Will Jennifer Wilbanks Be Prosecuted For A Crime?

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter is reportedly considering both misdemeanor and felony charges against Jennifer Wilbanks for her recent statements and actions in the bogus kidnapping story surrounding her disappearance from her Georgia home.

Depending on any charges and a conviction a penalties could range from one to five years in jail.

"If there's criminal responsibility, that's something I have to do something about," Porter said, adding that no decision would be made Sunday. "I think it's really going to depend on the circumstances on how this was done."

There are jurisdictional issues and the possibility that she could be charged in Albuquerque, as well. She did report a kidnapping to the Georgia police by phone, so it seems there are many potential charges should authorities opt to pursue them. But is that a realistic expectation in this particular case?

"Law enforcement is really making a major move to deal with people in crisis," Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schulz said Sunday. "Miss Wilbanks was definitely a person in crisis."

The fact is her family is both an influential and popular part of the Georgia community in which she resides, though at the same time, many residents appear to be as angry as some others from around the nation and world outside of the little Georgia community.

But some residents of this Atlanta suburb felt betrayed by what turned out to be an elaborate hoax. Volunteers had searched woods and alleys, crawled in sewage drains and stayed up late looking for Wilbanks. "I'm glad that she's alive and OK, but it was a dirty trick," said Louise McCoy, waiting in line at the Duluth post office Saturday...

Other factors as reported by Fox News last night are also emerging. It is being speculated that Jennifer Wilbanks exhibited "cold feet" at least twice before immediately preceding a pending marriage. If reports are true, she acted by calling off the wedding in that case, and not engaging on a cross-state run hopefully covered up by her now debunked kidnapping story.

It is also said that the search for Jennifer was called off as quickly as it was prior to her turning up in Albuquerque because some on the town had thought she might have gotten cold feet all along. Statement by local authorities while the woman was still missing also support that conclusion.

Authorities said they considered the case a criminal investigation, but police gave mixed signals about whether they believe Wilbanks may have gotten cold feet.

Maj. Don Woodruff said authorities did not believe Wilbanks was a runaway bride. But under questioning from reporters, Belcher later said: "It's a very real possibility she did get cold feet. I mean, how many husbands have gone out for a pack of cigarettes and not come back?"

Some similar cases in the past do set precedent for charges to be brought against Wilbanks.

Another similar case involved Lethbridge, Alta., alderwoman Dar Heatherington, who faked her own disappearance during a business trip to Great Falls, Mont., in 2003, prompting a large search. Heatherington, 41, was later convicted in Alberta on a mischief charge and sentenced to eight months of house arrest, followed by a nightly curfew for a year.

And:

Last year, a Wisconsin college student who faked her own abduction and turned up curled in a fetal position in a marsh was given three years' probation for obstructing police and was ordered to repay police at least $9,000 for their search.

There may be differences in this case though, due to the standing of both Wilbank's family, as well as the family of her would-be groom, John Mason.

The name Mason carries a great deal of weight in Duluth. Mason's father, Claude, is among four sons of the late Dr. Miles H. Mason Jr., who was the first surgeon at Joan Glancy Memorial Hospital.

M.H. Mason Elementary is named for the surgeon. John Mason's father, attorney Claude Mason, was mayor of Duluth from 1978 until 1983 and is now a municipal judge in Norcross.

In Gainesville, Wilbanks' mother, Joyce Parrish, was the longtime owner of Satterfield's, a sporting goods store. Her uncle, Mike Satterfield, is the former fire chief.

Wilbanks works as a medical assistant at Heritage OBGYN and had worked for years at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. Her twin brother, Matthew, is assistant manager at Outdoor Traditions, a sporting goods store in Dawsonville.

There were to be approximately 600 guests at the Wilbanks-Mason wedding for a reason. From all reports, the families of both are well-known and respected. How that plays out as regards a local district attorney deciding to press charges or not remains to be seen. The prosecutor has said he will make no decision on Sunday.

This post is also available at Blogger News Network.

Comments

[Ryan Scott]

They at least need to send her the bill for all the searching and wasted time they spent. It would have been better if she had told one person, and that person would just have had to say that she needed to think but that she's doing fine. There has to be consequences to actions, and this is at the least filing a false report...

[!]

I sure as hell hope that has to do some kind of shit for her bullshit.

It pisses me off.