Ester Reed on 48 Hours

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Ester Reed seems to have to perfect combination of EQ and IQ. Combine the two and remove a guilty conscience, and you have a dangerous mix. You have a person who will do great harm to others and not think twice about the wave of damage that comes after her.

Read moreWhat is so fascinating about Ester Reed, when you watch her speak, is that she lacks the arrogance you would expect to see. People with her abilities are usually quite confident, most often arrogant and usually love to show off.

One could argue that Ester isn’t arrogant in this interview, because we see her after her arrest, but when you look at Ester’s photos, and you look at how she dressed, what cars she drove and her friends, you get a strong indication Ester was not an arrogant or showy person by any means.

Was it her lack of arrogance and her simple demeanor that put people at ease? Is her humility what caused people to trust her? I can’t help but wonder if this played into her success. It is clear to me that Ester’s demeanor breaks the mold for the typical behavior and actions of most con artists. Few con artists are as “mousey” and quiet as she comes across.

I feel quite strongly, if I were to sit in a room with Ester and introduce her to people, she would have an uncanny ability to pick out the trusting people. When I look at the people 48 Hours interviewed, who had befriended Ester, each of the people were generally trusting of others, except her one boyfriend in Chicago. He was quite intelligent and I suspect his intelligence drew Ester in. Ester has a radar for picking out the right people for her needs. I suspect she can read people like a book and knows who to hone into to get what she wants.

Not only can Ester read people well, she can manipulate her own behaviors to get other people to like her. Walt Wilkins, on 48 Hours said, ‘She’s a master of manipulation. And she can socially engineer anyone into liking her.'”

Yet when I watched Ester talk about herself, I get the distinct feeling she truly does loathe herself. Ester Reed’s English teacher, Jim Therriault, said it best when he said, Ester was, “Somebody she didn’t want to be. Someone she didn’t like. Someone I think she would have done anything to escape from if she could have.”

Ester expressed disgust for herself, but in a strange twist, she truly enjoyed being questioned if she was telling the truth. She loves that power play and delighted in the fact she can “sell ice to Eskimos” should she choose. Ester has a love/hate relationship with herself that is hard to grasp.

None of Ester’s friends, however, talked about her stealing from them. I found that interesting. Yet she had no problem stealing from her own family, and worse walking away from them completely. She obviously has attachment issues. Most people have a very difficult time breaking bonds, even bonds that were formed for only months, but Ester lacks this as well.

It’s scary because what will cause Ester to stop these behaviors? I guess it will come down to the price of life on the run is no longer worth it for her. If she doesn’t reach that pinnacle, there will likely be no stopping her because a conscience hasn’t worked so far nor has normal bonding in relationships.

Ester said, “For some reason, new people are not as frightening as people I know. Like people I get used to, they start to get a look on their face, or maybe she’s treating me a little differently now. So new places, for some reason, were safer for me.” I believe when Ester says this–this is the truth for her. When she lies and deceives, she is constantly wary someone will pick up on her schemes. It becomes exhausting, so new faces give her a sense of peace.

Ester is truly an interesting person on many levels. I’ll be curious to watch what she does with her life. She’d be best to give Frank Abagnale a call, and learn some wise lessons for him. Life on the run as a criminal was lonely and isolating according to him, and the price he paid in the end likely wasn’t worth the rewards he got — all under an assumed name. It’s much more fun to be your authentic self, because while Ester ran from herself, the only thing she truly changed was her name. The rest of her behaviors and actions were genuinely Ester, and can be used for the good as equally as the bad.

Vicky Ward over at the Huffington Post wrote about Ester Reed last year. It is a long, yet interesting article.

Frank Abagnale

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Frank Abagnale talks about Ester Reed to 48 Hours. If you don’t know who Abagnale is, you should watch the movie, “Catch Me If You Can”. He is a fascinating person.

Abagnale has a humbleness about him, as does Reed, which is truly unique considering their intellect and ability to fool people. The arrogance that you would expect to see is strangely missing.

Watch Abagnale

3rd Trial for Daniel Wade Moore

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Daniel Wade Moore’s third trial went to the jury this week. So far the jury has deliberated two days, and is due to report back to the courthouse on Monday at 9:00 a.m. I have been keeping an eye out, waiting to hear the jury’s verdict.

