Judy's Sentencing Letter

To The Honorable Philip Volland:

I write to advocate for lenient sentencing on behalf of Mechele Linehan.

I first met Mechele when my son, Colin, brought her home to Olympia, WA during the 1997 holiday season to meet his family. It was a joy to watch their closeness; both had lost their dads at the same age and this seemed to be an element of their growing bond. Within a year we were celebrating and blessing this extraordinary couple in their marriage. I couldn’t have been more welcoming of my new daughter-in-law.

I formed an instant attachment to Mechele, and can say I have found more to admire in the eleven ensuing years since our first meeting than I could put onto these pages. She has a generous, outgoing nature. Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts in their home always included neighbors and friends who would otherwise have been alone on these family days.

I’ve observed through the years how much a sense of family means to Mechele. My favorite image of her is cooking up a storm with her Mom and sister when they had the rare occasion to visit and spend time in Olympia several years ago. Mechele exuded at once her warm hospitality, and a beautiful child-like delight reveling in their togetherness.

I watched her interact in her daughter’s school community where she was engaged and energetically involved in multiple volunteer efforts. In the Olympia community she volunteered on the Crisis Clinic hotline phone every Friday night for quite a while. I am a community volunteer myself but have yet to imagine giving up precious sleep from Friday night until Saturday morning in any work that I do.

And then there are the animals – dogs that could not be left homeless, cats that adopt her, fish that just show up, and her beloved birds. Mechele has an affinity for all creatures great and small, and they for her. It is a phenomenon. I watch her daughter with these same unfolding qualities and know Her daughter has been well nurtured in caring for creation.

Mechele in her garden is another beautiful image I hold. Color and life abounds. She creates beauty and tranquility there. My sense of her has long been that she is an artist in her essence.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Mechele loaded her car with water, food, blankets, baby food, toolkit, and GPS to head south to her Mom & sister who were battered by the storm. She was a woman on a mission. I was nervous about her going the whole distance alone and so I accompanied her as far as Omaha, where I disembarked to visit my parents. The surprising gift for me in this experience, other than being touched by Mechele’s intrepid spirit & energetic heart, was the gift of time – for the first time in our relationship I had concentrated one on one days with her. I saw her with new eyes. I hadn’t been paying attention in our everyday encounters. I had not appreciated how much she had grown in emotional maturity and balance over the past year or so. The forced intimacy of our cross country trek opened me even further to the dynamic of her being unfolding through time.

I have been painting a picture of Mechele as my family and I know her. It consists of small little sketches, but my earnest hope is that you will have a glimpse of the woman who has so very many gifts and qualities to share with the world, who from my witness of her is intent on becoming the best she can be and giving back to the world, who possesses an inner as well as an outer beauty.

The most heartfelt plea, however, is the most difficult to write down. Mechele & Colin’s 8 year old daughter, sits tenderly at the core of all our longing for a just sentence. She is bright, wise beyond her years, loving, and hurting so much. There is simply no one else who will be able to mother her in the attuned way Mechele does. They miss each other beyond the telling.

Thank you, Judge Volland, for your careful consideration of all these matters.

Respectfully,

Judy S. Linehan

Kerry's Sentencing Letter

Your Honor Judge Volland,

I am Mechele Linehan’s sister-in-law. I am writing to share with you my relationship and knowledge of Mechele Linehan in hopes it will help you know a little more about her before sentencing. I hope this is not too late. I write because of the deep pain that my brother Colin and my niece are enduring and will endure if she is gone too long. I write for her neighbors, friends and community who I know that she gave selflessly to of her time, energy and heart.

She and her daughter have been tied at the hip. It is so hard for them to be apart. Her daughter is so bright and ahead of her age academically due to the time and energy Mechele spends with her. Her daughter helped her design her business office. Mechele is so good at allowing her daughter to contribute and honors her ideas. They traveled together, helped deliver pups together, biked together, gardened and so much more.

