(Footage of 48 HOURS logo; Thomas Levesque in courtroom; Julie Barnes in
courtroom)
Unidentified Woman #1: Court, all rise.
BILL LAGATTUTA reporting:
(Voiceover) As Worcester mourns...
Unidentified Anchor: (From news program) Major breaking developments in that
tragic warehouse inferno in Worcester that killed six firefighters.
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) ...the two people who started the fire are brought into
court to be charged.
Unidentified Anchor: (From news program) Two homeless people are charged with
accidentally setting that blaze.
(Footage of Levesque; Worcester Cold Storage ablaze)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) Thirty-seven-year-old Tom Levesque, a drifter, and his
19-year-old companion, Julie Ann Barnes, who is three months pregnant. They'd
been living illegally in the vacant warehouse for months.
(Footage of Levesque and Barnes in court; Worcester Cold Storage ablaze)
Unidentified Reporter: (From news report; voiceover) They had recently argued.
Both had been in the building prior to the fire and knocked over a candle which
ignited some clothing. They tried to extinguish it but did not.
(Footage of Levesque and Barnes exiting court)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) They're charged with six counts of manslaughter--six
counts for six dead firefighters.
Unidentified Man #1: The investigation is still continuing. We're not certain
what kind of evidence may be revealed if any.
(Footage of Worcester Cold Storage ablaze)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) The police say the pair not only failed to put out the
fire, they failed to report it.
Unidentified Man #1: They should have been aware enough to notify somebody that
there was a fire there.
(Footage of Media Play building)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) Instead they listened to music at a nearby mall.
Unidentified Man #2: They were right over in this area.
(Footage of store manager)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) The store manager overheard them arguing.
Unidentified Man #2: She was raising her voice at him. And it seemed like she
was angry at him.
(Footage of Mustard Seed food kitchen; Worcester Cold Storage ablaze; apartment
building; hotel)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) They then went to have dinner at a food kitchen, and
then they went their separate ways. He stayed overnight in a friend's
apartment; she stayed with a friend in a hotel room and watched the fire from a
fourth floor window.
(Footage of Worcester Cold Storage ablaze)
Unidentified Man #1: If we can establish that arson occurred, then maybe a more
appropriate charge could be murder.
(Footage of Levesque and Barnes in court)
LAGATTUTA: But while Julie Barnes and Tom Levesque are being held in prison on
high bail awaiting trial, 300 miles to the north--really a world away--here
along the coast of Maine, something is about to happen that will change this
case completely. Tim and Debb King live in Ellsworth, Maine. One day two
weeks after the fire, Tim King picks up the morning paper to read the latest
account of the tragedy. But when he see this photograph of Julie Barnes'
troubled, bewildered face, Tim King notices something remarkable.
Mr. TIM KING: I looked at the picture of Julie and said, `Gosh, she looks
remarkably like my daughter Jennifer.'
(Footage of Jennifer King)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) Sixteen-year-old Jennifer is Tim and Debb King's adopted
daughter.
Mrs. DEBB KING: When I saw the picture, I knew immediately it was Jennifer's
biological sister.
(Footage of Barnes; photo of Jennifer and Debb)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) Debb King had always known Jennifer had an older sister
named Julie. She had met Julie when she adopted Jennifer in Worcester 13 years
ago. Debb also knew that the sisters shared a significant limitation.
Mrs. KING: Jennifer is diagnosed as mentally retarded. Most of her testing
puts her at about a seven-, eight-year-old functioning level.
LAGATTUTA: What was Julie's condition?
Mrs. KING: Similar to what I felt Jennifer's was, very shy, slow.
(Photos of baby Jennifer; footage of Barnes)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) But when the Kings adopted Jennifer, they felt they just
couldn't take on two kids with special needs and Julie was left behind in
foster care.
Mrs. KING: And I never forgot about her, never, ever. I never. I always
wondered.
LAGATTUTA: You had a sense, though, that Julie's life was not anything close to
her sister Jennifer's life.
Mrs. KING: Right. I--I knew that.
LAGATTUTA: You felt that she was--wherever she was...
Mrs. KING: She wouldn't have...
LAGATTUTA: ...things were not good?
Mrs. KING: No.
(Footage of Barnes)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) It wasn't good. In and out of foster homes, then a life
on the streets. And now while Julie awaits trial in Worcester...
Mrs. KING: She always has that happy little smile. This is her first hissy
fit.
