Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Man Charged After Net Confession > BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- Jim Shirk has heard many people > admit to many things. As a chemical dependency > therapist, he's developed an ear for stories that may > not be true. > > The words he read on his computer screen, he said, had > the ring of truth. > > ``Amanda I murdered because her mother stood between > us,'' said the message posted at 6:09 a.m. March 22 by > ``lfroistl'' in an online support group for problem > drinkers. > > The message, 165 words in all, and a followup > explaining how the girl was killed, ``struck me as > being real,'' Shirk said. He and two other readers > called police. > > Larry Froistad, a San Diego computer programmer, was > arrested and charged with murdering his 5-year-old > daughter three years earlier in Bowman, N.D. > > He was held today on $100,000 bail and his attorneys > say he will plead innocent at another court appearance > scheduled for July. > > Froistad's lawyers contend the messages could have been > sent by someone else and are not admissible evidence. > > 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. > > The original message from ``lfroistl'' provoked two > replies, one offering support, the other asking ``What > do you mean, you murdered your daughter?'' > > The second posting, 562 words long, detailed 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 1995 fire had been 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.''' > > ``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. > > Police said Froistad, 29, called and confessed after > learning that support group members had notified > authorities about his postings. > > 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, of Lakebay, Wash., said he was called a ``fink'' > and a ``snitch'' by other members for calling police. > > ``I definitely believe I did the right thing,'' he > said. > > Shirk said he did not know if the messages were true > but he believed they needed to be checked by police. > > ``The way that he formed everything,'' he said. ``Just > the way it read, it struck me as being very real.'' > > 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. North Dakota does > not have the death penalty. > > 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
