Cops Won't Reopen 1972 Rape Case Against Garrido

(NEWSER) - Today’s search of the property of Phillip and Nancy Garrido, charged in the rape and kidnap of Jaycee Dugard, found no evidence to link them to the 1980s disappearances of two other northern California girls, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Investigators will continue sifting through areas dug up after cadaver dogs showed interest, but barring new developments, the effort could end tomorrow. More»

But authorities say it could be from Native American burial ground; more tests needed

(NEWSER) - The bone fragment found in the backyard next door to the home of kidnapping suspect Phillip Garrido is “probably human,” authorities tell the Sacramento Bee—though they caution that more tests are needed, and that Native American remains are often found in that area of northern California. Garrido, 58, has been charged in the 1991 abduction and subsequent imprisonment of Jaycee Lee Dugard, then 11. More»

(NEWSER) - Phillip Garrido picked out Jaycee Dugan as his next kidnap victim on a "child shopping" trip when he spotted the "cute" 11-year-old in a store with friends, his wife has told investigators. "That's the one I want," he told his wife, Nancy, but he decided to wait to snatch Jaycee when she was alone, reports the Telegraph, citing law enforcement sources. "Let's come back later and get her," said Garrido. The couple apparently tailed Jaycee to her home and grabbed her at a school bus stop the following day. More»

Accused kidnapper 'a changed man': lawyer

(NEWSER) - Phillip Garrido, Jaycee Dugard’s accused kidnapper, says he “would like to apologize to every human being for what has taken place.” In a letter—his third sent to KCRA from prison—Garrido adds that, “through the spirit of Christ,” a “sexual problem believed to be impossible” was ended. Garrido’s lawyer calls him “a changed man” but says he may not be competent to stand trial. More»

Stockholm syndrome turned victim into abductor's defender

(NEWSER) - Kidnap victim Jaycee Dugard lied to a suspicious parole officer in a desperate bid to protect her abductor when she was discovered, according to just-released report of her questioning. Jaycee, kidnapped when she was 11 in her northern California town, called herself Alyssa and presented herself as Phillip Garrido's wife. She laughingly explained that she was often mistaken as someone young enough to be the sister of her daughters, fathered by Garrido. More»