The Case of Guilty Innocent

The Second case I ever worked at the Mental Institute of South California was all but fun and games.  The story of Mrs. Jane Woodall was actually very sad. This smart, middle-class woman and her newly wed husband were all but happy. As Jane walked in, I could tell that she had seen some dark times in her life but, she was dressed fairly nice with a pair of flats and a mid-length gray dress. She even managed to put on her favorite red lipstick right before our interview.

  She walked up to the table I was sitting at and politely pulled out the chair across from me and sat down. I complimented her on her outfit as she got comfortable. Then, I started off with the same basic questions that I had used in the previous case: How have you been? How are you feeling? What’s your hobby? But then, I had to get down to Business.

Mind you, that I had already read the journal that Mrs. Woodall had hid from her husband while in the glorious Mansion. Plus, I had already seen where her husband’s previous wife had mysteriously disappeared shortly after their Honeymoon. But, what was interesting with Mrs. Woodall was the fact that she did have a problem. The problem wasn’t her though, it was her husband. That’s why she killed him.

So, I simply asked “Jane, Why did you do it?” And she smiled and said, “You know why Dr. Vick.”  But I pressed on stating “Jane, I need to hear it one more time.” She then hunched over and began.

“Dr. Vick, I was a bright, young, intern when I met Jack. Jack was everything I had dreamed of marrying, or so I thought. He was tall, dark, and handsome—and a Doctor too. And we hit it off. About six months into our relationship though, I wound up pregnant. And he begged for me to give the baby up. He said it would bring more bad than good to our lives. But I couldn’t give up my child. So, we decided to get married. Quickly after having our child though, Jack became VERY possessive. He made me quit my job, told my girlfriend not to come back to the house, and then we moved to THAT house.”

                She stopped for a second. I asked “Is everything okay?’’ “I need a cigarette!” she replied.  So we walked out to the garden and I handed her a Marlboro Light which she inhaled rather quickly.  “Alright, can we continue?” I asked.

                “When we moved into the house, I wanted to be downstairs. It really had a nice view of the lake. But Jack refused, saying there was only room for one bed in that room, and No, Jack was not the affectionate type even when it came to sleeping. So we moved upstairs to that horrid room.  Now, he was giving me all of these different types of pills that I have never even heard of. After a short time though, I quit taking them. I found that they made me even more tired than I already was. And might I add that he didn’t allow me to do any damn thing!  That Vulgar Wallpaper though, it just kept looking at me and soon I realized that it was a woman. But who was she and what did she want me to do?”

                As she started to shake, I realized that she might need another cigarette, so I pulled another one from my jacket pocket and lit it for her. As I handed it to her all she could manage to say was “Thanks.”  After two drags and one deep breath she began again.

                 “I knew my days were being counted down. Jack was gone most nights for “serious’’ cases. And on one of the last days, I realized that the woman in the wallpaper was familiar. It was his ex-wife! She was trying to get out but she couldn’t! I had to help her!  So on the final day, I told Jennie (Jack’s sister) that I didn’t want to be disturbed and that I needed to rest for the long day ahead. And she believed me. When she left, I locked the doors and began to try and tear down the wallpaper. That’s when I found the blood.

“The blood?” I asked confused.

                “The blood of his ex-wife was on every wall. She had been trying to warn me all along! It was the final day, Jack would be coming back soon! As I tore down the last piece I could reach on the very bottom of the wall you could see where she had placed her hand and I pressed mine to it. That’s when I heard Jack asking me what I was doing. He was banging on the door, demanding me to open it NOW. I grabbed a piece of bar that had at one time kept little children from falling out the window and held it tightly in my hand. He kicked the door in loudly. He came charging at me with a knife! And as he thrust it into my stomach, I hit him in the head with the bar. It knocked him out instantly and I ran for the door! His sister had caught the house on fire. SHE WAS GOING TO BURN ME ALIVE! So I….”

                She stopped and looked up. At this point, she was tearing up. “They tried to kill me and give her my baby!”  I looked astonished. She had figured out that her husband had killed his ex-wife and had planned on killing her and giving their baby to his sister.  As she composed herself, she went to on to continue but I stopped her and said “That will be all Mrs. Woodall.”

                “I’m going to release you from the Institute. However, I would like for you to follow up on some counseling once every two weeks with one of my personal friends. I think it will be good for you. Don’t admit to anything else. That’s all I need from you. Enjoy your time with your child and go back to working. I wish the best of luck to you Jane.”

                “Thanks Arnold.” She said as she hugged me.