Chapter 13 - The latch was used before
Police examined the storage door.
The slide latch was new.
Installed six months earlier.
Receipt from hardware store.
Purchased by Walt.
That looked terrible.
His explanation:
The old door would not stay shut because of warped frame.
Used for storage.
He wanted to keep Lizzy out of cleaning chemicals and Christmas decorations.
Reasonable.
Why mount latch outside?
So adults could secure.
Also reasonable for storage.
Then marks on door frame.
Repeated wear consistent with use.
Not proof child locked.
Then one unexpected source:
The home’s smart thermostat had an occupancy sensor in upstairs hallway.
Not cameras.
It recorded motion events for energy settings.
Could it prove closet confinement?
No.
But timestamps combined with Walt’s phone notes.
He kept a private journal app.
After consulting counsel, he voluntarily produced entries relevant to incidents because he was trying to demonstrate he had objected to Gloria.
Three entries:
May 14: G put L in storage again. Told her ten min max.
June 2: L screaming upstairs. G says she stole candy. Need to stop closet.
Storm night: G lost it over cereal. I should have intervened.
There.
Three documented incidents.
Then a fourth possibility from Lizzy.
She described one after wetting bed.
No adult record.
Gloria denied.
Then May 14 duration.
Walt texted Gloria from downstairs:
It’s been 22 minutes. Let her out.
Gloria:
When she apologizes.
June 2:
Open the door.
Gloria:
Stop undermining me.
Walt did not open it himself.
That was his pattern.
Protest remotely.
Avoid confrontation.
Then the storm night.
No text.
He told investigators he sat downstairs for approximately thirty-five minutes while Lizzy cried upstairs.
Why?
“I froze.”
Adults use that word too.
Did DCF classify his conduct?
Failure to protect.
Yes.
Then “scary place.”
It was the storage closet.
No hidden facility.
No secret basement.
The simplicity made it worse.
A six-year-old’s scary place was eight feet from her grandparents’ bedroom.
Then medical impact.
Dr. Collins documented:
Mild dehydration.
Recent missed meal.
Weight loss.
No severe malnutrition.
Then pediatric dietitian reviewed school/medical records.
Growth had slowed slightly over six months.
Could food restriction cause?
Possibly.
Could grief/stress/picky eating contribute?
Yes.
No claim Gloria starved her chronically.
Then forensic interview of school staff.
Lizzy had once told lunch aide:
“Grandma says I eat too much.”
At six.
Her BMI remained normal.
No eating disorder diagnosis.
Still harmful language.
Then Gloria’s defense:
She was trying to stop emotional overeating after grief.
Did pediatrician recommend food restriction?
No.
Pediatrician had said:
Regular meals and snacks.
No body-shaming.
Then one message from Gloria to Walt:
She asks for food every time she’s upset. I’m not letting Rachel’s guilt turn her into a spoiled child.
Rachel’s guilt?
My dead sister could not answer.
Then:
If Natalie wants to feed her all night, she can take her.
Three months before the storm.
May you like
She had written it.
She did not expect me to.
