INSIDE BARBARA DAY'S PRETRIAL TESTIMONY — PART TWO

CAMP SCOTT — Ok, y’all, we are jumping right into Barbara Day’s pretrial transcripts, part two. Her pretrial testimony is more than 70 pages long, and we're only around page 28, so we may end up having to make this one a three-part drop.

And for those of you who are new here and want to follow along with our deep dive into the Girl Scout Murders of 1977, we will drop a link to our website in the comments below so you can read the previous installments and follow along.

We left off on the cross-examination portion of Barbara’s pretrial testimony, and we are picking back up after she had to leave the pre-camp campout for a funeral and to handle some courthouse business.

When asked what her duties were by the defense, she stated that she was responsible for overseeing the opening of the camp and all of the counselors. She was then asked about how the assignment of each Scout is decided and how they determine which unit to assign them to. She stated that once a Scout registers using a registration card and pays their fee, it is then passed on to her (Barbara), and she breaks the Scouts down into different grade groups in a book. Then, the week before the camp session starts, she looks over all of the registered Scouts in her book, checks how many are in each grade, and then counts off 28 Scouts to each unit, starting with the youngest, so they are all of similar ages within each unit. She then makes copies of those unit assignments, which are mimeographed in her office at the campgrounds and then handed to the camp counselors. The defense then asked her to confirm that she said "mimeographed," to which Barbara responded yes and confirmed that she had a mimeograph machine. She also stated that this is done at the campgrounds, not at their headquarters in Tulsa. As to when she mimeographed the assignments, she couldn't recall the exact day. She did state, though, that after she mimeographed each sheet, she gave copies to the Magic Empire Council in Tulsa. When asked what headquarters does with those copies, she stated that she wasn't there and didn't know what became of them.

Side note, for those of you who do not know what a mimeograph machine is, it was a old school copy machine that used a wax stencil and ink to make multiple copies of documents. Ok, let's get back to it.

The whole purpose of her providing copies to headquarters, according to her testimony, was to facilitate registration. She said that the Scouts first arrive at the Council headquarters in Tulsa before then boarding buses to get to the campgrounds (Camp Scott). She went on to explain that the Council then uses those mimeographed sheets to help tag the children's luggage by color depending on which unit they are assigned to, to help make things easier upon their arrival to camp.

She was then asked by the defense regarding the assignments, if there are any "other assignments which are more definite other than those to particular unit?" To which she responded yes. She went on to explain that when the Scouts get to camp, they meet their unit counselor and are then taken together as a group to their assigned unit. She then said that once they are at their units, the Scouts are given the opportunity to choose which tent they would like to sleep in, stating that this is "tradition" at camp. When asked if she made any assignments other than the unit assignments, she said she only did so one time. She explained that regarding the Quapaw unit, which consisted of the youngest Scouts there, she felt they would need to feel more comfortable and safe because they were the youngest of the group and "first-time campers." So, she said that in that specific unit only, the Scouts tend to have a hard time making a decision. That is why the counselors use the assignments to instruct them as to which tent and bed they are assigned to. She then stated she couldn't recall when she gave the unit counselors their assignments, but said it had to have been sometime before the Scouts arrived at camp on June 12th.

She was then asked again about the pre-camp campout and whether there had been any reported thefts previously. She said no, but mentioned the slashing of the tent again. She went on to say that when they all returned to the campgrounds on June 12th to greet the Scouts, Ben, the camp ranger, mentioned to her that while he was working at the camp over the weekend, somebody had "slashed off the tent front and removed it from the property" during what he said was the middle of the afternoon. When asked if there were any reports of intruders, she said no. She was then asked about tourists or people who come to Camp Scott to swim, and whether there were usually a lot of them. She said she wouldn't really consider it a lot, but that she really couldn't say. She was then asked if she had seen a lot of tourists in the area, and she stated yes. She also confirmed that the campgrounds were located close to a couple of streams where people may go to fish, but that the stream that runs adjacent to Camp Scott and the one that runs through the actual campground is not used for fishing because the water is too shallow.

She was then asked if she gave any of the counselors or staff members any special instructions regarding security measures that needed to be put in place, and she said yes. She testified that, regarding any intruders on the campgrounds, the counselors were instructed not to approach them and to not let the Scouts approach them either. The defense then asked her if there was any type of communication system set up between the units and her office, and she said yes. The main base was located in her office inside her cabin, and the unit counselors were each given walkie-talkies. She also stated that the base located in her office was typically on at all times, but they could not get it to work on June 12th, so they were planning to have someone come to camp on that Monday to assess it and hopefully repair it. When asked if there was any other way they could communicate besides that system, she said no.