(Photos of baby Jennifer)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) ...back in Maine, Jennifer King...
(Footage of Jennifer)
Mr. KING: We're looking at pictures of you.
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) ...the sister who grew up with love and support.
Mr. KING: After dinner, Jen, you need to take a shower.
(Footage of Kings)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) ...a special education, honor roll student...
(Footage of award; Jennifer)
Mr. KING: (Voiceover) She's certainly been on the honor roll a lot more than I
was.
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) ...is getting ready for the last day of school.
Tell me about her personality.
Mrs. KING: (Voiceover) She's just sweet.
(To Jennifer) Good night, sweetheart.
(Footage of Debb and Jennifer)
Mrs. KING: (Voiceover) She looks for the good in everybody. She's just a
beautiful, wonderful child.
(Footage of Tim and Jennifer; Barnes)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) These two sisters who've led strikingly different lives
have the Kings wondering, `What if?'
Mrs. KING: When you look at it and you realize that, `Oh, my God, you know,
this could have been my daughter...'
Unidentified Woman #1: Manslaughter, six counts.
LAGATTUTA: You think Julie wouldn't have had the wherewithal to realize that
the warehouse was on fire and that she needed to call the authorities?
Mrs. KING: That's correct.
LAGATTUTA: Do you think that she knew the seriousness of the fire?
Mrs. KING: No.
LAGATTUTA: Do you think she knew the potential of the fire?
Mrs. KING: No, absolutely not.
(Footage of Barnes)
LAGATTUTA: What is it that you would like to do for her?
Mrs. KING: Bring her here.
LAGATTUTA: In your home.
Mrs. KING: That's correct.
LAGATTUTA: Why burden yourselves with this? I mean, you've got enough on your
hands now.
Mrs. KING: I feel a real commitment that I--it's Jennifer's sister and maybe we
can give Julie the chance that she hasn't had.
Mr. KING: It's the right thing to do.
Mrs. KING: And it's the right thing to do.
(On phone) We have to get her out of there.
(Footage of Debb on phone)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) And so after a meeting with Julie in prison...
Mrs. KING: (On phone) This is a girl that's limited.
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) ...the Kings make a major decision...
Mrs. KING: (On phone) Six counts of manslaughter.
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) ...they will first work to get her out on bail...
Mrs. KING: (On phone) Oh, God.
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) ...and then fight to get the charges dropped.
Mr. KING: We're going down to Massachusetts. We're going to speak to groups...
Unidentified Man #3: Welcome to Worcester.
Mr. KING: (Voiceover) We're gonna speak to individuals.
If it wasn't for us, that could be Jennifer.
(Footage of Kings)
Mr. KING: (Voiceover) We're going to speak to organization.
And for them, it was looking in a mirror 'cause they look so much alike.
(Footage of Jennifer)
Mr. KING: (Voiceover) We're going to raise this money.
(On radio) We're trying to raise $75,000 for the bail money.
(Footage of radio talk show)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) But in Worcester where the wounds are still fresh, what
they want for Julie will be a tough sell.
(Excerpt from radio program)
Unidentified Woman #2: And I don't think we've healed enough for someone to
come on the radio and ask for money to help this girl.
Mr. KING: What did she do wrong?
Unidentified Man #4: You--and you don't think she has any responsibility to
this?
Mr. KING: What--what did she do wrong?
Unidentified Man #4: They certainly could have called 911. They certainly
could have told somebody.
(Footage of Worcester Cold Storage ablaze)
Mr. JIM LYONS: We can understand a fire starting accidentally. However, we
find it troublesome and hard to understand that the fire department was not
notified.
Unidentified Woman #1: Julie Ann Barnes is before the court.
(Footage of Barnes; firefighters rescuing bodies; family members)
LAGATTUTA: What do you say to the families of those firefighters, to the 17
children who will never see their father again, to the--to the grieving widows?
What do you say about your fight to have the charges dropped?
Mr. KING: We say to them we have the utmost respect for them, for the families,
for the firefighters, that we feel a tremendous sadness at their loss, but this
tragedy doesn't need another victim.
Mrs. KING: Here we go to the post office.
(Footage of Debb)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) Will the Kings get Julie out of prison...
Mrs. KING: A hundred dollars.
(Footage of check; Barnes)
LAGATTUTA: (Voiceover) ...or will she pay the price for the deaths of six
firefighters?