I saw Daniel Wade Moore speak about the crime on 48 Hours years ago, and I saw Dr. Tipton speak as well. I can tell you I do not believe Daniel Wade Moore killed Karen Tipton. In the first trial, Daniel Wade Moore was convicted, but that was overturned due to misconduct by the prosecutor. The second trial resulted in a hung jury, and amazingly, the courts decided to try him once again.

I wonder how the law will work if the third jury comes back hung again?

You can read my previous opinions here.

Out Walking the Dog

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I was out walking my dog just a little while ago on a quiet dead end street when this car drove by. I took notice because there was no one around, but didn’t worry about it. I just noticed the license plates were local, and the guy behind the wheel was in his late 40s, early 50s. He had blondish hair and wide set eyes.

Read moreAs the car came back from over the hill from the direction of the dead end, I noticed the man’s window was down, so I knew he was going to stop to ask me something. I was a little uneasy at this point because there wasn’t a soul around. Behind me was a wooded park, and I would be between him and trees. Naturally, as he stopped, I stepped about 10 feet back and off to an angle. I don’t like being approached by strangers in cars.

He looked up at me, gave a polite (fake) smile and said, “You haven’t seen a loose dog around here, have you?”

“No,” I replied feeling slightly uncomfortable.

“Okay”, he said, scanning his rear view mirror.

“What kind of dog are you looking for?” I asked him.

“Uh, um…uh….a….Doberman Pincher,” he replied scanning around.

The way he said Doberman Pincher was as if it were a question! Not good.

Why is this guy struggling to identify his dog? Why is he scanning his rear view mirror and looking around? My alarm bells were blaring, and just at that time, my neighbor appears about 40 feet away! Was I relieved!! The guy in the car notices him instantly, too.

“If I see this dog, where do you live so I can bring him back, if I do spot him?” I asked with a little more confidence since my neighbor was there.

“Well, it’s actually a neighbor’s dog…and I told him I’d go look around for him.” At this point, he is slowly letting the car roll away from me.

I knew at this point everything this guy just said to me was a lie.

“What street do you live on?” I asked probing for more information.

He hit the breaks, but is giving me definite clues he wants to bolt. “Walberg,” he told me, “about a mile and a half away.”

“Don’t worry about bringing the dog back,” he said, “Just call the sheriff.” As he saw my neighbor approach, he turned his head and put his foot on the gas and eased out of there.

Something was very off about this guy.

My neighbor and I chatted a few minutes and I told him the story. He said, “That’s interesting. The guy only went up about 3 more houses and turned around. He never even went to the end of the block (which is a dead end).”

Hmmm…he is looking for a dog, and he doesn’t even drive to the end of the road to see if the dog is down there, the area closest to where he tells me he lives nearest to! Also, in hindsight, he didn’t say, “You haven’t seen a doberman pincher loose, have you?” He saw my dog and “dog” was the first thing that stuck in his head and formed his lie. Uh!

My neighbor and I then chatted about the car, and you know, I couldn’t come up with one detail about the car. My neighbor then identified it was a late blue model something, to which I replied, “I think I could identify his face, but that is all.”

My skin is crawling!! I don’t want to know why this guy just lied. Thank god for neighbors!!

48 Hours Saturday: Ester Reed

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“Catch Her If You Can” will air on Saturday night’s 48 Hours. It looks like an interesting story. Watch a preview here

“…in an exclusive interview with 48 Hours Mystery, Esther Elizabeth Reed claims she is “not clear why people consider me a con artist. [Not] everyone who tells a lie is a con artist…I never borrowed a penny, opened a credit card that I did not intend on paying back.”

The words “did not intend” immediately jump out at me as manipulative. Wouldn’t an honest person say, “I never borrowed a penny, opened a credit card that I did not pay back”? People who are less than honest often say they have the right intentions, but usually never have the right actions. That’s like when people promise you they will “try”, it usually means they aren’t serious!

As always, if she is a good subject, I will write about her next week. Don’t forget to check back for my thoughts, and don’t forget to setup your DVRs!!

My Thoughts On Ester Reed here.