Sitting in the prison issued wheelchair, Thibodeau appreciates a little sports small talk about his beloved Boston Red Sox. He knows his team is in first place. He sees some games as he shares a television with his hospital roommate. But, the conversation quickly steers back to what happened when he was arrested in 1994 nearly two months after the apparent abduction and then his trial the next summer.

Both Thibodeau brothers were accused of kidnapping. They were walked in front of the television cameras in May of 1994. A grand jury indictment against Gary included citations of the statements taken from Gary Thibodeau's jail cellmates in Massachusetts who claimed Thibodeau admitted to the crime. Gary's trial came first, one year later.

The jury found Gary guilty. His stunned reaction has played repeatedly on the news over the years. 23 years later Thibodeau explains why he appeared shocked. "The jury came back a second time. said no evidence against me, twice." The judge encouraged them to continue deliberations. After they read the verdict Thibodeau recalls looking at the jurors. "A juror up front was crying," he remembers. "She mouthed to me the words. They made me do it." His fate was sealed.

His brother Richard would go on trial four months later. Same evidence presented to a different jury with two exceptions. Richard was the brother who told police he was at the D&W convenience store that morning buying cigarettes. And, prosecutors did not have the advantage of the jailhouse testimony that helped convict Gary. Richard walked out of court all smiles. The jury found him not guilty.

The Cape in July

Search for spring

Living with ALS - 6 months later