES' DEATH HAD ALL THE EARMARKS OF A SADISTIC ***.
HER HANDS AND FEET WERE BOUND TOGETHER BEHIND HER BACK.
A BLACK NYLON STOCKING WAS TIED TIGHTLY AROUND HER NECK.
YET AN AUTOPSY WOULD REVEAL THAT CINDY HAD DIED
FROM AN OVERDOSE OF MORPHINE AND OTHER DRUGS.
POLICE BELIEVED CINDY HAD COMMITTED AN ELABORATE SUICIDE.
Ozzie Kaban: THERE IS NO WAY THAT SHE COULD HAVE BEEN ABLE,
AFTER INGESTING THAT AMOUNT OF DRUGS,
TO TIE HERSELF UP.
THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AT THE CRIME SCENE
TO INDICATE THAT SHE HAD USED ANY FORM OF SYRINGE
OR ANY DRINKING DEVICE OR ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE.
THE MORPHINE WOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN EFFECT
FOR, SAY, 15 MINUTES, HALF AN HOUR.
ECREATED
THE SAME TYPE OF KNOTS SHE WAS TIED IN,
IT TOOK HIM THREE MINUTES.
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT CINDY JAMES HAD DESCENDED
SO FAR INTO MENTAL ILLNESS
THAT SHE COULD INFLICT TERRIBLE PAIN ON HERSELF,
UP TO AND INCLUDING THE POINT OF DEATH?
CINDY'S FRIENDS AND FAMILY ARE CONVINCED
IT IS NOT POSSIBLE.
THEY BELIEVE THERE IS SOMEONE IN VANCOUVER, CANADA,
WHO IS GETTING AWAY WITH ***.