Chat

Monday, October 13, 1997 Guest: Mr. Jackson and Mrs. Phyllis Sutterton Opening Remarks: Jackson Sutterton: Good evening everyone, my name is Jackson Sutterton. My wife Phyllis is kind of distraught and asked that I do most of the talking tonight. I was just going to tell you all about what happened, if that's ok? I didn't really see much of what happened, my wife unfortunately had to bare the brunt of this vicious act! I was inside the gas station paying for the gas while my wife was outside pumping the gas. We were in San Antonio for the week visiting friends and we were on our way home. It was about 6:30 or so in the morning when all of this happened. My wife was outside and when I got done inside paying, I came out to find some man driving off with our van. I didn't get a good look at him, unfortunately...all I could really see was the back of his head while he drove off with our van. My wife was very upset, shaking actually when I found her. She told me that the man had threatened her if she didn't give him the keys. That's when I went inside and asked the attendant to borrow the phone to call 911. My wife would like to speak if that's all right. Phyllis Sutterton: Hello everyone. I'm all right, very shaken by this whole nasty incident though. I was pumping gas while Jackson was inside paying for it, when a young man approached me as I was putting the nozzle back. He came over and threatened to slit my belly and <wince> rip out my guts. He was very threatening. I...I was so frightened, I didn't know what to do...He wanted the keys, so I gave them to him. I didn't want any trouble....he was so scary. It all happened so quickly. After I handed him the keys, he just took off. About the same time, he was driving off is when Jackson came out. I told him what had happened as best I could, I mean...I don't even know if I made much sense because I was so upset. Jackson went inside and called the cops. I'm sorry, can we just take some questions, maybe my husband could answer for me. Question & Answer session with the Suttertons: Q: What side of the car is the gas tank on? A: The gas tank is on the driver's side. Q: I know your upset Mrs. Sutterton but did you get a good look at him? A: Yes, my wife did see him. She even identified him in a line up. Well, not line up. But pictures. Q: Which direction were they headed when they left? A: He headed south on Maple Street. Q: When did Ed steal the car, before or after the call to his parents? A: I'm sorry, I didn't know that Ed had called his parents. I haven't followed the case because it's not really in the news here in Texas. (NOTE: The van was stolen 10/8/97 6:09 a.m., the phone call was made 10/12/97 at 6:17 p.m.) Q: Did Mrs. Sutterton notice any marks on his face? A: No, she didn't see any, but he looked like he hadn't shaved. Q: Are we certain this was Ed? Mrs. Sutterton described the perp as "tall" in the police report - 5'8" isn't tall... A: My wife is a petite woman, any one who is over a certain height is tall. Q: Any connection between "bright, pennies, knife"? A: Possibly, we are not sure yet. Q: Did he heave any signs of limping? A: My wife said that he had a limp, yes. I didn't see, but he was already in the van driving off when I saw him. Q: Did you have a cellphone in the van? A: No, we don't have a cellphone. The only thing in the van was our clothing and some cash. Q: Has Ed ever been treated for multiple personality disorder? A: Not that we know of. Q: Was anyone else seen with the person who took your van? A: I didn't see anyone, but it happened so quickly. Q: Wasn't something said about the van stopping a ways from the gas station? A: I didn't see any one stop, but I did hear a screech up about a block or two away. Q: Mr. Sutterton, you said you had just filled the van, how far do you think it would go before he needs fuel? A: Well, I have a 16 gallon tank and the van gets about 19 or 20 miles to the gallon. Q: Wasn't the tank 1/4 full? If you put $12 in...did that really full the tank? A: It was pretty full. Q: At that rate, they would have had to refuel somewhere near Ft. Stockton on I-10. Q: What year was the Van? A: The van is a '92 white Ford Econoline. Q: Do you have a cellular phone we could call and track, a la OJ van chase? A: No, I'm sorry, we didn't have a cellphone. Q: Did you have any identification/registration in the van? A: Well, the registration was in the glove compartment, and my wife's purse was in the van. Additional Question and Answer with Mickey Nelson: Q: I there an APB out on the van, and possible roadblock? A: There is an APB, no roadblocks. Q: Were there any credit cards in the purse? Have they been used? A: Yes there were. They have not been used. Q: What about the borders...airports? A: The border patrols have been alerted and are on the watch as are security personnel at the airports, etc. Q: Has anyone checked local pharmacy stores just in case Ed needs meds for pain? A: We never have enough warning before he has left an area in advance, but that has been checked. Q: Has Ed's brother in NYC been interviewed? A: Oh, yes, and he has not been contacted, as yet. Q: Any other cell calls made by Ed other than to his parents? A: Not that we are aware of , other than the call in to the New Orleans radio show. Q: When is the FBI getting involved in this? A: The FBI is involved, Special Agent Stremcha is in charge of the Pierce escape. Wednesday, October 15, 1997 Guest: Mr. George and Mrs. Alison Pierce Opening Remarks, George Pierce: It's been a very stressful time, yes. Especially that message on the machine. It's been really hard on the entire family. I'm ready for questions. Question & Answer session with the Pierce's: Q: Do you know where Ed is heading, a relative? A: No, I have no idea where he is, I just hope someone finds him... the whole message thing has my whole family on edge. Q: Can you tell us what exactly happened the day Geena died? A: Well, no one is really sure about that whole incident, but apparently Ed and Geena had gone out for the evening, and Ed had been drinking. He was speeding according to what we had been told and he was intoxicated. He said that he saw something jump out in the road...he swerved and hit a tree at about 90 mph. Geena didn't make it. Q: Did Ed have mental problems as a child? Was he in trouble at school, with the police, etc.? A: Ed had a few problems, yes. He was a very odd little boy. A loner really. He used to pick on animals a lot. We tried to discourage him, but he really never listened. And then there was the incident with that little boy. They said he did it, but we never believed it. But he was very disturbed after that so we did institutionalize him for a while. Q: Mrs. Pierce do you know what made your son do this evil stuff? A: (George Pierce) It's ok, I can answer that. We didn't know what caused Ed to do that. He was just very different and we thought that he had his own way of dealing with things. We tried to discourage it, but I don't know if we actually ever got through to him. Q: Has Ed ever been tested for multiple personalities, and if so, what happened? A: He was tested for them, yes, but he wasn't diagnosed with multiple personalities. The doctors just said he had emotional stress and depression. Q: 90 MPH, what injuries did Ed sustain in the crash with Geena? A: He had a small concussion and a few broken ribs. Q: What, if anything, does the name "Rory" mean to you, or to Ed? A: Well, Ed was always very imaginative. When he was growing up he had an imaginary friend that he called Rory. Any time that he was caught doing something wrong he blamed it on his imaginary friend. That all pretty much stopped when he was institutionalized though. Q: Is Ed your natural child and if not was he abused before you got him? A: No, Ed is not our biological child. We adopted him a few weeks after he was born. Q: Was Ed prescribed any psychotropic drugs? For schizophrenia, perhaps? A: Yes, he was on medication for his depression. Lithium. Q: How old was Ed when you adopted him? Was he kept on drugs such as ritilin? A: Ed was a little over two months old when we adopted him. And yes, Ed was on medications. He took ritilin for a while and later was prescribed lithium. Q: How was Pierce as a teen, did he seem to get worse as he got older? A: He was fine for a while. Very active in his school's theater department and the band. But he was still very

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