I lived out of town, so I did not see them much, but heard often when I was here from her friends what an amazing woman she was. There was always a friend or neighbor at her house, or friends of her daughter's. Mechele opened her home to all. People and animals big and small. Her home was a place of refuge for friends(and animals) who had no place to stay for awhile. Mechele seems to have two days to my one. I could not understand how she could fit it all in. I have known in one day for her to bike ride with her daughter, blueberry pick, knit, volunteer, cook/bake, get a little work in, garden, invite friends for dinner, care for her menagerie of animals, and watch a movie at home with Colin and her daughter, and probably get some reading in. Somewhere in there she probably got a trip in to GoodWill to recycle/salvage some item for one of her multiple ongoing art/craft/home projects. Extremely multi talented, and full of intense beauty, that when she touches something it can be transformed. What stands out to me most is her garden in this area. Her home is another example. When I first saw it I was terrified. It was such site. But she quickly transformed it into a beautiful home. I could not see it, but she did. She sees that is people as well. She tends to gives those, who others walk by, a chance. How many do that? She can see beyond the exterior, and the beauty inside. She is a very giving person to friends and community, and most importantly her daughter, and needs to be back home as soon as is possible.

I appreciate your reading my thoughts, and just hope it is not too late. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Kerry Mrazek

Kristina's Sentencing Letter

Judge Volland:

I am writing to urge you to be as lenient as possible when you
consider a sentence for Mechele Linehan for the following reasons.

Mechele Linehan is and has been a great and dear friend of mine for
the last seven years. Our daughters became great friends as toddlers
and we have shared treasured family fun since then.
Mechele and I met seven years ago at our neighborhood bakery. She
and her husband, Colin, had an enormous friendly dog. We soon found
out we had daughters the same age and each lived in an historic
home. Both of us worked in the political arena and had more in
common that contributed to us becoming great friends. I am presently
providing consulting services with my office in my home. Prior to
this, I was employed by Pfizer as Government Relations Manager for
the Northwest and held that job for 12 years. I graduated from the
University of Oregon with a degree in broadcast Journalism.

Mechele would be the first person to drop everything to help a
friend. When her husband's best friend from childhood lost his
brother, Mechele was the first to arrive on the scene to help the
distraught family and comfort them. This ready sacrifice fit in with
the volunteer work I had known her to do. She helped the County
Crisis Hot Line Clinic improve their operations, worked at the local
homeless shelter and more charitable organizations. I was
continually impressed and marveled at her patience with difficult
people and situations and her willingness to serve those less
fortunate.

She inspires me as a mother and citizen. When I would get
frustrated, she would show me the way to find grace with any
situation. Mechele is an enviable mother with charming counsel
perpetually available to her beautiful and intelligent little girl.
She provides love, grace, comforting boundaries, wisdom and beautiful
counsel to her daughter. Her constant presence at all her daughter's
schools was a commendable achievement few could emulate.

She treated the rude with "southern charm" continually showing me
that grace and humility improve the situation and indulging anger
does not.

Her daughter is a beautiful girl with impressive wisdom.
Her mother was rarely away from her side - continually volunteering
at school and encouraging Audrey through activities. Mechele invited
my daughter and I to see the Nutcracker in Seattle. My
daughter treasures those trips we had. Mechele's parenting wisdom
helped me through many frustrating moments – and always with advice
that allowed me to be kind and patient with the teachable moment.

My daughter's first sleepover was at Mechele's home. The little girls all
had a wonderful time and were even willing to go on a long walk with
Mechele's encouragement and ability to convey joy for life's little
pleasures. I trust her completely with my three children (I have
twin boys who are one year older than their sister) and they adore
her – not shy about protesting this accusation and conviction. She
is part of our extended family.

For a woman who was wrongfully convicted this ordeal is horrific.
For her family and friends this is a nightmare. For her daughter
this is a devastating blow that likely damages her future in many
ways.

I miss her so very much and cannot see her incarceration as justice.
She lived an exemplary life in Olympia which I truly believe is the
real Mechele. I cannot find in my heart, mind or soul that Mechele
is someone that is capable of the alleged crime. Not once did I see
anything in her that would have ever indicated she was capable of
doing wrong to anyone. It's just, in plain words, not her nature.

I plead with you to allow Mechele to return home to the many family,
friends and community organizations that miss her, need her ready
help, her parenting, and love her. I beg you to please allow her to
return as soon as possible.

Respectfully,




Kristina Hermach

Francis' Sentencing Letter

Dear Judge Volland:

I am writing to request your mercy when you impose on Mechele Linehan her sentence. Please do what you can to help grant the request of her defense attorneys for a panel of judges to give her only five years.

