... In July 2008 I was forwarded an email from an ABC News 20/20 producer. He was doing preliminary research for a report on Jeffrey Marsalis. They felt the case touched on important social and legal issues and the possibility that national exposure might bring forward other potential victims. (All along the investigators had thought that their is a much higher number of victims and they were spread across the country as Marsalis is from Washington state and he had stopped along the way to Philadelphia.) The producer was looking for victims willing to speak out and be part of the report. He wanted to have an confidential information gathering conversation first. He also made the offer that if any of the victims wanted to their identities can be concealed. His email included other information such as the broadcasts reputation. I read and reread this email many times but I knew from the moment I received it how much of any opportunity it was to tell my side of the story and expose Marsalis for the evil monster he was. I emailed Joe back to let him know I would be contacting the producer and then sent an email to the producer. He responded immediately and we settled on a time that evening to speak on the phone. Then we would meet for a face to face introduction a few weeks later.
The next step was for the producer to come to Philadelphia with a handheld camera and shoot some footage of me in various locations around the city that I went with Marsalis. We met on November 18th and our first stop was the bar where he and I had spent the most time out that evening. Then we followed the same walking path I did with Marsalis to the second bar. We also went down to his old apartment building and also did a short one on one interview in a car while I drove around the city. All this time he was shooting me with the camera and asking me questions relevant to each location. This was only meant to be preliminary to the actual interview to follow a few months later. At that time I would take a different name and I would be professionally made up to change my face and fitted with a wig.
In March 2009 I received an email from the associate producer with the final details for the interview. I would travel to NYC the morning of March 21st and the entire days schedule consisted of first hair and make-up (along with the three of women who consented to being part of the interview). A head shot was requested so they could assess how to best change my appearance. Once our disguises were complete they would shoot us together and individually inside the building we were using and outside on the streets. We would be provided a catered lunch and dinner and share breaks with the crew and then in the evening be arranged together for a group interview to be conducted by David Muir. Because he reported the evening news on the weekends we had to wait until the newscast was over and he made his way to our location. Hotel accommodations were also booked as it was going to be a long day and go late into the evening.
After I hung up the phone I was feeling so many different emotions. I was excited to have the opportunity to tell my story and to meet the other women who also decided to speak out. I also wondered if any were the ones I sat with in the courtroom. Their names had not been disclosed to me. I was anxious about being made up to look different hoping that it would work. At that time I was no where near ready to reveal myself to everyone. I also had to figure out what to wear. This interview was scheduled at the perfect time as I had planned a 5 day vacation alone in Jamaica just prior to it and needed the rest going into the interview and upcoming trial scheduled for April...
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