Murder In The Heartland Part 26

After that, she reacted to what she had heard was Vanessa's "cursing" Alicia and striking her. She wanted to encourage Vanessa, "as the Christian adult role model" in the household, to read James 1:1920, wherein, Lisa quoted correctly, "...Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that G.o.d desires."

Concrete walls and the possibility of a death sentence did not dampen the ongoing feud between Vanessa and Lisa. Lisa wanted Carl to make it clear to Vanessa there was no way she could ever replace her as the children's mother, "and...attempting to do so" would only "alienate" the kids from her more. She wanted Vanessa to listen to the children and "read G.o.d's word" for guidance on how to communicate with them better.

What is this? Carl wondered while reading.

Lisa's newfound piety didn't sit right with Carl. She was sitting in prison facing murder and kidnapping charges. There were larger issues to worry about at the present time. Was the woman out of her mind?

Because of the tension between Alicia and Vanessa, Lisa urged Carl later in the letter to think about allowing Alicia "to be emanc.i.p.ated" on her seventeenth birthday, which was about two months away. She demanded Carl treat Alicia as an adult and give her the opportunity to move out of the house. At the same time, Lisa said she would "not agree" to allow "any of the kids" to move in with Judy.

From there, she went on to advise Carl on the various ways he could "rebuild" his relations.h.i.+p with the kids, especially Alicia.

"Our G.o.d is a G.o.d," she wrote, "of love...."

Hate wasn't part of G.o.d's makeup, she said.

"This is absolutely incredible," Carl said, reading on, staring at Lisa's neatly handwritten words.

Lisa continued praising G.o.d's word, explaining that she was going to educate the children to "know G.o.d" as she herself had come to "know Him."

She wrote that she felt "persecuted not only by people who do not know me, but my own family," adding that she now lived under G.o.d's way, not by "man's word."

After telling Carl that Kevin and his parents were ent.i.tled to visits by the children, Lisa encouraged Carl to work with her to "provide a United Christian parenthood" for them.

"She's got to be on drugs. I can't believe this," Carl responded.

At the end, in what could be construed as a viable threat, she instructed Carl to talk to Vanessa and ask her to refrain from using "physical violence" on one of G.o.d's children (Alicia), because "she would not want G.o.d's anger directed at her the same way."

Nowhere in the letter had Lisa addressed her own behavior, the savage crime she was being accused of, or if and why she had broken one of G.o.d's most sacred commandments.

102.

For an elected Republican sheriff living in the heartland of America, meeting the president of the United States might be a dream come true. To shake the hand of the man in charge would have to be a crowning moment in any law enforcement official's career. But for Ben Espey, saving Victoria Jo Stinnett's life was enough.

When Espey got word that President Bush wouldn't be in Was.h.i.+ngton, DC, on the day he and his colleagues would be in the nation's capital to accept an award for their work in the Stinnett case, Espey was disappointed, but not at all upset. He didn't need congratulations and congressional pats on the back. In early May, when he got word he was going to receive an award, along with Jeff Owen, Dave Merrill (both with the MSHP), Investigator Randy Strong, and FBI SA Kurt Lipanovich, for his work in the Bobbie Jo Stinnett case, he simply nodded his head, shrugged, and said, "Okay. Great."

Espey's life already felt full. "I raise horses, mules; we do some horseback riding," Espey recalled. "I got a motorcycle the wife and I like to ride." Sharon Espey is the sheriff's wife of thirty-one years. With a smile, Espey explained that when he isn't working, he and Sharon spend every moment they can together. ("I used to fish and hunt, but mainly it's horseback and motorcycle riding with my wife now.") Espey grew up in Maryville and never left. The middle son of five boys, he was the captain of the high-school football team who managed to get A's and B's throughout his education and has never been in any trouble ("zero alcohol and zero drugs"). Life has been good to him, he feels.

"Everybody needs to be equal," he a.s.serted, speaking of the sheriff's office he runs. "That's what I have always implemented in the environment we all work in around here."

The reason why Espey had been so successful as sheriff, he said modestly after being pressed about the issue, "is that I know the land and the people. I know what they expect, because I am one of them."