Although I do not know Mechele Linehan, the jury’s verdict was shocking after the prosecution presented a weak case consisting of no substantive evidence. A verdict based on logic and rational analysis of the presented evidence—as opposed to emotional biases—could be only an acquittal. The prosecution’s case fell far short of the legal standard for “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt”; the jury erred, pure and simple.

Just as disturbing is the prosecution’s request for a 99-year sentence. Mrs. Linehan’s conviction was not for actually killing Kent Leppink, yet the prosecution has requested the same sentence. Apparently, the prosecution is not satisfied to win the case on next to no evidence, but desires also to permanently end Ms. Linehan’s life as she knew it, and to prevent her from ever returning to her husband and child. Frankly, I am appalled at the cruel ruthlessness exhibited by our prosecutor’s office.

Please hold our system accountable and do what you can to correct the inappropriate and tragic decision of the jury by granting the defense request.


Respectfully,


Francis Sheridan

Barbara's Sentencing Letter

Dear Judge Volland:

As a citizen of Alaska, I am writing to plead for the exercise of wisdom and the fullest degree of legally allowable leniency when you carry out the heavy burden of issuing sentence on Ms. Mechele Linehan.

I am not a friend or relative of Ms. Linehan, nor do I know anyone associated with her. However, as an American citizen, I am horror-struck by the verdict rendered against Ms. Linehan. Furthermore, our prosecutor’s office bringing this case to trial without any bona fide evidence of substance is in itself frightening. It chills me to the bone to know authorities will take a citizen’s freedom, thereby destroying not only that individual’s life but also the lives of his or her extended family, based on nothing but misogynist conjecture by less-than-professional investigators, and the stubborn insistence of a prosecutor’s office using only said conjecture as evidence against the accused.

Thus, I ask that you consider the following before reaching your decision:

1) Throughout Mr. John Carlin’s trial, the Alaskan media focused a sensationalized spotlight on Mechele Linehan to such an extent that one would have thought it was she on trial rather than Mr. Carlin. In our sparsely populated state where over 50 percent of the population lives in South Central Alaska, the steady diet of scandalous Mechele Linehan stories many weeks before she stood trial, together with the subsequent incessant tabloidesque media treatment of her trial, seriously compromised Mechele Linehan’s opportunity to receive a fair jury trial in Alaska.

In particular, the Anchorage Daily News (ADN), the only large newspaper in the state, published ongoing salacious coverage of Ms. Linehan. The ADN published continual story-telling style reports chockfull full of sordid descriptions, gossip, and “factoids” that were in reality only unsubstantiated claims by the prosecution. For example, one report described the stripper coming home with her hundreds of dollars in tips carried in a purple Crown Royal bag and dumping them out on the table, insinuating triumphant glee. During my youth, I worked as a waitress, and like most people who work for tips, I dumped my tips on the dining table to count them. ADN reports continually referred to both Kent Leppink and John Carlin as Ms. Linehan’s “fiancé,” yet there is no evidence supporting their claim of her engagement to multiple men at the same time. Describing Ms. Linehan’s life in Washington State, the ADN implied that working as a young stripper and living as a “cookie baking mom” are mutually exclusive roles, as well as conjuring images of opposing value-laden stereotypes: the brazenly immoral “whore” versus the sugary good “Madonna.” Reporter Megan Holland referred to Ms. Linehan’s life in Olympia as, “the image created by the wife and mother who lived there.” The terms “image” and “created” insinuate a deceptive facade. The State Troopers’ descriptions of Ms. Linehan as “greedy” and “manipulative” were printed and reprinted. Those are only a few examples of many such references.

As for the ADN editors’ decisions, one was hard-pressed to find a headline that did not refer to Ms. Linehan as an “ex-stripper,” “exotic dancer,” “femme fatal,” and/or containing language with dark or dangerous connotations, such as “evil.” Only Ms. Linehan inspired such misogynist, salacious headlines and coverage.

2) There are numerous illogical leaps of logic in the State Troopers’ theorizing, all of which lack the support of substantiated research on human behavior. In addition, there are giant holes in the prosecution’s case, with the evidence actually consisting of little more than the puritanically fantastical conjectures of the investigators.

A) Forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Mark Mills, testified that Ms. Linehan’s personality makes her an unlikely co-conspirator in murder. Yet the jury chose to accept the speculative story of a Lolita with so much sexual power over men that she could convince two almost middle-aged men to do her bidding no matter how “evil.”

B) At the time of the murder, Mechele Linehan was only 23-years-old. Kent Leppink was 36-years-old and John Carlin was 39-years-old. What psychology and human development training did our State Troopers obtain that supported their hypothesis that a 23-year-old was as responsible, if not more so, than the men old enough to have been able to father her? What training did they receive that provided the foundation for hypothesizing that a 23-year-old was capable of such power and fully responsible for it, while the older men over whom she ruled were helpless?

C) John Carlin’s son testified that he saw his father and Ms. Linehan washing a gun. Were they both washing the gun? Were they holding it, jointly, four hands on the gun washing it; or was one washing it while the other watched and they were talking? What were they saying to each other? Being in the room with someone, watching them and talking to them, is not the same thing as actively participating. Yet, the testimony was presented as though it is the same thing. Housemates discussing what happened to a third housemate, even as one, guilty or innocent, freaks out and cleans his gun out of fear, are entirely within the realm of expected and reasonable behaviors for most people. Fearing a housemate may have committed murder or not knowing who did it and so feeling frightened, would both be logical reasons to pack one’s bags and move out of state. That scenario is much more reasonable and common than the one presented by the State Troopers and the prosecution, especially without any substantive evidence to the contrary. Additionally, memory researchers have proven that the most unreliable evidence in criminal trials is eyewitness testimony.

D) The prosecution claimed that Ms. Linehan receiving expensive gifts from Mr. Leppink was evidence of a serious romantic relationship between the two of them. To the contrary, unless there is actual evidence of such a relationship, it was only evidence that Leppink was a troubled man. Many a young woman has enjoyed what she thought was a nice friendship with someone who had her best interest at heart, only to discover too late that there are strings attached; the man wants much more and will not accept no for an answer.

On her own and traveling far from home at a young age, Ms. Linehan worked to save money for college. Nothing about her story is unusual or especially predatory for a young woman in her position. Young women—especially the most attractive—on their own without the protection of nearby family are always targets for predatory men, including needy, mentally unstable men. Older emotionally troubled men, in particular, make a practice of showering gifts on young women they desire. Unlike older men who do the same but stop when they do not get the hoped for response, emotionally troubled men tend not to stop regardless of the response they receive. A young woman does not have to ask for gifts, and in fact, once the realization comes that something is not quite right about the man and the situation, they usually prefer that the gift giving stop because it is uncomfortable. Nevertheless, a young woman’s lack of enthusiasm rarely discourages such a man because he is a lonely obsessive who is convinced that if he showers her with gifts to prove his devotion, she will grow to love him.

In the case of troubled, lonely, obsessive men, fantasizing a nonexistent intimate relationship is also common. Such mentally ill men can believe a young woman already loves him but she is keeping him at a distance either only because she is upset with him or because she is cheating on him. That last scenario makes him dangerous. Such experiences teach young women to be more careful and to recognize that too much out of proportion generosity is a warning flag. That knowledge, however, is not something we are born knowing. We learn it through experience.

E) The prosecution claimed there was something predatory about Ms. Linehan living in a group home with multiple male housemates; that her living situation meant she was romantically involved with said men. Yet, millions of young women, (including me, and later my daughter), have or do live in group homes with men, sometimes as the only women, with no romantic or sexual relationships. Many people under the age of 60 have lived in such homes because when social mores changed, multi-gender group homes became entirely common as a way to save money.

Furthermore, the prosecution (and therefore, the ADN) claimed Ms. Linehan was engaged to both men. Yet Ms. Linehan was openly involved with Scott Hilke, who actually visited her in that same group home before the events that led to Mr. Leppink’s death. That she was seriously engaged to Mr. Leppink at the same time she had Mr. Hilke visit her in their home is illogical. Further, the prosecution claimed she was also engaged to Mr. Carlin, yet Mr. Carlin admitted to sending Mr. Leppink on a goose chase to prevent him from following Ms. Linehan to California, where she was meeting Mr. Hilke. It makes no sense that as her fiancé, Mr. Carlin would help her visit another lover.

