I have finally obtained and completed Redrum and I feel, at this point, up to speed. The book seems to be the definitive reference. It is concerned with the story of how an innocent man came to be convicted of murder but it doesn’t address, except perhaps in passing, the question of “who really did it”. Markin seems to feel that the original investigation was hopelessly compromised by purging all evidence that didn’t support the “Morin did it” line so that standard “Cold Case” techniques (of re-working evidence in the case file) would not work. Re-interviewing witnesses at this point seems pointless since so much time has passed and memories have faded. Still, anytime there is DNA there is hope.
Which version did you read? Makin wrote it to became famous.. The truth didn't matter. Read the intro, where he didn't have proof he admitted to taking "creative licence" Which means he made stuff up to fit what he thought would sell. The only true recounting, or as close to the truth is the 2 volume Kaufman report.The cops were forced to talk. The book assumed what they said and were thinking. Remember, The 2nd trial hadn't even started and Makin received a huge bonus for the movie rights. So he made with that in mind. When Alliance started to fact check the book for a screenplay, they found out. Never seen a movie have you....
A few observations I have made that might further this discussion along:
1) Janet’s accounting of her activities after she arrived home doesn’t quite jibe with that accepted fact that “CJ went to play with Leslie in the park every day after school”. The park wasn’t the first place she looked. Ken, you said CJ and Leslie were not “best friends” at the time. Perhaps there never was a “play-date”. Going to the Store and then back to the house makes no sense if she was to then go to the park, but if she really had no plans to go to the park, other possibilities exist.
She went to the park a lot. as did I.... My mother naver said there was a play date, as we weren't home yet and didn't know. My mom checked the park, store, friends houses etc.
2) I’m a bicyclist and I’ve had a few “mishaps”. I think I could tell whether any particular damage on a bike was caused by an accident while riding it or through some sort of mis-handling. Knowing which it was, and the extent of the damage, would give a key starting point. A 40 pound child just can’t mis-handle a bike that much. Apparently there are no photos of the bike; perhaps they were trashed because the theory of the crime was that CJ went to GPM to show off her recorder.
Bike was never reported damaged, we reported it thrown on its side. She never laid it down as it was her pride and joy
3) I just can’t see someone, acquaintance or stranger, devising a plan to abduct CJ from her house. This would be quite visible to anyone of the Morins and they wouldn’t be sure that both KJ and JJ would not be there are arrive during the abduction. Even if they knew of the dental appointment, how would they know when they would be back? On the other hand, if someone went to the house to visit Janet (or perhaps Ken) and found CJ home alone, someone might do something impulsive. Who might have paid a visit?
4) The Shopkeeper’s report that CJ came to the store before 4:00 is not rock solid but it is pretty strong. I doubt CJ would have walked to the store and back home again for $.05 worth of candy, (and, as Dedpanman has pointed out, she really didn’t have the time) but if she was going somewhere else (not to the park to play with Leslie and their dolls) there would be opportunity for some stranger to snatch her off the street. This can be done very quickly. It is usually disorganized, young perps who try this but it is not all that rare, particularly with very young children.
The amount of candy was never officially known. It was started by a reporter who thought it would make it more shocking small towney to add a little girls amount Remember you could get 5 pieces of gum for 5 cents then. As I have said, it was someone that knew her, knew my dad was in jail and knew we went to visit him that day.