Exhibit 1
“I asked him. I asked him where are our girls. I told him, our girls are gone.”
The voice in the recording was sobbing in between words. Helplessness. Desperation.
“They are missing. The twins would never leave our house without asking for permission. They are good girls.”
It was gibberish, fading in and out. Some parts were chopped others were static.
Her jaw felt the spasm from chewing the gum too much.
The crying continued to play in her ears. No pause. Pure, unadulterated bawling and sniffing. The breath in the recorded tape was heaving. Anyone who would listen could feel the suffering and panic in her voice.
Her hand took the same wrapper of the candy in her pocket and placed it on her lips, using it to dispose the chewing gum.
Her black shoes dug into the floor, sending her chair gliding backward with a loud scrape. Her earphones were still on as she stood and walked to the bin to throw the wrapper.
“Did you look for them in your house?”
“We did! I went to our backyard. I called them. Many times. And then--”
There was a pause.
Caroline was about to go back to her seat as she continued to listen.
“Please. Can I have some water?”
She stopped from her track instead of taking her seat.
Crumpled paper. Murmurs. Whispers. Water being poured in the cup.
Her head slightly looked over to the people that were walking to and fro from a small peeping glass of the secluded room she was in.
Gulping of water.
“Then?”
“My husband was from upstairs. Trying to look for them. When he came down, he was angry! He hit me in the face, it was so hard I fell on the floor. He was mad! He was mad! He was blaming me for losing them. He said it was my fault.”
The screaming was too loud in her ears. The voice was lamenting and terrified.
“Please, Officer! Find my babies. Please!”
“We are doing everything we can, Mrs. Monroe.”
“But ma’am, you said you were fighting?”
“No!”
The shrill in the voice in the recorded interview almost hit the nerves inside her ears.
“He raised a hand on me. I begged him to look for our twins. He knocked me out, sir! When I woke up, my husband is dead. He is dead!”
“Did you have any arguments with anyone? Someone who might want to take revenge?”
“Please find my girls!”
“Ma’am, I need you to cooperate for us to know and identify the suspect.”
“I already answered your questions, sir! Repeatedly.”
A loud thug was captured in the recording. Chaos began as people started to talk. The mother of the twins fainted from where she was sitting. Then the recording stopped.
Caroline pressed the button in the cassette player and removed the tape from it. A label on the tape was inscribed in a blocky handwriting as she put it back on its case.
REC9A-AM-CASE024-09022002
Murder. Abigail Monroe. Case 24. September 2, 2002.
