Runaway bride should be charged

CFP ^ | May 3, 2005 | Arthur Weinreb

[MikeEdwards]

Last Tuesday, 32-year-old Jennifer Wilbanks, a resident of Duluth Georgia, went out jogging and disappeared. Her disappearance was out of character for the young woman who was to be married the following Saturday. Almost immediately, the police began an investigation and a massive search was underway that involved over 100 police officers and several hundred volunteers. All that was found was a clump of hair that might have been Jennifer’s.

Early Saturday morning, Wilbanks went to a payphone located at a 7-11 store in Albuquerque New Mexico and phoned her family and 911. She told both her family and the police that she had been kidnapped by a "Mexican" man and a white woman in a blue van. They cut her hair but otherwise did not harm her. She managed to escape and was able to make the phone calls.

Two hours later, while being interviewed by the Albuquerque police and the FBI, Wilbanks admitted that she had not been kidnapped. She had gotten cold feet about her wedding, and decided to just leave home. She had put money aside for her trip and had cut her hair, presumably to alter her appearance. She took a bus from Georgia to Las Vegas where she simply hung around for a couple of days before she took another bus to Albuquerque. Out of money, she called her family and told them that she wanted to come home. Later on Saturday, Wilbanks’ stepfather and uncle flew to New Mexico and brought her back. . . . .

[Wild Irish Rogue]

" she lied for four hours to the FBI and the local police in New Mexico."

There is apparently a window of four and a half hours, where you receive complete dispensation for making a false police report to New Mexico LE and the FBI.
As long as you say " My bad " within the alloted time period.
Plus, they give you " lovely parting gifts " ( credit to Tony Snow ) like the FBI hat, jacket, shirt and tote bag, plus a beach towel and teddy bear.

[Wild Irish Rogue]

" This equates to these people who do dangerous activities, in the outback, mountains, etc, getting stranded, causing thousands of dollars and man power hours to be expended in their rescues when they get into trouble. They should have to pay that back."

Exactly.
You would think that people rescued would be so grateful to the people who risked their own lives to save them,
they would voluntarily and happily make restitution.

[KC_Conspirator]

Okay fine, the point is that she was gone for all that time and the police immediately opened up an investigation. How is she supposed to be liable for fines before she made her bogus 911 call on the weekend?

[monday]

"People will hesitate to go search, fearing another hoax, meanwhile the victim will be killed and the kidnapper will get away."

lol.... yep. Those hoax's scare the bejeebers out of me. I would never search for a kidnap victim now because it could be a scary HOAX! </extreme sarcasm

[Eagle Eye]

BS!

The death penalty doesn't deter murders, a small fine and probabtion won't deter irrational thought. Weighing actions against their consequences requires rational thought.

And that's what you have to remember, she was (and is?) irrational.

[A Balrog of Morgoth]

Plus, they give you " lovely parting gifts " ( credit to Tony Snow ) like the FBI hat, jacket, shirt and tote bag, plus a beach towel and teddy bear

OMG, that's funny no matter who you are.

My personal opinion is that she shouldn't be charged. I just have a problem with threadpreachers who are blissfully unaware of even the elementary facts of the matter at hand. Especially if they seem to agree with me. Especially if they go on and set up "nasty, tricksy, false freeper" strawmen.

[TigerPower]

Shes trash who needs to be taking out to the curb and her idiot fiance needs to be beaten with a sock full of quarters for being such a dummy and sticking with her

[Cboldt]

Okay fine, the point is that she was gone for all that time and the police immediately opened up an investigation. How is she supposed to be liable for fines before she made her bogus 911 call on the weekend?

Beats me. That's the Georgia DA's problem. I think his case would be weak, and I think he would be ill advised to pursue it.

[NYCVirago]

The death penalty doesn't deter murders, a small fine and probabtion won't deter irrational thought. Weighing actions against their consequences requires rational thought. And that's what you have to remember, she was (and is?) irrational.

So being "irrational" means that you don't have to face consequences for your actions? And if she's so irrational that she doesn't know that filing a false police report is a crime, shouldn't she be in a mental institution?

As for the deterrence issue, anybody else who decides to hatch a scheme like this will have a reminder that they face consequences. Otherwise, you will see case after case like this, with other attention-seeking drama queens looking for their fifteen minutes of fame.

