Crash Into Me_ A Survivor's Search for Justice - Liz Seccuro [44]
Some thought that since I had a marriage and a job now, I should be “thankful.” Some thought I was getting justice because I was blonde. Some suggested I should be raped again and more than one threatened to track me down and kill me in graphic ways.
Although some of the responses left me terrified, there was no turning back now. I tried to focus on the positive responses, and told myself that I was making things easier for all the other survivors. My next stop on the press tour was The Abrams Report, the show hosted by MSNBC’s chief legal correspondent, Dan Abrams. Dan was exactly my age, and a graduate of Duke University. His program was a favorite of those following the big stories of criminal justice, and during this time rape allegations at Duke University were very much in the news. I loved his “Rebuttal” segment, which aired the day after my interview. He swiped back at viewers who had written in with the same kind of e-mails that I had been getting, and he said things I wished I could say.
There followed interviews with various newspapers, People magazine, and with Paula Zahn on CNN. I was getting slightly more comfortable with the exposure, but some of the responses only became more frightening.
One morning, I went to the mailbox to find a plain white envelope, addressed to me with a local postmark. Inside was a crudely photocopied photograph of a man holding his erect penis. Letters cut from a magazine spelled out “I hope I’m better than he was.” His face was not pictured. We called the Greenwich police, who handled the mail with tweezers and bagged it in an evidence sleeve. They promised to send it to the crime lab, but we never heard another word about it. Truth is, mail is handled by many people and fingerprints are nearly impossible to lift. A week later, I received a photograph of a birthday cake with garish pink and green flowers. Instead of “Happy Birthday,” the cake had the inscription “I’m Sorry I Raped You” in childish frosting script. There was only more to come.
The preliminary hearing was looming, where I would have to testify against Beebe and face him for the first time. The media attention multiplied in spades.
CHAPTER 8
The Preliminary Hearing
and Direct Examination
As the investigation continued, we were told that March 24, 2006, was the date for the preliminary hearing. At one of these sessions testimony is given by witnesses, cross-examination is done by the defense team, and a judge decides whether there is enough evidence against the arrested party for him or her to go to trial. Essentially, it was the big dance, the day they would decide if Beebe’s charges would stick.
I was the only person called to testify. Technically my role in the hearing was as a witness; my evidence would determine whether the state had a case. Claude Worrell prepared me as well as he could via telephone and e-mail. He was my lifeline, and I felt very close to him over time. He had an easy and gentle way with me, without sugar-coating the reality of what was to come. Rounding out my support group was my victim advocate, Cherri Murphy, who tended to the emotional realities of what would happen in court. I placed my trust in both of them completely.
A few days prior to the hearing, I got a call from Worrell. His cousin had died and he needed to travel to the funeral. It would occur on the date of the hearing. He said that I had a choice—either we could continue the case until Worrell, the Court, and I were all available, which could take months, or I could have his colleague Dave Chapman sit with me and argue for the Commonwealth. At first I felt completely defeated. I had never met Chapman and I couldn’t imagine going through the hearing without Worrell by my side. What if Chapman