A Death in Canaan (18 page)

K:

How's it going, Pete?

P:

OK.

K:

Gonna eat your sandwich?

P:

I've been taking a bite here and a bite there.

K:

Oh, Pete, I've just read your statement. Something's still wrong here, Peter.

P:

Those are the things that I'm positive about. I don't want to say something that I'm not sure of.

K:

What things aren't you positive? Remember, you and I were talking and we were talking about your mother's legs. Remember?

P:

Yes.

K:

What did you do to her legs?

P:

I jumped on them.

K:

And what else did you do? What's really burning inside of you that you don't want to tell us about, that you did to your mother?

P:

I'm not sure. I know it sounds like I'm giving you the run …

K:

No. What do you think you did?

P:

Did I—I think I raped her.

K:

OK. Why do you say that?

P:

I mean that's what it seems like I did. That's what everything looks like I did.

K:

You mean you raped her with your penis or what?

P:

I don't know.

K:

Well, what do you think?

P:

What do you mean, what do I think?

K:

Well, I called up Canaan and I know a few more facts now.

P:

Such as?

K:

Well, I want to hear them from you. OK? What else did you do to your mother?

P:

The things that I don't know—they're blank areas.

K:

What do you possibly think you did?

P:

I don't know exactly what I did.

K:

Was your mother drunk or what?

P:

That I don't remember at all.

K:

You told me before she's an alcoholic.

P:

Yeah, I believe she was an alcoholic. She wouldn't admit it.

K:

Most of them won't.

P:

Well, I know that. People don't like to admit that they're addicted to something like that.

K:

Right. That's the problem here with you, Pete. You don't want to admit to what you did. You're just thinking everybody will think you're really sick. You know?

P:

Well, I realize what I've done. I'll admit to doing it. But, it's just I don't remember the facts of doing it. I don't remember every detail.

K:

What's the worst thing you did to your mother?

P:

I did cut her throat.

K:

The next worst thing?

P:

The jumping up and down on her.

K:

The next worst thing?

P:

I don't know. That's about the only two things I put in the statement, I think.

K:

I know what you put in the statement. I just read it.

P:

The other thing was seeing the blood. And possibly if I raped her, 'cause that would be even above cutting her throat. But, I don't know that I did that. I mean I don't remember doing it. But, I must have done it.

K:

Why?

P:

That is the worst thing. I mean, since I was there.

K:

You did rape her?

P:

Well, I don't know. I don't know whether I did or not.

K:

I don't think you did.

P:

You don't?

K:

No.

P:

Well, what did the thing tell you?

K:

She wasn't raped.

P:

She wasn't?

K:

Did something else though.

P:

What?

K:

Well, I want you to tell me, Peter. By me telling you I'm just putting words in your mouth, which is foolish.

P:

But, I told you everything I can remember.

K:

Well, we talked about her legs and stuff, you were going to get sick. Why?

P:

I don't know. Just the blood and everything, and thinking that I'd done it.

K:

There's some reason why you said that to me before. But, I don't want to tell you. The reason I don't want to tell you, I don't want to put words in your mouth. All right? But, I'd rather have you tell me and then by you telling me this verifies what I already know and we also know you're trying to help yourself.

P:

Well, I am trying to help myself, and I'm gonna give it every effort to help you.

K:

All right.

P:

The things that I said in the statement are the things I'm sure I did.

K:

OK. What else did you do to hurt her?

P:

I don't know.

K:

Well, what do you think you might have done?

P:

I thought I might have raped her.

K:

Mm. What else?

P:

I don't know.

K:

Can you picture yourself raping her?

P:

No. I couldn't picture myself doing it.

K:

OK. I don't think you did. All right? Something else happened, Pete, and I think you might be trying to block it out of your mind. I'd rather hear it from you because if I tell you all I'm doing is putting words in your mouth and I'm not helping you. You see? Now, you tell me. 'Cause you've already told us the biggest part of it.

