Aug 27, 2009 5:08 pm US/Pacific
Antioch Man Surprised At Colleague's Kidnap Arrest
ANTIOCH (CBS 5) ―
-
-
Mugshot of Phillip Craig Garrido, taken August 26, 2009.
CA Dept. of Corrections
A woman who was snatched from a South Lake Tahoe bus stop as an 11-year-old child in 1991 turned up Thursday after being held for the past 18 years in isolation in an Antioch backyard compound by a convicted sex offender who fathered two children with her, police said.
As the details about Jaycee Lee Dugard's time in captivity emerged, those who knew her alleged captor Phillip Garrido were surpised about his virtual enslavement of the now 29-year-old woman.
Deepal Karunaratne, an Antioch real estate agent, said he worked with Phillip Garrido for a decade. He said Garrido printed business cards and signs for his business.
Karunaratne said he also frequently worked directly with a woman who called herself "Alyssa" and claimed to be Garrido's daughter. It turns out that "Alyssa" was actually Dugard, authorities said.
When shown a photo of Dugard at age 11 when she was abducted, Karunaratne reacted by saying: "That's her."
"I mean she's changed now. But I know the smile, the featrures, the eyes," he explained.
"Everytime I talked to her she seemed to be very happy and smiling all the time," Karunaratne said, noting that Lake Tahoe is only a few hours drive away.
"If she was kidnapped, I was wondering, why doesn't she get on a bus and go there?" Karunaratne shook his head and acknowledged the possibility that she had been brainwashed.
Karunaratne claimed "Alyssa" did the design work for Garrido's small printing company. He said he was often over at the Garrido house and interacted with Garrido's wife Nancy as well as the other kids.
He said he always thought it was a bit strange that "Alyssa" never called Garrido "Dad."
Karunaratne noted that Garrido had been acting strangely lately, constantly claiming that he talks to angels.
"The Creator has given me the ability to speak in the tongue of angels in order to provide a wake-up call that will in time include the salvation of the entire world,"
Garrido wrote in one of the many posts on his blog that were reviewed by CBS 5.
Garrido recently showed Karunaratne a strange device that Garrido claimed was some kind of machine that controls sounds with the human mind.
Karunaratne said he listened, heard some sounds, and signed an affidavit at Garrido's request.
Garrido later claimed on his Web site that Karunaratne's affidavit signature was proof that the machine works.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments