Interview Assignment: Questioning Session For Abduction Of ASeven-Year-Old Girl Named Tory

Question

Task: Interview and Interrogation
Discussion Board
Stephen Bobo
January 14th 2022
This interview assignmentwill start with outlining the surrounding circumstances of the incident; the child, age, sex, homelife, etc. I will outline the events leading up to the disappearance of said child and any type of anomalies for that day. For instance, a loose outline for the backstory would beL Tory (legal name Victoria Jean Sambora) is a seven-year-old girl living in Yellow Springs, Ohio. She is a second grader at Little Pines Montessori School. She lives with her mother and Aunt along with 2 younger siblings, twins, Kip and Kit, aged 2.5. Her aunt has no children but helps in the raising of her niece and nephews. Tory is well liked and popular amongst her friends at school and well thought of by her neighbours. Tory's father left the family last year and hasn't been heard from since. On November 3rd, Tory was walking to school with 3 of her friends and a car pulled up to engage them in conversation. Before the kids could react, Tory was grabbed into the car by an open window and it sped off. We have who what why and when. I tend to get very detailed, but in this case, it works to the assignment's advantage.

Interviewing children is going to be difficult because kids especially young ones, tend to be intimidated by adults, so I would prefer to use a woman or younger male officer to talk to the kids. KIds can also forget things when scared or stressed. They may also clam up completely for fear of getting in trouble. It is key to assure the children that they will not be in trouble and anything, even if it seems silly, will be important to the information. Having them draw or play the actions out might help too. Having parents in another room or with a one-way mirror will help because the kids will be worried about being in trouble. Being patient and not rushing them. Informing the parents of your intentions and having their permission will help in any hiccups in prosecution. Also taping the children's accounts of what happened will aid in any testimony at trial. Preparing the children as much as possible by exposing them to the courtroom, explaining what is going to happen, who will be there, etc. will set the children up for success at trial. If all else fails, having the children talk with the judge in chambers, or on camera in another room can dispel stage fright and keep the kids from being discredited.

Answer

Interrogation
I: Before starting the questioning session as outlined in the interview assignment, let me narrate the context in brief. It is regarding the abduction of a seven-year-old girl named Tory. She is a Little Pines Montessori School student studying in the second grade. She lives at Yellow Springs in Ohio with her mother, aunt, and twin siblings- Kip and Kit, who are just two and half years old. After her father left them last November, there has been no news of him since then. Tory is quite popular, both at school and in her locality. On 3rd November morning when she was walking down to school with three of her friends- Jack, Jill and Nina an unknown car arrived, the people in the car started having some conversation with the kids and suddenly one of them grabbed Tory and put her into the car through the open window and immediately left the spot(Pavlichenko, 2020).
Today we will be questioning three of her friends, Jack, Jill, and Nina, about what happened on that day. Inspector Mary will talk with you. Kids, don't worry, your parents will be sitting with me just in the other room, and you can see them through this glass window. If you need your parents, raise your hand once, and we will immediately be sending them to this room—nothing to worry about. Just relax and answer the simple questions asked by Ms. Mary.

Mary: I hope all the parents are ok with this question-and-answer session.
I: Yes, they have already given their consent for this. There is just no problem with that. Mary, you can please start now. We are waiting in the other room—bye kids(Feld, 2013).
(Everyone goes out of the room, except Mary, Jack, Jill, and Nina)

Mary smiles at the kids and starts
Mary: Hello kids, we know that Tory was a good friend of yours, so will you please help us find her?
The kids nod their heads.
Mary: So, Jack, shall we start with you? Nina and Jill can draw some pictures or do some coloring till then. You can use those pastels and these paint books.

So, Jack, what exactly happened that day?
Jack: We were walking towards the school when suddenly that big car stopped just beside us.

Mary: Do you remember the color of the car, Jack?
Jack: I think it was blue
Nina: No, it was black
Jack: Yes, yes, it was black. One guy popped his head from the window beside the driver and asked us where we were heading. I told them we were going to the school. He said the name of our school and asked whether we were going to that school or not. I said yes. Then they said that they could drop us at our school.

Jill: But I said we would not go.
Mary: Then what happened?
Jack: They asked our name, and we all said that
Mary: How many of them were there in the car?
Jack: I think there were three of them.
Mary: How were they sitting?
Jack: two of them were at the front, the driver and one beside him, who was talking to us and another one was sitting at the back. I did not notice his face.

Mary: Do you remember anything else about them?
Jack: No
Mary: Ok, Nina, let's hear from you.
Nina: Yes
Mary: How did they look?
Nina: I could only remember the two sitting at the front seat. One was the driver, and the other was sitting beside him, who was talking to us. The driver was wearing a hoodie; his face was hardly visible. I think he had a beard and was wearing dark glasses. The one who was talking to us was wearing a baseball cap and wearing dark glasses. He had dark brown beards and had a weighty voice.

Mary: Anything else about them?
Nina: He was talking in a strange accent. He did not seem to be a local guy. We found it difficult to understand his words in one go.
Mary: What about the third person who was sitting at the back?
Nina: I don't remember him. He only pulled Tory inside the car.
Mary: Anything else that you could remember, anything. It would help us to bring back your friend.

Nina: No
Mary: Jill, how are you doing? Will you tell us something about them?
Jill: We all saw the two sitting at the front only. I hardly remember the third guy who was sitting at the back. The two guys sitting at the front look just like Nina said.
Mary: Did they speak to Tory as well?
Jill: No, we all told them our name when they asked our name. That was the only time Tory spoke to them. Mary: Who asked your name?

Jill: The guy sitting beside the driver at the front seat. He was doing all the talking.
Mary: What was the color of the car Jill
Jill: It was black. Nina is right, and Jack is wrong.
Jack: I forgot, but now I remember. I already said that it was black and not blue.
Mary: It's ok, Jack, do not worry about that.
Jill: I remember now.

Mary: What?
Jill: The guy who picked up Tory had a deep cut on his right hand. I saw it when he picked up Tory. But I did not see his face. Before I could look at the face, the car went away.
Mary: Anything else that you all can remember about the incident? Please tell us. Then it will help us to find and bring Tory back. She can join you back to the school, and all of you can again have fun together.
Jill: No, I do not remember anything else.
Mary: Nina and Jack, what about you?
Nina and Jack: No, we saw nothing else.
Mary: Ok, kids, that was great. Thank you for all that you shared with us. Bye for today. You can now go to your parents(David et al., 2017).

References
David, G., Rawls, A., &Trainum, J. (2017).Playing the Interrogation Game: Rapport, Coercion, and Confessions in Police Interrogations.Symbolic Interaction, 41(1), 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1002/symb.317
Feld, B. (2013). Real Interrogation: What Actually Happens When Cops Question Kids.Interview assignmentLaw & Society Review, 47(1), 1-36. https://doi.org/10.1111/lasr.12000
Pavlichenko, L. (2020). Narrative in the Discourse of Interrogation.MìžnarodnijFìlologìnijasopis, 12(1), 117-120. https://doi.org/10.31548/philolog2021.01.117