LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / September 30, 2000

EDGARD – Attorneys on both sides at the John Francis Wille hearings, which recessed Thursday, have agreed to disagree.

And it’s left at that until the next hearing, set for Oct. 20.At that time Dr. William Bass, a forensic anthropologist associated with theUniversity of Tennessee at Knoxville, will review time-of-death evidence associated with the 1985 murder of 8-year-old Nichole Lopatta.

Beyond that, more testimony is planned for early November and in early December.

Wille and his girlfriend, Judith Walters, stand convicted of Lopatta’s 1985 murder and that of an alleged friend of Wille, Billy Phillips, in an evening of horror along U.S. Highway 51 north of LaPlace.On the one hand Denise LeBoeuf and Nick Trenticosta argued through expert witnesses that Wille and Walters were coerced into making self-incriminating statements which formed the bulk of evidence against them.

On the other hand Assistant Attorney General Julie Cullen argued the witnesses, though well-qualified in their field of forensic psychology and psychiatry, could not persuasively prove the statements weren’t coerced.

The matter is in the hands of ad hoc Judge Remy Chiasson, who heard four days of testimony this week at the St. John the Baptist Parish Courthouse.The attorneys also questioned members of various law enforcement agencies regarding custody of physical evidence and investigative documents related to the Lopatta case.

Nichole Lopatta was kidnapped from the Tres Vidas apartments in Terrytown, near Gretna, on June 2, 1985. Her body, along with that ofPhillips, were found June 6.

By September of that same year Wille and Walters stood indicted for the homicides. Wille was tried, convicted and sentenced to death. Walters wastried, convicted and sentenced to two life sentences.

Now, both are denying any involvement in the homicides and are demanding new trials aimed at freeing them.

Trenticosta insisted that Phillips was drowned elsewhere and dumped in the marsh under Interstate 55 where he was found at 7 a.m. on June 6, 1985. “I know who killed Billy Phillips, and someday I’m gonna prove it,” Trenticosta said outside the courtroom.

He also insisted that other suspects in the Lopatta case were not thoroughly investigated once Wille began making statements. However, the statementsdid not jive with the established facts of the crime scenes, the attorneys contend.

Central to testimony this week were the expert witnesses, including clinical psychologist Dr. Mary Ann Dutton on Wednesday. She examined Waltersseveral times during 1993 and 1994 and diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder and disassociation, aggravated by years of alcohol abuse, sexual abuse and physical abuse.

Walters, according to her attorneys, was sexually abused by her stepfather, physically and sexually abused by her husband and later by John Francis Wille, then endured torturous questioning by police. Compounded by drug andalcoholic abuse, the effect left Walters in a fragile mental state.

Dutton said Walters complained of being tortured by electric shock, sleep deprivation and beatings by police during questioning. No evidence, medical orotherwise, was ever presented to prove any of those happened.

“You’re relying on what she told you happened,” Cullen asked. “That’scorrect,” replied Dutton.

LeBoeuf argued that Walters’ attorneys did not present evidence of her mental state which made her vulnerable to persuasive questioning tactics by the police, eager to close the books on the Lopatta case.

Cullen pressed Dutton on the stress factors affecting Walters, and asked, “Is this to prove Judy was manipulated by John or is it on police coersion? You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.”After Dutton commented on Walters’ alleged nightmares about the crime scene photos shown to her by investigators, Cullen pointed out, “But actually having been there could’ve done the same thing.”Forensic psychiatrist Dr. James MacKeith, a recognized expert in forcedconfessions, offered his views during Wednesday and Thursday hearings.

“We don’t say ‘false’ confessions, we assess the reliability,” MacKeith said.

“I do not ever address the issue of truth.”MacKeith, during his review of the case, examined transcripts and taped statements of Wille and Walters, as well as the social, personal and medical history of each, along with that of Sheila Dunagin, Walters’ daughter, who was allegedly along for the ride on the night in question and allegedly witnessed nearly all the events.

Also, MacKeith reviewed autopsy reports on Lopatta and Phillips and contemporary newspaper accounts.

One newspaper story, from a Santa Rose County, Florida, paper, said of Wille, “If you tell him something about a certain crime, he’ll tell you about it.”MacKeith found that a memorable and perceptive comment about Wille’s psychology. He concluded that Wille’s statements had “gross inconsistenciesbetween the known crime scene facts and statements.” He pointed outespecially that it was claimed Phillips was stabbed scores of times by himself, Walters and Walters’ daughter, and also that Wille claimed to have emasculated Phillips, neither of which happened, according to the autopsy report.

On the other hand, witness Victor Bradley Jr., a former attorney for Wille,said Wille was prone to making wild, exaggerated claims.

MacKeith added that Walters’ fragile mental state made her susceptible to coercion, and that Walters’ daughter was a cause of additional concern because of her youth, 14 at the time of questioning, and her being asked about “grossly depraved sexual activity.” He added that Sheila Walters’statement appeared rehearsed and said “the responses were given as though they were already discussed beforehand.”MacKeith did find it telling that Sheila Walters was not prosecuted for her alleged part in the kidnapping, even though she stated she led Lopatta by the hand to the Wille car.

Finally, MacKeith said Wille’s statements were possibly made in a strange attempt to protect Judith Walters. “It defies common sense, but ithappens,” he said.

Forensic psychologist Dr. Gisli Gudjonsson, similarly expert in the field offorced confessions, likewise offered his viewpoints during Wednesday and Thursday hearings.

Gudjonsson, himself a former police officer, said there was enough evidence in his own mind to have doubts about the reliability of the statements.

At one point Thursday, Judge Chiasson questioned the relevancy of the expert testimony. LeBoeuf replied that the experts “will address thepsychological state of these clients to indicate if they were susceptible to coersion. They will not judge whether they were true or false.”Chiasson stated, “We’re not here to decide guilt or innocence – that’s already been done.”Outside the courtroom, Maj. Robert Hay of the St. John Sheriff’s Office saidfor the confessions to have been coerced would have taken a “massive conspiracy” of various law enforcement agencies, including four parishes in Louisiana, officials in Mississippi and Florida, the Louisiana State Police and the FBI, to have carried this out.

Throughout the hearings, Wille’s parents and sisters attended, sitting in the middle of the court, along with Walters’ mother, brother and daughter, Sheila.

One flurry of concern erupted Wednesday morning when Walters was nearly two hours late for the hearing, despite having left the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women at St. Gabriel on time.It turned out the new drivers, directed by the radio dispatcher, ended up in Thibodaux while trying to find Edgard.

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