Four years after a gambler with a violent past snatched her
daughter from a casino parking lot near Sacramento, Debbie Boyd
still doesn’t know what led to her gregarious 27-year-old’s
death.
Four years after a gambler with a violent past snatched her daughter from a casino parking lot near Sacramento, Debbie Boyd still doesn’t know what led to her gregarious 27-year-old’s death.
Police never even located Christie Wilson’s body. Still, a Sacramento County jury convicted Mario Garcia, 56, of Auburn, of her murder nonetheless.
“It was the first no-body homicide case in (that) county,” Boyd said.
Yet, Garcia’s conviction and subsequent life sentence offered little solace to the Gilroy resident and board member of Crime Victims United of California, who now travels about the country speaking on behalf of families of abductees.
When Boyd learned that the supposed recent abduction of a 14-year-old student at the Dr. T.J. Owens Early College Academy turned out to be a lie, she thought “I am not OK with this. There needs to be something done,” she said.
The girl, who attends an advanced high school on Gavilan College’s campus, went missing from class and then called police later from a few miles away, claiming she had been kidnapped, police said. The girl later admitted that it was a lie, police said.
“She tied up the very resources that parents with legitimate cases are begging for,” Boyd said. “What she just did makes it so difficult for families of missing persons because although police do take these cases seriously, history has shown it takes a lot of effort by the families to draw attention to their cases.”
Police are obligated “by law, ethically and morally,” to investigate every case, Gilroy Sgt. Jim Gillio said. “We have to treat every single one like it’s the real thing unless we learn differently.”
But anecdotally, “by far, the majority of those cases turn out to be hoaxes,” he said. “Abductions are very rare – especially stranger abductions.”
Deputies spent Nov. 2, 3 and 4 responding to the girl’s absence, investigating the crime scene, and interviewing the girl and witnesses. Staff at Gavilan, the Early College Academy and the school district also spent considerable time on the alleged kidnapping.
“It consumed hours of staff time,” Gavilan spokeswoman Jan Bernstein Chargin said.
Deputies are working with the District Attorney to determine how to deal with the girl’s false police report, Sheriff’s Sgt. Rick Sung said. DA spokeswoman Amy Cornell said she could not release information about the case since juvenile cases are confidential.
“I am really going to push to get the District Attorney to take very serious action with regard to this case,” Boyd said. “It takes credibility away and diminishes the importance of real cases. (The girl) should be arrested and she should be charged. She needs to be held accountable and made aware that there are families out there that have kids dead that are her age that struggle to get mindshare focused on their cases.”
Filing a false police report is a misdemeanor punishable by six months in jail, a $1,000 fine or both, said Assistant District Attorney David Howe. Restitution may also be added if the district attorney finds that substantial resources were diverted.
Besides, filing a false report “subverts public safety,” Howe said.
Boyd suggested community service hours would be a fitting punishment.
Boyd also made contact with the Office of the Sheriff regarding this incident, she said.
Immediately following the initial report of the girl’s alleged kidnapping, dozens of readers posted comments on the Dispatch’s comment board, about half of which accused the girl of lying – even before police learned the truth.
Early College Academy Principal MaryAnn Boylan said the girl made a mistake and wants to move forward. The girl is still a student at the academy after Boylan made an administrative decision to keep her there. The academy is governed by a strict honor code that expressly forbids a list of unsavory actions, including lying, which tops the list. Often, violations are forwarded to the school’s tribunal, a panel of students who administer the school’s honor code.
“I made a judgment call,” Boylan said. “This case was too sensitive. I didn’t think it was within (the tribunal’s) jurisdiction.”
Boylan said the girl’s parents were “instrumental” in bringing the true story to light. Boylan would not go into detail about the girl’s whereabouts during the time she was missing from school or whether the school would be taking disciplinary action.
Several of the school’s student leaders also composed a letter to all students urging them to “move on” and “hold back any critical comments or criticism against any student.” A number of Dispatch readers who identified themselves as students of the academy posted comments on the Dispatch’s comment board, some supportive, other railing against the student for skipping class and lying.
“We pledge to abide by these principles and to hold all students accountable for their words and actions,” the letter read. “More damage can be done by allowing ourselves to believe we have never committed a mistake or will never commit one in the future.”
