Now that Phillip and Nancy Garrido's trial is over and they both pleaded guilty to kidnapping Jaycee Lee Dugard and holding her captive for eighteen years, Jaycee was finally free to give her first national television interview. She likely had her pick of interviewers, and she chose kindly Diane Sawyer at ABC, whose interview with Dugard just aired last night. more ›

The pre-trial bullshit surrounding the case of Philip Garrido — which ought to be open-and-shut if you ask us, now a year and a half since he and his wife were arrested in connection with the kidnapping and imprisonment of Jaycee Lee Dugard — drags on as Garrido's lawyer made a motion Thursday to "set aside" the grand jury indictment against her client. She argued that that the composition of the jury "did not fairly reflect the populace of El Dorado County." The motion now won't be argued until May 5. more ›

Isn't California nearly bankrupt? Anyway. Lawmakers in Sactown today awarded $20 million to kidnapping victim Jaycee Lee Dugard to settle claims against the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Apparently the Dugards had a pretty good case against the state, following on a November report that showed that parole officers "failed to investigate utility wires running from Garrido's house toward the shed where Dugard was held, to check out the presence of a 12-year-old girl during a visit, or to act on information that 'clearly' showed Garrido had violated the terms of his release." [CNN] more ›

El Dorado County prosecutors filed papers today to bar all contact between the attorneys of Philip and Nancy Garrido and their former kidnapped ward, Jaycee Lee Dugard. According to the documents, the Garridos are "trying control her through lawyers and the news media and should be barred by a court order from trying to contact her or her children." This appears to be in reference to a message that Philip Garrido conveyed to Jaycee Lee through an attorney saying that he "harbored no ill will" toward her and still loved her and the children. In related news, the Garridos are trying to seek permission to visit one another in prison. [AP via The Oakland Tribune] more ›

Although both Philip Garrido and his robot wife, Nancy Garrido, have pleaded not guilty to all 29 charges of kidnapping, rape, and false imprisonment charges, Philip's bail was set today at $30 million. His wife, however, "continues to be held without bail, something her attorney did not object to during Monday's hearing," reports CBS 5/AP. So far, the Garrido's have been charged with crimes only related to Jaycee Lee Dugard. In related news, a stun gun was used to subdue Dugard during her 1991 kidnapping. Also, District Attorney Vern Pierson denied rumors that Dugard will make her first public appearance on . So, yeah, there you have it. more ›