Subsequently, Jenny’s parents hired a private investigator named Louie Crisafi. Crisafi interviewed many students from Jenny’s school and concluded that Curtis had been the intended target.

As Crisafi discovered, two years before the attack, Curtis had been convicted of dealing cocaine. To get a reduced sentence, he cooperated with police and served less than half of his sentence.

What’s more, is that Jenny’s parents, much to their further horror, also learned that Curtis wasn’t even 17-years old.

“He looked 17. Further on down the road, I found out he had been in jail for drugs and that he was 24 years old. Just bad news for a 16-year-old kid.” — Diane Strom (Jenny’s mother).

Sgt. Jim Byler said on the finding:

“He (Curtis) developed a reputation as a snitch when he got himself in trouble. And young people, particularly young people involved in drugs, tend to look down on somebody who develops that reputation.”

Consequently, police investigated several people who might have had a grudge against Curtis. They learned that he had confronted one of his enemies on the night before the attack. Jenny’s parents believed that that same boy might have attacked Curtis and Jenny because of the argument.

According to Curtis, the white pick-up truck was traveling too fast for him to see the attackers. He said it went by at about 55 miles an hour. Louie Crisafi didn’t believe Curtis.

In a staged reconstruction using mannequins as stand-ins for Jenny and Curtis, Crisafi reconstructed the incident at two different speeds:

“We used the identical pick-up as far as the model year and the size and the same type of motorcycle and we used the same conditions. There is no way it could’ve happened the way he said.”

In the 55 mile-an-hour reconstruction, the board swung by the assailant fell about fifty feet from the scene of the crime. However, after the accident, police found the board only a few feet from the spot where Jenny was attacked. The second reconstruction played out at only 10 miles an hour. The mannequins sustained injuries very similar to the ones Curtis and Jenny received, and this time, the board fell right next to the motorcycle.

Crisafi felt that Curtis did see the people in the pick-up truck. Crisafi pressed him for more information. Finally, Curtis named names. One of them was the same boy he had fought with on the night before the attack. However, just when the police felt like they got their lead, Curtis recanted, telling police he had given them the names because he felt pressured.

“The truck went by really fast and people try to say maybe I saw someone, but I really didn’t. And we’ve done lie detector tests on me. I’ve passed everything, I’ve told the truth. I’ve always been there to help. I’ve always caved to everything they’ve wanted me to do and cooperated with everything.”

Despite Curtis recanting, Crisafi felt he was trying to keep any more heat off of himself:

“We do believe that Curtis did, in fact, see those people. Curtis continuously told us that he has been threatened, that he has basically informed on people before and was very, very frightened that he would be killed. And he was already being threatened not to talk in this case. And we have reason to believe that what he’s saying to that effect is true.”

Three months after slipping into a coma, Jenny miraculously regained consciousness, though she was felt unable to speak or move on her own. Within 12 weeks after coming out of her coma, Jenny started physical therapy. After seven months, she was able to speak again. A year later, she learned how to walk again.

As soon as she was able to speak again, Jenny expressed her confusion at who or why anyone would want to her hurt her.

Unfortunately, neither her attacker nor the true motive for her attack is known. The private investigator, Crisafi, made a plea for answers:

“We need somebody in the community with half the courage of Jennifer Pratt. Somebody who just knows the one missing link, the one thing that’ll tie this whole case together, because I really think that all we’re missing is one small link. And someone out there has it.”

Was Curtis the real target of the attack? Did his past conviction of dealing cocaine and known status as a snitch contribute to the motive and offense? What lessons can be drawn from this incident?

References