Opinion ID: 2639434
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: False Statements by Darlene

Text: The December 4, 1984, taped interview revealed, and the referee found, that the deputies threatened to arrest Darlene on that date. This threat, concluded the referee, prompted Darlene to falsely state that petitioner confessed to her at the Exxon station a day or two after Debbie disappeared. The referee based this conclusion on the following factors: (1) prior to December 4, Darlene had steadfastly maintained that petitioner had not confessed and her denials were credible; (2) Darlene wanted to avoid going to jail; (3) the confession itself was not credible because it described the three killings in exactly the same manner; (3) the confession was rife with inconsistencies; (4) the confession contained material inaccuracies, such as the location where the murders occurred; and (5) there were no verifiable facts in the confession that were not already known to law enforcement. We accept this finding as true because it is supported by substantial evidence.
The referee also concluded that Darlene falsely testified at trial that while smoking a cigarette on a hill near the foster home the night Denise disappeared, she saw petitioner pick up Denise in his vehicle. The referee based this finding on the following factors: (1) Darlene did not tell this fact to the sheriff's deputies throughout the interrogations, including the December 4 interrogation; (2) she disclosed this information for the first time just days before she testified at the jury trial; and (3) the referee visited the location and found that there were ample places to smoke just outside the foster home, on a cold night, without walking to the hill that overlooked the area of the underpass. We accept this finding as true.
Finally, the referee did not believe Darlene's statement at trial that she found Debbie's unicorn key chain in petitioner's car on the date of the claimed confession, because he believed that the confession never occurred. The referee also found it significant that the key chain had no keys on it, which suggested that Debbie did not carry it on her person. Moreover, Darlene repeatedly referred to the key chain as belonging to both Debbie and Denise. We accept this finding as true.