F) The prosecution claimed Ms. Linehan used Kent Leppink and John Carlin for their money—that she was a gold-digger. Yet, Ms. Linehan saved her dancing tips until she had enough to pay for her college tuition; she then quit dancing and attended school. If she was using these men, and they would do absolutely anything she asked of them, why were they not paying her tuition? Why did she not quit dancing sooner and attend school on their dime?

G) The prosecution claimed that Mr. Carlin and Ms. Linehan conspired to kill Mr. Leppink in order to receive a $1,000,000 insurance policy. However, at the time Mr. Carlin was a millionaire, hence he did not need the insurance policy, and if the prosecution is correct about Ms. Linehan’s magical powers of seduction, then she did not need an insurance policy to get her hands on Mr. Carlin’s money. In addition, the insurance company’s agent testified that Ms. Linehan tried to cancel the policy before Mr. Leppink’s death. That is evidence in her favor, while the prosecution has no evidence to support their claim that she did so merely as a ruse to cover her tracks.

H) The prosecution painted Kent Leppink as a tragic victim at the hands of a heartless seductress. His family, especially his mother, weighed in on how Ms. Linehan destroyed them, their son, and how evil she is. However, the truth was that Kent Leppink was in Alaska after banishment from his own family because he embezzled from their family business. What more might a person who will embezzle from his or her own family do? Furthermore, how much stock can one put in the testimony of people who purposely banished their son and brother because they believed him to be a thief, a liar, and a con, but then after he dies leaving those same relatives $1,000,000, they paint themselves as horribly wronged and their relationship to the deceased as so significant? How are they more believable than is Mechele Linehan?

I) Mechele Linehan’s sister claims Ms. Linehan asked her to destroy the emails on her computer. By itself, without any other solid evidence to lend credence to the prosecution’s claims, that means nothing. In order to protect our privacy, millions of people wisely destroy emails and records on our computers before moving them, turning them over to other people, or giving them away. Also, anyone with any sense who intended to escape an ugly situation of which we were afraid, were too young too handle, or that could be misconstrued to damage us, would try to erase any trace of a connection between us and what we feared, and we would do so quite innocently. Most especially, a young person would impulsively do so.

J) Regarding the emails presented as evidence: Unless the jury read the entire correspondences, they read or heard them out of context. Any correspondence taken out of context can easily mislead.

K) The reported comments made by Mechele Linehan as to it being too bad Mr. Leppink was not tortured first, as he tortured animals he hunted, while (if she did actually say it) was a harsh and thoughtless thing to say, it does not mean she conspired to have him killed. Rather, it is typical of the sort of judgmental statement a young person hounded by the victim and who disapproved of his hunting activity would say. I know from my formal studies in human development that twenty-three-year-olds do not yet have the experience and understanding of their own mortality to grasp the depth and thoughtlessness of such a judgmental statement.

L) Although there is no concrete evidence supporting the prosecution’s contention that Ms. Linehan deceived Mr. Leppink for money, investigators did find physical evidence of Mr. Leppink’s stalking her and stealing items belonging to both Ms. Linehan and Mr. Hilke.

When one understands the psychology of human behavior, the pieces of the puzzle as presented by the prosecution do not fit their conclusion. It is erroneous to apply developmentally appropriate logic to a disturbed man, but not to the young woman with whom he is obsessed. First, it is no accident that these sorts of unhealthy relationships exist between older men and young women alone on their own. Young women with families and protectors are not vulnerable to offers to be taken care of. Second, in exchange for her mere presence, it is common for a disturbed man to promise a young woman the moon without the demands of a sexual relationship. That is even more likely if he suffers from any sexual confusion.

It is also likely that as his deeper mental problems gradually emerged, a developmentally normal young woman would consider such a man comical, then pathetic, and as his odd behavior worsened into bizarre, grow weary and even frightened of his invasive stalking. Finally, such a man committing suicide in some way fits a psychological profile. If in his delusional state, he believed he was losing his imagined deep love relationship and/or the young woman might expose a dark secret of his, his actions would be bizarre, not hers. Therefore, none of that is evidence against Ms. Linehan. Instead, such delusional self-destructive behaviors common in these sorts of complicated relationships support Ms. Linehan’s defense.

