Washington, Wilmore said, admitted to stabbing the woman in Culpeper. But when asked if she was black or white, he said black. Asked again, he switched it to white.
According to Wilmore's testimony, Washington also said Williams was "kind of short," but she was 5'8". He said she was "not fat, just a little heavy," but she was 180 pounds. He said there was no one else in the apartment, but the victim's children were there when she was discovered.
Washington told the investigators, according to Wilmore, that he didn't take his clothes off, just lowered his trousers. But when asked to identify a shirt, he said it was his and he'd taken it off because it was bloody. He said he kept his jacket on. He said he stabbed the victim two or three times, but the autopsy showed 38 wounds.
But in another version Washington had told the police he kicked the door in and didn't know who lived there. No damage was found on the door.
Washington also said he cut himself, but his blood was never found in the apartment.
Wilmore said Washington looked at a shirt that Hart held up in front of him and said it was his. Asked what was unique about it, Washington pointed to a spot where a patch had been ripped off it. Scott did not ask Wilmore why he didn't have Washington describe the shirt before seeing it.
*****
It was revealed in court how the shirt came into evidence.
Shortly after the crime, Williams' husband, Clifford, moved back in with his parents and brought along a chest of drawers. The police had searched this dresser for a weapon and not noticed any bloody shirt in it.
Clifford Williams' mother took a folded shirt from the dresser and washed it, also not remarking on any blood. She gave the shirt to her son, who said it was not his. So, she gave it to her husband, who wore it to change the oil in his car.
Then, Mrs. Williams washed the shirt, and they decided that it might have been left behind by the murderer. Six weeks after the crime, they gave the shirt to the police. How it got in the drawer remains a mystery. Washington said he took it off because it was bloody. But, according to his confession, it was underneath a jacket he kept on.
Eric Freedman, one of Washington's current lawyers, said during a recent interview, "[The police] asked [Washington], 'This is your shirt, isn't it?' Not, 'What were you wearing that day?'
"This is just incompetence in police training. . . . They try to confirm a theory. . . . Even if the shirt has anything to do with the murder, there's zilch link to Earl."
Many police interrogation manuals, in fact, warn against the risk of obtaining a false confession, particularly if leading questions are used with a mentally retarded witness.
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