Miranda
Miranda Gaddis
Miranda Gaddis, headstrong and opinionated, was born November 18, 1988, in Oregon City and had lived in the area most of her young life. A pretty girl, she had aspirations of becoming a model. Although outgoing and friendly, Miranda, like her friend Ashley, had also been a victim of sexual abuse at a young age and she knew the trauma and depths of degradation that her friend had been put through. Her biological father, like Ashley's, had gotten into trouble with the law for sex crimes. Her father had served 19 months in prison on six counts of rape and for custodial interference involving underage girls in 1994. His crimes, however, had not involved Miranda.
Mirandas mor havde imidlertid fundet en ny kæreste kort efter besværet med Mirandas biologiske far. Den nye kæreste havde afsluttet den tiende klasse, men havde ikke lært at læse. I modsætning til Mirandas far havde kæresten seksuelt misbrugt Miranda sammen med to andre piger. Han blev tiltalt i 1999 på 22 tællinger om seksuelt misbrug, der involverede Miranda og de to andre piger, og blev til sidst dømt for tre tællinger om misbrug og en optælling af kriminel mishandling og sendt i fængsel. Måske delvis på grund af hvad der var sket med hende, tøvede Miranda ikke med at komme frem for at give politiet meget af det, hun vidste om Ashleys seksuelle misbrug. Selvom oplysningerne var nyttige, havde det ikke syntes i det mindste på det tidspunkt at have bragt taskforce for at løse spørgsmålet om Ashleys forsvinden.
Miranda and Ashley, who rode the bus together and were in the same dance class at school, had become close friends, and Ashley had often told Miranda details of her personal problems, which were numerous. Among the things that Ashley had told Miranda were details of the allegations she had made against her biological father and Weaver. She also claimed to have been sexually abused by two other adults who remained unnamed. Perhaps more significant was the fact that Ashley, just prior to her disappearance, had told Miranda and others, including her mother and one of her teachers, that it had been during the two-week trip to California in August 2001 that Weaver had raped her.
Miranda, like Ashley, had been friends with Weaver's daughter. The police would eventually piece together information indicating that Miranda, shortly after spending the night at the Weaver house for his 11-year-old daughter's birthday party, had also told others some of the details that Ashley had confided to her about Weaver. Word traveled fast, and by the end of February 2002, it was all over the school that Weaver had raped Ashley. It was an understatement to say that Weaver's daughter was embarrassed and had been ostracized by her classmates, a tough position for an 11-year-old to be placed in, to the point that some days she didn't want to go to school. Word had it that Weaver was furious about the things that were being said about him.
Viena no Weaver bijušajām sievām policijai sacīja, ka viņš ir “patiesi agresīvs cilvēks”, un viņa ieteica, ka tad, kad viss nenotika, viņš ātri atrada “vēl vienu veidu, kā lietas izņemt”.