3) Juror, Christine Eagleson, speaking of Ms. Linehan’s history as a dancer, stated to the press, “that all goes into the factor of manipulation and seduction," "That was a whole key point that we discussed on and on and on.” A second reason jurors said they voted to convict was that some of them did not like the dirty looks she gave another ex-dancer testifying against her. Finally, the jury accepted the prosecution’s interpretation of out of context emails while ignoring the more concrete evidence in Ms. Linehan’s favor. Those are not “beyond a reasonable doubt” reasons to convict someone!

Judge Volland, like Ms. Linehan, I was on my own at a young age, making my way in life and improving my circumstances. Further, like Ms. Linehan and all young women in that position, I met and even sometimes developed friendships with people (usually older) who proved to be unethical, unstable, or even dangerous. When I felt frightened by what I discovered or what they were trying to lure or pressure me into, I would up and quietly take off so that I was no longer associated with them. Given I grew up to be a relatively boring, middle-class mother and wife never in trouble with the law, it appears I was more fortunate than Mechele Linehan. However, I credit only luck and fear for my more fortunate outcome, because as a young woman on my own in the world, I crossed paths with numerous predatory and even mentally unhinged people, almost all of whom were older men.

In addition, I lived in Alaska when I was young, celebrating my 20th birthday in Kodiak, Alaska. Although, due to shyness, I never took a job as a dancer, I remember Alaska businesses promising big money while requiring no previous experience (which intentionally targets the young), advertising for dancers in newspapers and magazines all over the country. Hence, Alaskans actively sought young women to move here and work as exotic dancers, but a jury of Alaskans (ten of the twelve, women) held it against Ms. Linehan. The jury viewed 35-year-old Mechele Linehan as immoral to the point of conspiring to commit murder because at the age of 21, she took Alaskans up on their job offer as a means to save money for college.

Moreover, while living in Alaska, I did not meet one other young woman who did not quickly either have a “boyfriend” she lived with (and that included me), or lived in a group home that had male friends in it. All the young women I knew did so for protection. There were (and there are still) varieties of odd characters living in Alaska both permanently and temporarily. Hunted and hounded by all kinds of men, pretty girls in Alaska were much too vulnerable to live alone for long. That did not mean we were predatory; the men with whom we lived understood the situation because most of us were temporary residents—our situation in Alaska was merely an adventure. That was an integral part of the culture in Alaska then, especially in the winter when there were fewer young women here. Thus, Mechele Linehan’s lifestyle in Anchorage did not, and does not, warrant unbridled suspicion.

Regardless of what really did happen between these individuals, and in light of the unspeakable grief Mechele Linehan’s husband and child are experiencing, to convict a person on so little and for a crime they supposedly committed in their youth is a travesty. To impose a life sentence on the premise that, without committing the murder himself or herself, a person barely out of adolescence convinced another and much older person to do so is horrifying. The thought that our court system would impose a life sentence on a person for a crime that without more actual evidence looks like nothing but the hostile imaginations of the investigators, is terrifying. To do so would not serve justice as our Founders intended it in this nation.

Therefore, as a citizen of this state and our country, I ask that for our justice system and for the protection of our citizens, you grant the defense’s request and allow for the most lenient sentencing arrangement available to you.

Thank you for reading this letter and for your consideration of this matter.

Respectfully,



Barbara Sheridan

A Big Thank You from Mechele!

I talked to Mechele this weekend and she asked me to paraphrase a thank you to everyone for their support. So, she says, "Thanks for your support." (Sorry for the lack of creativity there.) Honestly, though, it really means a lot to her. She's had some dark days, as anyone can imagine, and to know that people, even total strangers, believe in her means a lot.

Mechele also did write in a letter to me, "I will write something this week [for the blog], I promise." With the letter, she included a new list of books she would like to read. I've added them to the Amazon list as "highest priority". She finds some interesting things to read, even stuck behind those walls. She's a pretty decent artist as well, and was asking about "how to draw" cartoon books, so I found some I thought might be fun or useful to her and added those.

A personal thank you from me to everyone for your support and generosity. There is so much I'd like to do for her, but am not always able, so to have other people keeping her hope alive is wonderful. Please keep the prayers and good energy flowing her way. I know it makes such a big difference.

Keep the faith, everyone.

Honi's Sentencing Letter

Dear Judge Volland:

My name is Honi Martin. I’m a wife of eleven years to a wonderful man. We are raising our two young boys on a farm in Oregon. I’m active in both of my children’s school and my church. I work with the elderly and people on hospice. I love animals, and I’m an artist.