P:

I can't think of anything else.

K:

Well, any other little details aren't going to mean that much. They're things that are going to help you.

P:

I can't think of anything else though, right at this moment.

K:

What would be the worst way you could hurt your mother?

P:

By raping her.

K:

Mm. Why?

P:

Because it would be immoral, I think.

K:

But, as I said, Pete, I don't think you did.

P:

Yes.

K:

But, Pete, other things happened to your mother in that house than what you've told us. I think you know but I think you're ashamed to admit to them. I think you were in such a frenzy you did things that an average normal person wouldn't do. All right?

P:

Right. I already figured that. Do you think when this comes to court it will be considered temporary insanity?

K:

Oh, Pete, don't worry about courts. All right? Don't worry about things like that.

P:

That's all I can think of.

K:

If they present what they have right now, before a judge, there's no doubt in my mind that the judge is going to think he's got a coldblooded killer, instead of somebody who went off the deep end for a few minutes. And, this is why I'm trying to probe your mind right now and get all this other stuff out, so when we present it to the judge we can show him that at a particular time this guy wasn't in a normal state of mind.

P:

Well, I wasn't.

K:

This is what I'm saying. But, we have to have all the facts. And we're probing awful deep on you, Pete.

P:

I know.

K:

You know, Pete, personally I think you want us to beat this out of you. You want us to punish you. You want us to beat you. We're not going to do it. We don't do things like that.

P:

I know it.

K:

And I think if we did this you would then tell us the whole story.

P:

Can I put in that statement that I possibly could have done anything because I didn't have control of my senses?

K:

Oh, there's no doubt in my mind there. But …

P:

Well, that's what I mean because I don't remember details of what I did. That's what is messing me up. If I did I'd say 'em.

K:

Mm. I wonder if you would. As I say, there are things there, but I don't want to put words in your mouth. Everything you've said to me so far you've told me. Now, you said something to me when we were together about kicking her. What do you recall about that?

P:

I just may have used the phrase, not realizing what I was saying. I may have kicked her in the side or something, I don't know.

K:

Well, this is what you asked me: Did she have any broken ribs?

P:

Yes, because I may have kicked her in the side.

K:

Well, she had three broken ribs.

P:

She did?

K:

Yes. That's another little point you thought of.

P:

Has anything else come up on—on her that they—

K:

Right. There's something else but this is the part that I want you to tell me about just like you told me about the rest of the stuff. There's one other detail that we need.

P:

And that'll be the end of it?

K:

Yep.

P:

About washing her?

K:

No. About something you did to her.

P:

I don't know. Could I have punched her, or kicked her in the head possibly? I don't know.

K:

Something other than that. Most likely it happened when she was flat on the floor.

P:

Raping her.

K:

No.

P:

Anything like that? Sexual assault?

K:

In a way.

P:

I don't know. Could I have stuck it in her mouth or something? I don't know.

K:

No, no. Did you?

P:

No. Here I'm hung up. I don't know.

K:

I don't think you did that. I don't think you raped her either. All right?

P:

Yeah, neither do I.

K:

What would be the most horrible thing you could think of right now that would really make you upset?

P:

I think strangling her.

K:

No. You didn't strangle her. You thought her throat was cut so I don't think you strangled her. Or did you strangle her before you cut her?

P:

I don't remember anything like that.

K:

About raping—why does that stick in your mind?

P:

It looked like she had been raped and when Geoff looked, he says, “Pete, I think somebody raped her,” by the looks of it.

K:

Oh, I see. OK. Because of the way she was lying with no pants on.

P:

Yes.

K:

All right. But, there was no evidence of male semen. So, we know that rules that out.

P:

Someone wouldn't try to cut out her sex organs, would they? or—

K:

Possible.

P:

'Cause she had had a hysterectomy.

K:

Possible.

P:

I don't know. I'm just taking guesses now at what might have been found.