Four Gecko Egg Theft Suspects Offer A Defense
Are their stories enough to convince investigators of their innocence?
by Gabe Jenkins
January 29, 2007
The four primary suspects involved in the theft of the rare captivity-laid eggs of the Madagascar Day geckos, Darwin and D'NA, spoke to investigators in an effort to clear their names.
Confronted with powerful evidence implicating these teachers in the theft, each of them spoke to authorities in an effort to tell their side of the story, and hopefully, to remove themselves from the suspect list. Included below are the videotaped interviews, along with a summary of the current evidence facing them:
JOSHUA PACKMAN
Potential Motive: He has chronic back pain, a condition that has been rumored to be cured by eating gecko eggs.
Current evidence against him:
1. Handwriting on the crime scene note matches his perfectly;
2. Coffee cup at the scene of the crime matches the 7-11 coffee cups he drinks every day.
To see Mr. Packman's second interview, please click here.
JAMIE MARANTZ
Potential Motive: She was clearly disturbed that the gecko eggs made it difficult for students to focus on the class lesson. It is her job to make sure that teachers are teaching and students are learning, and the existence of the gecko eggs made learning more difficult.
Current evidence against her:
1. Hairs and dog hairs match hers, particularly since she is the only one of the main suspects who has a dog.
2. DNA from a hair at the crime scene matches her DNA.
3. A letter addressed to "Ms. Mar" is found at the crime scene.
To see Ms. Marantz's second interview, please click here.
CLIFFORD HONG
Potential Motive: Mr. Hong is a well-known animal rights activist, and was clearly frustrated and saddened to see the gecko eggs in the glass case, because he believes that the geckos deserved to run free in the forests of the world. Mr. Hong clearly stated in his first interview, "Go animals!"
Current evidence against him:
1. Fingerprints on the glass gecko case match his EXACTLY.
2. A fiber found at the crime scene matches fibers found on his shirt, both in terms of texture and color.
3. An earring found at the scene of the crime MAY OR MAY NOT belong to him. He is the only one of the main suspects who for certain wears earrings.
To see Mr. Hong's second interview, please click here.
MARLENA WOLFGRAMM
Potential Motive: Ms. Wolfgramm admitted to being short of money recently, and stated that she had heard a rumor that smuggling gecko eggs out of the country would be worth a LOT of money. She also stated that she would be going to Tonga for Easter, and noted that it would be easy to sneak the gecko eggs into Tonga by hiding them in an Easter basket.
Current evidence against her:
1. Her pen was the pen used to write the "Ha Ha, Mr. Jenkins" note found at the crime scene.
2. Her footprint matches EXACTLY with a footprint found at the scene of the crime.
3. Earring found at the scene of the crime MAY OR MAY NOT point to her, as it is unclear if her ears are actually pierced.
To see Ms. Wolfgramm's second interview, please click here.
INVESTIGATORS: PLEASE WATCH THE FOUR FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEWS WITH THE MAIN SUSPECTS TO DETERMINE IF THEY CAN EXPLAIN HOW THEIR EVIDENCE WAS FOUND AT THE CRIME SCENE.
