Nifong’s Nightmare … Duke Lacrosse Rape Accuser Changes Story Again

Can the Duke Lacrosse Rape case get any worse? The accuser has yet changed her story again. Its not like the changes impact the case though. The accuser now seems to have her account again about when the alleged gang rape occurred, who attacked her and how. What an unmitigated disater this has become. It is hard to imagine that this case will go on much longer.

Defense attorneys filed the statement in court today, arguing that it was more evidence that the woman is an unreliable witness.

The woman adjusted the timing of the assault to earlier in the evening, a time point preceding the well-documented alibi of one accused player, Reade Seligmann. The defense, however, introduced yet more alibi evidence for Seligmann: he was on the cell phone with his girlfriend during the height of the attack as the accuser now times it.

The new version of the events comes from a Dec. 21 interview by Linwood Wilson, chief investigator for Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong. The statement marked the first time anyone from the District Attorney’s office discussed the case with the woman since charges were filed in April. The interview came less than a week after a private laboratory director testified that he and Nifong agreed not to report DNA evidence favorable to the three accused players.

The statement layers new and contradictory accounts over the woman’s previous statements:

• In her latest statement she said the attack ended at midnight.
• In the latest statement, the woman says she arrived at the party at 11:10 p.m. on March 13 and that the rape began at 11:40 p.m.
• The woman now said her alleged assailants used multiple names.
• The accuser has changed her description of Evans.
• In her recent statement, the woman said that Evans stood in front of her and made her perform sex on him. In past statements, she said that Seligmann did this. (News Observer)