Judge: Jailed pair can’t send letters

Wife accused of manipulating memory

— A husband and wife accused of kidnapping and murder can no longer send letters to each other in jail, according to an order signed last week by a federal judge.

The move comes on the heels of a motion filed by Texarkana defense attorney Craig Henry on behalf of Leslie Bruce Larcade, 47. The motion accuses Leslie Larcade’s wife and co-defendant, Chrystal Lynn Larcade, 37, of attempting to rewrite history in the mind of her brain-damaged husband.

The Oklahoma couple is accused of kidnapping Shannon Deval Watkins, 45, from Broken Bow, Okla., and taking him to Texarkana to collect a $1,000 bounty offered on a Facebook page.

According to Henry’s Dec. 11 motion, Leslie Larcade was receiving disability payments before his arrest on Aug. 13, 2011, because of multiple traumatic head injuries.

“Chrystal Larcade ... has been sending multiple letters per week ... with statements such as, ‘Don’t you remember ...’ in an effort to implant false memories in her brain injured husband,” Henry’s motion states. “[Leslie Larcade] is not capable of comprehending the level of manipulation being perpetrated upon him by his wife.”

The motion notes that Chrystal Larcade is aware of her husband’s mental limitations and is attempting to create a false version of events that would leave Leslie Larcade shouldering the blame for Watkins’ demise.

Attached to Henry’s motion is an affidavit from Amanda Maxwell, a licensed clinical social worker from Dallas. Maxwell’s affidavit states that Leslie Larcade’s memory is not static from day to day and that he is susceptible to having imagined events become as real to him as memories of actual events.

“Brain-injury survivors, such as Mr. Larcade, are highly susceptible, especially with information from a family member, loved one or authority figure,” Maxwell’s affidavit states.

“Due to the frequency, content and malicious intent of these letters, Leslie Larcade is at risk for the implantation of false memories and confabulation,” Maxwell’s affidavit states.

Henry’s motion asks that Leslie Larcade’s mail be diverted to Henry and that Chrystal Larcade be moved from the Miller County jail, where her husband is housed.

U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey denied Henry’s request but ordered Henry and Chrystal Larcade’s lawyer, Jeff Harrelson of Texarkana, to tell their clients to quit writing letters to each other.

The Larcades are each charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping and with kidnapping resulting in death.

Kidnapping resulting in death is punishable by life without the possibility of parole or by death. Conspiracy to commit kidnapping is punishable by up to life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both.

The couple have been in the Miller County jail since their arrests Aug. 13, 2011, after a man reported watching them discard Watkins’ body about 8:45 a.m. at Texarkana Speedway, according to court documents

The Larcades have pleaded innocent, and Hickey set a deadline of Jan. 11 for the U.S. attorney’s office to decide if the government will seek the death penalty for the Larcades.

Trial is scheduled for April.

Arkansas, Pages 20 on 12/23/2012

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