The Department of Justice, along with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, honored Espey and those who helped in the Bobbie Jo Stinnett murder investigation with its Officer of the Year Award. In recognition of their work, the men were invited to Was.h.i.+ngton by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to receive the honor. America's Most Wanted host John Walsh was there, along with members of Congress and state representatives.

Todd Graves announced the award to the press. "These local, state and federal law enforcement officers exemplify teamwork among all levels of law enforcement," Graves said. "Their quick action and resourcefulness transformed what could have been an even worse tragedy into the return of a healthy child to her family. I know they have the profound grat.i.tude of that family, and they have our respect for a job well done and an honor well deserved."

Espey and his crew were among twenty-five honorees from across the nation who had been recognized. Alberto Gonzales, quite proudly, said, "A missing child is every parent's worst nightmare. Every day, the courageous men and women of law enforcement work tirelessly to recover missing and exploited children across our nation. We are grateful for their dedication, and today we recognize their valiant efforts to apprehend would-be predators and keep our communities safe."

Todd Graves explained during the ceremony how the "recovery of Victoria...underscored the value of the Amber Alert program."

Back home in Maryville a few days later, Espey was in his office when he received a surprising call.

"George Bush found out about the award and that you guys were out there, but he didn't have time to meet with you then."

"I know," Espey said.

"He wants you to go back out there this week so he can honor all you guys himself personally in the Oval Office."

Espey was speechless.

Whereas Espey and his peers had taken their wives and children to Was.h.i.+ngton, DC, the first time, this next trip was solely for law enforcement personnel. Each set of officers ("I think there were thirty-two...five or six groups...") would fly back East and meet with the president separately.

"What an honor."

There were five officers in Espey's group. They walked into the Oval Office together. President Bush was standing in front of his desk waiting for them.

"Hi, how you doin'?" Bush said, shaking each officer's hand. They stood in a half-circle around him at first, and then Bush gathered the men around and talked about the history of the Oval Office, what it stood for in democracy, and some of the decisions made in the room.

"It was just great," Espey said later. "This guy was just super. Outgoing. Very down-to-earth. He took the time to tell us what happened there."

What struck Espey later was how natural it felt for a county sheriff from one of the more rural regions of the country to stand with his colleagues in the Oval Office, just "shooting the breeze" with the president. "And there were people in Was.h.i.+ngton who had never even seen the guy."

Being escorted around town for the most part by Secret Service, Espey had several conversations with them.

"You must be pretty important to be honored like that," one Secret Service agent had told Espey earlier that day.

"I guess."

"I've worked here in Was.h.i.+ngton for years now and never even met the guy, or been in the Oval Office."

Espey smiled. "Oh, yeah. How 'bout that."

103.

San Diego didn't turn out to be a place for charming moonlit walks along the La Jolla Cove sh.o.r.eline or romantic hikes up in Mission Trails for Carl and Lisa after they moved back in together during the summer of 1990. The problems they had seemed to be churning inside them like a virus, just waiting to ruin everything again.

When Lisa had given birth to Kayla in August, they had set aside their problems, at least for the time being. But part of the relations.h.i.+p had been severed. Things would never be the same. If anything, the situation was worse. Carl just hadn't realized it yet.

"What was important to Lisa," said Carl, "was never important to anybody else." Lisa lived in her own fantasy, which she constantly tried to transform into some sort of reality. "She believed she could manipulate anyone, and still does," Carl said.

Carl Boman has blamed himself frequently for the problems he had with Lisa throughout their lives. As they got settled in San Diego, Carl said, "I guess I was working too much. She started "having affairs," he later told the press, "with one of our neighbors."

A friend of Lisa and Carl's had driven out to San Diego with them; he had been staying at the apartment for a time. After Carl found out the guy was bis.e.xual, he "kicked him out" the guy subsequently got his own place right around the corner.

"This guy, our friend, knew Lisa was seeing another man, but he didn't want to tell me."

The proof Carl needed-and he always demanded some sort of confirming evidence, besides someone else's word-came in the form of a phone call one day. Lisa was on the phone with her lover when the evicted friend, who was there gathering some things he left behind, picked up the other phone and handed it to him.

"Here," he said, "you don't believe me...see for yourself."

Carl listened.

"Next time," Lisa's lover was telling her, "we need to get us a hotel room. I don't like it on the floor." It appeared they were meeting in an abandoned apartment for which the guy had a key. "I think we left the gas on the last time we were there."

