274
Opinion of the Court
Exhibit 3 is entitled "Observations" and includes a summary of the abduction.
Exhibit 4 is a letter written by Stoltzfus to Claytor three days after their first interview "to clarify some of my confusion for you." The letter states that she had not remembered being at the mall, but that her daughter had helped jog her memory. Her description of the abduction includes the comment: "I have a very vague memory that I'm not sure of. It seems as if the wild guy that I saw had come running through the door and up to a bus as the bus was pulling off. . . . Then the guy I saw came running up to the black girl's window. Were those 2 memories the same person?" Id., at 316. In a postscript she noted that her daughter "doesn't remember seeing the 3 people get into the black girl's car . . . ." Ibid.
Exhibit 5 is a note to Claytor captioned "My Impressions of 'The Car,' " which contains three paragraphs describing the size of the car and comparing it with Stoltzfus' Volkswagen Rabbit, but not mentioning the license plate number that she vividly recalled at the trial. Id., at 317-318.
Exhibit 6 is a brief note from Stoltzfus to Claytor dated January 25, 1990, stating that after spending several hours with John Dean, Whitlock's boyfriend, "looking at current photos," she had identified Whitlock "beyond a shadow of a doubt." 10 Id., at 318. The District Court noted that by the time of trial her identification had been expanded to include a description of her clothing and her appearance as a college kid who was "singing" and "happy." Id., at 387-388.
Exhibit 7 is a letter from Stoltzfus to Detective Claytor, dated January 16, 1990, in which she thanks him for his "patience with my sometimes muddled memories." She states that if the student at school had not called the police, "I never would have made any of the associations that you helped me make." Id., at 321.
10 Stoltzfus' trial testimony made no mention of her meeting with Dean.
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