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MURDER! She E-mailed!
David Sapsted
One man she had an extensive exchange with refused to take part in the final act of killing.
She then made contact with Glass, a father of three who separated from his wife earlier this year, and on October 13 travelled to North Carolina to meet him. According to an autopsy report, she was strangled three days later, though initial tests to establish whether she had been subjected to sexual torture have proved inconclusive.
"There's no way to know precisely what was in her head when she came here," said a police spokesman in Lenoir, North Carolina, where Glass is being held.
"The only thing we can see are the e-mail message where they discussed in detail as to what they expected to happen when she got here."
A search warrant obtained by police claimed that messages from "Slowhand" - allegedly Glass's Internet name -- "described in detail how he was going to sexually torture and, ultimately, kill her." But Neil Beach, Glass's lawyer, said the search warrant was misleading."I don't believe he's guilty of what he's charged with," he said. Glass, who is being held without bail, has claimed the death was an accident, according to District Attorney David Flaherty.
The killing has stunned Lopatka's friends and neighbors in Maryland. One described her as apparently happily married and sensible. "Until someone proves it to me, I won't believe this could be her. She was conservative and careful. This is such a mystery." Police, who spent most of a day downloading computer files at Glass's home, claim that, after Lopatka's death, an unsuccessful attempt was made to erase her e-mail exchanges.
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