She was then asked about the lighting situation in the Kiowa Unit. She stated that there was no electricity because it was a wilderness program. At nighttime, each unit was required to lock up the latrines and hang a kerosene lantern on the outside. She also stated that if a Scout had to leave their tent at night, they were required to take both a flashlight and a buddy with them. She added that the Scouts were required to bring their own flashlights to camp, along with extra batteries.

The defense then asked her about the bed check policy at camp. She stated that bedtime was usually around 9:00 p.m., and the unit counselors were instructed to personally "see to the bedding down" of all the Scouts. They were also supposed to conduct periodic checks throughout the night when it got too noisy. However, she also explained that before everyone officially went to bed, the counselors were required to conduct a tent-by-tent check but they were not supposed to enter the tents. Instead they would need to go to each tent door to make sure the "tent is down."

When asked who on the campgrounds had access to the camp keys, she stated that she and Ben, the camp ranger, did. She then explained that Ben was the one who usually unlocked the camp buildings, not her, and that when camp wasn't in session, all of the buildings remained locked. When asked who ultimately decided when and how the tents were to be put up, she said Ben knew when the campers would be arriving because the trip camping director informed him when it was time to set up the tents. She then stated that the tents were stored in the unit kitchen storage room for each unit. When asked where the rope for those tents was kept, she stated that the ropes were attached to the tents. If extra rope was needed, she said it could be found in Ben's storage barn, which was located next to his cabin. When asked if there was anywhere else on the campgrounds where rope was stored, she stated that the unit kitchens also had twine, but that was it.

She was then asked about the gatekeeping responsibilities and who was ultimately in charge of locking the camp gate. She said it was the camp director's duty to do so during camp sessions, and that the only other person who had a set of keys to that gate was Ben. She stated that her key was kept either on her person or on her desk in her office, adding, "I didn't at that point have a duplicate because Ben and I had duplicates of one another's keys."

When asked what time she arrived at Camp Scott on June 12th, she stated that she didn't remember the exact time, but it was sometime before noon. She explained that when she arrived, she handed out any newly purchased equipment, gathered the unit leaders for a brief meeting, and gave them any final instructions. When asked who was with her when she arrived at camp that day, she said she couldn't recall whether she drove the counselors there or drove by herself. She said that about an hour after she arrived, her husband, Richard, also arrived.

When asked if Richard was present for the unit leaders' meeting, she said no. Instead, he was hiking. She explained that he was going to walk the property line so they could both become more familiar with the land, and there was one section of the property line they had not yet explored. She said that area was a couple of miles from the center of Camp Scott, so he drove there before hiking it. When asked what property it was near, she stated that it was close to the Wildcat Williams property, although she didn't believe the property line actually intersected it. She said it was somewhere between the Wildcat property and Camp Scott.

Barbara testified that Richard hiked for several hours before returning to the campgrounds sometime between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. Once he returned, she said she checked the Scouts in, and after they went to their units, that's when she ran into him again. When they both returned to their cabin, she couldn't remember whether she showered, but she did recall that they meditated before eating dinner together in the dining hall. After dinner, she stated that she and Richard had to briefly leave camp to buy milk because they had run out. She estimated they left at approximately 7:30 p.m.

She was then asked if there was anything strange or unusual at the camp gate as she was leaving, and Barbara said yes. She testified that there was a car parked outside the camp gate, although she couldn't remember what it looked like or what color it was. She did recall seeing four occupants inside the vehicle. She said the car was parked, and as they drove past, she counted four heads.

There were two people sitting upright in the back seat, while the two people in the front appeared to be lying down. She said she could tell because one of the doors was open and their legs were hanging out. When asked how close the vehicle was to the gate, she stated that it was right next to it on the left-hand side as you were leaving the campgrounds. She said the car was facing west and was parked parallel to the fence by the camp gate. She was then asked if she stopped to speak with them, and she said no because they were not actually on Camp Scott property, so she continued on to get the milk. When asked if she remembered any additional details about the vehicle, including whether it was American-made or foreign-made, she stated that it was American-made and that she had also provided that information to investigators when they interviewed her.

We are going go ahead and stop there for part two. Part three will cover the remainder of Barbara Day's pretrial testimony, including a voir dire examination before continuing with the rest of the cross-examination.

And the final installment of Barbara's pretrial testimony will be dropping tomorrow... Scout's honor.

Source: Official Pretrial Transcripts

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