Very useful interview, Curious Me! There were many interesting things in it. Thanks for posting the link.
For those who dont have time to listen to it, the radio host was Roe Conn of WGN and he interviewed Christy Gutowski of the Chicago Tribune, about Christys telephone interviews with Heather on Tuesday.
Some deets from this radio show (My sometimes dyspeptic comments indented and in italics):
Heather called the Trib at about 9:30 Tuesday morning. One reason that at least one of the communications included a video call was that Gutowski wanted to confirm that she was actually speaking to Heather Mack.
Gutowski says that Bali is 12 hours ahead of Chicago.
It's 14 hours ahead. Maybe she was just making the point that its a difference of night and day. Or maybe the mighty Google has been lying to me.
Her communications with Heather consisted of a series of texts, phone calls, and video-phone interviews.
Gutowski mentioned that one source of funds for Heather is Social Security checks from her deceased father.
I wonder how she manages that in prison.
During one of the interviews, Heather was munching on French fries.
Gutowski said something to the effect that Heather and Tommy are never in the courtroom at the same time.
So she clearly isnt up to speed on what happened on Wednesday.
Gutowski said James Mack has a Grammy or two.
Is that true?
Gutowski said that James Mack had some notoriety.
I dont think she meant that, but rather that he was famous in certain circles. Ive never heard anyone say he was notorious.
Gutowski said there were 86 domestics between mom and dad and Conn corrected her to say they were between Heather and Sheila. Gutowski then dialed it back to say that a few were unrelated to violence.
Pretty poor account of the 86 reports. Most were not related to violence, as there were gobs and gobs of them related to things like Heather running away. The vast majority could be reasonably described as domestic discord, but that includes things which arent violent.
Gutowski said the taxi driver was one of Wednesdays witnesses.
Conn spoke of people in Chicago saying about Heather that she is not screwed too tightly and mentioned her ability to take no blame.
Gutowski says that Sheilas brother is a Colorado attorney.
If anyones interested, look for him in Denver.
When Gutowski says that the trust was in control of the uncle until Heather was 30, Conn breaks in and says, I would have done it until she was 60!
Gutowski says that William Wiese consulted with experts in Indonesian law, the FBI, and the consulate. This is how he came to the conclusion that corruption could be a problem.
Knowing this, I begin to question how well attorney Eric Dorkin has served William Wiese.
Gutowski says there are allegations of bribery in Bali but notes shes not sure if its true or if its substantiated.
Conn about Heather: certainly not a sympathetic character.
Conn: She may try to buy her way out of this.
Gutowski described Heather in the holding cells before the various trial sessions to date: Shes sitting on his [Tommys] lap, shes well groomed, shes got lipstick on, her hairs done, her nails are manicured.
Gutowski said she asked Heather about Elkins claim that she had been sexually abused and Heather didnt want to comment and Gutowski that the Tribune wasnt able to substantiate that allegation.
She didnt actually name Elkin, so he didnt get yet another plug in the media. Thank you, Christy Gutowski!
Conn : Did she sound as nutty as we all think she is?
Gutowski: No, she didnt.
She was more knowledgeable about the American and Indonesian customs and law than I expected her to be.
A rather naïve observation by Gutowski. Heathers been incarcerated in Indonesia for over five months. Shes learned a lot, as most prisoners do, from other prisoners. And if you're up for murder, of course you are going to try and learn as much as possible. As to the American side of things, shes seen a bit of law enforcement even in her tender years. Heather was even following that creepy Chicago guy who thinks busting up convenience stores is just a bit of fun while she was in Kerobokan. The only thing surprising here is that Gutowski is surprised.
Gutowski describes the video phone call and says that at one point Heather was speaking to another inmate. She was speaking what appeared to be almost fluent tongue.
Really stupid remark. Unless Gutowski speaks Indonesian, she cant have any idea of how well Heather speaks. Has she never been with a friend who sounds like she speaks perfect French until you hear a Frenchman reply in English, I cant understand a word youre saying.?? I have no doubt Heather can make herself understood, but thats a far cry from almost fluent tongue.
Part of the video interview included Heather showing Gutowski her cell and some of the other women waved to Gutowski. They were doing each others hair and she was eating French fries. Conns hilarious deadpan reply: Wow, good nails done down there, I bet.
Conn: Shes been described as very smart but very manipulative. Did you get a sense she was trying to spin her story with you?
Gutowski: She definitely had an agenda. She wanted to get this money out
Thats why she called the Tribune, to say that shes lost faith in her American attorneys.
Gutowski: I said to her, your mother is dead. You appear in these photos to be upbeat and smiling and kissing your boyfriend. Are you aware of that image? And she said something to the effect of my smile is a disguise
Tears of a clown, blah-blah-blah.
Gutowski: She was smart enough not to answer the pointed questions. Gutowski asked about Heather hiding in the bathroom or sitting on the suitcase to help close it and even though Gutowski kept going back to these questions, Heather wouldnt answer. Shes no dummy.