I also, a very long time ago, was a dancer. I was Mechele Linehan’s friend and roommate. I know the trial is over and unfortunately knew nothing about it until too late. I was in shock to learn Mechele was in prison. Four years ago she told me TT had been murdered, and she was being questioned. Although it was shocking to learn TT had been killed, not for a minute did I believe Mechele had anything to do with it. I knew the right person would be found, and I never thought much more about it.

Mechele and I went on with our lives and along the way had lost contact. I can’t sit by and watch Mechele go to prison without telling you the person I know Mechele to be. Mechele was a bright young girl who was creative, sweet, spontaneous, outgoing and would give you whatever you needed. I met Mechele at work at the Bush Company, and we hit it off almost immediately. I had just broken up with my boyfriend and told her that I was looking for a place to live. Without hesitation, she said I could live with her and that she had a spare bedroom. She hardly knew me, but opened up her home to me.

Mechele had a soft spot for animals and could never pass a stray without bringing it home. On one occasion, she picked up a homeless man who was shivering in the freezing rain. She opened up the door of her car and gave him a ride to a café, so he could get warm. We also lived near an elderly man who had fallen more than a couple of times. Mechele would often go over to his home to make sure he was ok and visit with him. I remember Mechele having many interests and wanting to go to school. One of her interests was working with children in one form or another. She also wanted to write children’s books. She was wonderful with animals and also wanted to do something along these lines. She even had taught reading to adults.

I don’t remember her ever saying she would be rich, but she did know it would take money to go to school. Dancing was a means to that end. She sometimes worked very long hours. Sometimes from when the club opened at 3:30 in the afternoon until 2 am. She was very driven, but also very generous.

While Scott Hilke and Mechele were on vacation, someone had poisoned our dogs. Mine ended up dying. I was so distraught I couldn’t even work. Mechele had me join her and Scott in Canada. She paid for my hotel, food, and plane ticket. She would even buy her “regulars” gifts if she saw something she thought they would like. This is probably what worried me the most. I worried about her safety. She thought I worried too much, and these “men were just harmless and lonely people”.

She did not have “multiple lovers”. She was friendly and let these people into her life too much. But, I never saw her sleep or even heard her talk about sleeping with any of these men.

It’s not in a dancer’s best interest to sleep with her customers. All the girls know that once you do, your customer will no longer spend the kind of money on you as he once did. Men, who become a dancer’s “regular”, often have already been someone else’s “regular” at one time or another. They are not clueless men who get taken for their money. They only feel “burned” after they have bought gifts and spend hundreds if not thousands on a girl, only to realize she is not going to fall in love with him.

Mechele did nothing different than any of the other girls did that had regulars. I’ve even done it. It’s very common if a man has feelings for you that you play along. You don’t discourage him. It’s not the dancer’s fault. She is at the club to work and make money, not to discourage people from spending it. These men willingly spend money and bring or offer you gifts.

There is something wrong with a man who sits night after night in the clubs, hoping to save some damsel from her job.

Some girls like having “regulars”. On a slow night, he’ll come in and spend money on you. On a really busy night, you don’t have to deal with the competition by having a “regular”. Other girls don’t like regulars because it is like a relationship, and they don’t like the element of getting too close to someone who may be potentially dangerous or obsessed.

Towards the end of my living in Alaska, it seemed Scott and Mechele were on the verge of breaking up. I moved out, but stayed in Alaska until about the end of that summer. Scott was the only person that I knew Mechele to have been engaged to. I have never known Mechele to be engaged to anyone but Scott. Never once did I hear her refer to TT as a lover or a fiancé. I also never heard the word engaged attached to him. I never saw Mechele kiss, hug, or even hold his hand. It was by all accounts a friendship, not a relationship, with a customer who spent a lot of money on her.

Mechele is not perfect and she played along with men’s feelings to keep the money coming her way. Just as many of the other dancers do. I just don’t think she realized how deep these men’s feelings ran for her. Mechele’s character is not that of a person who would conspire to commit murder or commit murder herself. She wanted a better life for herself and was willing to work for it.

There are so many more things I could have written about. It’s hard to write a year’s worth of memories in just a few pages. I just want to thank you for time you spent reading it.