Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Murder Charge After Net Confession > BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- Of dozens of messages posted > every day on the Internet by a support group for > problem drinkers, the 165-word message posted at 6:09 > a.m. on March 22 stood out. > > ``Amanda I murdered because her mother stood between > us,'' it said in part. > > Two other support group members messaged replies -- one > offering support, the other asking ``What do you mean, > you murdered your daughter?'' > > The author of the original message, posted by > ``lfroistl,'' followed hours later with a 562-word > reply detailing a bitter custody fight over Amanda and > how ``I got wickedly drunk, set our house on fire, went > to bed, listened to her scream twice, climbed out the > window and set about putting on a show of shock, > surprise and grief to remove culpability from myself.'' > > The messages led police to arrest Larry Froistad, a San > Diego computer programmer, and charge him with > murdering his 5-year-old daughter three years earlier > in Bowman, N.D., where Froistad had lived. > > The case has set off a debate about the confidentiality > of online support groups, where some members may assume > that the intimate stories they send over the Internet > are private. > > Froistad's attorneys say he will plead innocent at his > arraignment Friday. They contend the messages could > have been sent by someone else and are not admissible > evidence. > > ``I know that Larry loved his daughter very much, and > at this point we don't believe he's responsible -- that > this was in fact an accident,'' said Philip Sokol, a > San Diego attorney. > > The 1995 fire was ruled an accident. > > Neighbor Ralph Simonson recalled that on the night of > the fire Froistad was ``throwing buckets of water on > the house and yelling, `Amanda, come to the window.''' > > Police said Froistad, 29, called and confessed after > learning that support group members had notified > authorities about his postings. > > Jim Shirk, a chemical dependency therapist in Lakebay, > Wash., was one of three support group members who > notified police of the confession. > > ``I've listened to and read a lot of people confessing > to things and talk about things. After a while you get > a feeling for what's real and what's fantasy,'' Shirk > said. ``This struck me as being real.'' > > The messages appeared in a support group run by > Moderation Management Network Inc. Subscribers from > around the world can send and browse e-mail messages. > > Shirk said he was called a ``fink'' and a ``snitch'' by > other members. > > ``I definitely believe I did the right thing,'' he > said. > > San Diego police traced the messages to Froistad. The > department sent a notice to agencies across the nation > asking them to check their records of any fatal fires > and Bowman authorities responded. > > Bowman Police Chief Donald Huso said Froistad called > him March 27 and confessed to setting the fire. He was > arrested that day. > > ``He prefaced it by saying, `The memories I have of the > fire is that I set the fire,''' Huso said. > > If convicted of Class AA murder -- the highest murder > charge in North Dakota -- Froistad faces up to life in > prison without the chance for parole. There is no death > penalty in North Dakota. > > Bowman County State's Attorney Steven Wild said he > hesitated before reopening the case. > > ``The e-mail statement alone, there's questions about > whether that by itself would give us enough probable > cause to issue the complaint and the warrant,'' he > said. > > Sokol questioned whether the e-mail messages were > admissible evidence and said the confessions could be > considered hearsay, coerced and privileged. > > And Sokol noted the Bowman fire was ruled an accident. > > ``Before any statements made by someone can be admitted > against them in evidence, there has to be some evidence > that there was in fact a crime,'' he said. ``And that > remains to be seen at this point.'' > > Sam Dash, a Georgetown University law professor, said > an e-mail confession would be no different than someone > confessing to a friend or police. > > ``I know that there's going to be a number of cases > that the Net is being used for all kinds of things like > this,'' he said, ``but a confession is a confession.'' > -- Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
