"... these three individuals [David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann,] are innocent of these charges."
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, Apr. 11, 2007
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As many of you know, Duke University owns the house on N.Buchanan where Crystal Mangum later claimed she was raped by 5, 3, 4, no, wait a minute, it was 20 men.
In today’s Durham Herald Sun Durham Realtor Graham Hayes Marlette has a guest column, “How I always knew there was no rape.” Marlette begins:
The main reason for my certainty [Letters, April 2006] of the lacrosse players' innocence back in April of 2006 is that the crime, as described, could not have taken place.Marlette’s description of a very small bathroom in which four people couldn’t fit is the same description I’ve been hearing about that bathroom since last March.
Several key factors argued against even a remote possibility that anyone was raped.
The scene of "the crime that never was," 610 North Buchanan Blvd., was familiar to me. Several years ago, it was for sale and, as a realtor who markets Trinity Park, I remember my interiors. The bathroom facilities could hardly accommodate two adults in any posture and certainly not four hefty athletes sexually assaulting an equally hefty pole dancer while she was levitating four feet in the air, just to cite one of the accuser's many stories.
Questions: Why didn’t the mainstream media last March ask to see the bathroom, describe it for us and publish photos and videos of it?
The Raleigh News & Observer published a photo of the players going for DNA testing with their head covered with shirts and jackets, and another photo of the infamous and anonymous “Vigilante” poster. Why couldn’t it have published a photo of the bathroom?
Why aren’t we seeing photos and videos of the bathroom now?
Duke owns that house.
As far as I know Duke didn’t do anything last March to encourage media to photo and video the bathroom?
If the public could have seen how small that bathroom is, it would have helped people understand how wildly improbable Crystal Mangum’s claims were.
The "it was a crime scene" excuse for not showing the bathroom doesn’t work because the photographing and videotaping could all have been done from outside the room.
Even now, Duke’s Dick Brodhead, the University’s President, should arrange for someone to provide the media with the dimensions of the bathroom and what it contains. And Duke should encourage the media to report on its size and contents, and photograph and videotape it.
Marlette’s column is here.
7 comments:
Anybody want to bet on how long it will be before Duke U. permits the bathroom to be photographed?
But wait, surely the DPD did "crime scene" photography??
Maybe Magnum's assailants left the door open to have more space available for the "assault". But then, there would be witnesses, wouldn't there??? Where are they?
Perhaps the evidence will come out in Nifong's lawsuits? Or Duke U's lawsuits ( still an open possibility, right?).
Brodhead needs to go. His legacy will ALWAYS be the injustice Duke showed toward its own students. THIS IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO BEING IVY LEAGUE. Why is the Duke community putting up with Brodhead??? It just leaves me very much speechless that anyone is still letting brodhead take down this university becasue of his ego. There is no recovery for Duke until brodhead leaves. I hope and pray that ALL alumnae hold their pledges for giving monetary donations until brodhead leaves. Money will talk.
Duke needs to consider whether it is going to be more expedient, and WISER to sweeten the pot so Brodhead and Steel LEAVE, or whether the university wants to pay the price of loosing the lawsuits that are going to eventually end up at their door. And then they will STILL have to spend the money. The money does not belong to the BOT, or the President. It is Alumna and Big Business money. Both groups have voices. Let's hear them speak!
Durham County's GIS site lists the current owner of 610 N Buchanan Blvd as "Durham Realty Inc" and the owner address as "Jeff Porter 402 Oregon St Durham NC 27705." This page lists a Duke G/L account for Durham Realty Inc, so is Durham Realty Inc a subsidiary of the university? The GIS site lists the house as 1407 square feet with an assessed value of $106,159 and a sales date of 2/28/2006. The past three years' tax bills list the owner as "Solie William Edward 15 Oak Dr Durham NC 27707." The property tax bill is shown as paid in full the past three years, along with a few other properties in the same name. Duke lacrosse player Sam Solie's given name is William, so perhaps William Edward Solie is his father? A quick search on the Duke lacrosse roster shows his father as "Guy Solie", who according to this now-prophetic N&O article was the owner of that and many other nearby properties until selling to the university in February.
I didn't find a "Jeff Porter" listed in the Duke employee directory, though it does appear that 402 Oregon St is a university building.
Did I just spend all that time in a circular hunt that revealed nothing unknown at all? I guess so.
The MSM reacted with their mantra of not needing anything tht would get in the way of a story. "We don't need no stinkin' evidence (er, picture)."
Where was Marlette a year and a half ago when this information would have done some good?
Beter yet when Hitman was at the house, why didn't he mention or question how 4 people could have fit into such a small bathroom?????
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