...After a day's full of preparation it was now time to begin what we were there to do which was be interviewed. David Muir arrived and was introduced to each of us. He was very nice, friendly and my first impression was completely non-threatening but professional. I was told previously that he was chosen specifically for this interview because of his compassion and I can speak for the other women when I say he put us at ease before, during and after the interview.
He would interview us in a group setting only and explained that he would direct questions to us individually and for all 4 of us to answer. I could tell he did his homework/research and was well versed on the case. The questions included those very specific to each one of our encounters with Marsalis and also those directed to us as a group. Some questions were meant for us to answer interactively between each other as we had a common thread that held us together being the victim of a man who was a fraud and a violent sexual predator. He gave us the opportunity to open up to each other about how we felt about what happened to the other victims and the what ifs. Most prevalent in our minds was "what if I had reported what happened to me sooner?" If so there may have not been a next victim. When we had spoken amongst ourselves prior to the interview we were able to put a timeline together as to when we each met Marsalis and they were within a week of each other. This includes another victim that I had corresponded with after the trial.
David Muir was very patient as we answered all his questions. He allowed us to finish our thoughts before asking the next question and this was really important. We were finally free to speak our minds without any judge and jury in the room. I am not saying he didn't ask us some difficult questions but he did so in a way that was not accusatory. He is a reporter after all and needs to present all sides of the story. It was a very long interview and we took a break halfway through to get up and stretch, drink some water, touch up our makeup and regroup a little bit. To us this was still somewhat fresh and only a few years since our assaults so we were all still healing. In total the interview took about 3 hours and we were exhausted by the time it was done. Afterwards he took the time to tell us how brave we were and was very supportive. We had heard this from the crew several times during the day and I can't tell you how important it was to hear that from people who had never met us before that day. It somehow validates what we did was the right thing. I also want to specifically name the producer Miguel Sancho and associate producer Ruth Reiss for treating us with dignity and care before during and after the interview aired.
It was all over and I was finally able to strip off that blonde wig. I have never been and never will be again a blonde. It doesn't flatter me whatsoever. "Donna" my alias at the time and if you know me it's my middle name, was done for the day! We packed up, thanked everyone we had met that day and were ready to go. It was past 10:00pm and two of us had rooms booked for the night, the other two women were going to get the last train out back to their respective homes. The two of us who had rooms decided we would go back and drop our stuff at the hotel, make a quick change and have a well deserved drink to relax. We were told our hotel had this very popular rooftop bar and as guests didn't have to wait in line to get in. It was a nice spring evening so my new friend and I walked up to join the crowd and unwind. It was just what we needed. We talked about the interview and the day we just experienced, talked about ourselves and exchanged information and promised to get in touch. We are friends to this day, the one I spoke of in a previous post.
The next morning I got up, got the train back home and didn't leave my house the rest of the day. I was processing the day before, running everything back in my mind and thinking ahead to the trial in Idaho which was to be in a few short weeks...
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