As the conversation between Lisa and her lover continued, Carl slammed the phone down so Lisa could tell he had been listening. On his way out the door, he walked around the corner of the room as Lisa was heading into another section of the apartment. He nearly b.u.mped into her.

"Oh," Lisa said as Carl headed for the door in a huff, "you're leaving already? Have a good night at work, sweetie. I'll see you when you get home."

Carl shook his head. "I was hurt," he remembered. "It was a good thing, looking back now, that I didn't start fighting with her then."

While starting his car outside the apartment, Carl nearly broke down.

Here we go again.

104.

By the beginning of summer 2005, the government had filed its suggestions regarding a schedule and trial order. It detailed the trial scheduling conference the lawyers had taken part in back on February 9, when they sat down to discuss certain issues that would come up along the way leading to trial. Among the discovery items, several things came to light, some of which were already public, others that were not.

Lisa's defense, said the government's suggestions, "does not antic.i.p.ate a competency motion," but the defendant "may rely on a defense of insanity or diminished mental responsibility," and the defendant "does not antic.i.p.ate an alibi defense," but that she is "relying on the defense of general denial."

In other words, "I didn't do it."

The government was obligated under the order to file its "Notice of Intention to Seek the Death Penalty" on or before September 16, 2005.

The legal case against Lisa Montgomery, at this point, had come down to paperwork and motion filings. The bottom line was, Lisa was scheduled to be tried for kidnapping resulting in death, beginning on April 24, 2006, and the government was going to seek the death penalty.

105.

As Carl Boman would later tell the press, on the night he learned his wife had been "having affairs" on him once again, he allowed his feelings to fester inside while he stood watch on his regular midnight to 8:00 A.M. guard s.h.i.+ft. He was angry, sure; but he was hurt more than anything. Deep down, he wanted it to work out with Lisa. He still loved her.

With his second job starting at nine o'clock, later that morning, Carl knew he could lose himself in work and try to fight off any thoughts of running home and confronting Lisa.

Is there any way I can ever trust her again?

A few days pa.s.sed and Carl decided he needed to confront Lisa before he left for work one night. "What the h.e.l.l, Lisa? Again?"

"What? No, Carl. What are you talking about? You have it all wrong."

By now, Carl knew Lisa's MO: first deny, then cry.

"Come on, Lisa. This is getting old."

"No, Carl, I swear."

"Stop that! Just stop it, d.a.m.n it."

Then came the tears.

"It was...an accident, Carl. I swear it was," Lisa cried. Then she curled up into a ball on the couch. "Please...you're working so much. I was lonely. I needed someone."

The one thing Lisa wouldn't have to worry about anymore was the chance of an unwanted pregnancy. In August, after Lisa went into labor with Kayla several months prematurely, doctors gave her "all sorts of drugs," hoping to delay the birth. But after they realized there wasn't much they could do to slow it, they gave Lisa dose after dose of steroids to try to help Kayla develop her lungs and organs. As a result of the complications surrounding Kayla's birth, Lisa's insides swelled up, mainly her uterus. Because of that, when she had her tubal ligation surgery, doctors couldn't simply "tie" her tubes, as was done in as a popular form of birth control back then; instead, they had to burn them apart. Thus, there would never be a chance for Lisa to have her tubes reconnected.

That was why, Carl said, when she started making claims of being pregnant years later, he knew there was no way it could be true.

"We had always talked about this throughout our marriage. We were only supposed to have three kids and then Lisa would have her tubes tied off and we would go on with life, happy campers. Kayla came along-and believe me, we were both, Lisa and I, happy to have her; it wasn't about not wanting her or anything like that-but we weren't going to have a whole house full of kids. We talked it through many times."

After Lisa married Kevin, she never complained to Carl about having had her tubes tied. "She never came to me and said, 'You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you made me tie my tubes, and now I want another child.' It was just never part of the discussion while she was faking all those pregnancies."

In January 1991, Carl approached Lisa. He had done a lot of thinking about the marriage. "Listen, this is not working. I cannot do this anymore. The trust is gone."

"Carl, come on," Lisa pleaded, "please try. If not for me, for the children."

Carl thought about it. "Well...I'll tell you what, Lisa..."