. . . Hi honey. Hey, what I said in the letter to you on May 10th, about what to say that you dropped Cody, forget about it. That is wrong of me to ask you to say something that you didn’t do like that. I’m just scared, but I went to court and it went well . . .
The Battle Creek Enquirer reported that Morris Astene realized that the letters destroyed the defense theory and quoted him. “You could tell by the look on the jurors’ faces. You could tell it was all over.” Astene spoke to his client during the next break, and together they decided it was time to surrender. The young man pled guilty, and the trial was over. If indeed he did not write those letters, he didn’t speak up for one of three reasons. One, he put Shanna’s needs before his own. Two, he didn’t understand the significance of the letters. Or three, he didn’t think anyone would believe him.
Neil’s apology with his guilty plea echoed the statements the cops had coaxed from him during the ambush interrogation in the back of the police car. He had learned then what he was expected to say. He was probably greatly relieved the trial was over but didn’t fully comprehend what the future held.
The record of Shanna’s testimony, including her reading of the incriminating letters that put Neil behind bars, was confined to a videotape that had slowly begun to disintegrate with the beginning of the new millennium. When I ordered the transcripts of Shanna’s testimony, I was told that no typed version of the trial transcripts had ever existed. The transcriptionist would have to watch the old video and type a transcript from that, but the tape was so fragile they could make no guarantees. There was a chance the tape could turn to dust as the reels began to churn, and Shanna’s lies would be swept into a dustpan with the fragmented pieces of a drama long past.
But as it turned out, the transcriptionist was very careful, and “babied the tape along.” She recorded Shanna’s every word, and presented me with seventy perfectly typed pages. I’ve tried to get copies of the actual letters, so the handwriting can be studied to determine if they’re forgeries. As of this writing, the letters have not materialized and may have been destroyed when old files were cleared. The only solid evidence to show Neil Munson did not write the letters comes from comparisons of linguistic styles. But if anyone had been paying close attention, they would have noticed another odd thing. “Neil” had written in one letter that Raymond was wondering where Shanna had gone, implying that he and Raymond had had a discussion about her whereabouts. Not only were the two men not friends, Neil was in jail. Raymond is adamant that he never had that conversation with Neil.
While he served his time and was paroled years ago, if Neil is innocent, it’s terribly unfair that he should carry the stigma of someone else’s evil deed. It’s possible Neil was manipulated into believing the death was his fault. The cops’ obsession with his “tossing game” might have convinced him he had caused the injuries.
Neil spent eight and a half years in prison. His parents and siblings stood by him and never believed for a moment he could harm a child. A father of two now, his care of his children has always been above reproach. And yet, the other suspect in the baby’s death was eventually proven to be a sadistic killer. All of this makes me question if justice was served in Cody’s death.
According to Gloria, there was another important witness expected to testify, and she never got a chance to take the stand. The would-be witness was an acquaintance of Shanna’s and allegedly claimed that Shanna had told her she’d had another child who had died of SBS, and this was relayed long before Cody was stricken. If Shanna really did tell that story, was it fact or fiction? Either way it’s suspicious.
Shanna seldom returned to Michigan. She feared arrest and avoided the state. Ray remembers brief visits when she showed up incognito. She owned two wigs, one blond and one brunette, and when she ventured into The Great Lakes State, she did so as stealthily as a secret agent. The felony warrant for the car theft still stands. Authorities knew she’d moved to Omaha and could have extradited her, but the cost was