Opinion ID: 2639434
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Referee's Findings About Darlene

Text: In response to our question whether Darlene had given false testimony at petitioner's capital trial, the referee found that Darlene lied when she testified at trial (1) that she saw Denise enter petitioner's car the night Denise disappeared; (2) that she found Debbie's unicorn key chain in petitioner's car a day or two after Debbie disappeared; and (3) that petitioner told her he had killed Debbie, Denise, and Lynda. The referee further found that many manipulations of Darlene during the interrogation process by Detective Harnage and Sergeant Wilson, culminating in their threat to arrest her for `withholding information' led her to lie at petitioner's capital trial. The referee concluded, however, that Darlene's false testimony was not material because she was a poor witness who could not keep her story straight, and who was thoroughly impeached by defense counsel.