[monday]

"The dad was asked if he was sure his son did not just run off."

It's a reasonable question. People run off all the time. Usually they turn up eventually, but some times they never do.

[L98Fiero]

"Given the your apparent lack of familiarity with this case and what other FReepers are saying about it, you're definitely still in the shallow end of the pool on this one. Perhaps you should better inform yourself before you get behind the pulpit and start preaching at the rest of us."

I am not preaching to anyone or accusing any Freepers of being bloodthirsty. I do believe people are making rash "charge her 100K" statements, though. You may consider it a "strawman" but it makes me seriously wonder if they can charge this woman 100K, who else can they charge? Where does this lead?

Between the points at which the seach started and ended, where cost was incurred, what crime had she committed?

I apologize if my actual life impairs me from reading every word posted on FR. I was going on the information I have.

It does bother me that she didn't take her own vehicle (I'm guessing she had one)but instead took a bus. That does not look good on the "I freaked out and left" scenario. Then again, someone has to be crazy to ride the bus, IMO. :)

[uncitizen]

i agree with you. it is a reasonable question. i'm glad the media is not gonna allow themselves to be so easily fooled anymore.

[uncitizen]

it makes me seriously wonder if they can charge this woman 100K, who else can they charge? Where does this lead?

Hopefully, it will lead to grown adults not being so irresponsible. If Jennifer were a teenager and did this, i'd say "poor kid. didn't know what to do. let's give her a break." But Jennifer is 32 years old. She needs to suffer consequences for her irresponsible actions.

[monday]

"Shes trash who needs to be taking out to the curb and her idiot fiance needs to be beaten with a sock full of quarters for being such a dummy and sticking with her"

Love makes people do crazy things. The fact that he still wants to marry her shows that he is completely crazy in love. Knowing this, she probably thought it would be easier on him if he thought she had been kidnapped and disappeared forever then to break his heart and tell him she didn't want to marry him.

Somebody needs to do an intervention on her fience and tell him the relationship is over since she is clearly not strong enough to tell him herself. Perhaps she has tried and he is one of those people who won't take no for an answer?

One thing for sure, if they do get married, it will be a short marriage.

[A Balrog of Morgoth]

I apologise for coming down with both feet.

As a matter of fact, I don't think she should be charged. However, that's not because she didn't commit a crime (alledgedly). She did (alledgedly). It's just that authorities have discretion when it comes to charging people. I think that the NM LEOs made the right decision, but that it was entirely THEIR decision.

As far recouping search expenses, I'm not a lawyer, but I believe that would be something for the civil courts. I don't really have an opinion on that one.

It would be nice if she stepped up like a grownass woman, took her beating in public, and offered to either compensate the agencies for the search, or, better yet, made a donation to a charity for LEOs.

[monday]

"Otherwise, you will see case after case like this, with other attention-seeking drama queens looking for their fifteen minutes of fame."

Are you kidding? Cases like this happen all the freekin time. Who knows many thousands of brides and grooms get left at the altar every year?

The only reason this one is different is that the media got hold of it and somehow the family got the police to start looking for her the same day. Usually you can't even get the police to take a report on a missing person until after 24 hours.

The likelihood of her doing this in order to seek publicity is almost nil. Why would she hide under her coat when she arrived back at the airport if she wanted publicity?

[Cboldt]

There is apparently a window of four and a half hours, where you receive complete dispensation for making a false police report to New Mexico LE and the FBI.

The "window" is no doubt indefinite with regard to time duration. If you are the object of search, and are not in custody (e.g., kids call in "I'm being kidnapped! I'm in a black 1988 Cadillac!") you probably get a short time to recant. But when you are a runaway bride-to-be (she told them she was scheduled to be married), the cops might just have a suspicion that your story is made up as cover for cold feet.

I think that law enforcement does a respectable job of probing the complaint before going off. It's a sort of safety valve for them, and for the people they are serving.

[A Balrog of Morgoth]

Actually, it's Greyhound's fault. That catchy new ad of theirs did her in… "ride the bus and leave the wedding to us."

LMAO

[monday]

"I think that law enforcement does a respectable job of probing the complaint before going off."

Usually, but not in this case. I think all the talk of charging her is due to the police being embarrassed for being so throughly hoodwinked into mounting such a massive search so early. This isn't the normal procedure for a missing person, unless it is a child.