Three cases had one common denominator: The victims never got a good look at their attacker because the attacker(s) covered the women's faces. Colleen Bitterman (Livingston County), Judy Coltrain (Jackson County) and Carol Wright (Washtenaw County) each testified to these facts. And what little they could see did not present a "serial" scenario.
Judy Coltrain (Jackson County) recalled short, dark hair & a mustache, and dark sunglasses. She described a rather large man and distinctly remembered how he felt on top of her: "soft, like someone who doesn't exercise regularly." The real, original suspect composite in the Coltrain has been destroyed. Eskridge replaced the real composite with a forgery that looked like Ewing.
Except for a one day beard, Carol Wright (Washtenaw County) described a man not unlike Ewing (and a lot of men): Short dark hair and mustache, medium build, dark sunglasses. But she also testified that she lost her glasses in the struggle and was "blind" without them.
Both Livingston County cases (Colleen Bitterman & Stacey Arronson) described their attackers as having "long, dark, curly hair and a mustache." Both were "very slim." Stacey Arronson was the only woman who got a good look at the man who attacked her.
When Pattie Morris met Ewing she described him accurately: "well built and quite physically fit. Due to regular backpacking and mountain climbing expeditions Ewing stayed in good shape - unlike the "soft" guy who raped Coltrain or the skinny guy who raped Bitterman. The one connection between him and the Coltrain & Wright rapists appeared to be sunglasses.
Kaye Jensen fabricated the story of her rape. She also conjured up a description of her bogus attacker - a clean shaven teen-ager with long sandy hair. Years later she named Ewing as her "attacker."
CSC Charges
Comparison of Cases
The Morris Incident
The Photo Showup
The Jensen Case
The Wright Case The Coltrain Case Destruction of Evidence The Bitterman Acquittal
The Arronson Dismissal
Help
